I think for the price the ath-BHA100 is a phenomenal amp thats being pretty much ignored and theres little info about it
I made a game/contest to test out my new ATH BHA100 both as an amp and a preamp.
Im enjoying my ath BHA100 A lot, it costed around 800usd open box.
Its much better than I expected, it can drive low impedances, it can driver demanding planars and high impedance. Also, it has a really cool preamp that is fixed in volume and colours the sound, so I can play with it.
I made a battle royale to see which of the headphones that i currently have with me could play the most out of my lubrary’s ALL Random (1600 excellent songs) without wanting to skip a song; And I also gave every chain a free song skip, like if a song doesnt go well you can skip up to 1 song in this game.
The songs have to be at least 8.5 based on my sujective opinion of how that song synergyzes with the chain being used.
There is only one chance to skip a song per chain, these was done throughout several days with slight prior burnin, I mostly used stock and Hart Audio Cables.
Bf2 > bha100 pre > BHC > akg612 with zmf universe hybrid pars
8 songs, Excellent allrounder with great warmth and a ton of scaling power through some amps. Not that revealing. Its currently my favorite AKG.
Bf2 > bha100 > Audeze LCD 2.2pf
12 songs, wow, this is the hightest record streak. Makes sense as I had good luck and considering my LCD2pf to be my allrounder headphones.
this combo is simply amaIng for, I reckon it may not be for everyone but it takes the engery of the lower mids and funnels it to the uppemids.
The whole song also souns a tad bit bighter and a bit dryer
Gryphon > Bha100 pre > soloist with supercharger in poweramp mode > ath ad2000ti
10 songs, compleate beast at all arounding as I consider its sounds is an extremely balanced w shape, extremely detailed and clear for the price.
Gryphon > soloist with supercharger
in poweramp mode > ath ad2000ti
8 songs, its a complete beast also in macro more than it is in micro without the pre, and the pre gave its just a tiny sharp edge making it sound more detailed. (And soul)
Bf2 > bha100 pre > RNHP > ath r70x (shure 1840 pads)
5 songs, unlucky run, coul have been much better as the headphones were actually groovin it
BF2 > bha100 pre > RNHP > Audio technica wp900
9 songs, The wp900 uses a lot of both macro and micro dynamics at the same time to deliver a steep v shape. And it has beautiful treble but recessed lower mids.
This is the ideal healphone for people who are looking for a v shape that has way more rumble than it has punch in their basshead portable.
Bf2 > bha100 pre > Yamomoto ha02 > Audio technica w1000 with w5k pads
10 songs, these headphones are still incredible in 2022, the pads reduce color but add raw detail on exhange. The overl sound is neutral birght. The w1000 are really something special just to relax and chill to music with an early 2000ths ath woodie in a great allrounder.
Bf2 > bha100 > w1000x
7 songs, It had a great run at first, it seemed unstoppable, With imppressive guitars, vocals, and strings but they got too much alternative songs that threw them off.
Bf2 > bha100 > w5k with w1k pads
7 again, these habe an amazing synergy that sounds fenomemal but with some mixes and songs It doesnt sound very good.
Bf2 > bha100 pre > yamamoto ha02 > w5k with w1k pads
7 songs, it had an insane run at first but 2 weird songs ended up eliminitating it. The w1000 add a bit of upper mid an lower treble, (and a smidge of bass) to the w5000 in exchange for some resolution.
Bf2 > bha100 pre > RNHP > Beyer T1.2 with ATH-ad2000 pads
8 songs, I never expected this beyer to sound so good before , its like the most balanced in terms of FR that Ived used with it, its amazing. Its an amazing chain for the T1.2.
Bf2 > bha100 pre > Grado RA1 > Grado Hemp with zmf oval (BASS) pads
12 songs, these pad rolled grado sound basically like the originals but with some slight bass shelves and spikes. It actually sounds very very good and has a bit of boom doesnt bleed into the mids, and the beautiful grado highs are still there
Seems like this playlist is very bass boost friendly so I could easily reach this score.
Bf2 > bha100 > Grado RS1e with zmf beyer perf pads
6 songs, actually pretty good considering how much of a specialist headphone the RS1e, the playlist I used is definitively not tailored for these headphones.
On the chain side or things; The synergy between the rs1e and the bha100 is breathtaking, its the best synergy out of all the amps I own, just an incredible pairing.
Bf2 > bha100 pre > Grado RA1 > Grado sr325i gold
12 songs, I love this grado, I enjoyed a quite a few jazz tracks, and it did pretty good im general, the bha100 adds a nice cool color tot the upper ends, lovely chain.
Bf2 > bha100 BAL > Ath a1000z
8 songs, this one took me a bit by surprise as the a1000z is an incredibly good allrounder in a wide variety of genres but also one tier below some of the headphones here. It did a great job, the synergy with the amp felt absolutely great, id have to compare more to see if something like an RNHP can do better but imo I dont think so.
Bf2 > bha100 BAL > Ath AWAS
20 songs (lucky run!)
I mean, excellent headphones, excelent amplifier and they go oh so well together, incredibly good songs kept coming and coming, it was a great musical experience.
Bf2 > bha100 pre > Soloist 3xp supercharger > HE6seV2 with zmf ori suede pads
15 songs (lucky run) For a mere midfier like me something like this is a showoff of extreme resolution, detail and refinement.
Bf2 > bha100 > Hifiman HE6seV2 con zmf ori suede pads
7 songs, incredibly the bha100 can hold the he6se somewhat well by its own even though its low power. It sounds very good with forward vocals and detailed, it is in the imaging where the lacks are most evident.
ALSO USED SPEAKERS FOR FUN
Bf2 > bha100 pre > burson funk > Klipsch rp600m
8 songs (got unlucky) it was the most outstanding sound I could get that day but only for a few seconds. It was closer to a live concert experience or great studio recording. Completely different to headphones, hard to compare.
.And have fun with them.