Bryston BHA-1 Owner's Manual

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BHA-1

OWNER’S MANUAL

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the presence of un-insulated
“dangerous voltage “ within the product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons

The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance
(servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the product.

1. Read these instructions.

2. Keep these instructions.

3. Heed all warnings.

4. Follow all instructions.

5. Do not use this apparatus near water.

6. Clean only with dry cloth.

7. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

8. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat.

9. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding-type plug. A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other. A
grounding type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wide blade or the third prong are provided for your safety. If the pro­vided plug does not fit into your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet.

10. Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the
apparatus.

11. Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer.

12. Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table specified by the manufacturer, or sold with the apparatus. When a cart is used use
caution when moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip-over.

13. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time.

14. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such
as power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has been
exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped.

WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPARATUS TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.
DO NOT EXPOSE THIS EQUIPMENT TO DRIPPING OR SPLASHING AND ENSURE THAT NO OBJECTS FILLED WITH LIQUIDS, SUCH AS VASES, ARE
PLACED ON THE EQUIPMENT.
TO COMPLETELY DISCONNECT THIS EQUIPMENT FROM THE AC MAINS, DISCONNECT THE POWER SUPPLY CORD PLUG FROM THE AC
RECEPTACLE.
THE MAINS PLUG OF THE POWER SUPPLY CORD SHALL REMAIN READILY OPERABLE.

.

BRYSTON LIMITED WARRANTY

Bryston analog audio products are warranted to be free from manufacturing defects for twenty (20) years from the original date of manufacture. The
warranty includes parts and labour.
Bryston Digital products and cables are warranted for five years from the original date of manufacture. The warranty includes parts and labour.
Bryston products having motorized moving parts, excluding motorized volume controls, are warranted for three years from the original date of manu­facture. The warranty includes parts and labour.
Bryston will remedy the problem by repair or replacement, as we deem necessary, to restore the product to full performance. Bryston will pay return
shipping costs for the full length of the specific product’s warranty.
In the event of a defect or malfunction, contact Bryston’s repair centers for return authorization. Products must be returned using original packaging
material only. Packing material may be purchased from Bryston if necessary. This warranty is considered void if the defect, malfunction or failure of the
product or any component part was caused by damage (not resulting from a defect or malfunction) or abuse while in the possession of the customer.
Tampering by persons other than factory authorized service personnel or failure to fully comply with Bryston operating instructions voids the warranty.
This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which may vary from province to province and country to country.
As of 2006-02-22 Bryston will only warranty Bryston products purchased through authorized Bryston dealers. Bryston products with a date code
of 0608 or higher (date code format is “yyww”, where “yy” is the two least significant digits of the year and “ww” is the week of the year) must be
accompanied by a copy of the bill-of-sale from a Bryston authorized dealer to qualify for warranty service. The warranty is transferable from the original
owner to a subsequent owner as long as a copy of the bill-of-sale from the original authorized Bryston dealer accompanies the re-sale. The copy of the
bill of sale to any subsequent owner need ONLY include the Name of the Bryston Authorized Dealer and the Model and Serial number of the Bryston
product The warranty will only be honored in the country of the original purchase unless otherwise pre-authorized by Bryston.

BRYSTON SERVICE in CANADA: BRYSTON SERVICE in the USA:

Postal address: P.O. BOX 2170, Stn. Main

PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO
CANADA K9J 7Y4

Courier address: 677 NEAL DRIVE
PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO
CANADA K9J 6X7

PHONE: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

79 COVENTRY ST., Suite 5
NEWPORT, VERMONT
U.S.A. 05855-2100

P

HONE: 802-334-1201
FAX: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

BRYSTON SERVICE outside Canada and the USA:

contact your local distributor or

CHECK OUR WEB SITE: www
E-MAIL BRYSTON DIRECTLY: [e-mail]
FAX BRYSTON DIRECTLY: 01-705-742-0882
PHONE BRYSTON DIRECTLY: 01-705-742-5325

.bryston.com

BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER

TABLE of CONTENTS

Safety Instructions, Warranty and Contact Information ...........Opposite

General Information

Introduction

General Description
Installation & Setup
Power Conditioners
XLR Connector Options
Fuses

Technical Specications ............................................................... Page 2

Driving Multiple Pairs of Headphones
Front Panel Legends

Input Select Switch
Gain Select Switch
Volume Control
Balance Control
Balanced Outputs

Single Ended Output ............................................................... Page 4

Status LED ...............................................................................

Power Switch

Rear Panel Legends

Power Inlet
Fuse Drawer

Fuse Label & Warnings ............................................................. Page 5

Remote Trigger Connector
Mini Jack Input
Single-Ended Inputs
Balanced Inputs
Data Plate

Wiring Headphones for Balanced Operation
Using the BHA-1 with an MPS-2 External PSU
Remote Trigger (Power On/Off) Control
Exterior Dimensions

BHA-1 model codes ....................................................................Back Page

................................................................. Page 1

....................................................................Page 3

...........................Page 6

...................................................................Page 7

INTRODUCTION:

Thank you for choosing the Bryston BHA-1 Head
Phone Amplifier. We welcome any suggestions

you may have, or comments regarding the opera­tion of your amplifier. We consider you, our cus­tomer, to be Bryston’s’ most important resource,
and your opinion is very much appreciated. No
warranty card is necessary to initiate your cover­age. Refer to the back page for detailed warranty
information. Please save the original box and all
packing materials. Always use the original pack­ing materials when shipping or moving the BHA-1.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

The BHA-1 is a stereo headphone amplifier that
features:

● Balanced dual mono circuitry

● High quality laser trimmed Noble stereo

Volume control

● Left/Right balance control

● 6 fully discrete class A Bryston opera-

tional amplifiers

● Balanced outputs: 4 pin stereo and dual
left/right 3 pin outputs

● Stereo ¼ inch single ended outputs

● 14dB or 20dB of selectable gain available

● All input and output connectors are Gold

plated

● 10k input impedance

● Multiple headphone drive capability

● Power supply options:

Standard: high quality Bryston inter-

nal analog power supply

Optional: External MPS-2 power

supply (replaces internal
supply)

INSTALLATION & SETUP:

Check the label next to the power input con­nector on the rear of the BHA-1 and verify
your amplifier complies to your local A/C volt­age and frequency requirements.

The BHA-1 is a convection cooled amplifier. The
entire enclosure, and the aluminum top in particu­lar, acts as a large surround heat sink helping to
transfer heat to the surrounding air. Therefore the
BHA-1 installation should allow for unrestricted
air flow around it. We recommend maintain-

ing at least 3 inches of clear space to the sides

and top of the amplifier. The BHA-1 should not
be installed near other heat sources like heat­ing vents or radiators. The BHA-1 should not be

installed in tight enclosed areas.

Bryston recommends that at least 6 inches of

space be provided to the rear of the amplifier for
properly dressing input, output and power cables.

POWER CONDITIONERS:

Bryston urges caution in choosing a power

conditioner for your audio/video system. Large

power amplifiers can draw very substantial
current from the wall plug, and many so-called
power conditioners can in fact hinder the supply
of current by inserting resistances in series with
the line cord. However, there are now power
conditioners that can reduce or eliminate RF
and ‘hash’ from the AC supply and may actu­ally improve current delivery to your system.
This type of power conditioner (exemplified by
Bryston B.I.T. Power Conditioners) uses the
energy storage in a large toroidal transformer to
provide high instantaneous power and reduce
the substantial AC output resistance of the wall
socket and house wiring. This resistance can

be in the range of 0.5 to 1 Ohm and is typically

reduced to only a few milli-ohms by the Power
Conditioner. That in turn considerably reduces
Voltage drop in the power line on high current

surges and quite substantially increases the

stability of the power line improving audio (and
video) focus, precision and clarity.

XLR CONNECTOR OPTIONS:

Although the pictures and illustrations in this
manual show all female non-locking connec­tors, all XLR connectors are available with lock­ing mechanisms on a special order basis. Also,

the XLR output connectors on the front panel

are available in either gender (male or female).

FUSE:

The BHA-1 has a single, fast acting 5x20mm

tubular glass fuse, located in a locking drawer
that is integrated into the power inlet (see pg’s

6 & 7). Turn off the unit and remove the power

cord before attempting to remove and replace
the fuse. Replace fuse with the type and value
stated on the fuse label. In the event of a
descrepency, follow the data on the fuse label.

For 100-120V
For 200-240V

AC models: F 2A/250V
AC models: F 1A/250V