[Solude]

Most receivers have opamp headphone sections, no buffers, no discrete output, just whatever TI is selling as a headphone opamp at the time.  W4S mINT made a big deal out of it and all I could think is... why oh why are you trying to 'sell' people on the wonders of a $2 chip in a $1500 product?  Problem with the vintage ones is they are just the speaker taps with massive inline resistors that drive down the power while jacking up the output impedance.  Read huge changes to the freq resp and poor control.

 

[BobJS]

I'm working my way through this thread (almost halfway through), and there have been plenty of discussions about potential pairings of amps with the hd800.  I thought the Bryston BHA-1 looked good because:
 
1. I have 2 tube amps, not looking for another, want SS.
2. Want something that will do the HD800 justice and sound higher end than my Lyr or LD MKIV.
3. Would like to be able to drive my T1, HE500, HD600 as well.
4. All my phones are single ended, but would like to look towards moving to balanced in the future.
 
Given my requirements, does this look like a reasonable choice?  I might update DAC later, but now I'm using either AQ Dragonfly or Schiit Bifrost.
 
Forgetting all the other requirements, and all other things being equal, how's the SQ of BHA-1 -> HD800   vs, say V200 -> HD800  ?

 

[palmfish]

Most receivers have opamp headphone sections, no buffers, no discrete output, just whatever TI is selling as a headphone opamp at the time.  W4S mINT made a big deal out of it and all I could think is... why oh why are you trying to 'sell' people on the wonders of a $2 chip in a $1500 product?  Problem with the vintage ones is they are just the speaker taps with massive inline resistors that drive down the power while jacking up the output impedance.  Read huge changes to the freq resp and poor control.

Thats why there are so many amp choices on the market. Each has its relative strengths and weaknesses.

A nice vintage amp will drive some headphones beautifully if those headphones are compatible (re: high/flat impedance curve) with their typically high output impedance.

A well designed and implemented opamp based amp can also be an outstanding performer. Same with discrete designs and OTL amps.

In my case, I approach the subject from the perspective that the recording and the headphones account for 90-95% of what we hear, and amp+DAC account for the remaining 5-10%. Obviously using tubes or mismatched gear will change the ratio, but generally, this works for me.

 

[Solude]

Burson Soloist 

 

[preproman]

Quote:

I'm working my way through this thread (almost halfway through), and there have been plenty of discussions about potential pairings of amps with the hd800.  I thought the Bryston BHA-1 looked good because:
 
1. I have 2 tube amps, not looking for another, want SS.
2. Want something that will do the HD800 justice and sound higher end than my Lyr or LD MKIV.
3. Would like to be able to drive my T1, HE500, HD600 as well.
4. All my phones are single ended, but would like to look towards moving to balanced in the future.
 
Given my requirements, does this look like a reasonable choice?  I might update DAC later, but now I'm using either AQ Dragonfly or Schiit Bifrost.
 
Forgetting all the other requirements, and all other things being equal, how's the SQ of BHA-1 -> HD800   vs, say V200 -> HD800  ?

 
Can't speak on the V200.  However, the GS-X mkII would be my pick over the BHA-1.  I use to own it and with the HD800 the GS-X mkII is a win win.  
 
All depending on your buget as well.

 

[philo50]

Quote:

Burson Soloist 

had the Soloist,have the Conductor.....works great

 

[BobJS]

Quote:

had the Soloist,have the Conductor.....works great

 
Would the Conductor give me noticeable improvement over  Bifrost (which I already own) -> Soloist  ?

 

[rawrster]

It's a bit odd you are considering the V200 if you are looking at balanced since it only has 2 SE outputs.

 

[philo50]

Quote:

 
Would the Conductor give me noticeable improvement over  Bifrost (which I already own) -> Soloist  ?

the Conductor is basically a Soloist with a Sabre 18 dac.....can't speak to the Bifrost but I much preferred the Conductor dac to the Gungnir which I have owned and sold....

 

[philo50]

to be fair though, I do use Audiophilleo2 with my dacs so that does make a difference....

 

[BobJS]

Quote:

It's a bit odd you are considering the V200 if you are looking at balanced since it only has 2 SE outputs.

 
Quite correct, obviously ..... just trying to look at all the options before the wallet flies open again.

 

[negura]

Quote:

 
Would the Conductor give me noticeable improvement over  Bifrost (which I already own) -> Soloist  ?

 
Yes. The Conductor is also better than the sum of its parts according to 6moons and others who have tested.

 

[Nick Dangerous]

Quote:

I'm working my way through this thread (almost halfway through), and there have been plenty of discussions about potential pairings of amps with the hd800.  I thought the Bryston BHA-1 looked good because:
 
1. I have 2 tube amps, not looking for another, want SS.
2. Want something that will do the HD800 justice and sound higher end than my Lyr or LD MKIV.
3. Would like to be able to drive my T1, HE500, HD600 as well.
4. All my phones are single ended, but would like to look towards moving to balanced in the future.
 
Given my requirements, does this look like a reasonable choice?  I might update DAC later, but now I'm using either AQ Dragonfly or Schiit Bifrost.
 
Forgetting all the other requirements, and all other things being equal, how's the SQ of BHA-1 -> HD800   vs, say V200 -> HD800  ?

 
If you buy the BHA-1, plan to only run it in balanced mode. The unbalanced port suffers from suboptimal SQ.

 

[Solude]

Which is somehow fixed by running the suboptimal sound quality into itself to create the balanced side /facepalm

 

[Nick Dangerous]

Nothing is fixed by slapping yourself in the head repeatedly. It may also result in a loss of long-term sound quality.