“I’m building a system so that when I play an album, it sounds like live music in my living room.” is the sort of thing that audiophiles have been saying for years. You might even say that the primary goal of a high-end speaker system is to simulate live music in a room, and the goal of a high-end portable audio system is to sound like a high-end speaker system. In keeping with that goal, Audma released PHPA1 Brioso ($5000,) a portable DAC/Amp that includes Audma’s Elisa system, intended to simulate the spatial qualities of a 2-Channel speaker system with headphones or IEMs. Does Brioso succeed at closing the experience gap between headphones and speakers? Does it get headphone listeners closer to the feeling of a genuine live music experience?

Build and Design

Usually when you find a portable device that’s intended to offer high level power and achieve speaker-like performance, it’s in the sort of form-factor that’s pushing the limits of what’s actually “portable” and what’s really just a desktop device with a battery power option. Brioso defies that expectation, and comes in at about the size of a standard smartphone in a protective case. The device sports a smooth, relatively plain aluminum chassis, with the added feature of rubber bumpers that circle either end of the device, which prevents unnecessary scratches both to Brioso and to any surfaces you set it on.

In terms of inputs and outputs, you get 3.5mm and 4.4mm analog inputs along with USB-C for digital input (there’s also a second USB-C for charging.) For outputs, it’s just 4.4mm and 3.5mm headphone jacks. Brioso’s volume control is a smooth analog knob, but considering the Elisa features, it’s probably the least interesting knob on the device. Audma’s Elisa system has three controls: Angle, Stage, and Bass. Angle adjusts the simulated direction that the sound is coming from. Stage controls the intensity of the effect. Bass is a “bass correction” feature, with provides a subtle boost to the low-end starting from the frequency you select with the knob. One additional cool element of the knobs is that they have a push/pull system, which allows you to push a knob in after you adjust it to prevent it from being accidentally changed or from getting in the way of adjusting the other knobs.

In addition to the Elisa speaker simulation, Brioso has very impressive power output, with a selection of switches on the back that provide 4 different gain levels as well as 3V or 10V voltage options. Put it all together and you have the capability to run highly sensitive IEMs or flagship planar magnetic headphones from Brioso with an impressive level of competence. But how do all of those switches and knobs work out when you’re actually listening?

Sound

Brioso delivers a combination of high-end detail, natural sound, and incredible power that would be impressive in any package, but is made even more so by the fact that it’s doing all this in a device that’s smaller than most audiophile DAPs and barely any bigger than your average smartphone. This isn’t the thin power that lacks true dynamics that many portables with inflated specs boast either: Brioso is the real deal for over-ear headphones.

With the Elisa system off, Brioso sounds similar to a high-end Astell&Kern player, with an accurate, neutral sound and strong technicalities that maintains musicality as well. The soundstage and imaging are strong as well, enhancing the sense of space in positioning for just about anything you plug into them. Turn Elisa on, and you have the freedom to adjust the soundstage presentation and the bass. Dial it in right, and it expands the stage, enhances the sense positioning, and lets you crank a little extra bass out of your planar magnetic headphones.

The most important element when you’re trying to get the most out of Audman’s Elisa system is setting the Angle properly. If your headphones place the sound more out to the side, and lack a sense of a center image, bringing the angle down closer to 45 degrees or closer to zero, can enhance the sense of forward imaging. If the soundstage feels closed in or cramped, turning the angle up will add some width. The Stage knob helps dial in the degree of the change as well. I got the best results by turning up the Stage to create a larger effect while I found the correct angle, and then turning it down to get a better sense of blending once the angle was dialed in. It’s important to note here that while the system functions practically like crossfeed, it’s actually implemented in a different fashion than any other crossfeed currently on the market, and the results are simultaneously more natural and more dramatic than any other crossfeed that I’ve used.

In the process of the limits of Brioso’s power, we hit it with everything from the Campfire Andromeda 10 to the HIFIMAN Susvara, and found you can dial in just about anything. Most moderately hard to drive headphones were good with the high voltage 10V option, but only the +8dB or +16dB switch – but not both. Sensitive IEMs needed to be set with the 3V option, and no added gain. For harder to drive IEMs, like Elysian Annihilator, you can experiment with higher voltage or the different gain options, which impact the dynamics as well as the volume. For the hardest to drive stuff, just flip all the switches up. Even with the OG Susvara, I found that I could hit 90dB measured at the driver, without distortion and with a little bit of headroom to go. Of course, I wouldn’t expect the battery to hold out for more than 2 hours under those conditions.

Comparison: iFi iDSD Valkyrie, Astell&Kern SP4000

If you’re looking for extreme power that you can take on the go, for around a third of the price – but more than 3x the footprint – you can get the iFi Valkyrie ($1799), which boasts plenty of power, and a number of other features. On the other hand, if you’re just looking for the ultimate in detail and sonic refinement, you might be more interested in the Astell&Kern SP4000 ($4290.) How does Brioso stack up both in terms of power and sound quality?

Along with the power, Valkyrie has two features that provide some overlap with Brioso: XSpace and XBass. First off, in terms of power, it’s a pretty close match, but I ultimately found that with the absolute hardest to drive headphones, Brioso had more dynamics and grunt. On top of that, XSpace doesn’t come anywhere near the imaging and soundstage enhancement that Elisa provides for Briosa. Where XSpace gives you a little bit of a “Oh, the stage got wider!” feeling, Elisa offers so much more. Similarly XBass doesn’t sound as natural, or offer the range of customization that Brioso’s bass correction provides. Considering the price difference though, Valkyrie holds up pretty well across the board.

With SP4000, Brioso has a clear advantage in power, but SP4000 might exceed it in a couple other ways. In terms of pure refinement and detail, SP4000 does have the edge here. There’s just a level to the resolution that SP4000 provides that’s a step above anything else. SP4000 also has a number of pretty advanced crossfeed options, which provide a greater range of blending and imaging improvement options, however, none of them really offer the same simple, natural imaging enhancement as Elisa. Overall, while SP4000 remains unmatched for pure sound quality, I’d consider Brioso the better choice for over-ear headphones, for people who want an easy solution for bass boost and crossfeed, or if you’re looking for SP4000 level sound quality without the DAP element.

The Bottom Line

It might not look like much, but there’s much more to Brioso than meets the eye. If it simply sounded as good as it does, it would be a good portable DAC/Amp, adding in the staging and spatial features moves it up to great, but when you consider the incredible range of headphones and IEMs that Brioso can drive – and how well it drives the hardest to drive headphones – it’s clear that this is a revolution in portable HiFi, bringing you one step closer to having a live concert in your pocket anywhere you go.