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New headphone amplifier from Bryston

Oct 22, 2021 at 1:22 PM Post #2,327 of 2,481
lots of talk on other threads with guys changing the fuse. would it make any difference with the bryston? anybody here try it?
 
Dec 11, 2021 at 9:15 PM Post #2,328 of 2,481
makan said:
just a data point....the Abyss TC sounds great through the BHA-1
Click to expand...
Yes, makan. Sitting here, listening to everything I own and everything I can stream (Joni, Don Juan's at the moment), I can enthusiastically second that. Going back and forth between the Bryston BHA-1 and the Woo WA5-LE, getting to know the 1266TC. And, damn, do they do everything about as well as I've heard it done by cans. System includes Bryston BDA 3.14 and AQ Fire IC's, balanced, playing music from Roon, M1 iMac, both local files and Qobuz streaming.

I started to be concerned that the Bryston amp would be straining to power these Abyss - the aforementioned low power estimate on my mind, and the strange gain pattern of the volume control, both on low and high gain settings. I found that the best sound was on LOW gain, but there's a nice acceleration of gain at the two-thirds point on the knob, and suddenly, clean, grooving power, crystal clear on lowest bass, soundstage wide open, dynamics unhindered. Great matchup.

The Woo - SET 300B design - is every bit as good, at 2.5 times the price with upgraded build, adding an uncanny dimensionality, transparency, and bloom with no sacrifice of speed, extension, or impact. But both of these combos are no-compromise affairs.

This is fun.
 
Dec 31, 2021 at 11:36 PM Post #2,329 of 2,481
judomaniak57 said:
Dmdm have you got your abyss yet? wondering how the brytson works with such a hard to drive headphone
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Well, its a year and a half later, but I can answer, as I'm listening to Ralph Towner's Solo Concert, Spirit Lake, on the Abyss 1266TC through Bryston 3.14 DAC and BHA-1 - bought new 2020. A little disconcerting is needing to turn the pot to about 2 o'clock to get a decent level - but it is an intelligently and immaculately designed amp, not lacking in power. Instinctively, I begin to feel that the amp "can't handle it" if I have to turn to knob so far - but that's a misguided instinct. The music is big, beautiful, clean, groovy, 3D - no indication at all that it is straining to drive the 1266TC even though the knob has to turn far. Even there, there's headroom to cleanly drive the cans louder than anyone would need. Bass-demanding recordings, and those with sudden, large dynamic shifts suggest that it is delivering its power in abundance, and drawing and delivering as much current as is demanded, as quickly and neatly as necessary. Bryston gear is just damned impressive. I have several TOTL headphones here, and I'm pretty sure we're at the furthest increment of diminishing returns - it would take an extraordinary expenditure and a degree of luck to find a headphone system significantly more satisfying. My other headphone amp is a Woo WA5-LE - dramatic 300B SET amp, with gobs of pristine power - and they are a beautiful contrast, but "better" isn't a word which would do justice to the comparison. End game stuff.
 
Jan 1, 2022 at 2:48 AM Post #2,330 of 2,481
mortcola said:
Well, its a year and a half later, but I can answer, as I'm listening to Ralph Towner's Solo Concert, Spirit Lake, on the Abyss 1266TC through Bryston 3.14 DAC and BHA-1 - bought new 2020. A little disconcerting is needing to turn the pot to about 2 o'clock to get a decent level - but it is an intelligently and immaculately designed amp, not lacking in power. Instinctively, I begin to feel that the amp "can't handle it" if I have to turn to knob so far - but that's a misguided instinct. The music is big, beautiful, clean, groovy, 3D - no indication at all that it is straining to drive the 1266TC even though the knob has to turn far. Even there, there's headroom to cleanly drive the cans louder than anyone would need. Bass-demanding recordings, and those with sudden, large dynamic shifts suggest that it is delivering its power in abundance, and drawing and delivering as much current as is demanded, as quickly and neatly as necessary. Bryston gear is just damned impressive. I have several TOTL headphones here, and I'm pretty sure we're at the furthest increment of diminishing returns - it would take an extraordinary expenditure and a degree of luck to find a headphone system significantly more satisfying. My other headphone amp is a Woo WA5-LE - dramatic 300B SET amp, with gobs of pristine power - and they are a beautiful contrast, but "better" isn't a word which would do justice to the comparison. End game stuff.
Click to expand...
Are you running balanced between the DAC & amp with the amp set to hi gain?
 
Jan 1, 2022 at 5:24 PM Post #2,332 of 2,481
mortcola said:
Yes, balanced and high gain. Again, the performance is uncompromised, and beautiful. and I prefer things louder than some (I'm 57, a musician, and I'm still hearing past 14K, so I'm lucky, so far). Thoughts?
Click to expand...
I guess the Abyss is a tougher load than i thought.
 
Jan 1, 2022 at 6:24 PM Post #2,333 of 2,481
vlach said:
I guess the Abyss is a tougher load than i thought.
Click to expand...
I don’t recall if you have them. Yes, theyre a are notoriously hungry load although not in Susvara territory. The redesigned driver on the TC version makes it an even easier load than the original; I never heard the original. I was very pleased though with the performance. I suspect that volume pot on the Bryston is meant to cover only the territory the amp can handle without a hitch.

First time I plugged in the 1266 TC, and saw how far I had to turn the volume knob, I didn’t listen much more, but just plugged them in to my big tube amp for the next few weeks. But when I got to sit down and listen attentively to the Abyss through the Bryston, and got it up to the volume level I liked, I was extremely happy with the musical performance. My concern with having to turn it so far was nothing but a conditioned response, i.e. “This one goes to 11“
 
Mar 3, 2022 at 8:15 PM Post #2,334 of 2,481
one of these is for sale, I was amazed to learn this used to cost $1,395(BHA-1) and now is listed new as around $2,300.... why? :scream:

ACDOAN said:
I cannot wait for someone to A/Bing the Schiit Asgard with the hi-price Bryston amp. That's going to be interesting. As much as I love the BP26/ 4BSST combo or SP16 /4BSST combo, the price increase every year of you folks at Bryston is way out of proportion.
Click to expand...
 
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Mar 9, 2022 at 2:12 PM Post #2,337 of 2,481
the1andonly said:
one of these is for sale, I was amazed to learn this used to cost $1,395(BHA-1) and now is listed new as around $2,300.... why? :scream:
Click to expand...
Probably the 1395 is USD and the 2300 is CAD. At least we can hope!
 
Mar 9, 2022 at 5:43 PM Post #2,339 of 2,481
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