[James Tanner]

Hi Folks,

The 28B, 7B and 14B amplifiers use BIT (Torus) style transformers already installed internally so other than surge protection the BIT is not required with these amplifiers. There is no harm if you want to plug them into a BIT as well.

james

[Rod_S]

The benefit is surge protection from the conditioners like James mentions but other than that for the most part plugging into the wall would seem to be ideal. Now if you had a powerful conditioner like say Furman IT-Reference 20i, the Bryston BIT 20, BIT45, or of course the equivalent Torus models, etc. they would certainly be able to supply the 28's with the power they need.

[tdinut]

Bryston 28BSST2's, the gift that keeps on giving. Amazing amps.

[BSMSPEMBA]

Hi Folks,

The 28B, 7B and 14B amplifiers use BIT (Torus) style transformers already installed internally so other than surge protection the BIT is not required with these amplifiers. There is no harm if you want to plug them into a BIT as well.

james

James,

For my clarification, does that mean the 4B, 6B, and 9B amps do not use the same type of BIT (Torus) transformers.  It may be my misconception, but I thought that all of the Bryston amps with independent channels used Torus transfers with the same benefits (e.g., instantaneous power reserve) provided across the entire line.

If the 4B, 6B, and 9B amps do not use the same transformers as the 7B, 14B, and 28B, how do they differ?

Thank you

[James Tanner]

James,

For my clarification, does that mean the 4B, 6B, and 9B amps do not use the same type of BIT (Torus) transformers.  It may be my misconception, but I thought that all of the Bryston amps with independent channels used Torus transfers with the same benefits (e.g., instantaneous power reserve) provided across the entire line.

If the 4B, 6B, and 9B amps do not use the same transformers as the 7B, 14B, and 28B, how do they differ?

Thank you

Hi

The 7B, 14B, and 28B are the only ones that use these specialized transformers. The other amps use Torus transformers but a slightly different design.

james

[Rod_S]

Why were specialized transformers used for those 3 models?

[James Tanner]

Why were specialized transformers used for those 3 models?

Hi

The larger the transformer the more the specialized design makes sense.

james

[tdinut]

Just to bump this a little ....


I had been using my Lampizator Golden Gate DAC direct to my 28's via its XLR inputs and loving the combo. It's a nice clean and simple system.


Well I finally just got around to hooking up my CJ GAT preamp and HOLY COW! I do love a preamp in the chain. I always felt that way but was enjoying the Lampi so much without a preamp and knowing my GAT was not balanced, I felt the result would not be worth the effort.


I was wrong and should have gone with my original instinct and use the preamp. I still want to try a fully balanced preamp. I am letting the GAT warm up and break in again so I know it will only get better.

[Mag]

When I got into home audio I didn't know the importance of a good pre-amp. I was told at the audio store by a customer, but I didn't believe him cause I thought he was bolstering the sales rep.

Anyway now I know there are mid-fi pre-amps and hi-fi pre-amps. You can't achieve hi-fi excellence with a mid-fi pre. I would say its a very important link in the chain but not the most important. The most important being the quality of the source.

[G E]

...

Anyway now I know there are mid-fi pre-amps and hi-fi pre-amps. You can't achieve hi-fi excellence with a mid-fi pre. I would say its a very important link in the chain but not the most important. The most important being the quality of the source.

In the end, all of the sound reproduction chain is important.  A significant upgrade in one area exposes weaknesses in another.  So one addresses that and another perceived deficiency arises.  You can see where this leads.  It's no different than any other hobby such as golf, sailing, fishing, etc.  One doesn't stop the quest to see how good it can be.

When I moved from my 4BSST2 to my 28's I wondered if my Bel Canto Pre 6 would be measure up.  Happily it has proved to be a wonderful pairing.  I feel no need to experiment with other preamps.

[tdinut]

In the end, all of the sound reproduction chain is important.  A significant upgrade in one area exposes weaknesses in another.  So one addresses that and another perceived deficiency arises.  You can see where this leads.  It's no different than any other hobby such as golf, sailing, fishing, etc.  One doesn't stop the quest to see how good it can be.

When I moved from my 4BSST2 to my 28's I wondered if my Bel Canto Pre 6 would be measure up.  Happily it has proved to be a wonderful pairing.  I feel no need to experiment with other preamps.

Excellent GE. The 28's are amazing. A really good pre makes magic.

[G E]

Excellent GE. The 28's are amazing. I really good pre makes magic.

But I am experimenting with craft Rye!  I discovered an excellent one in my home state of Iowa. Another  from my adopted state of GA was really good and at my local PowerHouse I spied one from Evanston, IL that won an award for best Craft Rye of 2014. I will soon investigate it

James, I know they grow lots of grain in Saskatchawan; any craft distillery action in Canada?

[Rod_S]

So to get the absolute most out of the 28's you have to go beyond a 15A circuit. Given what the amp is capable of that leads into a 20A circuit. Is the power cord that comes with the 28's only really sufficient for it's use on a 15A circuit thus a potential fire hazard on a 20A circuit where more current is being drawn so you should upgrade to a heavier gauge cable?

What about if you have even greater capability than 20A, say you run off a 30A or higher circuit and use like one of the BIT-45's, 60's, etc. Would that translate into even more potential performance out of the 28's or are the power banks in the larger BIT units capped at 20A per bank thus any particular outlet you plug the 28's into would never see anymore than 20A even though the actual BIT unit may be the 45, 60, 90, etc model?

[Rod_S]

Hi James, I have a few questions in relation to the information on the 28's FAQ page.

http://www.bryston.com/products/power_amps/28BSST-2/faq.html

When it talks about running the amps under lab conditions i.e. bypassing the breaker to get their true potential I'm assuimg it's a 15A breaker that is being talked about as that is what the amp is designed to run on? If so, if one wanted the absolute best performance possible out of their 28's would that mean hooking it into I guess a 30A (or above) circuit as the literature mentions 32 amps continuous, over 100 amps peak? Is this even possible? If so I guess one necessity would be to replace the included power cable with one that is capable of these high currents? What guage wire power cable would be needed to pull that off and since the 28's have 15A IEC conenctors, is that a limiting factor to current even though you upgrade to a power cable sufficient in guage to support the higher currents?

What about potential performance boost on a more common 20A circuit? Are there any figures available for this? This wouldn't require much of a power cable upgrade as 20A necessitates what, just a 12AWG power cord? I'm assuming running a 12AWG cable even though it only has 15A IEC/AC conenctors would not limit the current to 15A and you would have access to the 20A available?

[Mike Pickett]

Hi Rod;

When we bypass the breaker in the 28B for testing, it's actually the amp's own 12A breaker that we are referring to.  Also, the 100 and 32 Ampere ratings mentioned are output ratings, not input ratings, so don't let these numbers influence your choices when it comes to rewiring your listening room!

The most current a single 28B can draw from the wall will be 12 Amperes.  Because music is not (usually) a continuous signal, even driving it to clipping won't result in this breaker tripping, since the average power will be a fraction of the peak power.

The largest branch circuit that the amp can be plugged into is a 20A dedicated line.  In a perfect world, your would have a dedicated 20A line for each 28B, but in real life a single 20A line for both amps would be great.  20 Amp circuits can be used with 15 Amp line cords, so there is no need to upgrade the cord.  In fact, if you tried to use a 20 Amp line cord, it couldn't be plugged into the 28B, as this requires a 20 Amp IEC inlet on the amp.

G E; check out the whisky offerings from Forty Creek.  Even their cheap 'Barrel Select' product is very very good...

Thanks,

Mike

[Rod_S]

Hi Rod;

When we bypass the breaker in the 28B for testing, it's actually the amp's own 12A breaker that we are referring to.  Also, the 100 and 32 Ampere ratings mentioned are output ratings, not input ratings, so don't let these numbers influence your choices when it comes to rewiring your listening room!

The most current a single 28B can draw from the wall will be 12 Amperes.  Because music is not (usually) a continuous signal, even driving it to clipping won't result in this breaker tripping, since the average power will be a fraction of the peak power.

The largest branch circuit that the amp can be plugged into is a 20A dedicated line.  In a perfect world, your would have a dedicated 20A line for each 28B, but in real life a single 20A line for both amps would be great.  20 Amp circuits can be used with 15 Amp line cords, so there is no need to upgrade the cord.  In fact, if you tried to use a 20 Amp line cord, it couldn't be plugged into the 28B, as this requires a 20 Amp IEC inlet on the amp.

Thanks,

Mike

Thanks for responding Mike, much appreciated. It never occurred to me the reference to bypassing the breaker was the internal one, thanks for clarifying that, I was only thinking of the wall panel. You say in an ideal world a 20A line for each would be the way to go. If the internal breaker is 12A why would dedicated 20A lines be preferable to dedicated 15A lines if the amp can't actually draw more that 12A, it would never hit the 15A much less the 20A? Am I perhaps mixing up input and output ratings again

[tdinut]

Mike,


Thank you for your help and knowledge. Sincerely appreciated.





Just to bump this again.


My 28BSST2's have been supremely satisfying on my Strads. I absolutely love them.


Thank you Bryston for making a great product.

[G E]

Mike,

Thanks for the tip on Forty Creek products. I have not found any in Georgia but am traveling to the Northern Plains next week and will look up there.

My 28's continue to amaze me, particularly in the first few watts. Uncanny that a kilowatt amp can play so well so quietly.

And also great amps for modern movie soundtracks. The Christopher Nolan Batman series comes to mind.  They did a great job on both audio and visual.