[Purzel]

I can provoke distorsion at high levels I would never listen so it never happen to me. that’s a fact for me otherwise I would sell the bravura because I hate distorsion.

 

[headphonefranz]

I read the comments with interest – because I’m a very enthusiastic owner of a Bravura / Sonoma system. My music listening tastes are quite eclectic.

After perhaps a reasonable amount of listening I rarely encountered distortion / moments where the sound troubled me – quit ethe opposite in fact.

It’s certainly a fact that there is a pull in opposite directions where sub-bass presentation / high excursion SPL and ‘tight’ bass presentation (speed/clarity/articulation) are concerned.

And this will be further composed when the volume pot moves in the clockwise direction.

I’m no good at measuring levels of loudness. I use my mood, the recording etc to define this. Generally, I guess I’m more a listening at louder levels than quieter levels listener.


Right now I have ‘Breathing’ by Quok playing in my ears. The volume is set to around 11 o’clock. The recording is very dominated by sub-ass and there are indeed moments where that frequency sounds at its limit of clean undistorted presentation. But to my ears I wouldn’t call it a failure of the Bravura as such.

I checked out the ability of the Bravura system to present bass before I bought it. I really liked the way the system presented bass. This was important – that all frequencies received excellent quality presentation.


What’s playing now is Dillard’s ‘New World’ and there is a fair quantity of bass / sub-bass going on here. No distortion in earshot. I stress – for me the Bravura ‘do’ bass beautifully. The nuance, the shape, the grip the drivers have with the lower end is highly satisfying.


Moving on to the piece called ‘Skengman (feat. Stormzy) by Ghetts / Stormzy – absolutely no distortion issues – plenty of rumble – a sub-bass rumble (so not a single note thing) – this is a powerful, full, weighty and meaty bass and sub bass experience. The Bravura are not distorting, and I have the loudness more than adequately set. But taking it to 12 o’clock – I’m still good – the rumble IS more rumble (as one would expect) and the edge of distortion is very close, sometimes spilling into distortion so I dial back a touch – but not in a way I feel disappointed.

I think it’s legitimate for ex-Bravura owners to share their experiences and if they experienced unacceptable levels and frequencies of distortion – to share this.

It can come across as alarmist. There is a lot of money at stake.

Now I’m with ‘Act Like You Know’ from Dizzie Rascal / Smoke Boys – bass/sub-bass territory and nothing like distortion happening – I love how well the Bravura brings upper end and lower end together – doing service to each. The micro treble details sparkly and crisp and resolved perfectly – the low end with the variety of percussion all filled with timbre and texture. I’m hearing rumble too and again – no distortion.

‘Bury a friend’ – no way am I experiencing distortion here. I’m still at 11 o’clock and I guess if I nudge it to 12 o’clock and beyond – I’ll grab some distortion. But is that a failing of the Bravura? Not for me it isn’t.


I’m a quite big lover of Jazz and Chamber music. And I am in music listening heaven with the Bravura. But I like lots of other kinds of music and this is one of the other things I love about the Bravura – it handles everything I throw at it. Easily.

So yes – in the sub-bass region it is possible to push the Bravura into distortion. And if this is a major part of one’s music listening (sub-bass dominated music) – the Bravura isn’t the solution. But is any electrostatic headphone the solution? Then go for Sony Z1R or a Klipsch HP-3 or an Audeze LCDX.

The Bravura is highly recommended. I don’t see distortion issues as grounds for warning anyone against the Bravura. But at this price, I guess it makes a lot of sense to try and do some systematic auditioning – then decide for oneself.

 

[Bala13]

I can hear distortion sound in the bass part on some tracks if the volume is higher than 1-2 o'clock.

The first couple of days after the purchase this bothered me, since I also listened at very high volume levels, but then I returned to a comfortable volume level and usually it does not exceed 1 o’clock and there are no problems with distortion. I can't imagine long-term listening at a volume level above 1 o’clock, it would be too loud and uncomfortable.

If read the instructions, WA warns about possibilities of distortion and recommends lowering the volume level.

 

[Palyodgree]

Agree Bala and each to his own of course however Im careful using headphones if it has to be loud i prefer it out of speakers ,.

 

[headphonefranz]

It was reported way too often at this point that Bravura distorts at higher volumes. The music genre shouldn’t matter for system at this cost, especially when it comes to things like distortion.

All in all I think it’s something potential buyers should be aware of and we shouldn’t downplay. Till now it was the only thing that held me back purchasing the system.

 

[headphonefranz]

As much as potential 'issues' should not be downplayed - this issue should not be up-played either.

It's important to differentiate between high-volume distortion and sub-bass distortion (especially at higher volumes).

I have a dedicated playlist - 372 tracks / 30 hours of music - a varied selection of genres - perhaps a couple (less than a hand's worth) may 'suffer' distortion at higher volumes.

"way too often" is also a statement. How often? What specifically? What were the contexts of the reported distortion? I'm not being paid to defend the Bravura but fair play is worth striving for. So certainly - don't downplay anything but do so carefully and accurately.

No trolling or flaming or disrespect intended here.

 

[Purzel]

that’s a good point. sometimes distorsion is on the album production. when I listened to the new Haken album(Fauna) the third song has distorsion ( 2 seconds) so I compared the song with the Stax X9000 and the same problem with the Stax on the song passage. and the Abyss 1266 did the same. so the distortions had nothing to do with the headphones they were just on the album.

 

[Terriero]

that’s a good point. sometimes distorsion is on the album production. when I listened to the new Haken album(Fauna) the third song has distorsion ( 2 seconds) so I compared the song with the Stax X9000 and the same problem with the Stax on the song passage. and the Abyss 1266 did the same. so the distortions had nothing to do with the headphones they were just on the album.

A long time ago, I remember when I received the Beyer MMX 300 and was trying with a Haggard CD album (neoclassical symphonic death metal band from Germany) and I found distorsions everywhere. I thought were the headphones and connected them to other source and the distorsions were also there...

Then I tried with my Senn HD 555 and I could discern the same distorsions at the same point of the songs (but was difficult to me to discern the distorsions with them)...

I thought to myself: this is what is HIFI?

 

[draytonklammer]

I am still hoping to pick up an Aperio in the near future.
Curiosity from trying the Bravura has killed the cat.

 

[Aetherhole]

I am still hoping to pick up an Aperio in the near future.
Curiosity from trying the Bravura has killed the cat.

Despite the Bravura’s drawbacks it is still an amazing system and one of my favorite takeaways from CanJam ’23. Aperio is better in almost every category for me, save for the vocals, though.

 

[hermesani]

Always wanted an estat with great bass and all these years I waited patiently to finally find one that met my standards. A few months ago I demoed the Stax X9000 powered by the SRM-T8000 and was impressed enough to add this on to my wishlist.

About a week ago I received a generous offer from an authorized dealer for a brand new Warwick Bravura. I was aware of its reputation but I've made a rule to never purchase anything without first testing it. So I spent a whole week reading every single post from this entire thread. Read every review I could find. And guys...I did it. I went ahead and pulled the trigger.

I was told that a 24-40 hr burn in is necessary as it is brand new. Curious I had a chance to play it straight out of the box, and yes it's nowhere near ready. Hence my first impression of the unit will be coming sometime in the next few days.

 

[draytonklammer]

Always wanted an estat with great bass and all these years I waited patiently to finally find one that met my standards. A few months ago I demoed the Stax X9000 powered by the SRM-T8000 and was impressed enough to add this on to my wishlist.

About a week ago I received a generous offer from an authorized dealer for a brand new Warwick Bravura. I was aware of its reputation but I've made a rule to never purchase anything without first testing it. So I spent a whole week reading every single post from this entire thread. Read every review I could find. And guys...I did it. I went ahead and pulled the trigger.



I was told that a 24-40 hr burn in is necessary as it is brand new. Curious I had a chance to play it straight out of the box, and yes it's nowhere near ready. Hence my first impression of the unit will be coming sometime in the next few days.

I believe that you'll be very pleased, depending on what you expect.
Bravura is one of the more realistic sounding systems I've ever tried.

They're intoxicating and can be purchased at an amazing price for such a high performance system.

 

[Aetherhole]

Always wanted an estat with great bass and all these years I waited patiently to finally find one that met my standards. A few months ago I demoed the Stax X9000 powered by the SRM-T8000 and was impressed enough to add this on to my wishlist.

About a week ago I received a generous offer from an authorized dealer for a brand new Warwick Bravura. I was aware of its reputation but I've made a rule to never purchase anything without first testing it. So I spent a whole week reading every single post from this entire thread. Read every review I could find. And guys...I did it. I went ahead and pulled the trigger.

I was told that a 24-40 hr burn in is necessary as it is brand new. Curious I had a chance to play it straight out of the box, and yes it's nowhere near ready. Hence my first impression of the unit will be coming sometime in the next few days.

I echo what Drayton said! What kind of music do you generally listen to?

 

[ScornDefeat]

A long time ago, I remember when I received the Beyer MMX 300 and was trying with a Haggard CD album (neoclassical symphonic death metal band from Germany) and I found distorsions everywhere. I thought were the headphones and connected them to other source and the distorsions were also there...

Before I had the financial means to own any gear remotely worthy of the "hifi" moniker, I remember getting Haggard's Eppur Si Muove album and thinking the production was awful

Very good album, though. But it sounded poor on my old Aiwa stereo, and it still sounds poor today on my KEF Blade 2s

 

[hermesani]

I echo what Drayton said! What kind of music do you generally listen to?

Everything. Classical music mostly but I've got a rotation of heavy metal, alternative, progressive house, jazz, pop/kpop, and old school hip hop.

I believe that you'll be very pleased, depending on what you expect.
Bravura is one of the more realistic sounding systems I've ever tried.

They're intoxicating and can be purchased at an amazing price for such a high performance system.

I appreciate your honest insights but I'm trying really hard to temper my expectations. On paper, the Bravura's sound signature is what I'm looking for, but I'm also thinking back to how I disappointed I was with hearing the Utopia 2022 and the Abyss Diana MR.