That was my BHSE with the vintage xf2 tubes.
I found it difficult to get a handle on the listening comparisons because Jonesy's system sounded different to mine back home. Without judging which is right or wrong, and dumbing down the language for brevity, I'd class his system as more "digital" and mine as more "analogue". That fundamental difference made it hard for me to follow what Jonesy was describing about the volume issues.
That and the fact that Jonesy listens WAY louder than I do. To quantify that, my BHSE's volume is usually set between 11 and 11:30 o'clock. With a lowly 1v SE output from my Nagra CDC, that equates to around 75-80db peak in my 007s - the point at which the music "wakes up" and becomes immersive. Because I already have very mild tinnitus, I rarely go beyond that kind of volume for safety's sake.
Jonesy's Chord DAC is spec'd at 6v output on balanced. And with the 009s being more efficient than the 007s, I would have expected the BHSE's volume to be set somewhere around 9 -10 o'clock to get my usual dba range. But we were listening at between 10 and 12 as start point and up to what looked like 2pm at the loudest - Jonesy alone at those higher settings.
At the volumes I listened at, I didn't really notice the BHSE running out of steam on anything. All I kept noticing was that it was not sounding like it did back home. And that on the basis of this particular mini meet, there was no pressing SQ reason to get the BHSE over the Wee. Which just goes to show something - what exactly I'm not sure.
One thing I'm guessing though, if you're out to recreate the bass slam of big speakers, or even dynamic headphones, then I'm not sure that a 009 (or most electrostatics) is the right direction - it's strength's lie elsewehere. I do think it has excellent bass, but it's very clean and a touch light.
It wasn't just the lack of higher loudness I noticed. The music sounded flat and lifeless and boring on recordings I know very well as being very energetic and life-like (one was the David Gilmore live concert in Gdansk) and have played them on many systems many times using the same DAC (Chord QBD76) and cheaper DAC's. The DAC was also balanced connected to the BHSE.
When we swapped to single ended the volume level was even lower i.e. I had to turn the BHSE up to nearly max to get any respectable sound level and the music was even flatter and lifeless than in balanced mode.
Last night I was listening to the same tracks (CD red book 44kHz quality) with the 009's through the Wee linked up to the same DAC which is linked to the Chord Cyan Click integrated amp and the music was not louder (was happy at 30% volume level) but was far more energetic with great bass slam, detail, separation of instruments etc. (a very pleasurable listening experience indeed) although it wasn't as spacious sounding as the BHSE it was still very good.
I also know that the Chord QBD76 is a quality DAC…in fact its one of the best for its price ! Chord Electronics is famous for its DAC's i.e. Qute, Hugo, QBD76 etc. ! I was also surprised that the QBD76 sounded digital through the BHSE… normally it is more analogue sounding…for a DAC…not to compare with a turntable…although when it is linked to a Chord Blu transporter it sounds amazing and very analogue sounding !
Of course there are bette DAC's on the market costing many more $1,000's but Im sure the QBD76 is good enough for the BHSE !
My current thought's on the BHSE are….
1) Do all the BHSSE's sound like TheAttorney's….if they do then Im seriously thinking of cancelling my order as I would expect something costing $6,000 + would sound a lot better than what I heard !
2) If they don't then Im thinking if it's the vintage tubes TheAttorney is using.
The other thought I have is I have also ordered a HeadAmp GS-X Mk2….just hope this doesn't have the same issues !
p.s Thank you TheAttorney for the mini meet. It was most kind of you to make the offer and great to meet you. It was great to see a BHSE in person and I must say it looks a stunning piece of equipment…the build quality is very impressive….hence one of the reasons why I want one so much !