Headphone Features

Overview: The Warwick Acoustics Bravura M1 Electrostatic Headphone System consists of the Bravura electrostatic over-ear headphones and the Sonoma M1 DAC/headphone amplfier/energizer. The headphones and amplifier are designed to work together, exclusively, to provide an extraordinary listening experience. The headphones include a custom 2-meter (78") cable, while the headphone amplifier comes with a power supply and USB cable (Type A to Type B). The Bravura headphones and Sonoma amplifier are packaged separately, and sold together as a package.

Bravura Headphones: The Bravura Electrostatic Headphones were designed from the ground up, and are optimized for playing today\’s high-resolution music formats. From the award-winning HPEL Transducers to the premium materials, Bravura Electrostatic Headphones are beautifully crafted for performance and sound quality.

HPEL Transducers: The headphones are equipped with Warwick Acoustics-designed High-Precision Electrostatic Laminate (HPEL) audio transducers. Originally designed for the Sonoma M1 headphones, Bravura\’s handmade HPEL transducers feature a new stator design and advanced materials that deliver super low distortion, wider bandwidth, and increased SPL. Each pair of transducers are individually matched for transparency and consistency. Each transducer has an effective diaphragm area of 3570 square millimeters.

Materials: The Bravura headphones feature premium materials for both comfort and performance. The ear cups are made of lightweight injection-molded magnesium for strength and acoustics. The ear cup cushions are handmade from fine Cabretta top-grain sheepskin leather. The headband\’s inner band is made from fine stitched leather.

Cable: Bravura\’s 2-meter (79") cable is manufactured for optimal signal transfer between the amplifier and the transducers. The Atlas ultra-low capacitance cable is made with silver-plated OFHC copper with foamed PE insulation and strengthened with Kevlar between the inner cores. The outside of the cable features a high quality woven Moplen braiding that resists wear and tear, yet feels soft and looks luxurious. The outer braiding is highly resistant to mechanical noise that might be picked up through the cable and introduced into the headphone. The cable is equipped with self-latching LEMO connectors at both ear cups and the amplifier. The 8-conductor cable is polarized, with 4-pin connectors for the left and right channels. The cable plugs into the amplifier with a round 8-pin connector, which has a red alignment dot for easy connection to the amplfier.

Headphone Specifications:

• Design: Open-back; Over-ear
• Frequency Response: 10 Hz to 60 kHz
• Weight: 14.1 ounces (w/o cable)

DAC/Amplifier Features

Sonoma M1 Amplifier: The Bravura M1 Electrostatic Headphone System includes the Sonoma M1 amplifier. Electrostatic transducers like the HPEL requires a high-voltage drive amplifier. The M1 is a high-performance, single-ended, discrete FET Class-A amplifier, with very low distortion and a wide bandwidth. The M1 amplifier is specifically designed and optimized for the HPEL electrostatic transducer. The amplifier has a significant drive signal with a maximum amplitude of 145 volts (RMS), along with 1350 V DC of bias. In addition to driving and energizing the tranducers, the Sonoma M1 has a high-quality digital-to-analog converter (DAC) for playing your favorite digital music files.

Outer Case: The Sonoma M1 amplifier is precision-manufactured for performance and low noise. The U-shaped base and side walls are CNC-machined from a solid billet of high-purity Aluminum 6063 into 5/16" thick walls. The 5/16" thick top plate, along with the bottom plate are vented with a special 3D-wave pattern to dissipate heat. The end plates are more substantial at 1/2" thick each, to accommodate the input and output connectors, the switches and the rotary volume control. The logos and labels are laser-etched into the metal to prevent fading or wearing. The M1 chassis is electrically conductive, and acts as a shield to EMI and RFI interference.

DAC: The Sonoma M1 is equipped with the 32-bit/384kHz ESS Sabre Reference Digital-to-Analog Converter that can deliver true high-resolution audio performance. Two stereo DAC chips are configured into a special mono mode for each channel. The resulting signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the DAC is 129dB.

ADC: Because the M1 amplifier has analog inputs, the incoming analog signals must first be converted to digital in order to process the signal to the target frequency response. For that, the amplifier is equipped with a multi-channel 32-bit/384kHz AKM Premium ADC chip (analog-to-digital converter). Separate channels are used for the low-level (3.5mm) input and the high-level (RCA) inputs, providing two independent, fully-optimized signal paths, and allowing the ADC to achieve the full dynamic range. The ADC has a super-quiet SNR of over 120dB.

Signal Processing: The audio signals are processed using a high-performance, multi-core 64-bit fixed-point XMOS processor.

USB Cable: The USB cable (Type A-to-Type B) included with the Sonoma M1 amplifier was developed and optimized to be used with the amp. Designed by Straight Wire, Inc., the cable has gold-plated connectors and a silver-plated data path. The cable supports all of the Hi-Res digital audio formats without compromise.

Power Supply: The Sonoma M1 amplifier has a precision-designed, two-part power supply that is optimized for superior audio performance. The amp comes with a custom Universal Power Supply that accepts U.S. (~120V) and international (~240V) input voltages. It is designed for stable, clean power, and to prevent noise from entering the signal path. The first part of the power supply is a custom-designed, universal voltage, outboard switch-mode unit, that is capable of delivering about 3-1/2 times the maximum power needs of the amplifier, so there\’s no head room issues. The unit uses a fixed frequency switcher that operates out of the audio band (> 85kHz) to prevent noise. The second part is a custom, high-quality shielded DC output cable with a large ferrite core filter to reduce EMI (electro-magnetic interference). The DC cable has the same braided cover as the headphone cable. It connects to the amplifier through a fitted, high-performance Switchcraft locking DC power connector. Inside the amplifier, the digital and analog sections are protected by isolated power stages and low-noise, high-current Analog Devices linear power regulators.

Amplifier Specifications:

• Digital Inputs:
  • USB: USB 2.0 Type B; accepts digital audio formats up to 32-bit/384kHz PCM and DSD (DSD 64/DSD 128) via DoP
  • Coaxial: S/PDIF (RCA); accepts digital audio formats up to 24-bit/192kHz PCM
• Analog Inputs:
  • Stereo RCA (high level): 2.1V (RMS)
  • 3.5mm (low level): 850mV (RMS)
• Digital-to-Analog Conversion: 32-bit/384kHz, dual mono
• Analog-to-Digital Conversion: 32-bit/384kHz, multi-channel
• Signal Processing: 64-bit (double-precision) fixed-point
• Distortion + Noise: < 0.05%
• Bandwidth: 65 kHz
• Power Supply:
  • External:
    • Input: 90-264 Volts; 50/60Hz
    • Output: 24V DC, 60VA, fixed frequency, Class B-compliant SMPS
  • Internal: fully isolated, ultra-noise linear regulation
• Dimensions: Width 7.48", Height 2.24", Depth 11.42"
• Weight: 5.4 pounds