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Bryston question

MoTeD

MoTeD

Who cares
Is bryston gear really worth the $$$ that it is fetching on the used market.

I have been told about something we call "the point of diminishing return".

Is there any other solidstate power amplifier manufacturer that can compete with the sonic capability of bryston amps for less cheddar.

I guess what I am asking is it really worth dumping a grand or more into a 20-30 year old amp just to have to go and have it recapped in another year or so.

Current setup is BK ST1400 series ii driving JBL 250Ti.
 
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IMO, Bryston gear is worth the money that it commands, if you are buying well cared-for pieces. It can get pricey, but to do better, you are getting into deeper waters, financially. Just remember that they don't offer some of the protection and convenience circuits that we all like to take for granted in equivalant or cheaper components. Ultimately, though, in your budget, do you need that kind of amp, or just want one? I run low impedence speakers, so I pony'd up the money for Krell to drive them... all based on what you need/want and are willing to pay for...
 
I have an old mosfet Sherwood amp which sounds really nice to my ears. The model is AM-7040 and it's an absolute monster. Depending on the situation, you can get one for a hundred or two.

I have owned three Brystons and a few solid-state amps in the past, if price was an object I would pick a Sherwood over spending a grand.
 
Whats really going on here is. I am in competiton with my dad and trying to better his brystons, even if it is with another. I have about a thousand i want to spend on upgrades to my system and would rather not spend it all on a single amp at this time.

I will definitely look into the sherwood.
 
MoTeD said:
Whats really going on here is. I am in competiton with my dad and trying to better his brystons, even if it is with another.
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You need to evaluate a few different amps and find one that sounds better to you than Bryston. They are out there. Some may be more some less but Bryston is good gear but it is not the best for everything. This is the key, finding something that is better for what you have.
 
Do stereo shops still let you audition gear for a week or so? I think this will be the winner here. Listen more. Im ok with that.
 
FWIW, I am not in the bryston fan club after hearing a 4bst in my system. Singling out a component and declaring it best really doesn't work when the surrounding gear has so much to do with the presentation.
 
MoTeD said:
Whats really going on here is. I am in competiton with my dad and trying to better his brystons, even if it is with another. I have about a thousand i want to spend on upgrades to my system and would rather not spend it all on a single amp at this time.

I will definitely look into the sherwood.
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I think the word 'competition' could be in the forefront of what your actual needs or desires are. Do you feel that the brand or name recognition is part of the competition or is it just the actual sound quality that is up for debate?
You have not indicated the type of music that you like or the listening space that you have. Certain amps/receivers are better geared towards different genres and that should factor into your decision.
I'm a firm believer of the law of diminishing return but I don't think 'competition' is a part of that equation.
Do you play vinyl? Do you have a nice pre amp to go with an amp? These are things that should be revealed before so you can get a better qualified answer to your questions.
Bryston's are built like tanks and with warranty of 20 years, you know the build quality is there. Re-capping is a strong possibility on any piece of vintage gear and if that worries you, perhaps a newer piece should be considered.
I have a 4B and a Bryston pre and am very fond of it. It mates with my Thiels for jazz/fusion beautifully. If I want to listen to louder pop/rock, I go to my Yamaha M4/C80 combo with NS1000M's.
You might want to consider Luxman as an option as some of their better amps deliver an incredible sound and offer a great bang for the buck.
But I get back to 'competition'. Who is going to decide which is better between you and your Dad?
Provide us with some more details and you might get a better more accurate recommendation.
Good luck in your quest.
 
To me, Bryston makes excellent amplifiers considering their price. The bass reproduction is one of the best I've heard. I buy and sell lots of different equipment (as a hobby) and I've had the pleasure owning about 10 different Bryston amplifiers. To my ears, they are one of the best values around considering their more expensive competition such as Krell, McIntosh, Levinson, CJ, etc.

Living in Los Angeles, most of my Bryston sales have gone to employees of recording studios. These guys see the Bryston's hard at work - day in and day out - being abused, pushed to the limit for long periods, thrown around from rack-to-rack, and it keeps pumping out beautiful music. They are built very solid and will take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. Bryston made sure of that when offering their 20 year transferable warranty.

All this doesn't necessarily mean it's right for you. I don't know the rest of your system, and possibly, with a $1K budget, you may be better off with other equipment. $1K (or a bit higher) could get you a 4B-ST with about 2-7 years of warranty remaining.

Good luck!
 
I also would be hesitant about tearing into a Bryston and recapping it like crazy, as so many do here with consumer-grade Japanese vintage gear. Bryston used higher-grade parts than the consumer-grade in Pioneers, etc.
 
I mostly listen to jazz, classic rock, and blues. The competition is always about the better sound reproduction. The judge would be myself and my dad. Our listening habits are quite similar. I am going to get an AGI pre to pair with my amp. I like the sound of my current BK amp but it is a bit sluggish. I think the slew rate has alot to do with that. I love the sound that my dads bryston 7b st's put out but I know that there are way to many manufacturers out there for there to be none better. I am really looking for an under the radar amp that is a sleeper to step my game up with. My room size is small to medium with high vaulted celings. Listening levels are usualy around 80-85 db. I am sitting about 86inches from my speakers and they are about the same distance from eachother.
 
By the way the competition will be my 250Ti's against his original Legacy Focus, Klipsch LaScalas, Anthony Gallo reference 3's, or the original Legacy Audio Classic.
 
Now that you have clarified your situation, I would steer clear of the Bryston amp purchase and blow your dad away with the sound of a killer tube pre-amp, rather than sinking money into an amp. No Bryston amp out there is going to best his 7's, and they are all going to sound similar in terms of "sonic signature". You have a good amp and speaker combination, so you may want to throw your $1K into "besting" the sound quality of his front-end... after all, what goes in, comes out... a preamp upgrade sounds like a better way to "beat" him, or at least impress him...
 
Bryston amps are worth it if there are still many years left on the warranty. However, as a sonic proposition, Bryston is no better or no worse than a PA amp. This is a compliment as PA amps are objectively accurate. Take a look inside Bryston's and say a Crown XLS and you will see similar toroidal transformers and metal die T-03's. However, the Crown will cost only a tenth as much.
 
It depends on what you call better. If you like that Tube warmth, than yes there are likey better choices. Other than a Tube Amp, Some SS Amps use output transformers that do the same thing, and some SS Amps and recievers are Voiced Warm too. You can still get some of the benefits of tubes with the Bryston Amp however by using a Tubed source like my Dynalab Hybred Analog FM Tuner. Thats a whole different story though.

If you looking for a Transparent Amp that just gets out of the way and plays the source as it was recorded with every last Nuance of Music intact, Than IMO New Bryston Amps are worth every Penny. My B100SST sounds every bit as good as the most optimistic review I have ever read on them and then some. Buying one of their Recent used Amps IMO can be worth it if it's well maintained. If you get one that still has time on the 20 year warrenty its even better.

That said it depends on the rest of your equipment. My Enery RC-30 Towers sound good with the Bryston, but not that much better than with my old NAD Gear. And you need a good clean sorce. I think someting like Rega's $900 Brio-R would do a fine job too for most of us unless you've got the speakers and sources to support the abilities of the Bryston, or other amps in this price range.

With my Reference 3A Veena II Towers the difference Between the Bryston Amp and NAD Seperates is Signifigant. The Bryston Amp is in a whole different league the way it Delineates Each Instrument and Voice, No Matter How Congested the Music Gets and Places It Presicely in the Soundstage in a way I have never heard before. It's so real it's haunting sometimes.

Bryston Amps aren't about max SPL's (although they can do that too), If you want that buy PA Amp. If you want to preserve every last detail from the source without coloring it, and get Imaging and Soundstaging 2'nd to None than Bryston has few peers IMO, at least for me, I know...I looked at all the big names and if I could have gotten a better one near it's price I wouldn't be writing about this Bryston.
 
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charles 1973 said:
It depends on what you call better. If you like that Tube warmth, than yes there are likey better choices. Other than a Tube Amp, Some SS Amps use output transformers that do the same thing, and some SS Amps and recievers are Voiced Warm too. You can still get some of the benefits of tubes with the Bryston Amp however by using a Tubed source like my Dynalab Hybred Analog FM Tuner. Thats a whole different story though.

If you looking for a Transparent Amp that just gets out of the way and plays the source as it was recorded with every last Nuance of Music intact, Than IMO New Bryston Amps are worth every Penny. My B100SST sounds every bit as good as the most optimistic review I have ever read on them and then some. Buying one of their Recent used Amps IMO can be worth it if it's well maintained. If you get one that still has time on the 20 year warrenty its even better.

That said it depends on the rest of your equipment. My Enery RC-30 Towers sound good with the Bryston, but not that much better than with my old NAD Gear. And you need a good clean sorce. I think someting like Rega's $900 Brio-R would do a fine job too for most of us unless you've got the speakers and sources to support the abilities of the Bryston, or other amps in this price range.

With my Reference 3A Veena II Towers the difference Between the Bryston Amp and NAD Seperates is Signifigant. The Bryston Amp is in a whole different league the way it Delineates Each Instrument and Voice, No Matter How Congested the Music Gets and Places It Presicely in the Soundstage in a way I have never heard before. It's so real it's haunting sometimes.

Bryston Amps aren't about max SPL's (although they can do that too), If you want that buy PA Amp. If you want to preserve every last detail from the source without coloring it, and get Imaging and Soundstaging 2'nd to None than Bryston has few peers IMO, at least for me, I know...I looked at all the big names and if I could have gotten a better one near it's price I wouldn't be writing about this Bryston.
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Im not into the SPL as much as i am the uncolored musicality that bryston reproduces. All in all I have my work cut out for me and have some serious homework to do.

Thank you all for the input.

Still looking for more.
 
MoTeD said:
Im not into the SPL as much as i am the uncolored musicality that bryston reproduces. All in all I have my work cut out for me and have some serious homework to do.

Thank you all for the input.

Still looking for more.
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I did a quick search on the Internet for Bryston Amps. I found one add for a Bryston B60 Integrated Amp w/Remote and the Phono Stage on E-Bay thats 14 years old and appears in good shape. It may still be under warranty and has many long years of service left. They want $910 for it. The Remote and Phono Stage alone sell for about $800. Although I've never heard you speakers, I believe they would benefit from such an Amp.

I don't think it is the SST version, and No It's unlikely to keep up to your Dads $8,000 Amps, but by all accounts it's still an outstanding Amp if SQ is a top priority it should up the Anti considerably. It may get closer to your dads system, up to nominal SPL's, than he would like thats for sure. Don't let is small size and 60 wpc rating fool you. These are serious Amplifiers or they could never sell a new one for the full list price. They Never go on sale, sometimetimes demo's come up, but thats it.

Buying a New 60 wpc B60 SST w/Remote and the Phono Stage at close to $4,000 is a leap of faith, as it would be for Any Amplifier. I'd Still recomend it, but by all means before shelling out that kind of dough, do what I do and research the thing yourself. But for the $910 asking Price for this little Gem, It's one of the best deals I've seen in a long time to get a Bryston Amp. The Preamp Alone, which I believe has outputs to drive a 4B ST later if you wish is almost worth that with the Phono Stage and Remote. I'm tempted to buy the thing myself for another system and to back up my B100SST. In the event it doesn't work out, you can sell it for what you paid for it. Just a suggestion.
 
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i wasn't impressed with the 4B-ST either. obviously a lot of people like it, but in my setup i found it neutral/uncolored to the point of boring, while the bass wasn't all it was cracked up to be either IMHO. i was excited to try out this amp, too. the 4B-ST only has ~22,000uF/channel of capacitance, which is a little small by some peoples' standards for a 200Wpc bulletproof bass-monster.

there is a lot out there in the $1k range. what is your wattage requirement? if you need high power, i can recommend the PS Audio Delta 250 monoblocks that worked so well for my taste and needs. lower power (50Wpc) opens up the option of Class A, which you can get with a Forte Model 4 as an example.
 
charles 1973 said:
I did a quick search on the Internet for Bryston Amps. I found one add for a Bryston B60 Integrated Amp w/Remote and the Phono Stage on E-Bay thats 14 years old and appears in good shape. It may still be under warranty and has many long years of service left. They want $910 for it. The Remote and Phono Stage alone sell for about $800. Although I've never heard you speakers, I believe they would benefit from such an Amp.

I don't think it is the SST version, and No It's unlikely to keep up to your Dads $8,000 Amps, but by all accounts it's still an outstanding Amp if SQ is a top priority it should up the Anti considerably. It may get closer to your dads system, up to nominal SPL's, than he would like thats for sure. Don't let is small size and 60 wpc rating fool you. These are serious Amplifiers or they could never sell a new one for the full list price. They Never go on sale, sometimetimes demo's come up, but thats it.

Buying a New 60 wpc B60 SST w/Remote and the Phono Stage at close to $4,000 is a leap of faith, as it would be for Any Amplifier. I'd Still recomend it, but by all means before shelling out that kind of dough, do what I do and research the thing yourself. But for the $910 asking Price for this little Gem, It's one of the best deals I've seen in a long time to get a Bryston Amp. The Preamp Alone, which I believe has outputs to drive a 4B ST later if you wish is almost worth that with the Phono Stage and Remote. I'm tempted to buy the thing myself for another system and to back up my B100SST. In the event it doesn't work out, you can sell it for what you paid for it. Just a suggestion.
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Thank you for that bit. I have decided that I just need to do more research, more listening, and more reading. I am not opposed to buying Bryston, because I do love the sound that I have heard from my dads 7Bst's. I have decided to not go with a Bryston amp at this time based on the fact that I need to work on my front end before I invest that much cheddar into another amp. I am getting an Original AGI 511 pre amp in a few weeks. I will have to see what changes in sound it makes to my system. Also I will be upgrading my CD player and adding a power conditioner to my system.

This btw THIS is some of the Equipment I will be competing against.
What you don't see is his front end, a Bryston BP-20 and the Meridian 508hd CD player.
 
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