Like Wim J and many we do succumb to the bug every once in a while and I've recently been asking myself the exact same question…. My last episode of upgraditis had me trading in my 4bSST for a 3BSST2 …..not too sure I heard much if any difference, …at least not as much as my previous bought from a 3BST to the 4BSST, maybe an even sweeter/natural top end …ether way both 3Bs were completely silent as my 4BSST always had a problematic hum through the speakers, which was somewhat alleviated with a trip to service but not completely.
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=54870.20As much as I could value the power reserves on tap with the 4B… in my modest 10x15x9.5 room the 3s seemed more than sufficient running Dynaudio Special 25s crossed over at 80hz with a Velodyne DD12 at hefty volumes without obvious strain.
But I digress …all this talk about the Cubed series obviously makes one very curious…not that I can afford any changes or upgrades at the moment but I did happen to stop in at as a “rare” local audio-shop over the weekend and had a listen to some Harbeths and some associated “tube gear” and while this combo sounded quite convincing on some genres...vocal and sparser ensembles it was only once getting home and putting my system through similar paces that could I really appreciate my systems dynamics and capabilities which I’m sort of putting on the shoulders of the Bryston 3BSST2... which sounded less strident, more comfortable and composed with all likes of music.
so..
"Simple question"...tough answer.
Upgraditis also has me looking at the highly received BP17 cubed but my current (no cat calls please) Emotiva XSP-1 Gen2 pre-amp, which actually replaced previous BP25P, still has a necessary function for my setup and that’s not only a HT pass-through but also incorporates 2.1 to accommodate the .1 sub out from the AVP…again a very clean an non-obtrusive pre-amp and a good match IMHO for the Bryston amp but I’ve absolutely no clue how it would compare to the newer Bryston pre.
Anyway all I wish to say is that with the BCD-1 as source my system sounds stellar and totally gratifying…not too sure what the Cubes would bring to the table… but many I see have noted an improvement.
So to answer Win J's inquiry …tough question
…while the BP26 is a fine pre-amp, very similar if not identical to the BP25…… if we can produce an even finer, less distorted and more engaging signal upstream I’d probably start with the BP17 “cubed” as the 3Bs just amplifying what it’s receiving.
Another way to look at is that if we see the pre and amp as a complete amplification chain much like an integrated… probably just the pre-amp section would have the inclusion of the newer and improved "Salomie" input stage circuitry.