![DSC_0485[1].JPG](https://cdn.head-fi.org/a/12210005.jpg)
that’s true but a second hand bravura system is 3,5 K. All in.
Last edited:
Warwick Acoustics APERIO and BRAVURA
- Thread starter GoldenSound
- Start date
Yeah in the Sates, here in Europe its very difficult to come by (havent seen one yet) unlike Susvara which is sold very frequently nowdays. But yeah Bravura is definitly a better value by far.
Yes that’s true. It’s rare to get a used bravura in Europe.
You could buy a used USA one and pay customs. The power brick supports 100-230v 50/60hz. You’d just need a region specific cord to the outlet.
Of the Verites, I think the Closed back is better than the Open. I agree the Bravura mids/vocals are excellent but I ultimately liked the less intimate staging of the Aperio.Try Verite Open, Atrium and Caldera. If you are into vocals and natural reproduction you will be surprised what ZMF totl lineup is capable off on the right chain. Saying that Bravura is very unique too. Really looking forward to my second audition, might be my next headphone purchase 2024
Hello,
I want to ask some questions about the Bravura:
- Did you had clipping issues?
- Is it correct that it Beats headphones Like Utopia and Hek Stealth and is on Stage with HE-1?
- Would you also Use it for Rock / Metal?
I want to ask some questions about the Bravura:
- Did you had clipping issues?
- Is it correct that it Beats headphones Like Utopia and Hek Stealth and is on Stage with HE-1?
- Would you also Use it for Rock / Metal?
When I owned the Bravura I experienced no clipping but caveat I do not listen at very high volumes where some have reported issues.
I haven’t heard an HE-1 so cannot comment but Bravura does “beat” the Utopia in my opinion on detail, stage, timbre, and vocals. The Utopia is a bit more excursive in the lows but in quality / texture / detail of lows I preferred Bravura.
I now own an Aperio which trumps the Bravura in all areas except perhaps vocals where the Aperio stages vocals less forward in the mix while the Bravura presents them closer even while the rest of the stage is wider / farther back. Some prefer that “vocalist” clearly up front and close presentation of the Bravura.
And yes, I listened to metal all the time on the Bravura and loved it - Kyuss, High on Fire, Sepultura, Messuggah etc.
Last edited:
Dynamo5561
100+ Head-Fier
I had no clipping issues, but I was listening at around 11 o'clock max.
Lots of very subjective questions and oppinions in the last posts. If the Bravura outbeats any other headphone depends on the listener, there is no objective answer to that.
However compared to similarly tuned headphones (e.g. Susvara) the Bravura is definitely competing. But for my personal preference I favored the Susvara a tad more because the treble sounded a tiny bit smoother to me. But the Bravura was faster.
Now you get my very subjective oppinion: Save up for an Aperio, it beats everything I heard by a mile
Not listening to rock / metal, but I assume tonality wise it is better to have less energy around 2KHZ for metal? The Bravura has some energy around that region (not overly done) but on the other side the Bravura is very fast and can squeeze out every nuance so it can probably play the fast passages in metal very well and separated.
I love the Bravura for Heavy Metal especially Trash Death and progressive Metal als DT, Porcupine Tree etc. they are amazingly fast and present heavy metal just amazing. I never had clipping issue and I’m not a silent listener(1 to 2 o’clock )Metal needs sometimes higher volumes. It’s not on stage with the HE1 but it’s not that far away. it has the same tonality and it remains me on the HE1. it’s just a great system for the price.
Last edited:
It will clip/distort on very heavy bass and if you’re listening loud enough. EDM or things like that, listening at 1 or 2 o’clock can cause it to reach it’s excursion limits. Metal/rock which typically doesn’t have overly emphasized or deep bass, I never had any problems with, even with the volume pot turned higher, which ends up being too loud for me anyway. Sound stage-wise, it’s a bit unique. The vocals are forward, but there’s a lot of layering and detail beyond that. Other instruments absolutely can sound wider and it does pretty well with directional cues, too.
I really like it for metal, including speed and trash metal. It’s not fatiguing and yet it’s fast and agile.
I really like it for metal, including speed and trash metal. It’s not fatiguing and yet it’s fast and agile.
So if you don’t listen to EDM distorsion seems no problem that’s why I don’t have it I guess.
ChJL
500+ Head-Fier
I always wonder what "audiophiles" mean with EDM especially those who don´t listen to it and furthermore those who don´t consider it "real" music.
I mean a measured DB value would actually tell something to folks who don´t own it... and/or are interested in it!
Similar loudness (around 85 DB I guess) to clipping issues reported on D8k, D8kp?
I mean a measured DB value would actually tell something to folks who don´t own it... and/or are interested in it!
Similar loudness (around 85 DB I guess) to clipping issues reported on D8k, D8kp?
It’s not limited to EDM, but genres with authoritative, prominent bass, like Billie Eilish‘s “When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” album can bring out a bit of that. There’s songs like the singer Geoff Catellucci and his cover of “Sound of Silence” that also can. However, there’s a prominent amount of low frequency there that will test the limits for any headphone. However, that’s if you’re listening at louder volume for those songs. I think when I listen to those with the volume pot at 12 to 1 o’clock, it is just fine.
I think metal and rock does well on the Bravura because of the mid-bass frequency hump, like the 80-100Hz range, that make kick drums sound impactful.
I think metal and rock does well on the Bravura because of the mid-bass frequency hump, like the 80-100Hz range, that make kick drums sound impactful.
I listen to EDM, it’s not my go-to choice for listening, but anyone who doesn’t consider it ”real” music is sorely mistaken!
Theirs absolutely a place having music like EDM that just get you vibin’, pulsing, and grooving, which might be a bit less “melodic“ compared to other genres.
headphonefranz
Head-Fier
It was back in March this year (2023) I was lucky enough to pick up a pair of ZMF Auteur (original version) – It was a circuitous route that took me to the ZMF Auteur. The elder brother of Bruno – who I bought some tubes from (for my Feliks Audio Echo Mk2) – was selling his Auteur – here in Munich, where we both live.
Bruno lives in Poland and his brother lives here in Munich and when I visited Paskal to collect the ZMF Auteur – it was my second visit to his home. A month or so earlier I had visited him to pick up and loan a pair of his brother Bruno’s Sony headphones. Complicated but basically a ‘it’s a small world’ type scenario. It also turned out that Paskal was friends with someone called Kazi – a seriously committed music lover and audiophile – who writes audio equipment reviews. Many months earlier, I had bought some IEMs from Kazi. The plot thickened.
Now it was time for the Auteur to enter my music-listening playground. The pick-up was long and enjoyable, and Paskal and I talked about audio stuff and life. Mostly about life.
He mentioned some headphones – or rather a ‘system’ from an English company called Warwick Acoustic. He was curious about this all-in-one electrostatic system, and I thought ‘Oh NO – not another itch to be awakened’. And off I went home to be wowed by my new (secondhand) Auteur.
Paskal is a great guy and also a massive and modest audiophile. He was a regular visitor to the Munich High-end trade show. This is a thing I’m generally and specifically not really into. But in May I succumbed and met Paskal at the show because I figured with Paskal it could be fun. And I thought I could try out some heavy hitter headphones and perhaps meet Fried Reim – the founder and design genius behind Lake People and Violectric.
It was a great experience and included too many golden sonic and human encounter moments to mention. But amongst all the great experiences was a visit to the Warwick Acoustic ‘booth / room’. We bumped into DMS outside the Warwick Acoustic room and got talking and ended up going in with him. Paskal seemed to know everyone – and this included the team inside the Warwick Acoustic room and off we went – I tried the Bravura set-up and sure enough – it was a sublime experience.
I was immediately struck by the effortless presentation of the couple of pieces of music I heard. And yes – it very quickly hit my sweet spot of not feeling I was listening to headphones or DAC or headphone amp but rather I was simply experiencing the music.
The whole thing looked very aesthetically pleasing too – extremely low small discreet footprint and very beautifully made headphones.
I didn’t try the Aperio – but instead had a great chat with the fabulous team who were presenting the Warwick gear.
Given the asking price, I was not thinking seriously about this as a purchase. But an itch had certainly well and truly been planted.
The itch was, however, very passive and dormant and in no real way in danger of needing scratching. I had, for me, a fabulous array of headphones in my music-listening playground. I hungered for little and as I am neither a collector, an audiophile or hobbyist – I felt quite safe.
Until
Paskal contacted me and said that Kazi (a reviewer of audio equipment) had a Bravura / Sonoma set-up and would like to have a little mini meet/canjam.
We fixed a date in July and Kazi and Paskal came over with a variety of sonic goodies with the icing on the cake being the Bravura and Sonoma.
A few hours later my goose was cooked. The hour spent listening to the Bravura made it clear to me that I was in exactly the sonic place I absolutely love. That clarity, linearity, fully integrated frequency response landscape – a place where the music took over and the equipment stepped aside.
The price was still out of the question – new. And only the possibility of a 50 percent reduction in cost would work. It would also involve raising the funds by selling a few pieces of equipment And waiting. Being patient. Networking and keeping all the ears and eyes open. Which I did. Where there is a will there is a way.
Today the journey towards the Bravura and Sonoma system was completed. And it’s not without some profound pleasure and satisfaction, excitement and music listening joy I sit here with the Bravura atop my head and Trent Reznor’s and Atticus Ross’s ‘Less Likely’ filling my ears and mind with its depths, its sonic facets, the frequencies from the deepest bass to the highest treble – all between beautifully modulated and managed. The dynamics and details, the imaging and separation performing in outstanding ways.
And then popping over to something more frothy and light – ‘Hey Eugene ‘ from Pink Martini and the slam is slammy and the air between notes and voice and drum beauty and the timbre of the strings and chorus – it’s laid back but at the same time punchy and powerfully rich.
Vocals – male AND female are astoundingly good on these Bravura. Right now it’s Aimee Mann and her contributions to the soundtrack for the incredible film called Magnolia.
‘Save Me’ is as smooth as a baby’s bottom with these Bravura and their partner in crime – the Sonoma. The timbre is achingly realistic, and the imagining is as natural as I could wish for – the layering, texture, and separation are invisible in its delivery. Is the soundstage wide? Is it not wide?
How is the soundstage on these Bravura? Who knows – who cares – the headphone experience is exhilarating because it is an integrated whole – there a decay of a cymbal trike – up there on the left a dash of organ, the last bars of bass dig deep and then we slide into an exquisite cello opening with a xylophone’s magic intertwined and then some plucked violins.
The instrumental close is then joined by some wind instruments and the frequency responses are swelling series of layers of sonic yumminess. Everything is shockingly easy to enjoy.
And I just have to go back to the opening piece (again) because ‘One’ is an incredibly fun and clever and groovy song – and on these Bravura it’s especially groovy and every dimension is given full presentational richness – the overlapping of male and female vocals reveals all of the strengths of these Bravura’s subtlety and accuracy of presentation.
This is just the first hour of listening and I know I’m in for a seriously thrilling journey of discovery and rediscovery with this system. It is a system because there’ll be no changing cables or headphone earpads or DAC or opamps blah blah. And I love this. Not being an audiophile or hobbyist I’m dead satisfied with the way Warwick Acoustics have tuned this system. Neutral warm with a distinctive dimension of brightness but not one that is dominant or sibilant inclined.
Everything sonic shift and inflection is how I like it I am home in this music listening headphone experience with the Bravura and the Sonoma.
It was – even with the magnificent saving – a bloody big investment and I am glad I stretched myself and sold a few things and saved up a little and took the plunge. It’s a great way to cap a wonderful year of music listening and headphone experience excellence.
Further hours of listening to more music has continued to confirmed my deep seated satisfaction with this ‘system’.
Listening twice to Mono’s excellent album ‘Nowhere Now Here’ revealed the Bravura’s mature and convincing command of all frequencies and a fabulous transient’s response.
The opening piece ‘God Bless’, kills absolutely kills the upper end and the extension up there is exquisite. There is oceans of emotion in the Bravura – whilst not sacrificing quality linearity. The midrange has mountains of heft and depth and richness and I love the reverberation textures, attack and decay, and endless degrees of clarity, layers, and micro details vividly presented. As the boom slam thump lower end charges in – it’s again clear just how rock solid capable the Bravura are of presenting powerful well shaped and modulated bass and sub bass.
I have a playlist devoted to Chamber music and with an hour of that I knew my Chamber music listening is more than well taken care of. So that’s good.
The Bravura does have its detractors. We all know. But I don't care. We have to know for ourselves what takes us 'there'. Perhaps the expression 'sublime' is shorthand for 'Being There'. These are certainly my 'Being There' headphone experience - but rather all-in-one system. The synergies in play - between DAC / Amp / cables & Headphones is exquisite and beautifully understated. The fact one cannot bypass the DAC, 'upgrade' the headphone cable, use different headphones with the DAC/AMP or vice versa - these are all KO criteria for some. But not for me. It's taken several months to get this and the wait has been so worth it. Because listening to music with this system is truly sublime. I don't really like using that expression - even as shorthand- it is a little bit hackneyed. But this is a truly beautiful music-listening headphone experience.
Certainly, an audition at some point is highly recommended.
Bruno lives in Poland and his brother lives here in Munich and when I visited Paskal to collect the ZMF Auteur – it was my second visit to his home. A month or so earlier I had visited him to pick up and loan a pair of his brother Bruno’s Sony headphones. Complicated but basically a ‘it’s a small world’ type scenario. It also turned out that Paskal was friends with someone called Kazi – a seriously committed music lover and audiophile – who writes audio equipment reviews. Many months earlier, I had bought some IEMs from Kazi. The plot thickened.
Now it was time for the Auteur to enter my music-listening playground. The pick-up was long and enjoyable, and Paskal and I talked about audio stuff and life. Mostly about life.
He mentioned some headphones – or rather a ‘system’ from an English company called Warwick Acoustic. He was curious about this all-in-one electrostatic system, and I thought ‘Oh NO – not another itch to be awakened’. And off I went home to be wowed by my new (secondhand) Auteur.
Paskal is a great guy and also a massive and modest audiophile. He was a regular visitor to the Munich High-end trade show. This is a thing I’m generally and specifically not really into. But in May I succumbed and met Paskal at the show because I figured with Paskal it could be fun. And I thought I could try out some heavy hitter headphones and perhaps meet Fried Reim – the founder and design genius behind Lake People and Violectric.
It was a great experience and included too many golden sonic and human encounter moments to mention. But amongst all the great experiences was a visit to the Warwick Acoustic ‘booth / room’. We bumped into DMS outside the Warwick Acoustic room and got talking and ended up going in with him. Paskal seemed to know everyone – and this included the team inside the Warwick Acoustic room and off we went – I tried the Bravura set-up and sure enough – it was a sublime experience.
I was immediately struck by the effortless presentation of the couple of pieces of music I heard. And yes – it very quickly hit my sweet spot of not feeling I was listening to headphones or DAC or headphone amp but rather I was simply experiencing the music.
The whole thing looked very aesthetically pleasing too – extremely low small discreet footprint and very beautifully made headphones.
I didn’t try the Aperio – but instead had a great chat with the fabulous team who were presenting the Warwick gear.
Given the asking price, I was not thinking seriously about this as a purchase. But an itch had certainly well and truly been planted.
The itch was, however, very passive and dormant and in no real way in danger of needing scratching. I had, for me, a fabulous array of headphones in my music-listening playground. I hungered for little and as I am neither a collector, an audiophile or hobbyist – I felt quite safe.
Until
Paskal contacted me and said that Kazi (a reviewer of audio equipment) had a Bravura / Sonoma set-up and would like to have a little mini meet/canjam.
We fixed a date in July and Kazi and Paskal came over with a variety of sonic goodies with the icing on the cake being the Bravura and Sonoma.
A few hours later my goose was cooked. The hour spent listening to the Bravura made it clear to me that I was in exactly the sonic place I absolutely love. That clarity, linearity, fully integrated frequency response landscape – a place where the music took over and the equipment stepped aside.
The price was still out of the question – new. And only the possibility of a 50 percent reduction in cost would work. It would also involve raising the funds by selling a few pieces of equipment And waiting. Being patient. Networking and keeping all the ears and eyes open. Which I did. Where there is a will there is a way.
Today the journey towards the Bravura and Sonoma system was completed. And it’s not without some profound pleasure and satisfaction, excitement and music listening joy I sit here with the Bravura atop my head and Trent Reznor’s and Atticus Ross’s ‘Less Likely’ filling my ears and mind with its depths, its sonic facets, the frequencies from the deepest bass to the highest treble – all between beautifully modulated and managed. The dynamics and details, the imaging and separation performing in outstanding ways.
And then popping over to something more frothy and light – ‘Hey Eugene ‘ from Pink Martini and the slam is slammy and the air between notes and voice and drum beauty and the timbre of the strings and chorus – it’s laid back but at the same time punchy and powerfully rich.
Vocals – male AND female are astoundingly good on these Bravura. Right now it’s Aimee Mann and her contributions to the soundtrack for the incredible film called Magnolia.
‘Save Me’ is as smooth as a baby’s bottom with these Bravura and their partner in crime – the Sonoma. The timbre is achingly realistic, and the imagining is as natural as I could wish for – the layering, texture, and separation are invisible in its delivery. Is the soundstage wide? Is it not wide?
How is the soundstage on these Bravura? Who knows – who cares – the headphone experience is exhilarating because it is an integrated whole – there a decay of a cymbal trike – up there on the left a dash of organ, the last bars of bass dig deep and then we slide into an exquisite cello opening with a xylophone’s magic intertwined and then some plucked violins.
The instrumental close is then joined by some wind instruments and the frequency responses are swelling series of layers of sonic yumminess. Everything is shockingly easy to enjoy.
And I just have to go back to the opening piece (again) because ‘One’ is an incredibly fun and clever and groovy song – and on these Bravura it’s especially groovy and every dimension is given full presentational richness – the overlapping of male and female vocals reveals all of the strengths of these Bravura’s subtlety and accuracy of presentation.
This is just the first hour of listening and I know I’m in for a seriously thrilling journey of discovery and rediscovery with this system. It is a system because there’ll be no changing cables or headphone earpads or DAC or opamps blah blah. And I love this. Not being an audiophile or hobbyist I’m dead satisfied with the way Warwick Acoustics have tuned this system. Neutral warm with a distinctive dimension of brightness but not one that is dominant or sibilant inclined.
Everything sonic shift and inflection is how I like it I am home in this music listening headphone experience with the Bravura and the Sonoma.
It was – even with the magnificent saving – a bloody big investment and I am glad I stretched myself and sold a few things and saved up a little and took the plunge. It’s a great way to cap a wonderful year of music listening and headphone experience excellence.
Further hours of listening to more music has continued to confirmed my deep seated satisfaction with this ‘system’.
Listening twice to Mono’s excellent album ‘Nowhere Now Here’ revealed the Bravura’s mature and convincing command of all frequencies and a fabulous transient’s response.
The opening piece ‘God Bless’, kills absolutely kills the upper end and the extension up there is exquisite. There is oceans of emotion in the Bravura – whilst not sacrificing quality linearity. The midrange has mountains of heft and depth and richness and I love the reverberation textures, attack and decay, and endless degrees of clarity, layers, and micro details vividly presented. As the boom slam thump lower end charges in – it’s again clear just how rock solid capable the Bravura are of presenting powerful well shaped and modulated bass and sub bass.
I have a playlist devoted to Chamber music and with an hour of that I knew my Chamber music listening is more than well taken care of. So that’s good.
The Bravura does have its detractors. We all know. But I don't care. We have to know for ourselves what takes us 'there'. Perhaps the expression 'sublime' is shorthand for 'Being There'. These are certainly my 'Being There' headphone experience - but rather all-in-one system. The synergies in play - between DAC / Amp / cables & Headphones is exquisite and beautifully understated. The fact one cannot bypass the DAC, 'upgrade' the headphone cable, use different headphones with the DAC/AMP or vice versa - these are all KO criteria for some. But not for me. It's taken several months to get this and the wait has been so worth it. Because listening to music with this system is truly sublime. I don't really like using that expression - even as shorthand- it is a little bit hackneyed. But this is a truly beautiful music-listening headphone experience.
Certainly, an audition at some point is highly recommended.
Users who are viewing this thread
