Benchmark HPA4 vs Bryston BHA-1

Short answer

  • More power: the Benchmark HPA4, with 3.35 W into 32 Ω; the Bryston BHA-1 has 500 mW (balanced: 3.35 W against 500 mW). The Benchmark HPA4 drives 1 headphone to 100 dB that the Bryston BHA-1 cannot (Symphonium Titan).
  • Hiss with sensitive IEMs: cannot be compared — the maker of the Bryston BHA-1 publishes no noise figure.
  • Price: the Benchmark HPA4 costs $1104 more; what that buys on these numbers is set out further down, under What the price difference buys.

Both are desktop amplifiers, $3499 against $2395.

The Benchmark HPA4 reaches 100 dB on 567 of the 567 models here, the Bryston BHA-1 on 566.

Side by side

Every published figure, next to each other

SpecificationBenchmark HPA4Bryston BHA-1
Power into 32Ω3.4 W500 mW
Power into 150Ω829 mW358 mW
Power into 300Ω440 mW445 mW
Power into 600Ω220 mW667 mW
Output impedance<0.1 Ωnot published
Output noise2.45 µVnot published
Price$3499$2395
Headphones it reaches 100 dB on
out of 567		567566

Not published means the maker leaves it out, so that axis cannot be compared.

Balanced output

The 4.4 mm or XLR socket, rated on its own

BalancedBenchmark HPA4Bryston BHA-1
Socketbalancedbalanced
Power into 32Ω3.4 W derived500 mW
Power into 300Ω440 mW445 mW derived
Output impedance<0.1 Ωnot published
Output noise2.45 µVnot published
Headphones it reaches 100 dB on
out of 567		567566

Through the balanced sockets the Benchmark HPA4 reaches 100 dB on 567 of the 567 models here and the Bryston BHA-1 on 566. Derived figures are worked out from the loads the maker did publish.

How solid these numbers are

Where each power figure comes from

LoadBenchmark HPA4Bryston BHA-1
32 ΩDerivedPublished
150 ΩDerivedDerived
300 ΩPublishedDerived
600 ΩDerivedPublished

Both makers publish a power rating. Benchmark HPA4 publishes at 300 Ω; Bryston BHA-1 at 32 Ω and at 600 Ω. The other rows are worked out from those.

So the two columns are not equally firm row by row: at 300 Ω only the Benchmark HPA4 figure is the maker’s own and at 32 Ω and at 600 Ω only the Bryston BHA-1 figure is the maker’s own. On those rows the derived number is the one to doubt first.

What the labels mean.

What separates them

The headphones that tell them apart

1 headphone reaches 100 dB on the Benchmark HPA4 but not on the Bryston BHA-1 — Symphonium Titan.

566 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both.

On real headphones

Headroom and hiss on 8 models, both sources

Headroom is at a 100 dB SPL peak.

The widest gap on the list is the Shure SE846: Benchmark HPA4 has +49 dB of headroom there against +35 dB. 14 dB is about 24 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.

The hiss columns are empty for Bryston BHA-1 because that maker publishes no output noise figure.

HeadphoneImpedanceNeedsBenchmark HPA4 headroomBryston BHA-1 headroomBenchmark HPA4 hissBryston BHA-1 hiss
Shure SE8469 Ω0.04 mW+49 dB+35 dB22 dBnot published
Campfire Audio Andromeda 20209 Ω4.0 mW+29 dB+15 dB2 dBnot published
Audeze LCD-2 Classic70 Ω0.79 mW+33 dB+27 dB0 dBnot published
Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω)250 Ω0.63 mW+29 dB+28 dB-4 dBnot published
HiFiMAN HE400se25 Ω7.9 mW+27 dB+17 dB-5 dBnot published
Audio-Technica ATH-R70X470 Ω1.6 mW+22 dB+26 dB-11 dBnot published
Sennheiser HD 600300 Ω6.6 mW+18 dB+18 dB-15 dBnot published
HiFiMAN Susvara60 Ω50 mW+16 dB+9 dB-17 dBnot published
What the price difference buys

The gap in dollars, against the gap in numbers

The Benchmark HPA4 costs $1104 more than the Bryston BHA-1. Out of the 567 models here, that difference buys 1 more model driven to 100 dB.

Nothing runs the other way: there is no axis here on which the cheaper of the two does better.

Only published figures count here; blank axes are counted separately.

Next

Both pages in full

Each in full: Benchmark HPA4 and Bryston BHA-1.

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