[headstef]

Believe it was the Gilmore Headamp GS-1/mk2 that was on my short list, but slightly out of reach at the time and an almost 6 month waiting period and there was also one by Ray Samuels...in the end I went for the BHA1 as I was egging Bryston on for years to make one. lol


https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=13425.msg115324#msg115324

29 Sep 2004,
"Question for James Tanner,
Just curious if Bryston has ever thought of manufacturing a dedicated Headphone Amp."

"Hi Rob,
It has come up but no decisions as yet because it is a very small market .
james"

...and that was then, times have obviously changed. lol

That was the time when I was searching for a very good headphone amplifier for my new HD-650. I had been using a nice Audio Alchemy HPA v1.0 amp for some years with my HD-580 Precision, mainly for its very good crossfeed. Sonically it was not better than the headphone output of my Audiolab 8000S integrated which has an excellent class A preamplification stage - still excellent today. It was a golden era for Hi-Fi shops in Greece and practically all known and less known brands were imported. I managed to take home for testing two of the best medium priced British H/A (by 20 years ago price standards). It was a Creek 11 (I think) and a Musical Fidelity X-Can V3 (3rd generation of a very successful series.) The market for H/Amps was not big but was already mature enough. The MF X-Can V3 was proved to be significantly more open, informative and better flowing than the Creek (or the Audio Alchemy) and elevated the HD-650 to new heights.

It sounds strange to me that Bryston (very highly regarded in Greece too, over time) thought that the market was very small in 2004. Anyway, they entered the market eventually with a well thought-out product. For my next upgrade, in an time that testing at home had became much more difficult I decided to trust what Sennheiser trusted for years to present its flagships with: LehmannAudio. Not without listening first, though. Two hours of listening to the HD-650 with a Nagra cd player+dac combination (at € 20.000+) and LehmannAudio amplification practically reinitiated me into the possibilities of modern electronics (digital and analogue). Now this amp responds dramatically to every source or headphone change being transparent almost like "a wire with gain". It also helped me a lot to discover how much above the HD-650 modern headphones can reach! It was one of my best buys ever along with my latest headphones. As a combination they seem to reveal every little difference between sources but above all they offer music enjoyment in its best.

I am only waiting for one possible upgrade to explore: The next Sennheiser flagship as an upgrade to the HD-800S, whenever it comes!

 

[BobG55]

It also helped me a lot to discover how much above the HD-650 modern headphones can reach! It was one of my best buys ever along with my latest headphones. As a combination they seem to reveal every little difference between sources but above all they offer music enjoyment in its best.

I am only waiting for one possible upgrade to explore: The next Sennheiser flagship as an upgrade to the HD-800S, whenever it comes!

Agree 100% with your comment about the HD650. I’ve never been without one since 2005. At one time, the HD650 was the Sennheiser flagship for their headphones.

And, my headphone amp is also a BHA-1 & I love it.

 

[headstef]

Agree 100% with your comment about the HD650. I’ve never been without one since 2005. At one time, the HD650 was the Sennheiser flagship for their headphones.

And, my headphone amp is also a BHA-1 & I love it.

The HD-650 was my reference for almost two decades (I didn't like the HD-800S balance enough to upgrade to that). The 650 was my most worthy buy ever.
However, in my paragraph that you quoted above, I was refering to the Lehmann Linear D II headphone amp and to how it helped me discover that much higher quality than the HD-650 is possible and readily offered today.

 

[Rob80b]

The HD-650 was my reference for almost two decades (I didn't like the HD-800S balance enough to upgrade to that).

Personally I never felt the HD800/S was an upgrade at all to the HD600/650 but a whole new adventure to headphone listening. I remember when I first auditioned the 800 when they came out and thinking, wow, what is this! ???? They're almost completely different and the HD700 was, IMHO, the half way point, compromise, between the 2. : )

 

[Rob80b]

It sounds strange to me that Bryston (very highly regarded in Greece too, over time) thought that the market was very small in 2004.

Excluding the Walkman and the relatively new iPod crowd with their ear buds, relatively speaking in terms of serious headphone listening it was still all rather small and so was the selection of headphones, with the HD600, Akg K501s, Grados RS1 and Beyerdynamics t1(?) were battling it out.

Just to add, in the grand scheme of things the higher end headphone market is still rather quite tiny and in today's market if it's not free or almost free it's still too expensive. lol

 

[Shane D]

Excluding the Walkman and the relatively new iPod crowd with their ear buds, relatively speaking in terms of serious headphone listening it was still all rather small and so was the selection of headphones, with the HD600, Akg K501s, Grados RS1 and Beyerdynamics t1(?) were battling it out.

Back then I wasn't even thinking about headphones. I was heavy into two channel and just about to buy a 5.1 system for the bedroom/movie room.

 

[Rob80b]

Back then I wasn't even thinking about headphones. I was heavy into two channel and just about to buy a 5.1 system for the bedroom/movie room.

Yep, me too and now we are a dying breed.

 

[Shane D]

Yep, me too and now we are a dying breed.

I went back to apartment living in 2012 and learned very soon after that volume and sub woofers have no place in apartment living.

And in 2014 I entered the headphone world. Now, I have never owned more music, but I have never spent more money on gear.

 

[Rob80b]

I have never owned more music, but I have never spent more money on gear.

Yea, but we didn't keep a 1/2 dozen pairs of speakers or a few amps at the same time. : )
Still for the price of a descent stereo rig, a very good sounding headphone set-up is rather affordable at almost a fraction of the costs...and you can play it as loud as you like.

 

[Shane D]

Yea, but we didn't keep a 1/2 dozen pairs of speakers or a few amps at the same time. : )
Still for the price of a descent stereo rig, a very good sounding headphone set-up is rather affordable at almost a fraction of the costs...and you can play it as loud as you like.

But only if you know how to control yourself.
I was doing a little historical wrap up in a thread on another forum. Since 2014 I have bought about 43 sets of headphones, about 14 amps and maybe five DAC's. And of course the vast majority of those items was re-sold at a loss.

 

[Rob80b]

the vast majority of those items was re-sold at a loss.

Well there was a saying back then "Sorry about your wallet"...and marriage, friends, housing, food on the table...lol ... but one then has a top notch system for playing the blues. : )

 

[Shane D]

Well there was a saying back then "Sorry about your wallet"...and marriage, friends, housing, food on the table...lol ... but one then has a top notch system for playing the blues. : )

Live and learn. And it took me years to figure out what I Really liked.

PS: And to get back on subject, eight of those purchases were Sennheiser's.

 

[Rob80b]

PS: And to get back on subject, eight of those purchases were Sennheiser's.

Yep...at least one constant in 20 years...and a new one at that. : )

 

[csch92]

just got my fiio K7 and wow, they actually sound much clearer overall and the bass have much more control than before. what an beautiful device

 

[headstef]

just got my fiio K7 and wow, they actually sound much clearer overall and the bass have much more control than before. what an beautiful device

That's good to know! What did you drive them with before?