[Double F]

It is a beautiful piece.  To bad it takes forever to get one

 

[El_Doug]

indeed - i lacked the patience to stay on the waiting list, but those who do are richly rewarded (after 2 years)  
 
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It is a beautiful piece.  To bad it takes forever to get one

 

[Driftwood]

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The more impressions I get from the BHSE the more convinced I am that the BHSE is not that superior one might think after reading all the pre-production hyped posts.

 
One of the frustrating things about considering a purchase of this amp is the lack of impressions from owners. You read through this thread and see a lot of anticipation, but then ultimately once the amp is received the owners go quiet. Now, with a little perspective, I think I understand what is going on.
 
For example, I've been re-reading Darth Nut's posts here and elsewhere, and though it has taken me about 10 years, I think I finally am beginning to understand what he was saying. In a post on headwize, he wrote, "What the Omega2 offers to a long-term owner is ... simply long-term sonic payback. Nothing about its sound would captivate a person on first listening, unless the person was already an experienced listener who knows how to be immediately captivated by seemingly-uncaptivating sound. With time, it reveals its strenghts. Its strengths are its remarkable resolution powers, its weight and heft, and its forgiving yet revealing nature." Although he was using the SR-007 with the SRM-T2 and not a Blue Hawaii, I think his post is a remarkably apt in regards to the BHSE. People who buy the BHSE are by-and-large individuals who love the SR-007 despite its apparent "weaknesses" to headphones like the HE90. In his post on audio asylum comparing the SR-Omega to the SR-007, he wrote, "The trouble with ‘voicing’ a headphone to create a subtle out-of-the-head ‘headstage’ is that the headphone’s focus inevitably becomes compromised. The out-of-the-head ‘soundstage’ ends up becoming a ‘smear’, washing off the pin-pointed focus of voices and instruments. This is excactly the weakness of the Omega1: its lack of pin-pointed focus compared to the Omega2. If I were to offer a simplistic analogy it would be that the Omega1’s sound is like a large-size slightly out-of-focus photograph, while the Omega2’s sound is like a small-size sharp-focus photograph. And the average headphone is a small-size completely out-of-focus photograph." That is, the strengths of the SR-007 are a tradeoff against the strengths of the SR-Omega or the HE90: clarity and focus in imaging vs the "shimmering watercolor washes" of the SR-Omega.
 
When you are an individual who is looking for long-term sonic payback, the benefits can't be described with hour-by-hour burn in impressions like you see of headphones like the Ultrasone Edition 10. How does one describe "seemingly-uncaptivating sound?" The BHSE, like the SR-007 is something you buy because you love music, and because you want to experience your entire music collection, not just be wowed by a handful of your best-recorded albums. But I think this is why no one to my knowledge who has actually owned the BHSE has sold it. As immtbiker said, "To own this amp is an honor that should not be taken lightly. It's a lifelong keeper."
 
Finally, once you own the BHSE you don't really want to talk about it because it pretty much feels like you'd be rubbing it in everyones' faces.

 

[edstrelow]

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The Stax amps aren't bad by any means and in terms of design and build quality are superior to 95% of all other headphone amps.  They are victims of cost cutting and the practical issues with manufacturing (sourcing parts etc.) so the same circuit can be made quite a bit better.  I have one of the few KGST amps in the world (think of it as a SRM-007t done without a budget and needing parts to be in production) and it is a lovely piece of kit and shows just how good the circuit is. 
 
I for one do think the difference in these amps is quite big, moving from my KGSS to the BHSE is a huge leap in what the phones can do.  Now the difference depends on just how demanding the source material is.  Complex and powerful bass lines really show off what these amps can do plus the ability to dissect a very complex mix instead of just getting a wall of sound. 
 
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After having a new production Mullard (Sovtek) EL-34 blow on me (check back a couple of pages for fireworks video), Birgir (spritzer had recommended that I get a matched quad of Winged C (SED) EL34 Vacuum Tubes for $155), and I am very happy with both the build quality and the sound. For those who don't have NOS Mullards, this is a nice alternative to valve the Blue Hawaii. They came so well biased that I didn't have to touch the pots and they are quite attractive.
The newer Mullards are not what they should be. Times have changed.
 
Believe it or not, I got them off of Amazon and am extremely pleased. 
 
This SE version was built for me to Dr. Gilmore's exact specs and is not from Justin, so sorry if I am being a "but-in-ski".
 
Thanks Birgir.

Glad you are happy with them. 

 

 


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I have now listened to my BHSE for more than a month.  Initially, I liked the improvement over the Stax tube energizer/amp, but did not think that the differences were major.  What I have found is that, after listening to the amp over an extended audition period, the long term impression is a less "dry" sound, a more musically enjoyable presentation while remaining extremely detailed and dynamic.  The more I listen to this amp, the better I like it.  It is particularly nice when listening to less than well recorded material, something that is not always the case with high resolution gear.
 
I still hear the odd tonal coloration to extremely fast transients of vinyl surface tics and pops (not heard through my speakers or with the Stax energizer), but, this is more of an academic interest, because it does not affect the pleasure I get when listening to vinyl with this amp.

Hmm!  Somewhat faint praise from actual users.
 
I was blown away by the BHSE, with both my 007A and Sigma/404, when I heard it in LA  2 years ago.  I had my own 717 rig in a nearby room so I was able to make  a good comparison. I was also impressed by Mikeymad's amp, an ES-1 I believe, which was sitting right next to mine.  However I wasn't able or prepared to start swapping amps and cable etc.  in Justin's or Mikeymad's set-ups.
 
However later I upgraded my DAC,  and my 717 set-up started to sound significantly. better.   I also discovered that Mikeymad was using a much more expensive CD player than I had.  I don't recall what Justin used but I am sure it was better than mine.  So some of the improvement  I had been hearing may have been source related as much as due to the amplifier.
 
At any rate the 717 scales up reasonably well.

 

[trevorlane]

Quote:

Quote:

The more impressions I get from the BHSE the more convinced I am that the BHSE is not that superior one might think after reading all the pre-production hyped posts.

 
One of the frustrating things about considering a purchase of this amp is the lack of impressions from owners. You read through this thread and see a lot of anticipation, but then ultimately once the amp is received the owners go quiet. Now, with a little perspective, I think I understand what is going on.
 
For example, I've been re-reading Darth Nut's posts here and elsewhere, and though it has taken me about 10 years, I think I finally am beginning to understand what he was saying. In a post on headwize, he wrote, "What the Omega2 offers to a long-term owner is ... simply long-term sonic payback. Nothing about its sound would captivate a person on first listening, unless the person was already an experienced listener who knows how to be immediately captivated by seemingly-uncaptivating sound. With time, it reveals its strenghts. Its strengths are its remarkable resolution powers, its weight and heft, and its forgiving yet revealing nature." Although he was using the SR-007 with the SRM-T2 and not a Blue Hawaii, I think his post is a remarkably apt in regards to the BHSE. People who buy the BHSE are by-and-large individuals who love the SR-007 despite its apparent "weaknesses" to headphones like the HE90. In his post on audio asylum comparing the SR-Omega to the SR-007, he wrote, "The trouble with ‘voicing’ a headphone to create a subtle out-of-the-head ‘headstage’ is that the headphone’s focus inevitably becomes compromised. The out-of-the-head ‘soundstage’ ends up becoming a ‘smear’, washing off the pin-pointed focus of voices and instruments. This is excactly the weakness of the Omega1: its lack of pin-pointed focus compared to the Omega2. If I were to offer a simplistic analogy it would be that the Omega1’s sound is like a large-size slightly out-of-focus photograph, while the Omega2’s sound is like a small-size sharp-focus photograph. And the average headphone is a small-size completely out-of-focus photograph." That is, the strengths of the SR-007 are a tradeoff against the strengths of the SR-Omega or the HE90: clarity and focus in imaging vs the "shimmering watercolor washes" of the SR-Omega.
 
When you are an individual who is looking for long-term sonic payback, the benefits can't be described with hour-by-hour burn in impressions like you see of headphones like the Ultrasone Edition 10. How does one describe "seemingly-uncaptivating sound?" The BHSE, like the SR-007 is something you buy because you love music, and because you want to experience your entire music collection, not just be wowed by a handful of your best-recorded albums. But I think this is why no one to my knowledge who has actually owned the BHSE has sold it. As immtbiker said, "To own this amp is an honor that should not be taken lightly. It's a lifelong keeper."
 
Finally, once you own the BHSE you don't really want to talk about it because it pretty much feels like you'd be rubbing it in everyones' faces.

You got me there, although, there is someone who's sold me his BHSE After just a few sessions with the O2, a BH, a BHSE, and the WES, I decided to leave the land of dynamics for stats. I have no doubt in my mind that I'll be happy with this choice.

 

[Driftwood]

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Quote:

...no one to my knowledge who has actually owned the BHSE has sold it. As immtbiker said, "To own this amp is an honor that should not be taken lightly. It's a lifelong keeper."
 
Finally, once you own the BHSE you don't really want to talk about it because it pretty much feels like you'd be rubbing it in everyones' faces.

You got me there, although, there is someone who's sold me his BHSE After just a few sessions with the O2, a BH, a BHSE, and the WES, I decided to leave the land of dynamics for stats. I have no doubt in my mind that I'll be happy with this choice.

Congratulations. Never say never, right?

 

[edstrelow]

Quote:

Quote:

The more impressions I get from the BHSE the more convinced I am that the BHSE is not that superior one might think after reading all the pre-production hyped posts.

 
 the Omega2’s sound is like a small-size sharp-focus photograph. And the average headphone is a small-size completely out-of-focus photograph." That is, the strengths of the SR-007 are a tradeoff against the strengths of the SR-Omega or the HE90: clarity and focus in imaging vs the "shimmering watercolor washes" of the SR-Omega.
 
When you are an individual who is looking for long-term sonic payback, the benefits can't be described with hour-by-hour burn in impressions like you see of headphones like the Ultrasone Edition 10. How does one describe "seemingly-uncaptivating sound?" The BHSE, like the SR-007 is something you buy because you love music, and because you want to experience your entire music collection, not just be wowed by a handful of your best-recorded albums. But I think this is why no one to my knowledge who has actually owned the BHSE has sold it. As immtbiker said, "To own this amp is an honor that should not be taken lightly. It's a lifelong keeper."
 
Finally, once you own the BHSE you don't really want to talk about it because it pretty much feels like you'd be rubbing it in everyones' faces.

That's a good description of the 007A, it has  a somewhat smallish soundstage but pinpoint imaging.  Of course most headphones have  a small soundstage compared to my Sigma/404. It's not as costly as a BHSE but still pretty hard to get 
 
Feel free to rub your BHSE in our faces. "Enquiring minds want to know."

 

[trevorlane]

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

...no one to my knowledge who has actually owned the BHSE has sold it. As immtbiker said, "To own this amp is an honor that should not be taken lightly. It's a lifelong keeper."
 
Finally, once you own the BHSE you don't really want to talk about it because it pretty much feels like you'd be rubbing it in everyones' faces.

You got me there, although, there is someone who's sold me his BHSE After just a few sessions with the O2, a BH, a BHSE, and the WES, I decided to leave the land of dynamics for stats. I have no doubt in my mind that I'll be happy with this choice.

Congratulations. Never say never, right?

Indeed and thank you, I just have to find an O2 now, and I think I'll have my goto rig.

 

[Lil' Knight]

 
I'm wondering how do those compare with the Gold Lions EL34?
Quote:

After having a new production Mullard (Sovtek) EL-34 blow on me (check back a couple of pages for fireworks video), Birgir (spritzer had recommended that I get a matched quad of Winged C (SED) EL34 Vacuum Tubes for $155)

 

[n3rdling]

I think the problem here is that everybody has a different idea in their mind of what constitutes a "small" or "large" difference.  I will only say that going from the 717 to the BHSE (via the O2) was the biggest sonic upgrade I've ever heard in an amp, dynamic or otherwise.

 

[Michgelsen]

Quote:

Not only that, but Headamp"s BHSE is a beautiful piece of art. The 45° fins for the heat sinks was a picture right out of Star Wars.

 
It may look cool, but I think it really hurts the cooling perfomance of the heatsinks. The point of vertical heatsinks is that convection creates a constant upward airflow that pulls in cool air from the bottom to cool off the heatsinks. With these horizontal heatsinks on the BHSE this airflow is blocked. Between the fins the air is now trapped and doesn't make room for new, cool air. I would therefore prefer my (totally hypothetical) BHSE with normal, vertical heatsinks.

 

[justin w.]

Quote:

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Not only that, but Headamp"s BHSE is a beautiful piece of art. The 45° fins for the heat sinks was a picture right out of Star Wars.

 
It may look cool, but I think it really hurts the cooling perfomance of the heatsinks. The point of vertical heatsinks is that convection creates a constant upward airflow that pulls in cool air from the bottom to cool off the heatsinks. With these horizontal heatsinks on the BHSE this airflow is blocked. Between the fins the air is now trapped and doesn't make room for new, cool air. I would therefore prefer my (totally hypothetical) BHSE with normal, vertical heatsinks.

The 45 degree fins are more than enough for the cooling needed which is only 25 watts per side.  The reason for this design was only partially aesthetic, it was mostly for manufacturability.

 

[Elephas]

 
One of the frustrating things about considering a purchase of this amp is the lack of impressions from owners. You read through this thread and see a lot of anticipation, but then ultimately once the amp is received the owners go quiet. Now, with a little perspective, I think I understand what is going on.
 
For example, I've been re-reading Darth Nut's posts here and elsewhere, and though it has taken me about 10 years, I think I finally am beginning to understand what he was saying. In a post on headwize, he wrote, "What the Omega2 offers to a long-term owner is ... simply long-term sonic payback. Nothing about its sound would captivate a person on first listening, unless the person was already an experienced listener who knows how to be immediately captivated by seemingly-uncaptivating sound. With time, it reveals its strenghts. Its strengths are its remarkable resolution powers, its weight and heft, and its forgiving yet revealing nature." Although he was using the SR-007 with the SRM-T2 and not a Blue Hawaii, I think his post is a remarkably apt in regards to the BHSE. People who buy the BHSE are by-and-large individuals who love the SR-007 despite its apparent "weaknesses" to headphones like the HE90. In his post on audio asylum comparing the SR-Omega to the SR-007, he wrote, "The trouble with ‘voicing’ a headphone to create a subtle out-of-the-head ‘headstage’ is that the headphone’s focus inevitably becomes compromised. The out-of-the-head ‘soundstage’ ends up becoming a ‘smear’, washing off the pin-pointed focus of voices and instruments. This is excactly the weakness of the Omega1: its lack of pin-pointed focus compared to the Omega2. If I were to offer a simplistic analogy it would be that the Omega1’s sound is like a large-size slightly out-of-focus photograph, while the Omega2’s sound is like a small-size sharp-focus photograph. And the average headphone is a small-size completely out-of-focus photograph." That is, the strengths of the SR-007 are a tradeoff against the strengths of the SR-Omega or the HE90: clarity and focus in imaging vs the "shimmering watercolor washes" of the SR-Omega.
 
When you are an individual who is looking for long-term sonic payback, the benefits can't be described with hour-by-hour burn in impressions like you see of headphones like the Ultrasone Edition 10. How does one describe "seemingly-uncaptivating sound?" The BHSE, like the SR-007 is something you buy because you love music, and because you want to experience your entire music collection, not just be wowed by a handful of your best-recorded albums. But I think this is why no one to my knowledge who has actually owned the BHSE has sold it. As immtbiker said, "To own this amp is an honor that should not be taken lightly. It's a lifelong keeper."
 
Finally, once you own the BHSE you don't really want to talk about it because it pretty much feels like you'd be rubbing it in everyones' faces.

Are you sure you're not secretly a BHSE owner?

Over time, listening to the O2+BHSE becomes more and more pleasurable and other headphones and amps seem to become more and more "flawed."

I use the O2mk1 or O2mk2 with the BHSE about 90% of the time. All other gear, including HE90+Aristaeus, SR-Omega, HE60, and R10, Qualia, HD800 etc. (driven by balanced Beta22 or Zana Deux) just sit in their boxes forlornly.

I know, it's really sad. Yes, you may feel sorry for me.

 

[Driftwood]

Elephas,

It is good to hear from you -- I've really enjoyed reading your posts here and elsewhere, but I haven't seen much of you lately. I definitely appreciate your extensive tube-rolling, it certainly helps narrow down which of the (expensive) options to consider. 

 

[Larry I]

My comments should hardly be taken as "damned with faint praise."  I am very happy with my purchase.  I am just not inclined to go overboard with praise of ANY component.  As one goes up the price/performance ladder, you do have to pay dearly.  Each doubling of price does not double the performance/satisfaction level (declining marginal return).  The improvement over the Stax amp/energizer is more than subtle, but, it is hardly earth shattering.  I particularly like the poise and "ease" of the listening experience with this amp that does not come at a sacrifice in detail, clarity or dynamics. 
 
I tend to agree that appreciation of any good component grows in the long run and that when the particularly strong attribute of a component is "balance" and doing everything right, the first impression is usually not strong (nothing stands out from the performance).  I think this is the case with the BHSE.