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Exclusive Shootout!
High End Headphone Amp Group Test Shootout!
Bryston BHA-1, Graham Slee Solo SRGII, Graham Slee Solo Ultralinear Diamond Edition, Musical Fidelity M1HPA and Woo Audio WA22 headphone amplifiers.
Review By Phil Gold
More and more people arelistening to music through headphones. Tonality pro 1 0. Of course the iPod, iPhone and other MP3devices have been a big factor, but today we're looking at the high end of theheadphone market. Those who are looking for something better than MP3 quality,those looking for better sound than they can get from the headphone jack intheir stereo or CD player, those looking for great sound from their computer orinternet streaming device, those who in some cases are looking for the ultimatein HiFi – these are the potential buyers of the standalone headphoneamplifier.
We have quite a mixed bag of headamps in thisgroup test. The simplest is the Graham Slee Solo SRG-II, the latest in a longseries of refinements of the original Solo design. A plain compact silver boxwith a volume control and source toggle, it should be placed at a distance fromthe dedicated PSU1 power supply. Over in the UK, Mr. Slee never sleeps. He hascome up with an alternative design, the Solo Ultralinear (UL), which he nowoffers at a small premium. This version has been designed to offer the soundcharacteristics of a fine tube amp without actually using tubes to get there. Heeven offers a kit to upgrade earlier Solo amps to UL DE status. Both headampsoffer a choice of two unbalanced inputs and are the only ones in this test withjust a single headphone output, although you can drive two pairs comfortablywith the aid of a splitter.
The least expensive component in this group isthe Musical Fidelity M1HPA but it has quite a few tricks up its sleeve,including a Pure Class A design, a built in DAC and preamp outputs. It featuresa very large volume control which dominates the front panel and allows finercontrol of volume than the others in this test. It also offers two standardheadphone jacks. It has a very healthy output level and a low output impedancethat should allow it to mate well with a variety of headphones.
The Woo Audio WA22 is also a simple device, butit's built on a massive scale and offers two sets of balanced headphone outputsin addition to the regular ¼' jack socket. You can use them all at once if youlike, although you cannot control the volume level separately for each output.It's a fully balanced tube powered Class A output transformer-coupled design. Itfeatures a 5AR4 rectifier tube, two 6SN7 driver tubes and two 6AS7 output tubesand weighs a massive 25 lbs. With the standard tubes it retails for $1900 butyou can easily spend over $2500 if you specify upgraded tubes. You can selectbetween balanced and unbalanced inputs on the rear panel, and between low andhigh impedance outputs on the front panel.
The newest component is the Bryston Audio BHA-1and it offers the most flexibility of the bunch. It has the same three outputson the front panel as the Woo Audio, but it also doubles as a preamp withbalanced outputs on the rear panel paralleling the balanced headphone outputs upfront. You get a front panel selector for balanced input, unbalanced input ormini-jack input and this is the only model here to offer a balance control. TheBHA-1 has been a long time coming as Bryston tried out many different designs,soliciting user input along the way. As launched earlier this year and reviewedelsewhere, the BHA-1 did not have the preamp output, and I am very pleased tosee this additional feature, since it works remarkably well as a fully balancedpreamp. Internally the analog output derives from six Class A fullydiscreet operation amplifiers of Bryston's own design.
Sadly none of these units has a remote control.Perhaps most users sit close by their preamp – I don't.
Pdf to numbers converter 6 2 1. Let us take a closer look at the units inoperation.
GrahamSlee Solo SRGII and Ultralinear Diamond Edition
TheSolo SRG-II is a very clean sounding wide-bandwidth unit. In the past I havemuch preferred it to the Solo Ultralinear when using sensitive headphone like myUltimate Ears UE10Pro custom fit canal earphones. The SRG-II is silent as thegrave but early Ultralinear models produced an uncomfortable level of hiss inthis application. Mr. Slee never stops working to improve the Solos and recentlyshipped me a revised model from current production (the Diamond Edition) whichnot only puts all such noise issues to rest, it also improves clarity anddynamics. While the Solo SRG-II and Solo Ultralinear DE are clearly from thesame family and look almost identical, the Ultralinear is warmer, more threedimensional and simply more musical to these ears. I think it now clearlyeclipses the SRG-II and is well worth the price differential. With theUltralinear DE you get a very immersive experience. While on paper its ratedoutput is lower than the others here, it has enough power to drive theinefficient Sennheiser HD800 to high volumes while the volume control iscalibrated well enough to cope well with efficient phones too.
MusicalFidelity M1HPA
In terms of sound quality, the MusicalFidelity is a close match to the Solo SRG-II. It is very quick like the Solo buthas a somewhat leaner balance. It is capable of driving the most inefficientphones with ease and it has a very sweet treble. I didn't try it as a DAC – Iunderstand this is a convenience feature and not designed to be a highperformance option like you see on Musical Fidelity DACs. But I did use itextensively as a preamplifier as I will discuss later.
BrystonBHA1
Ifthe Musical Fidelity is a close sonic match to the Solo SRG-II, it will takesome kind of sonic microscope to separate the Solo Ultralinear from the sound ofthe Bryston BHA-1 through its unbalanced output jack. Both of them reach veryhigh levels of performance with every phone I tried, and I strongly suspect theysound so alike because they are converging on some kind of acoustic truth here.Both have superb imaging, especially with the canal type phones, and I had nodifficulty listening for long periods. Both offer a very evenly balancedfrequency response, vanishingly low levels of distortion and a high level ofresolution coupled with powerful dynamics, where perhaps the Solo Ultralineardoes pull slightly ahead.
Meta 1 9 5. The Woo Audio WA22 is the final amplifier in thisgrouping. It is hand built using point to point wiring throughout, which is muchmore expensive than printed circuit boards assembled by machine. It is based ona true balanced topology and no semiconductors are used in the design.
Sadly it had to go back before the Brystonarrived, so I was not able to compare them side by side. I did listen to it nextto all the other amps and it certainly is a contender in terms of sound quality,especially when used in balanced mode. Apple high sierra tour. As a tube amp you'd expect it to be onthe warm side of neutral, but if this was the case it was only to a very slightdegree. It lacks preamp outputs but otherwise it has similar features to theBryston, and rates even higher in terms of maximum output, making it the bestplaced to fully drive the AKG K1000s.
But like the first version of the SoloUltralinear, it is not a good match for highly efficient phones like theUltimate Ears. The problem is not hiss this time, but hum. In fact hum waspresent with all phones to a certain degree, more on the left channel than theright. Despite all efforts to avoid grounding problems, I could never completelyeliminate it. It seemed to be independent of volume level. You could only justhear it on inefficient phones like the HD800s where it was inaudible when musicwas playing, but it intruded with the Ultimate Ears so that even though thesound quality was clearly excellent, the hum for me was a distraction. Now yourmileage may vary and hum may never be a problem for you but I strongly recommendyou try the Woo Audio in your home system before committing. You can trydifferent tubes to suit your taste and your wallet and the good guys at WooAudio offer a great deal of advice on their website in this regard. This is theonly amp here which can be tweaked in this way. I did some tube rolling andcould easily hear the benefits of the upgrades which added a greater sense ofease and intimacy to the already fine sound.
The Sennheiser HD800s are the only phones that Ican drive both balanced and unbalanced, and I am very grateful to George Cardasfor supplying his superb Clear headphone cables in both balanced and unbalancedformats for use in these tests. Now that I've done the comparison I am convincedthat the balanced option is not just of theoretical benefit, even if it academicfor most listeners whose headphones may not offer a balanced cable option.
While most of my listening comparisons arecentered around the HD800, I also used Ultimate Ears UE10Pro and AKG K701 phoneson all the machines in this group test. The results are consistent all the waythrough, so I will not detail them separately. Listening tests involvedrecordings of the highest quality including Schubert's Death& The Maiden Quartet by the Lindsays [CD RSB 403], 'Alfie's Theme'by Sonny Rollins [Impulse IMPD 224], 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' from theBeatles Love Album [Capitol 094637981023], MAon SA [Crystal Cables Sampler] and Bartok Concertofor Orchestra conducted by ZoltanKoscis [HungarotonHSACD 32187].
WooAudio WA22
TheWA22 has the highest output level of any headamp here, taking all theinefficient headphones in its stride. As a tube amp it has settings for low andhigh impedance phones and I found it best just to try each setting and settlefor the one that sounded best. The imaging is stronger than all others too,which helps to alleviate that in-the-head sound some find objectionable withheadphones. I don't suffer from that symptom, perhaps due to my choice of openheadphones with drivers positioned forward and away from the ears, such as theAKG K1000 and Sennheiser HD800. The one issue I had with the Woo Audio was alsoan issue with a number of other tube-based components – a low level of tubehum, especially in the left channel. This is not an issue with most headphonesbut for high efficiency phones such as my Ultimate Ears UE10Pro canal phones,this hum is problematic. Using the Sennheiser HD800 this was a non-issue and I'dhave to say the sound is a small notch above all the others, exceptionallypresent and colorful while at the same time high in resolution and wellbalanced.
Woo Audio offers a large range of tube basedheadphone amps. This one sits around the middle and is optimized for full sizedrelatively inefficient headphones. If you are driving more efficient headphonesyou might consider the WA6.
BalancedHeadphones
The best sound, without question, comes whenI replace the unbalanced Cardas Clear headphone cable on the Sennheiser HD800(itself a major upgrade from the stock cable) with a fully balanced Cardas Clearheadphone cable terminated in a pair of three pin DIN plugs, one for eachchannel. Connecting these to the Bryston gives a subtle but significant jump inthe size of the image, the level of detail and hence the musical realism. Whenplayed in this fashion, balanced in, balanced out, the Bryston has a clearadvantage over the Solo Ultralinear, which like most headphone amps lacks thebalanced output option.
The famous old AKG K1000 ear speakers have seenlittle use in recent years in my house, because they need the direct output of apower amp, and I haven't had a power amp with speaker switching since my oldPerreaux Radiance died. The K1000 has a two piece cable, with a DIN connectionmid length. This DIN connector allowed me to try it with the Bryston, as long asI sat within a short distance from the amp. The K1000 is very inefficient indeedand even the powerful Bryston could not drive it to high levels but within acivilized volume limit it performed very well indeed. The sound is definitelytipped up towards the high frequencies, but this fault cannot be laid at thefoot of the Bryston. The combination is stunning in its clarity and may be idealon those recordings that possess something of a dark balance. Finally JamesTanner of Bryston lent me his personal pair of Grado PS1000 phones, with asingle balanced connector like the AKG K1000. Once again the Bryston drove thesephones very easily and the sound was enormously engaging. I felt these phoneswere editorializing the music to a certain extent, making it more colorful thanthrough the Sennheisers, and this was confirmed by switching to my referencespeakers, the YGCarmels. The Sennheisers sound quite similar to the Carmels, butthe AKG have quite a different balance. In any event I could only try the Gradosthrough the Bryston, so I can only use the experience to indicate whether theBryston would make a good partner for them rather than to compare the Bryston tothe other amps.
Gemini 1 5 3 – locate and eliminate duplicate files. The Woo Audio also sounded best through itsbalanced outputs but showed less of an improvement when moving from unbalancedto balanced headphones than the Bryston. It still retains the smallest of leadsover the Bryston with balanced phones due to superior instrumental color thatenriches vocals, strings and wind instruments alike.
TheMusical Fidelity And Bryston As Preamps
Iused the Musical Fidelity to drive a Bryston 4BSST² and a ModWright KWA150SEthrough their unbalanced inputs. The sound was entirely consistent with what Iwas hearing through headphones. Dynamic, quick, high resolution but lackingsomewhat in presence and a little bass shy. By comparison the Bryston was morethree dimensional, warmer, richer and altogether more competitive with dedicatedpreamps. However the Bryston's preamp output level seemed uncomfortably high incomparison with other preamps, so all adjustments were made in the first 15 or20 degrees of rotation with balanced inputs, even on the low output toggle. Ifyou use an unbalanced input this situation improves.
Forsound quality, the Bryston does exceptionally well. This is especially truewitha balanced input. It may in fact sound better than a Bryston standalone stereopreamp since the discrete operational amplifiers used here are of a newiteration developed for the new Bryston Surround processor. Bryston has found away to reduce the parts count and this is said to be responsible for greaterpresence and lower noise. Of course the calibration of the volume control may bea better match for power amps with lower or adjustable gain (Bryston power ampshave such a switch) and remote control would be very valuable here. Substitutingthe costly EMM Labs Pre2 preamp quickly shows the sonic limitations of bothMusical Fidelity and Bryston headamps by opening up a wider and deepersoundstage with increased density of musical information and openness atfrequency extremes. Nevertheless, the Bryston's quality is fully competitivewith stereo transistor preamps in the $1000 to $3000 range.
AFew Words About Build Quality
Top marks here go to Musical Fidelity, with asilk touch to the controls and a very high level of fit and finish. The Brystoncomes next, and remember that the BHA-1 comes with a 20 year warranty so youknow it is very well screwed together. The Woo Audio is big and heavy andwell-built but perhaps a little old fashioned in its physical presentation. Thetwo Solo models are in fact very well built, but they don't look the part. Beingso small and with the compact external power supply you might not at first thinkthat these are high quality components. In fact the small dimensions aredeliberate. It is much easier to control resonances in a small box than a largeone, and keeping the power supply at arm's length is the best way to keep thenoise level at a minimum. All Graham Slee components are small, some muchsmaller than these. I've had many Graham Slee components through my house overthe years and never had any issues at all, for what it's worth.
TheVerdict
Launchbar 6 11 14. There are five winners here. Each unit was selected forinclusion on the basis of a very strong reputation from people I trust, and eachhas its particular strengths.
Graham SleeSolo SRGI
This is the unit I've lived with the longest and it's a strongperformer if you're looking for a compact reliable unit. Although I rated itssound below the Solo Ultralinear, you should know that there are some thatprefer it for use with particular headphones and it does save you a couple ofhundred dollars. There is never a hint of noise with this unit, resolution ishigh, distortion non-existent and it's thoroughly musical.
Graham SleeUltralinear Diamond Edition
While early Ultralinear samples were noisy when paired with high efficiencyphones, this problem has now been licked making this model much more widelyapplicable. The superior imaging and greater musicality on all the single endedphones in my collection make this component worth the extra money. You can'tbeat the sound at this price and this is the one I'm keeping.
MusicalFidelity M1HPA
This versatile and good looking box comes in at an unbeatable price and has thebest ergonomics of the pack together with useful extras such as a preamp outputand USB DAC. While it doesn't match the sound quality of the best models it isn'tfar off at all, and I recommend it strongly.
Bryston BHA-1
If I had to pick a winner here it would have to be the Bryston. It is a closematch to the best in performance while offering superior versatility and value.It is the least expensive of the headamps here that support balanced operation,which I have found invaluable. Frankly I think it is underpriced and with therecent addition of balanced preamp outputs I doubt it will stay at the original$1295 for long. I predict a smash hit for Bryston. I'd like to see Brystonintroduce another model sitting above the BHA-1 with multiple balanced inputs,higher maximum output, a remote control and a volume control covering a widerrange of output levels.
Woo Audio WA22
This is a superb sounding full-blooded headphone amp which users can tweak totheir heart's content through tube rolling. The Woo Audio website givesextensive advice in this regard and you can order various upgrades directly fromthem. In my system it was let down by a small hum issue which precludes its usewith high efficiency phones, but on the other hand it is the only device herewhich can drive the AKG K1000s fully. It has a different balance to the Bryston,a little warmer and even more dynamic, while not quite as clean and resolute inthe bass. It is the most expensive model here but a very strong candidate if youare driving balanced headphones, in which case you should audition it up againstthe Bryston BHA-1.
Solo SRGII Solo UL BHA-1 M1HPA WA22 Weighting
Versatility: 5 5 10 8 9 15%
Maxoutput: 5 6 8 8 10 10%
Noiselevel: 10 10 10 10 3 15%
SoundQuality: 8 10 10 7 10 35%
Imaging: 8 9 9 8 10 15%
MusicalFidelity M1HPA
This versatile and good looking box comes in at an unbeatable price and has thebest ergonomics of the pack together with useful extras such as a preamp outputand USB DAC. While it doesn't match the sound quality of the best models it isn'tfar off at all, and I recommend it strongly.
Bryston BHA-1
If I had to pick a winner here it would have to be the Bryston. It is a closematch to the best in performance while offering superior versatility and value.It is the least expensive of the headamps here that support balanced operation,which I have found invaluable. Frankly I think it is underpriced and with therecent addition of balanced preamp outputs I doubt it will stay at the original$1295 for long. I predict a smash hit for Bryston. I'd like to see Brystonintroduce another model sitting above the BHA-1 with multiple balanced inputs,higher maximum output, a remote control and a volume control covering a widerrange of output levels.
Woo Audio WA22
This is a superb sounding full-blooded headphone amp which users can tweak totheir heart's content through tube rolling. The Woo Audio website givesextensive advice in this regard and you can order various upgrades directly fromthem. In my system it was let down by a small hum issue which precludes its usewith high efficiency phones, but on the other hand it is the only device herewhich can drive the AKG K1000s fully. It has a different balance to the Bryston,a little warmer and even more dynamic, while not quite as clean and resolute inthe bass. It is the most expensive model here but a very strong candidate if youare driving balanced headphones, in which case you should audition it up againstthe Bryston BHA-1.
Solo SRGII Solo UL BHA-1 M1HPA WA22 Weighting
Versatility: 5 5 10 8 9 15%
Maxoutput: 5 6 8 8 10 10%
Noiselevel: 10 10 10 10 3 15%
SoundQuality: 8 10 10 7 10 35%
Imaging: 8 9 9 8 10 15%
Build: 8 8 9 10 9 10%
Overall: 75.5% 85.0% 95.5% 81.5% 87.0%
Price: $999 $1195 $1295 $799 $1900
Value: 3.5 4.0 5.0 5.0 3.0
Specifications / Company Information
GrahamSlee Solo SRGII
Phone impedance: 16 to 600 Ohmspreferred; 8 to 2,000 Ohms acceptable
Headphone Jack: 1/4 inch(6.35mm) A gauge (BPO B gauge to special order)
Power output: 32 Ohms: 27mW / channel; 600 Ohms: 23mW / channel
Distortion: 0.02% (THD plus noise, ref 1kHz)
Frequency response: 32 Ohms load: 27Hz - 35kHz; 600 Ohmsload: 10Hz - 39kHz (-3dB)
Output noise: -84dB (20Hz-20kHz, CCIR quasi-peak)
Input sensitivity: 32 Ohms: 250mV rms; 600 Ohms: 775mV rms
Channel balance: Better than 1dB, '9 to 3 o'clock' positions
Crosstalk: Left to Right -57dB; Input to Input -68dB
Mute: Signal off mute, non-shorting
Output Stage: Bipolar class AB
Supply voltage: 24V DC unipolar
Size: 4.2' x 2' x 7.3'(WHD)
Website: www.gspaudio.co.uk
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GrahamSlee Solo Ultralinear Diamond
Phone impedance: 16 to 600 Ohmspreferred; 8 to 2,000 Ohms acceptable
Headphone Jack: 1/4 inch(6.35mm) A gauge (BPO B gauge to special order)
Power output: 32 Ohms: 140mW / channel; 600 Ohms: 30mW / channel
Distortion: < 0.04% (THD plus noise, 10Hz – 20kHz)
Frequency response: 10Hz – 35 kHz (+0, -3dB)
Output noise: -95dB (22Hz-22kHz, unweighted quasi-peak)
Input sensitivity: 511mV rms
Input impedance: 37kOhms at max volume; 50 kOhms at min volume
Channel balance: Better than 1dB
Crosstalk: Left to Right -56dB; Input to Input -68dB
Mute: Signal off mute, non-shorting
Output Stage: Bipolar class AB
Supply voltage: 24V DC unipolar
Size: 4.2' x 2' x 7.3'(WHD)
Website: www.gspaudio.co.uk
MusicalFidelity M1HPA
Output Power: 1.1W into 32 Ohm
Output impedance: < 1 Ohm
Output level: 5.2V rms max, 1.1W into 32 ohms
Output impedance: < 1 Ohm
Frequency response: 15Hz to 75kHz (+0, -3dB)
Signal to noise: >109dB 'A'- wtd
Distortion: < 0.008% 10Hz to 20kHz
Inputs: Line level input 1 pair RCA in
Outputs: Line level outputs 1 pair RCA out, 1 pair RCA pre-out, 2 headphone outs
Digital input: 1 USB type ‘B' connector for computer/PDA
Power: 90 - 250 V 50/60Hz, 25 watts
Weight: 3.4 kg (7½ lbs), 4.1 kg (9 lbs) in shipping carton
Dimensions: 8⅔' x 4' x 12' (WHD)
Standard accessories: IEC type mains lead (10-Amp type)
Website: www.musicalfidelity.com
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BrystonBHA-1
Inputs: Balanced XLR Pair, Single Ended Pair (RCA), 3.5mm Stereo Mini Jack
Outputs: Balanced XLR (4 Pin), Balanced XLR Pair (3 Pin), 0.25' Headphone Jack
Preamp Outputs: Balanced XLR Pair
Control: Remote Trigger Input (5 - 12V AC/DC @10mA)
Power: Rated at 0.5 wpc into 32 Ohms or 0.66 wpc into 600 Ohms
IM distortion: <.001%
Harmonic Distortion: <.003% at 32 Ohms at 100mW (20Hz -20kHz)
S/N: >105dB
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20kHz ± .1dB
Balance control: Included
Analog Output: Six fully discrete Class A Bryston operational amplifiers
Gain: 14dB or 20dB switchable
Input impedance: 10kOhms
Volume control:High quality noble stereo volume control (laser trimmed)
Connectors: All gold plated
Finish: Available with Silver or Black Faceplate (2U)
Faceplate: 17' or 19' Faceplate available
Dimesions: 3⅛' x 17' x 11¼' (HWD) or 3⅛' x 19' x 11¼' (HWD)
Weight: 8 lbs
Rack Mounting: Available only in 19' Black
XLR Output connectors: Locking mechanisms, Female or Male BalancedXLR available
Website: www.bryston.com
WooAudio WA-22
Phone impedance: 8-600 Ohms
Input impedance: 100kOhms
Frequency response: 8 Hz - 50 KHz, -3dB
Output: 1.5 wpc @32 ohms, .7 wpc @600 ohms
Signal/Noise: 92 dB
THD: <= 0.3%
Voltage: AC 110/220V, 50/60 Hz
Rectifier tube: 1 5AR4 rectifier tube. Direct substitute: 5U4G
Driver tubes: 2 6SN7 drive tubes
Power tubes: 2 6AS7 / 6080 power tubes
Volume: DACT CT2 balanced stereo stepped attenuator
Inputs: One balanced XLR input, one single-ended RCA input
Headphone outputs: Two 3-pin balanced, one 4-pinbalanced output, single-ended
Impedance switch: High and lowimpedance settings
Finish: Black or silver
External dimension: 12' x 7' x 10.5' (WHD)
Weight: 25 pounds
Website: www.wooaudio.com
