Closed: Headamp Blue Hawaii Electrostatic Headphone amp
Listing ID: 60668 Views: 4869
2,000.00 USD
Condition
Good
Negotiability
Or best offer
Ships to
  1. United States of America
For sale is an original Headamp Blue Hawaii from before the release of the SE version.

Original retail price was $2500. I opted to not include volume pots, as I was driving the amp using an Exemplar Audio pre-amp. I originally paid an additional $750 for 4 blackgate caps but, as those have appreciated in value to absurd levels, I had them replaced with more sanely priced caps by John Tucker of Exemplar Audio. If an interested buyer wants volume pots added, John quoted me a mere $100 for the installation labor + the cost of whatever pots you want. This modification would delay shipping time by however long it takes for the pots to arrive.

I will sell the blackgate caps separately AFTER this unit is sold, so that the buyer of this unit has first right of refusal on the caps.

Note: The transformer Justin used when building this is not a dual primary. The unit can not be converted to 240v power, so sale is limited to USA.

Tubes are included.
Listed by: fliz (1)
Listed: 2024-01-12
Last edited: 2024-01-31
  • Blue Hawaii front.jpeg
    Blue Hawaii front.jpeg
    366.2 KB · Views: 0
  • Blue Hawaii back.jpeg
    Blue Hawaii back.jpeg
    347.8 KB · Views: 0
  • Blue Hawaii top.jpeg
    Blue Hawaii top.jpeg
    365.1 KB · Views: 0

purk

Headphoneus Supremus
Wow! A classic an original BH!
 

tjlindle

100+ Head-Fier
I had no idea this existed, though in hindsight of course there would've had to be an original preceding the "Special Edition" lol.

What is the difference performance-wise between this and the BHSE?
 

fliz

100+ Head-Fier
What is the difference performance-wise between this and the BHSE?

I've never had the chance to listen to a BHSE. I think if Justin made any significant changes to the actual circuit design that Kevin Gilmore originally created and made public, he would have mentioned it on his sales page.

It appears the only differences are the addition of RCA and XLR outputs, so you can use the unit as a preamp, a second headphone jack, and separating out the power supply into its own enclosure. The original also had two volume pots (one per channel), but that's a moot point here because I opted for none.

The build quality on the BHSE is absolutely gorgeous though. Justin's got 20 years of experience building headphone amps since building mine, and it shows.
 
Last edited:

eskamobob1

Headphoneus Supremus
Now that's a price I'm tempted at and I don't even own an estat right now
 

fliz

100+ Head-Fier
Pretty weird to uninstall the caps. :upside_down: Regardless though, GLWS!
I just figured it's a much better value without them. I'm happy to sell it w/ the blackgates if someone wants.
 

paradoxper

Headphoneus Supremus
Fantastic. GLWS.
 
Back
Top