So I might’ve missed it but what DAC are you using? The BF2?
I have a few theories as to why you’re not hearing much of a difference.
-
The headphones you use are easy to drive or have reached close to their performance limit compared to the ones you had compared to before. You had mentioned that you’ve tried the X, XC, and Arya. It is possible that when driving those, they either didn’t fit your preferences or they weren’t driven to their limit compared to the HP-2 is performing closer which closes the gap between them.
-
Your DAC is limiting everything that you’re putting after it. No amount of magic or wizardry will fix what is fed in the front. However, just cause you have a $10k DAC, if your headphones cannot translate those details, you’re still stuck with not having a big difference. There’s definitely balance and synergy in systems that some people ignore.
-
All your gear is in the same range and therefore are just small differences in preferences. Why does one person buy a Toyota Camry over a Honda Accord? Preference. Is one vastly better than the other when they are similarly priced? Not really. You’re not going to get a real upgrade until you move into a luxury model like Lexus or Acura. One thing I’ve learned from my audiophile journey is that there are no giant killers.
-
Solid state isn’t your jam if you’re looking for huge differences. Look at tube amps if you want bigger swings in flavor if you want to stick to a under $1k budget for amplification. For solid state amplification, you have the under $1k amps like you have been trying and the over $2k amps. There’s kind of a half step in between them when it comes to quality and improvement but $1k-$2k is kind of no man’s land. Anything under $1k is going to be compromised and you don’t start getting well designed products with good components until you start looking at the higher end SS amps. Having said that, SS amps will generally all have the same qualities. Like you said, the burson is just a subtle difference but enough for you to say that you enjoy that more. That’s how I view source gear as well. Headphones may make the largest changes in frequency response but source gear can make the biggest change in enjoyment factor once you’ve found your preference.
Suggestions - Keep trying out different gear. Don’t just stick to one headphone because there are tons out there. Buy used and sell used. Don’t abuse vendor’s or dealer’s return policies. Keep asking questions. There’s a reason more experienced people spend more on the front end then their headphones. Just look at all the $5k dacs + $3k tube amps powering their $2k ZMF/RAD-0/Utopia, etc etc.