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I'm curious to compare the bass between these two on my M-100. I wouldn't say the LF switch muddies the bass on the BH, but it should also be noted that the LF switch also boosts highs a bit. If what you say about the E12's bass is true, It might be my go-to over the BH, but the E12 has a lesser bass boost at +3dB @ 80hz diminishing, and the BH is kind of unknown, but I'm certain it's more than +3dB but I have no idea what the frequency peaks and valleys are.
I think you'll have to decide between having just more bass (quantity)... or having more bass quality.
By that, I mean the E12 has noticeably better bass texture, body, and definition. Bass in the E12 sounds legitimately... "like bass". It sounds like Fiio secretly strapped an OPA627 in there somewhere. Well, maybe not that refined, but if you've listened to the OPA627, then you get the idea.
The last time I heard bass this good in a portable headphone amp was with the $500 Portaphile 627 when I was at a meet. The cmoyBB 18V with OPA627 also comes pretty close, but it's no match to the clean output and soundstage of E12.
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I'm truly curious to see how my AD900X will sound through the BH and E12. I'll get the E12 in a month probably after I've spent a good deal of time with the BH. The soundstage of the 900X is already pretty incredible, so I'm anxious to test how OUT 1 and 2 sound with SF on and off. I'm most interested in the bass boost as the 900X could use a bit more, even if they're not exactly anemic. Would be nice to see how my old 700 does, though.
As far as soundstage goes, as I noted, E12 is already about 80-90% the soundstage of BH with SF switch on and Output 2. If BH didn't have that SF switch on, then E12 would have a larger soundstage.
It's just that BH also has clarity boost (LF switch) that gives it that little edge over E12 in busy music... like Two Steps From Hell's "To Glory". Instrument separation is much better in BH over E12 in that regard, but it also makes BH sound cold and too analytical in other not-so-busy songs. The echo effect (cavern-like) is especially distracting while listening to acoustic. E12 does a pretty good job of having a large soundstage without any echo effect. And even then, E12 has a lot more depth and layers than BH.
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Didn't know the C&C BH came in a silver casing (from Pollychen). All previous postings I've run across showed it as black. Reviewed Polly's ad and noticed no instructions as to specify color. Prefer the black casing myself.
Yeah? To be honest, the BH is not mine. My brother got it on a trip to Asia about 2 years ago. And he just somehow conveniently "forgot" to mention it until now.
They probably stopped making it in silver during that time span.
Considering the BH is now 2 years old, and the E12 is a brand spanking new amp, the BH did very well.
It's just that E12 is that much better. I don't just lightly consider any amp better than the O2 without good reason.
