Both are desktop amplifiers, $2395 against $1795. This page puts them side by side on the only three things a maker can be held to — power, output impedance and noise — and then asks the question that actually matters: which headphones do they treat differently?
The Headamp GS-X Mini reaches 100 dB on 567 of the 567 models here, the Bryston BHA-1 on 566.
| Specification | Bryston BHA-1 | Headamp GS-X Mini |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 500 mW | 1.3 W |
| Power into 150Ω | 358 mW | 333 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 445 mW | 167 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 667 mW | 83 mW |
| Output impedance | not published | 0.05 Ω unverified |
| Output noise | not published | 1.5 µV unverified |
| Price | $2395 | $1795 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 566 | 567 |
A figure marked not published is missing from the maker’s own material, which is not the same as being good or bad. Where one of these two publishes a number and the other does not, the comparison on that axis cannot be made at all — and saying so is more useful than guessing.
| Load | Bryston BHA-1 | Headamp GS-X Mini |
|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | Published | Derived |
| 150 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 300 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 600 Ω | Published | Derived |
Only one of these two columns starts from a power rating. Bryston BHA-1 publishes one at 32 Ω and at 600 Ω; Headamp GS-X Mini publishes none at any of these four loads, so its column is worked out from power it published at other loads. Both are arithmetic on a maker’s own figures rather than guesses, and the method used for the Headamp GS-X Mini understates rather than flatters — but at 32 Ω and at 600 Ω are the only loads here at which its maker can be held to a figure.
What each of these labels means, and why a derived figure is still worth printing, is set out in how this data was built.
1 headphone reaches 100 dB on the Headamp GS-X Mini but not on the Bryston BHA-1 — Symphonium Titan.
566 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both. That is a power count and nothing more; whether either source suits a given headphone also depends on the two lines above.
The counts above say how many models the two treat differently. This says by how much. The same 8 headphones appear on every page of this kind, ordered from the easiest to drive to the hardest, so a row can be read across pages as well as across columns. Headroom is at a 100 dB SPL peak.
The widest gap on the list is the Audio-Technica ATH-R70X: Bryston BHA-1 has +26 dB of headroom there against +18 dB. 7 dB is about 5.3 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.
The hiss columns are empty for Bryston BHA-1 and Headamp GS-X Mini because neither maker publishes no output noise figure. That is a gap in the specification, not a quiet amplifier, and it is left blank here rather than filled with a plausible number.
| Headphone | Impedance | Needs | Bryston BHA-1 headroom | Headamp GS-X Mini headroom | Bryston BHA-1 hiss | Headamp GS-X Mini hiss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 0.04 mW | +35 dB | +41 dB | not published | not published |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 4.0 mW | +15 dB | +21 dB | not published | not published |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 0.79 mW | +27 dB | +30 dB | not published | not published |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 0.63 mW | +28 dB | +25 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 7.9 mW | +17 dB | +23 dB | not published | not published |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 1.6 mW | +26 dB | +18 dB | not published | not published |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 6.6 mW | +18 dB | +14 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 50 mW | +9 dB | +12 dB | not published | not published |
The Bryston BHA-1 costs $600 more than the Headamp GS-X Mini, and on these three axes the money buys nothing: among the 567 models here there is not one that the Bryston BHA-1 handles and the Headamp GS-X Mini does not — not on power, not on the one-eighth rule, not on hiss. The traffic runs the other way: the cheaper Headamp GS-X Mini drives one model to 100 dB that the Bryston BHA-1 does not.
Everything in this paragraph counts only figures the two makers published. An advantage on an axis one of them leaves blank cannot be counted, and is not counted — how often that happens is its own page.
Each has a page of its own with every power figure traced to what the maker published and a full headphone list: Bryston BHA-1 and Headamp GS-X Mini. Or put either against your own headphones in the source comparison tool.