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Warwick Acoustics APERIO and BRAVURA
- Thread starter GoldenSound
- Start date
I manage to find a local retailer and they have demo stock for sale of the Bravura.
The sound is actually similar yet different. The Bravura sounds bigger, more natural, more detailed and yet smoother to listen. But the M1 actually has a more exciting bass though things sound closer.
Also since this was ex demo set, I get to see how some things wear over time. I recommend to get the silver version if looks are your highest concern as the black version Matt coating will peel over time. It’s a rather soft coating. Luckily the metal below is still black. Not complaining since I choose to buy a demo set and I wanted black for other purpose. Personally I think they could have forgo the matt coating or powder coat like high end dslr. It’s a funny choice of coating honestly. But that said the black is a whole lot sexier then the silver especially once you consider the pads.
The sound is actually similar yet different. The Bravura sounds bigger, more natural, more detailed and yet smoother to listen. But the M1 actually has a more exciting bass though things sound closer.
Also since this was ex demo set, I get to see how some things wear over time. I recommend to get the silver version if looks are your highest concern as the black version Matt coating will peel over time. It’s a rather soft coating. Luckily the metal below is still black. Not complaining since I choose to buy a demo set and I wanted black for other purpose. Personally I think they could have forgo the matt coating or powder coat like high end dslr. It’s a funny choice of coating honestly. But that said the black is a whole lot sexier then the silver especially once you consider the pads.
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As someone considering purchasing an Aperio I have a couple questions.
Can someone better describe the treble to me? Main complaint I see is people saying the treble is too hot/sharp. It's interesting how people either seem to fall in the camp of "this is the best headphone I've ever heard" or "I couldn't stand how sharp it was"
Also about how often does one come up for sale used and about how much do they tend to go for?
Contemplating waiting for a used one or just pulling the trigger now.
Thanks
Can someone better describe the treble to me? Main complaint I see is people saying the treble is too hot/sharp. It's interesting how people either seem to fall in the camp of "this is the best headphone I've ever heard" or "I couldn't stand how sharp it was"
Also about how often does one come up for sale used and about how much do they tend to go for?
Contemplating waiting for a used one or just pulling the trigger now.
Thanks
ToneItDown
New Head-Fier
I've been really considering getting one but it is pretty expensive have you heard anything about tis durability
headphonefranz
New Head-Fier
I'm still feeling the Bravura Lurve thang - and it's growing - with each listening session - and those tend to stretch on and on.
My general thoughts however run in different directions and as this is the closing stage of 2023 - it includes a look back at the headphone experience generally.
I have a 'thing' about the word ‘hobby’ and ‘hobbyist’ – but strictly in terms of a description of myself. The same goes for ‘….phile’ (cinephile, audiophile, pedophile etc).
I’ve never had what I would call a hobby or felt myself involved in a hobby. Reaching back into my childhood that would have meant stuff like ‘trainspotting’ or collecting stamps.
I collected beer mats once – for a time. Over the years (I’m 60 right now) I have been afflicted by collectivitis. My first wage packet (in the days of cash in a brown square envelope) was spent on board and lodgings (to my parents) and books (with a little set aside for pubs and snacks). Over the years I’ve always bought books. This was joined by vinyl records and later compact discs. I have also been afflicted by listivitis. I had (and still suffer) from writing lists.
Maybe my hobby – if there has been any – is writing lists.
But
I did seriously get into film / cinema when I was 17 and went on to study film. That meant collecting videos (those cumbersome rectangular cases with video tape wound around rollers encased in a heavy hard plastic case) – this shifted to DVDs and then digital files. Going to the cinema was important and in my first 7 years in London I spent hundreds / thousands of hours in cinemas. In some respects my interest and knowledge of cinema could have put me into the cinephile category - but I resisted and rejected that label too. I simply loved and love the cinema - both as an art form and as a source of simply entertainment - the two can be one of course.
Music was always important to me – from my childhood onwards. And this love for listening to music has never left me. I don’t regard this as a hobby – it’s a way of life. I can’t imagine not listening to music. The ideal and best is experiencing live music. I prefer smaller venues – from a small Jazz club to a venue that can hold several hundred people. The major stadiums aren’t so interesting to me. I got my first turntable and integrated amp and speakers when I moved to London and started, almost immediately, buying Jazz records and going to live Jazz events. Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, Nina Simone, Miles Davis were among the thrills of live Jazz. But many many others.
I’m guessing many lovers of the headphone experience have their own highlights of live music.
About 10 years ago I got my first pair of headphones – a secondhand Sennheiser HD650. kept coming up. And as I was familiar with the Sennheiser brand – I went for them. I read about the advantages of a dedicated headphone amp and my first 2 were a Creek OBH-11 and a Little Dot1+ - both secondhand and modest in price. But altogether that set me back 400 euro.
That felt like a big investment to me. Fortunately, the ROI was spot on. I immediately enjoyed the headphone experience. Not more than my 2-channel set-up – but it was a special sonic experience, and I could see why headphones were a thing. I didn’t know about or need a separate DAC – in truth, I didn’t even know what a Digital Analog Converter was – not even that one was sitting inside my exposure 2010 CD player. No matter though – that fun would come a little later.
Since then – over the years, the audio / headphone experience has continued. It’s been a journey where the journey itself has been the destination. I’ve never felt myself engaging in ‘endgame’ notions. That felt unconvincing to me. Especially as it was clear from my knowledge of the speaker and audio-related equipment (including cables) – there was no limit (neither in budget nor reported ‘ultimate’ targets reached.
The first steps in my own headphone experience journey were, fortunately, not wrapped up in a steady rise in costs. My second pair of headphones were the HD600 – which I got (also secondhand) for 120 euro – 50 euro less than I paid for the HD650. I was, of course, curious about them because they were the HD650 older sibling.
I think my next pair were even less of an investment – a pair of the more contemporary BBeyerdynamic DT880 (the 250 ohm version). I paid 80 euro for them. Then – a round 3 years later I read about the planar thing and the curiosity bug bit me.
The Sundara were praised universally (great value) – and I got a pair of them for 220 euro – so this was the most I had paid for some headphones. And again, I wasn’t disappointed. By this stage, I had embraced other HPAs and a DAC. The Heresy Schiit (the first iteration) and the Asgard 3 – joined by a secondhand iFi zen Can and zen signature. Budgets remained modest and return on investment – in terms of music listening pleasure – continued to be excellent.
The internet and various forums made research very easy. I already had a feeling and sense of what my sound signature preferences were – but the headphone thing helped refine and extend this understanding.
This is all pretty blah blah historical backstory stuff – the backstory of 2023’s biggest step – for me – regarding an investment in audio equipment.
I’m very specifically and deeply so – a lover of separate units – separate standalone DAC, headphone amp. If a company / designer offers both – it makes sense they are likely to have synergized the two. But that doesn’t mean we can’t find even better solutions depending on our personal sound preferences. ‘set-ups’ / stacks can be from the same brand but don’t have to be. And as my tastes (in music but generally) are rather eclectic – I tend, instinctively, to explore alternatives – more off-the-radar solutions.
A few years ago I came across The Lake People and Fred Reim’s headphone amps (and DACs). My experience with the G111 and its Lake People sibling DAC inspired me to get into the Violectric range – which is another story.
Something similar happened with audio-gd. I had them on my radar. I was looking for a class A HPA and came across the Master 19 – which I found (and still find) very satisfying and that led me to the same company’s R-2R NOS DAC. I’m a big fan of R-2R and these days also of NOS. We all have our own experiences and preferences – things develop in this or that way and the main thing is we follow our own instincts and sense of music-listening satisfaction.
Anyway – my friend Paskal – a wonderful audiophile, mentioned Warwick – an English company who were selling electrostatic headphones or rather a complete system – one unit was the DAC/AMP/Energizer and the headphones. He was quite enthusiastic about them – me – oh no thanks. I’m good with the ZMF Auter I had just bought from him.
Then the Munich High-end – which he persuaded me to visit. And wham bam thank you mam – a little visit to the Warwick Acoustics stand / room. And my first encounter with the Bravura. And it was a nice one. A very nice one. More importantly, the guys from Warwick were really cool and the company’s background and history was very cool too.
On top of it – they were making them not a massive distance from where I was born and grew up. So some nostalgia thing also kicked in.
However – the price was beyond my reach. No problem. I have a lovely music-listening playground of headphones, DACs, and HPAs. I’m more than spoilt. Enough already.
The problem was – Paskal has a friend (in Munich) who had a Bravura system on load to review. And the inevitable happened – he came over with his friend (and a collection of other audio goodies) and I spent half an hour with the Bravura. And then itch was well and truly sown.
Where there is a will there is a way. If I truly wanted a Susvara I would somehow have a pair – same with the Elite and Utopia. But I don’t. So no will – no way.
But damn – if I could get the Bravura system (in black) for 50% less than list price I could swing that. Sell off some current equipment (I have too much anyway) and save up a bit. And try and find the solution for the budget I had in mind.
With tenacity and a Himalayan patience, everything is possible.
I now have a 269 track / 25 hours of music playlist on my Roon – called - ‘Bravura’. The fruits a lot of my other playlists (for the HD650/600/Focals/Fostex TH900/ HE100v2 / HE6SEv2 / MHDT Pagoda / Feliks Euforia / Cables / etc blah blah.
I’ve been getting in substantial listening sessions since the Bravura and Sonoma arrived about a week ago. Last night / this morning after 5 hours I forced myself to go to sleep.
Today I wanted to review my audio equipment / music listening year and needed a theme – and what better one than this rather fabulous all-in-one audio system.
A pair of headphones and a little rectangular box filled with wires, transistors, DAC chips, and magic. The story of the headphones is a little short story in itself:
“Regarding the leather (of the Bravura headphones) the hides are from Ethiopia (hair sheep) they are tanned in the UK sent to Germany where they are hand-made into the ear pads / headband and then returned to the UK where we fit them onto the headphones!!
We will soon be going vegan and using faux leather in order to answer a lot of requests from that customer base and also to wave the ‘sustainability flag’ harder. Not sure when yet.“
The idea of a closed / all-in-one system isn’t music to all audiophile / hobbyist ears – who seek flexibility, the opportunity to introduce Holo May and Ferrum this ORR Mytek that to the mix – for example.
However – I am in music listening heaven – and have been for hours – and it feels wonderful to not be plagued by thoughts of alternative DACS / opamps, cables blah blah – if it ain’t broke don’t fix it – and this headphone experience is just SO not broke. Quite the opposite.
But Martin (from Warwick Acoustics) was kind enough to answer some questions I had:
“We wanted a closed system as we believe we have designed something from the ground up that works in perfect harmony and performs to the best it could. By having an open system you allow people to mess with that harmony and ‘ground up’ perfection which went against our original design philosophy and values.“
The bigger brother of the Bravura (Aperio) does offer the chance to bypass the internal DAC / blah blah) – I guess 34K has to buy you that freedom.
The first question I asked Martin was:
1. What was the origin / inspiration behind the Bravura/Sonoma system?
“– So we started in 2015… We wanted a product in market that delivered the ultimate in natural and accurate reproduction of an original recording and could showcase our technology as we also tried to get interest in Automotive. We decided that a High-End headphone system was the way to go, personal audio that could take the listener on a musical journey and with the right tracks make their hair stand on end and bring tears to their eyes. The Sonoma Model One was born and then with more developments of the HPEL transducers after 3 years we upgraded to the BRAVURA headphone but kept the Sonoma Amp as it just delivers everything we want it to.“
Martin is a Sales Director for Warwick Acoustics - he's passionate about his products and the company he works for. I like that. And I detect no bull. I like that too.
I’m not into trophy hunting, nor having something just for the sake of it or because I can.
The full cost of a Bravura / Sonoma is a crap load of money. But in truth – as several reviewers have expressed – this IS a crap load of value. The workmanship is, for me, off the charts. The minimalism is something I really enjoy. It is understatement on a high level.
The music-listening experience with this is a distillation of everything I love about my other headphones. It’s just that it’s all happening in these single pair with their little black box driving them.
Am I now in a hurry to sell my Feliks Euforia Evo? Bollocks am I – I love what the Feliks Euforia Evo is doing for me. The same goes for my Violectric V550 (acquired this year) – a gigantic advancement of my headphone experience in 2023.
And of course – while not being an audiophile or hobbyist, this doesn’t mean I’m not vitally interested in all the subtle differences between my headphones, DACs, and amps. I like my cables, my different ear cushions and ear-pads, the different opamps and delta-sigma / R-2R / NOS and dynamic and planar, and now electrostatic blah blah.
Most of all I love music and enjoy being excited by listening to it. The equipment serves the music and never the other way around.
The entire time I’ve been writing these reflections the Bravura / Sonoma set-up has been filling me with the music I absolutely adore listening to.
With every piece, I can rave about the way the timbre is incredibly realistic, how minute the presentation of detail can be – micro micro micro details but also the big picture is there too. All the time and without fail. These headphones are batting everything out of the park.
The dynamics are wild and the transient management is insanely lovely and steroid-level.
Attack and decay are breathtaking on the pieces where that sonic quality predominates and that is the thing – these bravura and Sonoma are an all-in-one solution yet cater to the individualities and particularities of each piece of music.
I feel bad that I haven’t focused on a few specific pieces and how they perform with the Bravura (and vice versa) – but that’s for another time.
The headphone experience of 2023 has been stellar. And truly crowned by the addition to my music listening playground of the Warwick Acoustics Bravura – Sonoma system.
So a huge thank you to Warwick Acoustics for its development and creation of the Bravura.. And to that person who was kind enough to sell me the system for 50% less than the new price. I am one lucky son of a bitch.
In my opinion, the asking price is a great deal. And I see so much money flying around the audio equipment world.
My general thoughts however run in different directions and as this is the closing stage of 2023 - it includes a look back at the headphone experience generally.
I have a 'thing' about the word ‘hobby’ and ‘hobbyist’ – but strictly in terms of a description of myself. The same goes for ‘….phile’ (cinephile, audiophile, pedophile etc).
I’ve never had what I would call a hobby or felt myself involved in a hobby. Reaching back into my childhood that would have meant stuff like ‘trainspotting’ or collecting stamps.
I collected beer mats once – for a time. Over the years (I’m 60 right now) I have been afflicted by collectivitis. My first wage packet (in the days of cash in a brown square envelope) was spent on board and lodgings (to my parents) and books (with a little set aside for pubs and snacks). Over the years I’ve always bought books. This was joined by vinyl records and later compact discs. I have also been afflicted by listivitis. I had (and still suffer) from writing lists.
Maybe my hobby – if there has been any – is writing lists.
But
I did seriously get into film / cinema when I was 17 and went on to study film. That meant collecting videos (those cumbersome rectangular cases with video tape wound around rollers encased in a heavy hard plastic case) – this shifted to DVDs and then digital files. Going to the cinema was important and in my first 7 years in London I spent hundreds / thousands of hours in cinemas. In some respects my interest and knowledge of cinema could have put me into the cinephile category - but I resisted and rejected that label too. I simply loved and love the cinema - both as an art form and as a source of simply entertainment - the two can be one of course.
Music was always important to me – from my childhood onwards. And this love for listening to music has never left me. I don’t regard this as a hobby – it’s a way of life. I can’t imagine not listening to music. The ideal and best is experiencing live music. I prefer smaller venues – from a small Jazz club to a venue that can hold several hundred people. The major stadiums aren’t so interesting to me. I got my first turntable and integrated amp and speakers when I moved to London and started, almost immediately, buying Jazz records and going to live Jazz events. Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, Nina Simone, Miles Davis were among the thrills of live Jazz. But many many others.
I’m guessing many lovers of the headphone experience have their own highlights of live music.
About 10 years ago I got my first pair of headphones – a secondhand Sennheiser HD650. kept coming up. And as I was familiar with the Sennheiser brand – I went for them. I read about the advantages of a dedicated headphone amp and my first 2 were a Creek OBH-11 and a Little Dot1+ - both secondhand and modest in price. But altogether that set me back 400 euro.
That felt like a big investment to me. Fortunately, the ROI was spot on. I immediately enjoyed the headphone experience. Not more than my 2-channel set-up – but it was a special sonic experience, and I could see why headphones were a thing. I didn’t know about or need a separate DAC – in truth, I didn’t even know what a Digital Analog Converter was – not even that one was sitting inside my exposure 2010 CD player. No matter though – that fun would come a little later.
Since then – over the years, the audio / headphone experience has continued. It’s been a journey where the journey itself has been the destination. I’ve never felt myself engaging in ‘endgame’ notions. That felt unconvincing to me. Especially as it was clear from my knowledge of the speaker and audio-related equipment (including cables) – there was no limit (neither in budget nor reported ‘ultimate’ targets reached.
The first steps in my own headphone experience journey were, fortunately, not wrapped up in a steady rise in costs. My second pair of headphones were the HD600 – which I got (also secondhand) for 120 euro – 50 euro less than I paid for the HD650. I was, of course, curious about them because they were the HD650 older sibling.
I think my next pair were even less of an investment – a pair of the more contemporary BBeyerdynamic DT880 (the 250 ohm version). I paid 80 euro for them. Then – a round 3 years later I read about the planar thing and the curiosity bug bit me.
The Sundara were praised universally (great value) – and I got a pair of them for 220 euro – so this was the most I had paid for some headphones. And again, I wasn’t disappointed. By this stage, I had embraced other HPAs and a DAC. The Heresy Schiit (the first iteration) and the Asgard 3 – joined by a secondhand iFi zen Can and zen signature. Budgets remained modest and return on investment – in terms of music listening pleasure – continued to be excellent.
The internet and various forums made research very easy. I already had a feeling and sense of what my sound signature preferences were – but the headphone thing helped refine and extend this understanding.
This is all pretty blah blah historical backstory stuff – the backstory of 2023’s biggest step – for me – regarding an investment in audio equipment.
I’m very specifically and deeply so – a lover of separate units – separate standalone DAC, headphone amp. If a company / designer offers both – it makes sense they are likely to have synergized the two. But that doesn’t mean we can’t find even better solutions depending on our personal sound preferences. ‘set-ups’ / stacks can be from the same brand but don’t have to be. And as my tastes (in music but generally) are rather eclectic – I tend, instinctively, to explore alternatives – more off-the-radar solutions.
A few years ago I came across The Lake People and Fred Reim’s headphone amps (and DACs). My experience with the G111 and its Lake People sibling DAC inspired me to get into the Violectric range – which is another story.
Something similar happened with audio-gd. I had them on my radar. I was looking for a class A HPA and came across the Master 19 – which I found (and still find) very satisfying and that led me to the same company’s R-2R NOS DAC. I’m a big fan of R-2R and these days also of NOS. We all have our own experiences and preferences – things develop in this or that way and the main thing is we follow our own instincts and sense of music-listening satisfaction.
Anyway – my friend Paskal – a wonderful audiophile, mentioned Warwick – an English company who were selling electrostatic headphones or rather a complete system – one unit was the DAC/AMP/Energizer and the headphones. He was quite enthusiastic about them – me – oh no thanks. I’m good with the ZMF Auter I had just bought from him.
Then the Munich High-end – which he persuaded me to visit. And wham bam thank you mam – a little visit to the Warwick Acoustics stand / room. And my first encounter with the Bravura. And it was a nice one. A very nice one. More importantly, the guys from Warwick were really cool and the company’s background and history was very cool too.
On top of it – they were making them not a massive distance from where I was born and grew up. So some nostalgia thing also kicked in.
However – the price was beyond my reach. No problem. I have a lovely music-listening playground of headphones, DACs, and HPAs. I’m more than spoilt. Enough already.
The problem was – Paskal has a friend (in Munich) who had a Bravura system on load to review. And the inevitable happened – he came over with his friend (and a collection of other audio goodies) and I spent half an hour with the Bravura. And then itch was well and truly sown.
Where there is a will there is a way. If I truly wanted a Susvara I would somehow have a pair – same with the Elite and Utopia. But I don’t. So no will – no way.
But damn – if I could get the Bravura system (in black) for 50% less than list price I could swing that. Sell off some current equipment (I have too much anyway) and save up a bit. And try and find the solution for the budget I had in mind.
With tenacity and a Himalayan patience, everything is possible.
I now have a 269 track / 25 hours of music playlist on my Roon – called - ‘Bravura’. The fruits a lot of my other playlists (for the HD650/600/Focals/Fostex TH900/ HE100v2 / HE6SEv2 / MHDT Pagoda / Feliks Euforia / Cables / etc blah blah.
I’ve been getting in substantial listening sessions since the Bravura and Sonoma arrived about a week ago. Last night / this morning after 5 hours I forced myself to go to sleep.
Today I wanted to review my audio equipment / music listening year and needed a theme – and what better one than this rather fabulous all-in-one audio system.
A pair of headphones and a little rectangular box filled with wires, transistors, DAC chips, and magic. The story of the headphones is a little short story in itself:
“Regarding the leather (of the Bravura headphones) the hides are from Ethiopia (hair sheep) they are tanned in the UK sent to Germany where they are hand-made into the ear pads / headband and then returned to the UK where we fit them onto the headphones!!
We will soon be going vegan and using faux leather in order to answer a lot of requests from that customer base and also to wave the ‘sustainability flag’ harder. Not sure when yet.“
The idea of a closed / all-in-one system isn’t music to all audiophile / hobbyist ears – who seek flexibility, the opportunity to introduce Holo May and Ferrum this ORR Mytek that to the mix – for example.
However – I am in music listening heaven – and have been for hours – and it feels wonderful to not be plagued by thoughts of alternative DACS / opamps, cables blah blah – if it ain’t broke don’t fix it – and this headphone experience is just SO not broke. Quite the opposite.
But Martin (from Warwick Acoustics) was kind enough to answer some questions I had:
“We wanted a closed system as we believe we have designed something from the ground up that works in perfect harmony and performs to the best it could. By having an open system you allow people to mess with that harmony and ‘ground up’ perfection which went against our original design philosophy and values.“
The bigger brother of the Bravura (Aperio) does offer the chance to bypass the internal DAC / blah blah) – I guess 34K has to buy you that freedom.
The first question I asked Martin was:
1. What was the origin / inspiration behind the Bravura/Sonoma system?
“– So we started in 2015… We wanted a product in market that delivered the ultimate in natural and accurate reproduction of an original recording and could showcase our technology as we also tried to get interest in Automotive. We decided that a High-End headphone system was the way to go, personal audio that could take the listener on a musical journey and with the right tracks make their hair stand on end and bring tears to their eyes. The Sonoma Model One was born and then with more developments of the HPEL transducers after 3 years we upgraded to the BRAVURA headphone but kept the Sonoma Amp as it just delivers everything we want it to.“
Martin is a Sales Director for Warwick Acoustics - he's passionate about his products and the company he works for. I like that. And I detect no bull. I like that too.
I’m not into trophy hunting, nor having something just for the sake of it or because I can.
The full cost of a Bravura / Sonoma is a crap load of money. But in truth – as several reviewers have expressed – this IS a crap load of value. The workmanship is, for me, off the charts. The minimalism is something I really enjoy. It is understatement on a high level.
The music-listening experience with this is a distillation of everything I love about my other headphones. It’s just that it’s all happening in these single pair with their little black box driving them.
Am I now in a hurry to sell my Feliks Euforia Evo? Bollocks am I – I love what the Feliks Euforia Evo is doing for me. The same goes for my Violectric V550 (acquired this year) – a gigantic advancement of my headphone experience in 2023.
And of course – while not being an audiophile or hobbyist, this doesn’t mean I’m not vitally interested in all the subtle differences between my headphones, DACs, and amps. I like my cables, my different ear cushions and ear-pads, the different opamps and delta-sigma / R-2R / NOS and dynamic and planar, and now electrostatic blah blah.
Most of all I love music and enjoy being excited by listening to it. The equipment serves the music and never the other way around.
The entire time I’ve been writing these reflections the Bravura / Sonoma set-up has been filling me with the music I absolutely adore listening to.
With every piece, I can rave about the way the timbre is incredibly realistic, how minute the presentation of detail can be – micro micro micro details but also the big picture is there too. All the time and without fail. These headphones are batting everything out of the park.
The dynamics are wild and the transient management is insanely lovely and steroid-level.
Attack and decay are breathtaking on the pieces where that sonic quality predominates and that is the thing – these bravura and Sonoma are an all-in-one solution yet cater to the individualities and particularities of each piece of music.
I feel bad that I haven’t focused on a few specific pieces and how they perform with the Bravura (and vice versa) – but that’s for another time.
The headphone experience of 2023 has been stellar. And truly crowned by the addition to my music listening playground of the Warwick Acoustics Bravura – Sonoma system.
So a huge thank you to Warwick Acoustics for its development and creation of the Bravura.. And to that person who was kind enough to sell me the system for 50% less than the new price. I am one lucky son of a bitch.
In my opinion, the asking price is a great deal. And I see so much money flying around the audio equipment world.
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headphonefranz
New Head-Fier
So - straight from the 'horse's mouth' (Martin / Warwick Acoustics):
1). The Black BRAVURA HP has a luxury ‘soft touch’ coating rather than standard paint as on the Silver BRAVURA HP.
2). With the Amps the Black Amp is all engraved whereas the Silver Amp is screen printed, engraving is a much more expensive process. The Black Amp also has an extra badge on the lid of the Amp.
3). Finally the Black system has Black LEMO Connectors which are a non-standard (low volume) part and as such are much more expensive.
Each of us has to decide how much those factors are worth in total. But it's clear there isn't, in my mind, an over-squeeze going down.
thanks again for the great information and impressions. Great reading keep on.
draytonklammer
Headphoneus Supremus
I tend to agree with a lot of your thoughts.
This system is truly something special.
It's definitely in my top five of all time.
At the end of the day, I decided not to keep it over Susvara and Diana MR, though.
Yup as what I wrote in the end, there is definitely some combination out there for someone. This is good but those that like to tinker and try will probably find something more fitting in the end.
Palyodgree
100+ Head-Fier
Interesting bio I can certainly relate to some of it …I’ve had my Bravura’s going on two years now though not my primary listening source I find them satisfying especially for the package price,.CheersI'm still feeling the Bravura Lurve thang - and it's growing - with each listening session - and those tend to stretch on and on.
My general thoughts however run in different directions and as this is the closing stage of 2023 - it includes a look back at the headphone experience generally.
I have a 'thing' about the word ‘hobby’ and ‘hobbyist’ – but strictly in terms of a description of myself. The same goes for ‘….phile’ (cinephile, audiophile, pedophile etc).
I’ve never had what I would call a hobby or felt myself involved in a hobby. Reaching back into my childhood that would have meant stuff like ‘trainspotting’ or collecting stamps.
I collected beer mats once – for a time. Over the years (I’m 60 right now) I have been afflicted by collectivitis. My first wage packet (in the days of cash in a brown square envelope) was spent on board and lodgings (to my parents) and books (with a little set aside for pubs and snacks). Over the years I’ve always bought books. This was joined by vinyl records and later compact discs. I have also been afflicted by listivitis. I had (and still suffer) from writing lists.
Maybe my hobby – if there has been any – is writing lists.
But
I did seriously get into film / cinema when I was 17 and went on to study film. That meant collecting videos (those cumbersome rectangular cases with video tape wound around rollers encased in a heavy hard plastic case) – this shifted to DVDs and then digital files. Going to the cinema was important and in my first 7 years in London I spent hundreds / thousands of hours in cinemas. In some respects my interest and knowledge of cinema could have put me into the cinephile category - but I resisted and rejected that label too. I simply loved and love the cinema - both as an art form and as a source of simply entertainment - the two can be one of course.
Music was always important to me – from my childhood onwards. And this love for listening to music has never left me. I don’t regard this as a hobby – it’s a way of life. I can’t imagine not listening to music. The ideal and best is experiencing live music. I prefer smaller venues – from a small Jazz club to a venue that can hold several hundred people. The major stadiums aren’t so interesting to me. I got my first turntable and integrated amp and speakers when I moved to London and started, almost immediately, buying Jazz records and going to live Jazz events. Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, Nina Simone, Miles Davis were among the thrills of live Jazz. But many many others.
I’m guessing many lovers of the headphone experience have their own highlights of live music.
About 10 years ago I got my first pair of headphones – a secondhand Sennheiser HD650. kept coming up. And as I was familiar with the Sennheiser brand – I went for them. I read about the advantages of a dedicated headphone amp and my first 2 were a Creek OBH-11 and a Little Dot1+ - both secondhand and modest in price. But altogether that set me back 400 euro.
That felt like a big investment to me. Fortunately, the ROI was spot on. I immediately enjoyed the headphone experience. Not more than my 2-channel set-up – but it was a special sonic experience, and I could see why headphones were a thing. I didn’t know about or need a separate DAC – in truth, I didn’t even know what a Digital Analog Converter was – not even that one was sitting inside my exposure 2010 CD player. No matter though – that fun would come a little later.
Since then – over the years, the audio / headphone experience has continued. It’s been a journey where the journey itself has been the destination. I’ve never felt myself engaging in ‘endgame’ notions. That felt unconvincing to me. Especially as it was clear from my knowledge of the speaker and audio-related equipment (including cables) – there was no limit (neither in budget nor reported ‘ultimate’ targets reached.
The first steps in my own headphone experience journey were, fortunately, not wrapped up in a steady rise in costs. My second pair of headphones were the HD600 – which I got (also secondhand) for 120 euro – 50 euro less than I paid for the HD650. I was, of course, curious about them because they were the HD650 older sibling.
I think my next pair were even less of an investment – a pair of the more contemporary BBeyerdynamic DT880 (the 250 ohm version). I paid 80 euro for them. Then – a round 3 years later I read about the planar thing and the curiosity bug bit me.
The Sundara were praised universally (great value) – and I got a pair of them for 220 euro – so this was the most I had paid for some headphones. And again, I wasn’t disappointed. By this stage, I had embraced other HPAs and a DAC. The Heresy Schiit (the first iteration) and the Asgard 3 – joined by a secondhand iFi zen Can and zen signature. Budgets remained modest and return on investment – in terms of music listening pleasure – continued to be excellent.
The internet and various forums made research very easy. I already had a feeling and sense of what my sound signature preferences were – but the headphone thing helped refine and extend this understanding.
This is all pretty blah blah historical backstory stuff – the backstory of 2023’s biggest step – for me – regarding an investment in audio equipment.
I’m very specifically and deeply so – a lover of separate units – separate standalone DAC, headphone amp. If a company / designer offers both – it makes sense they are likely to have synergized the two. But that doesn’t mean we can’t find even better solutions depending on our personal sound preferences. ‘set-ups’ / stacks can be from the same brand but don’t have to be. And as my tastes (in music but generally) are rather eclectic – I tend, instinctively, to explore alternatives – more off-the-radar solutions.
A few years ago I came across The Lake People and Fred Reim’s headphone amps (and DACs). My experience with the G111 and its Lake People sibling DAC inspired me to get into the Violectric range – which is another story.
Something similar happened with audio-gd. I had them on my radar. I was looking for a class A HPA and came across the Master 19 – which I found (and still find) very satisfying and that led me to the same company’s R-2R NOS DAC. I’m a big fan of R-2R and these days also of NOS. We all have our own experiences and preferences – things develop in this or that way and the main thing is we follow our own instincts and sense of music-listening satisfaction.
Anyway – my friend Paskal – a wonderful audiophile, mentioned Warwick – an English company who were selling electrostatic headphones or rather a complete system – one unit was the DAC/AMP/Energizer and the headphones. He was quite enthusiastic about them – me – oh no thanks. I’m good with the ZMF Auter I had just bought from him.
Then the Munich High-end – which he persuaded me to visit. And wham bam thank you mam – a little visit to the Warwick Acoustics stand / room. And my first encounter with the Bravura. And it was a nice one. A very nice one. More importantly, the guys from Warwick were really cool and the company’s background and history was very cool too.
On top of it – they were making them not a massive distance from where I was born and grew up. So some nostalgia thing also kicked in.
However – the price was beyond my reach. No problem. I have a lovely music-listening playground of headphones, DACs, and HPAs. I’m more than spoilt. Enough already.
The problem was – Paskal has a friend (in Munich) who had a Bravura system on load to review. And the inevitable happened – he came over with his friend (and a collection of other audio goodies) and I spent half an hour with the Bravura. And then itch was well and truly sown.
Where there is a will there is a way. If I truly wanted a Susvara I would somehow have a pair – same with the Elite and Utopia. But I don’t. So no will – no way.
But damn – if I could get the Bravura system (in black) for 50% less than list price I could swing that. Sell off some current equipment (I have too much anyway) and save up a bit. And try and find the solution for the budget I had in mind.
With tenacity and a Himalayan patience, everything is possible.
I now have a 269 track / 25 hours of music playlist on my Roon – called - ‘Bravura’. The fruits a lot of my other playlists (for the HD650/600/Focals/Fostex TH900/ HE100v2 / HE6SEv2 / MHDT Pagoda / Feliks Euforia / Cables / etc blah blah.
I’ve been getting in substantial listening sessions since the Bravura and Sonoma arrived about a week ago. Last night / this morning after 5 hours I forced myself to go to sleep.
Today I wanted to review my audio equipment / music listening year and needed a theme – and what better one than this rather fabulous all-in-one audio system.
A pair of headphones and a little rectangular box filled with wires, transistors, DAC chips, and magic. The story of the headphones is a little short story in itself:
“Regarding the leather (of the Bravura headphones) the hides are from Ethiopia (hair sheep) they are tanned in the UK sent to Germany where they are hand-made into the ear pads / headband and then returned to the UK where we fit them onto the headphones!!
We will soon be going vegan and using faux leather in order to answer a lot of requests from that customer base and also to wave the ‘sustainability flag’ harder. Not sure when yet.“
The idea of a closed / all-in-one system isn’t music to all audiophile / hobbyist ears – who seek flexibility, the opportunity to introduce Holo May and Ferrum this ORR Mytek that to the mix – for example.
However – I am in music listening heaven – and have been for hours – and it feels wonderful to not be plagued by thoughts of alternative DACS / opamps, cables blah blah – if it ain’t broke don’t fix it – and this headphone experience is just SO not broke. Quite the opposite.
But Martin (from Warwick Acoustics) was kind enough to answer some questions I had:
“We wanted a closed system as we believe we have designed something from the ground up that works in perfect harmony and performs to the best it could. By having an open system you allow people to mess with that harmony and ‘ground up’ perfection which went against our original design philosophy and values.“
The bigger brother of the Bravura (Aperio) does offer the chance to bypass the internal DAC / blah blah) – I guess 34K has to buy you that freedom.
The first question I asked Martin was:
1. What was the origin / inspiration behind the Bravura/Sonoma system?
“– So we started in 2015… We wanted a product in market that delivered the ultimate in natural and accurate reproduction of an original recording and could showcase our technology as we also tried to get interest in Automotive. We decided that a High-End headphone system was the way to go, personal audio that could take the listener on a musical journey and with the right tracks make their hair stand on end and bring tears to their eyes. The Sonoma Model One was born and then with more developments of the HPEL transducers after 3 years we upgraded to the BRAVURA headphone but kept the Sonoma Amp as it just delivers everything we want it to.“
Martin is a Sales Director for Warwick Acoustics - he's passionate about his products and the company he works for. I like that. And I detect no bull. I like that too.
I’m not into trophy hunting, nor having something just for the sake of it or because I can.
The full cost of a Bravura / Sonoma is a crap load of money. But in truth – as several reviewers have expressed – this IS a crap load of value. The workmanship is, for me, off the charts. The minimalism is something I really enjoy. It is understatement on a high level.
The music-listening experience with this is a distillation of everything I love about my other headphones. It’s just that it’s all happening in these single pair with their little black box driving them.
Am I now in a hurry to sell my Feliks Euforia Evo? Bollocks am I – I love what the Feliks Euforia Evo is doing for me. The same goes for my Violectric V550 (acquired this year) – a gigantic advancement of my headphone experience in 2023.
And of course – while not being an audiophile or hobbyist, this doesn’t mean I’m not vitally interested in all the subtle differences between my headphones, DACs, and amps. I like my cables, my different ear cushions and ear-pads, the different opamps and delta-sigma / R-2R / NOS and dynamic and planar, and now electrostatic blah blah.
Most of all I love music and enjoy being excited by listening to it. The equipment serves the music and never the other way around.
The entire time I’ve been writing these reflections the Bravura / Sonoma set-up has been filling me with the music I absolutely adore listening to.
With every piece, I can rave about the way the timbre is incredibly realistic, how minute the presentation of detail can be – micro micro micro details but also the big picture is there too. All the time and without fail. These headphones are batting everything out of the park.
The dynamics are wild and the transient management is insanely lovely and steroid-level.
Attack and decay are breathtaking on the pieces where that sonic quality predominates and that is the thing – these bravura and Sonoma are an all-in-one solution yet cater to the individualities and particularities of each piece of music.
I feel bad that I haven’t focused on a few specific pieces and how they perform with the Bravura (and vice versa) – but that’s for another time.
The headphone experience of 2023 has been stellar. And truly crowned by the addition to my music listening playground of the Warwick Acoustics Bravura – Sonoma system.
So a huge thank you to Warwick Acoustics for its development and creation of the Bravura.. And to that person who was kind enough to sell me the system for 50% less than the new price. I am one lucky son of a bitch.
In my opinion, the asking price is a great deal. And I see so much money flying around the audio equipment world.
Thanks for the review. I agree with your thoughts. I absolutely loved the sound of the Bravura, but ultimately ended up selling it because I couldn’t do hardly any tweaking. It has one of my favorite timbres in a headphone to date. I still praise the vocals as being the best (for me). For those who are okay having just an all-in-one solution, it doesn’t get much better and it it certainly is unmatched in it’s pricing category.
and that’s just the fact why I love the system so much. plug a play with a beautiful sound. it’s simple like I love it.
draytonklammer
Headphoneus Supremus
If I had to own one complete system around $3,000 used, it would be the Bravura every time.
With additional funding, this notion changes, but it's still a very close battle.
With additional funding, this notion changes, but it's still a very close battle.
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