[Sandrock]

Gbaby, thanks for your enthusiastic recommendation on the Briston amps.
So I can gather that you are very pleased with the sonic characteristics of the Bryston amps?

[Sandrock]

Hi, Sandrock. We use the 2.5B3 amp for convenient auditions at customer homes, because it provides the same sound character as the more powerful Cubed amps in an package that is a lot easier to carry around. (In addition to featuring it in one of our setups.) I think it's fair to read the reviews for the higher powered Cubed amps and apply what you read to the 2.5B3 as well.

Thanks NekoAudio for your comments. I can agree with you about having an amp that performs well and at the same time is easy to carry around to demo. And also for your positive statements about the fact that the amps as a whole sound much alike and that I can accept the reviews of other bryston amps and as you mentioned "apply what I read to the 2.5B3.
That is quite a nice thing to say about the Bryston line of amps.
Thanks for sharing.......

[CanadianMaestro]

Is there an echo in here?

[TJ-Sully]

Go for it Sandrock. You will not be disappointed in a new Bryston amp. I own Byston products.... and LOVE them. Magical sound... and a warranty lasting decades. And made in Canada.  Just give'er my friend. 

[Sandrock]

Thanks to TJ sully, PierreB and Gbaby for your enthusiastic comments regarding Bryston and in particular the 2.5b3 amp.
I am now doing my due diligence on the amp. 

[PierreB]

Hi Sandrock,
Can you tell us what is the dimension of your room and what gears you have.
Thanks.

[mnorman]

I own one and it is just great. It sounds a lot better than the previous series IMO.Not that is was bad it is just that the cubed series is a big step up. I did listen to other amps and they really did not compare.
Along with the great support and service you can't go wrong.
Good Luck

[Sandrock]

Sorry for the delay in responding back. I have been very busy with work and travel and just came down with a summer head cold that has made my body ache all over.
This evening is the first day I have felt well enough to respond back.

Anyway, Wes with Neko Audio in South San Jose noticed that I also live in the local SF Bay Area and volunteered to lend me the Bryston 2.5B to try in my home system for several days. (That was a great gesture on his part, Thank you Wes) My listening section lasted several days straight to become completely acclimatized to the Bryston's sonic characteristics without any back and forth interference.
On the fourth day I made the switch back to the PS Audio Stellar S300 amp. I have to say it was close sound-wise. So I started the old switch-a-roo game. In the end I got very good at it and could make the change over very quickly. But as much as I began to notice subtle sonic differences, I decided that I needed another set of ears to confirm my suspicions. So I brought out the "big guns" you know, the boss!!!! Prior to the start of this ordeal she was only a casual listener saying that "it all sounds good." Its her way of not wanting to get involved in the decision making process. Well by this time I was not having a bar of it. I asked for some quality time to provide me with her opinion of which one she liked better, and why!
So we started off with 8 songs that she is familiar with and started making the switch back and forth. In the end the song list was narrowed down to four songs, then down to her best 2 songs of the bunch. In the end she without any pre selling or prompting by me came to the conclusion that the Bryston sounded "flat" that is her words.
By comparison the PS Unit had more inner detail, a better center channel image and was cleaner, slightly warmer sounding and less fatiguing to listen to over time, also more enjoyable musically to listen too. She initially liked the Bryston on first blush, but with critical listening the Bryston just did not hold up against the PS Audio amp and she said so, quickly and sharply. There was no hesitation on her part.
So it looks like the PS Audio will for now stay and the Bryston has been returned to Wes of Neko Audio. Thanks for lending me the Bryston Wes. In home A/B testing is really the only true way to compare any audio gear.

[PierreB]

In home A/B testing is really the only true way to compare any audio gear.

Yes.
Good luck with your PS Audio.
 

[Xinon]

Sandrock@ Just curious, what preamp did you use?

[Sandrock]

Hello Xinon, in answer to your question, the Preamp I am using is the companion piece to the PS Audio S300 amp and it is the PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC. This new line of affordable products became available for sale earlier this year and from what I can glean from PS Audio is that the items are doing quite well.
The Preamp retails for $1699.00 and the S300 Amp retails for $1499.00.
Should you require more info then by all means visit PS Audio's website.
I am attaching a picture of my setup for your viewing pleasure.....

[Xinon]

Hello Xinon, in answer to your question, the Preamp I am using is the companion piece to the PS Audio S300 amp and it is the PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC. This new line of affordable products became available for sale earlier this year and from what I can glean from PS Audio is that the items are doing quite well.
The Preamp retails for $1699.00 and the S300 Amp retails for $1499.00.
Should you require more info then by all means visit PS Audio's website.
I am attaching a picture of my setup for your viewing pleasure.....

Thanx Sandrock.
My experience from having Bryston in my system for several years and trying a number of preamps costing up to twice as much than the Bp26, is that a preamp makes or breakd the system synergy. Synergy is alfa omega when putting together a hifi. Im pretty sure that the synergy between your PS Audio pre and power is spot on because they are developed as a system. Im not saying that Bp26 and 2,5B3 would sound better than your PS pre power, thats a matter of taste, but Im pretty confident the 2,5B3 would perform better with Bp26 than with the Ps Audio pre. Congrats with your system, it looks good, Im sure it sounds great

[PierreB]

Im not saying that Bp26 and 2,5B3 would sound better than your PS pre power

Yes I think so but that will cost him way over 6000$.
Sometimes you have to go with your wallet.

[Sandrock]

Interesting comment Xinon, and not one that I would totally disagree with!
I agree that "synergy" is very important whether it be Hi Fi or any other multi-chained product.
Up until this moment I had not given it a lot of deep thought other then to reason that manufactures would want to produce a complete line of sonically comparable items. Call it their 'signature' line or style.
I was of the general mind that each component should be designed to stand on its own merits AND also complement its kin all at the same time.
What I did was to only compare the amp sections of both Bryston and PS Audio.
My findings to my ear were that my system sounded subjectively better with the PS Amp over the Bryston.
However, I am intrigued with doing a more balanced test as you suggested, by using both preamps along with the corresponding amps.
PierreB has also thrown in to the equation a very 'ugly and evil' side note to the discussion, and that is the evil and necessary word "money."
Given the fact that the Bryston 'cost' comes in at I suspect double the pricing of the PSA equipment, does raise its ugly head and I guess needs to be factored into the overall picture for the end user.
If money were no object then everything in life would be so very different then what we have in today's world. So without actually testing both units in their complete form we are left to ponder the question.
However, when the financial numbers invade any discussion things get side-ways real fast.

[CanadianMaestro]

Sandrock, Ther law of diminishing returns always kicks in.

Enjoy your system, it looks great. 

[Sandrock]

How very right you are CanadianMaestro.
The pyramid only gets smaller in every way the higher you climb.
I wish it wasn't so, but those are laws of physics.
Its the same when anyone wants to make their car go faster, the only question that they need to answer is "how much money do you have?"
Any hobby or interest that one has and wants to go faster or produce better sound etc, the only thing stopping them is the money involved.

[gbaby]

Gbaby, thanks for your enthusiastic recommendation on the Briston amps.
So I can gather that you are very pleased with the sonic characteristics of the Bryston amps?

Yes.

[R. Daneel]

Can someone please post here how many output transistors do Cubed amplifiers use per channel?

Cheers!
Antun

[Raimo]

Can someone please post here how many output transistors do Cubed amplifiers use per channel?

Cheers!
Antun

It should depend on the size of the amp, i dont think that the 4B has the same amount as say the 28B.

[Sandrock]

I believe that the smallest amp in the 'cubed-series' "2.5B3" has just one output transistor per side.
I was surprised given the size of the heatsinks. But one is all there is per side.
I can't speak for the others but for the 2.5B3 I can....

Cheers