[techboy]

I have tried Bravo Ocean as a preamp and it does add a lush sweet sound with tube warmth.

 

[cheapfi]

Thanks noone ever seems to report about that.

If the ocean adds the tube warmth the v2 hopefully would as well.

 

[techboy]

Not warmth always, but a very pleasant sweetness. Warm or less warm depends on the tube as well. Bravo Ocean is a good way to try a hybrid amp, haven't tried V2 though

 

[5thAngel]

This was quite the reassuring review. I have already bought the V2 after some less than in depth research, but it nice to see That I did well on this. I am honestly a total newbie when it comes to this. I figured I would start here With Bravo Audio.

 

[robb.]

has anyone done any measurements on their V2? i have my friend's V2 so i did some quick measurements on an audio precision. pretty disappointing. not remotely close to the specs listed on the product page. most notably the left output is about 3dB hotter than the right output; both are well below the total published gain with no load. THD at 1k was up around 1%.
 
also, i pulled a data sheet for the 12AU7. it's running so close to cut off that all the comments about switching tubes to give it a sweeter or warmer sound make me 

 .

 

[tdockweiler]

EDIT: Kind of meant to post this in the other thread..oh well...
 
Has anyone tried the K702 or Q701 with the V2?
 
I don't know if anyone has the same experience, but I think it's not really a good match. It's OK because I didn't buy it for that. Mostly just for a play toy.
 
There is a ton of gain/volume, but my Q701 seems much more harsh and thin than it should be. Same results with other tubes and sources.
 
The HD-650 however seems to love the V2. Not sure why, but maybe it's the tubes. With that headphone it sounds perfectly flat (The amp I mean).
 
Lately i've been using the Bravo V2 hooked up to a Sony Blu-Ray player and using my HD-650. Sounds amazing to my ears and the soundstage is huge.
I was watching "The Pacific" and felt like I was there..my Sony seems to actually have a very good DAC (AKM I believe) and has some warmth too.
 
Wonder if Bravo makes a more powerful amp that's better suited for the Q701?
 
BTW I think for the HD-650 the Bravo V2 is much better than the Schiit Vali hybrid tube amp. The Vali however is a better match for the Q701, but was awful with my HD-650.
 
Overall for the V2 I'd say it was worth the price, but it's not an amp that sounds 3x it's asking price or anything. I could actually be perfectly happy using it for the HD-650 as my main amp though!

 

[DefQon]

If it sounds good, then it's good to you.

 

[HughJanus]

I use this with my Superlux HD330. It feels like heaven.

 

[DJScope]

I use this with my Superlux HD330. It feels like heaven.

 
How is the sound stage with this amp?

 

[Shhhh]

I have the Bravo V2 paired with my ATH-M50 headphones and was wondering if anyone has a tube to recommend that would pair better?  I'm currently using a cheap electro harmonix tube I found on Amazon.  Less noise and microphonic issues and a warmer sound than the stock tube, but the mids and highs still get a little tiresome after a half hour to hour of listening.  I'm hoping to find something relatively cheap - I don't want to dump a lot of cash into a $60 bargain amp.

 

[robertzombie]

Just bought a V2 second hand and giving it a first listen now and comparing it to my Rega Ear Mk1. Sounds fine so far, not as involving as the Ear but it's a different price category. I was wondering, how do I remove the tube? The seller sent the amp with a second, better tube but I can't figure out how to swap them. Do I just pull the existing tube out or do I need to take a screwdriver to the casing?

 

[Shhhh]

The existing tube should pull right out.

 

[ianeith]

I'm using it with a Gold Lion Custom Tube and HiFiMan HE 400 and playing Fallout 3 on the Xbox360. The combo eerily transports one directly to the wasteland. 

 

[DjBobby]

Have anyone measured the output impedance of Bravos?

 

[aigo]

As it always goes with "too good to be true" expression, the true part may not necessarily turn genuine. So I start with the worst at the top,

CONS

1.    The volume is way too sensitive, and can hardly be controlled for the normal listening sessions, i.e. it is either loud or louder. In my particular unit tuning the volume down turns off the left channel sooner than the right one, and at some point only the right channel can be heard. Seems to be fine when set to louder.
   
2.    The input terminals are wrongly labeled (white to red and red to white). It is not a problem when discovered, but the strangest part is that connecting through the 3.5mm mini jack input or the RCA produce audibly different results. I can not be even be guessing why.

3.    Although the unit sounds quite good out of the box (at the right volume) the Chinese vacuum tube is just rubbish when compared to anything other. I picked up the Electro Harmonix 12AU7/ECC82 from a local guitar shop (€16) , and the difference is day and night. Which tells me that the price this unit is sold at is in fact not the price it will sound good at.

PROS

1.     Solid warm overall sound. Not as warm and pleasing with 300Ohm Sennheiser HD650 (I prefer the FIIO X5II output for it), but very noticeably better through the Beyerdynamic dt-770 (32 Ohm). The unit is apparently tuned to puts more current than the voltage out, which makes it more suitable for the low impedance headphones, and less so for the demanding ones.

2.    Feels solidly built (surprisingly), and looks very nice also.
 
3.    Can be fun at trying different vacuum tubes.

I would have given it all 5, but the loud or louder volume is a big downer for me. Basically, unless modified, the unit can not be used for the long sessions as intended.