[Nebula769]

The gain on the BHA-1 is kinda insane. I have my knob at 8-9 at loud listening volume low gain.

 

[SilverEars]

The gain on the BHA-1 is kinda insane. I have my knob at 8-9 at loud listening volume low gain.

No kidding. You can get it changed. Contact Bryston. It's just moving smd resistors around.

 

[Nebula769]

No kidding. You can get it changed. Contact Bryston. It's just moving smd resistors around.

I would but I don’t think I can live without my bha-1 for that long. I heard m-patch passive preamp can help with this though

 

[SilverEars]

I would but I don’t think I can live without my bha-1 for that long. I heard m-patch passive preamp can help with this though

You can just ask Bryston for which resistor position needs to be swapped, and ask somebody to do it for you. It's not difficult.

I'm really enjoying Grado SR325is with the BHA-1

 

[WhiskeyJacks]

Wanted to ask if this pairs well with and can drive well the Hifiman Aryas? IF anyone has any experience I would appreciate a reply, thanks

 

[Hixs]

Anyone have experience with the RME ADI-2 FS and the BHA-1 combo?
I am looking at the Chord Qutest or the RME as a step up from the below DAC‘s also current phones listed any advice opinions welcome.
I have had the BHA-1 for over a year using a topping D70 , dragonfly red, ifi idsd micro bl , bluesound node 2i with HD820, LCD 2 fazer, HD6xx, Focal Elex, Hifiman HE400i

Did you ever pair the RME with the BHA-1?

 

[mortcola]

I have raved about my Bryston BHA one on here; the combination with the BDA 3.14 Is absolutely world class. I’m listing the combination with the Meze Elite for sale…. Please take a look?

 

[Birdman69]

Did you ever pair the RME with the BHA-1?

Hi Hixs

Yes I did end up with the RME and have sold my topping D70 and Dragonfly Red. I unfortunately have not been getting much listening in these days
I am very pleased and impressed with the RME so much that I was tempted to keep as a stand alone and part with the BHA-1 to save space, but I couldn't bring myself to do it I am running balanced in and out of the BHA-1 and have also added Focal Clear MG to the collection. The Bryston is more neutral and just seams to open things up a bit and is a tad crisper than the RME to my ears. The EQ responds well so sky is the limit if you like to tinker I tend to not mess too much just add some low end depending on genre.
I never got a chance to test out the Chord.

 

[bagwell359]

I think all the 300 ohm Sennheisers are happier with a good OTL amp. There are certainly at least a handful of top solid state choices also.

I agree. The Rag 1, BHA-1, and v281 didn't do as well as the BHCs with the HD-600.

The BHA was able to drive a 6 screw HE-6 enough on the volume side - but I don't listen that loudly either.

The lower bass does seem overly emphasized.

My bigger issue is on stuff like Krall, when the piece is mellow the air around the instruments and the instruments themselves are rendered beautifully - better than the Rag. But when things pick-up: There is a change to a smaller space, and a brightness creeps in. IM distortion as I understand it. Not just on the 6, but the HE-500 also - so power isn't the issue. Could have been the unit or my VAC was unstable but I've heard this effect on other equipment before - the Mavrovskis MC and the original VTL pre- amp to name two really bad ones.

 

[gdwallasign]

has anyone been able to compare gsx mini with the bha-1?

 

[wrucewayne]

is the BHA-1 good for pop/electronic/rock music?

 

[mortcola]

I would but I don’t think I can live without my bha-1 for that long. I heard m-patch passive preamp can help with this though

Best if you can get used to that logarithmic scale. You’re not getting anywhere near maximum power so it’s not like you’re coming up short. I’ve driven the Susvara to high quality moderate volume, and the critical last boost in volume comes right near the end of the dial… But the amp still has power to spare. It’s built that way.

 

[mortcola]

is the BHA-1 good for pop/electronic/rock music?

It’s an extremely high quality, accurate, well designed amp by a company trusted by countless recording studios, the high-end and mobile kind. It’s also famously neutral, and it doesn’t give a hoot what style of music the electricity is carrying. The only way it wouldn’t be good for Rhythmic pop, rock, and electronic would be if it were slow, or flabby in the bass, or had some weird frequency or phase anomalies. Being the kind of no compromise designer and manufacturer Bryston is, plus the fact that it comfortably remains accurate throughout its full power range, this is an amp that is going to give you first class performance driving anything it is powerful enough to drive, which is most headphones… It was a fantastic match with the abyss 1266, which is very power-hungry, a headphone with deep and impactful, fast bass.

You’ve got nothing to worry about. It’s as good as anything in it’s price class. I got rid of the Burson Conductor Soloist Grand Tour Grand Poobah Shining Ombudsman of the Heavens amp (another 10 or 15 minutes would’ve let them pick better names), the one with the red dials, as well as Schiit Mjolnir, because the Bryston was just more listenable, generally preferable across-the-board to my ears… and those are very good amplifiers.

 

[Rob80b]

is the BHA-1 good for pop/electronic/rock music?

The Bryston like all amps just amplifies the input signal, noise free without distortion to an appropriate level to drive ones headphones, the genres is irrelevant. The headphones themselves are what may determine what you are after.

It’s also famously neutral, and it doesn’t give a hoot what style of music the electricity is carrying.

Ditto. : )

 

[bagwell359]

The Bryston like all amps just amplifies the input signal, noise free without distortion to an appropriate level to drive ones headphones, the genres is irrelevant. The headphones themselves are what may determine what you are after.

In a perfect world. Senn HD-600 sounds much different on an OTL (BHC), than on a Rag 1 SE, Rag 1 XLR, BHA-1, and those 3 SS amps sound different from each other.