Surprises never cease with the BHK preamp. This time it found a friend. My Sennheiser HD650 headphones sound pretty good off the headphone port. However, I plugged a Bluetooth extender into the RCA outputs and magic ensued.
The Sennheiser’s are no slouch, but never in my life would I have guessed they would be bested by the new Sony wireless WH-1000XM4s. They are paired to an MME Extender running off the BHK’s RCA outputs.
Wireless and Bluetooth are not often associated with high fidelity. Yet, the XM4s have been top-rated by reviewers. Still, I doubt if any of them have heard them at their best, driven by the BHK preamp.
All the characteristics that define musical reproduction realism are there in spades. Playing one single track can give you a hint of what this Sony/BHK marriage can do.
Find “Jazz Variants” from the La Bamba album by the O-Zone percussion group and listen at concert levels. I would be very surprised if you don’t feel as if you are present in the venue listening without hearing a hint of distortion or clipping. The dynamics are incredible.
I’m sure the DSD DAC had something to do with it as well so it could be that we have a 3-way going on getting the Sony cans to totally outperform.
I would not recommend trying the comparable Bose cans. In my opinion, there’s very little that is comparable about them. I returned the 700s back to Best Buy without regret.
I sure love surprises. My Focal 1038be speakers are officially on vacation.