Customer Wire Request

James Tanner · « **on:** 26 Jun 2016, 05:42 pm »

Hi Folks,

We have had a few customers ask me if they could buy our Bryston speakers with internal wiring of their choice inside. Because we manufacture each speaker ourselves from the ground up this could be offered.

What do you think of the idea? You would have to ask the cable company to make up specific lengths before the speakers are built and send them to us of course

james

techguy0192 · « **Reply #1 on:** 26 Jun 2016, 05:59 pm »

There's so much snake-oil with speaker cables/wire, I would really rather NOT see Bryston get caught up in that mess.

Spyman · « **Reply #2 on:** 26 Jun 2016, 06:06 pm »

Wouldn't changing the wiring change the sound somewhat? Would you want that? I agree with techguy...I think that could be a can of worms.

adol290 · « **Reply #3 on:** 26 Jun 2016, 06:10 pm »

If i had the choice when i purchased my Model T Signatures, I would say a resounding YES...

I would also like to see the option of upgraded binding posts.

I personally like to be able to tweak my system, via cables or whatever.

CanadianMaestro · « **Reply #4 on:** 26 Jun 2016, 06:52 pm »

Offer customers a choice.
1. Bryston wiring, by default
2. Custom wiring, with choice of select brands, metals, gauges.

Choice is never a bad thing,

redbook · « **Reply #5 on:** 26 Jun 2016, 07:39 pm »

Quote from: CanadianMaestro on 26 Jun 2016, 06:52 pm

Offer customers a choice.
1. Bryston wiring, by default
2. Custom wiring, with choice of select brands, metals, gauges.

Choice is never a bad thing,

for sure

Armaegis · « **Reply #6 on:** 26 Jun 2016, 11:29 pm »

As long as the customer handles all the procurement and shipping on their end, I see no issue with it. It places the onus of cost and logistics on them, and then there will be no direct association of whatever brands with Bryston.

brucek · « **Reply #7 on:** 27 Jun 2016, 12:08 am »

Quote from: James Tanner on 26 Jun 2016, 05:42 pm

Hi Folks,

We have had a few customers ask me if they could buy our Bryston speakers with internal wiring of their choice inside. Because we manufacture each speaker ourselves from the ground up this could be offered.

What do you think of the idea? You would have to ask the cable company to make up specific lengths before the speakers are built and send them to us of course

james

I would judge this as a poor idea. Your product would not be seen as uniform and consistent. People want to listen to a speaker before they purchase it and know that what they buy will be the same. They want to read a review and know that's the speaker they're going to get. Allowing changes to the wiring would put all sorts of crazy ideas into purchasers heads about the sound, especially on the second hand market.

You're opening a real can of worms. Make a proper speaker that sounds good, and sell it. That's it. Don't allow the voodoo world of wire into the equation. If people want to modify your speakers after they own them, let them have at it.

techguy0192 · « **Reply #8 on:** 27 Jun 2016, 12:37 am »

Quote from: brucek on 27 Jun 2016, 12:08 am

I would judge this as a poor idea. Your product would not be seen as uniform and consistent. People want to listen to a speaker before they purchase it and know that what they buy will be the same. They want to read a review and know that's the speaker they're going to get. Allowing changes to the wiring would put all sorts of crazy ideas into purchasers heads about the sound, especially on the second hand market.

You're opening a real can of worms. Make a proper speaker that sounds good, and sell it. That's it. Don't allow the voodoo world of wire into the equation. If people want to modify your speakers after they own them, let them have at it.

I agree 100%. One of the reasons I like Bryston is because it's free of BS and voodoo. I think this decision would possibly damage the reputation of Bryston products.

How would a 2nd owner know that "special" wire was installed. This sounds like a bad idea all the way around.

adol290 · « **Reply #9 on:** 27 Jun 2016, 01:08 am »

James,

I think what would make this thread a little more interesting, is if you had also asked the re-pliers, whether or not
they owned bryston speakers.

I also understand people are worried about the consistency and the sound alteration. The fact is the bryston speakers will
not sound the same in every room. Myself and 2 other people had the experience of listening to a pair of well renown $20,000 speakers
in 3 different homes. In my house they sounded terrible with no bottom end, in the second a good bottom end but almost a bit bright, in the
3 home they sounded the most balanced. The speaker wire and interconnects we used were the same in all 3 homes.

So in the end there is a wild card, the room. A lot of people make their speakers more listenable to their ear in their room, by tuning
the room, or changed speakers wires, and many just leave well enough alone and are happy with the sound as it is...

CanadianMaestro · « **Reply #10 on:** 27 Jun 2016, 01:23 am »

adol raises a very cogent point.

The fun and essence of audio as a consumer hobby is to tweak the gear (and room) so that reproduced music sounds like just what the listener wants. Often, that involves altering the electronics with whatever....wiring switches, fuse/tube swapping, etc.

CanadianMaestro · « **Reply #11 on:** 27 Jun 2016, 02:12 am »

Postscript.

Not sure how offering a choice would compromise Bryston's principles. If a buyer wants Bryston Purity, then s/he can buy the stock speaker version. If they want mods to the wiring, then why not offer Bryston's world class expertise in installing/making their spkrs with the outsourced wiring? Profitable for them, and a happy consumer to boot. Bryston could and should exercise stringent quality control and auditioning of wires from outside sources (e.g. AQ, Furutech, etc). They can then choose to use only those brands that meet Bryston's standards of fidelity to the source, etc. bryston akready does this kind of selection for their internal solid state parts like caps and soundcards.

audioguy213 · « **Reply #12 on:** 27 Jun 2016, 02:38 am »

Because proper branding and design means you voice your speaker with whatever wire you want, and present it as a finished product with a consistency that reflects your brand.

You dont need 1000 pairs of speakers floating around out there with different wire, why stop there, how about random driver substitutions?

If after-market people want to do this to the speakers, that is their choice, but the factory should not be supporting this practice. You shoudl be so pleased with your design that you should not want people changing the wire. IF you think the wire can be improved - do it for everyone. Voice your speaker as you think ideal.

Part of being a responsible manufacturer is saving the customer from themselves.
If I want your carefully designed speaker (which is a system, right drivers ->wire->XO->box = sound), but I want to replace your wire with gold dipped, rhodium plated, uber-special wire from Pluto --- maybe you should just tell me "no" rather than indulge me.

1ZIP · « **Reply #13 on:** 27 Jun 2016, 06:08 am »

I would assume that the warrenty would be changed and the speakers would have a serial number coded to reflect that they were "custom". If you go down this road maybe "customization" of other products could be an option.....for a price of course.

James Tanner · « **Reply #14 on:** 27 Jun 2016, 09:52 am »

Thanks folks for all your input - truly appreciated. I see from the responses that the overall assumption is that different wire will make the speaker perform (sound) different?

james

CanadianMaestro · « **Reply #15 on:** 27 Jun 2016, 10:58 am »

I think that the assumption is subconscious. Internal wiring may not make much of any real performance difference on speakers whatsoever (I suspect wire gauge changes inside the crossover might make a difference?)

Bryston already makes their amps and other gear "to order" -- no shelf units ready to ship like some other manufacturers. Also, the gear can be custom'ed at factory to the buyer's wishes -- bias/gain adjustments, LED colors, faceplate finishes, etc.

So, why not speaker wiring as well?

srb · « **Reply #16 on:** 27 Jun 2016, 11:57 am »

Quote from: James Tanner on 27 Jun 2016, 09:52 am

I see from the responses that the overall assumption is that different wire will make the speaker perform (sound) different?

With different wires having different LCR values, there's no reason to believe that there wouldn't be some effect on the sound. But I agree that having customers supply their own wire, both legitimate and voodoo, opens a can of worms and facilitates inconsistency.

At the very most, I would possibly offer one Special Edition (SE) model with a set-in-stone package of upgrades selected and tested by Bryston, much like Dynaudio and some other manufacturers sometimes do.

Perhaps WBT NextGen binding posts, a legitimate wire upgrade and maybe an upgrade in crossover bypass capacitors of the same brand but one level up in the series. No substitutions. And of course customers would need to spend a disproportionate amount of money for perhaps a few percent better performance.

Of course you could be constantly inundated with absurd qualitative inquiries like "James, how much better sound will I get with the SE model? 4.7%, 9.4%, 13.1%?"

But I have to wonder if even I might be seduced with a Bryston Mini T SE model, with its sexy WBT binding posts (of course it would probably have to be one of the insulated models for European certification which are not quite as sexy looking as the bare ones) and a few other hidden upgrades for + $600?

Steve

brucek · « **Reply #17 on:** 27 Jun 2016, 12:02 pm »

Quote from: James Tanner on 27 Jun 2016, 09:52 am

Thanks folks for all your input - truly appreciated. I see from the responses that the overall assumption is that different wire will make the speaker perform (sound) different?

james

Certainly not, but that won't stop the perception. The problem lies in the impression that the wire makes a difference. The result could be no end of future requests from owners to have the wire swapped out for something they believe will better the speaker. I suspect if you feel compelled to go down this road, you'll generate a healthy modification business for Bryston.

Letitroll98 · « **Reply #18 on:** 27 Jun 2016, 02:25 pm »

My speakers, Meadowlark Audio Shearwater Hot Rod, are a designated factory upgrade where the factory picked more expensive, and better quality, parts for the Hot Rod version. You got better wiring, caps, and inductors with a significant increase in SQ. There's no reason Bryston can't make an SE variant where Bryston picks out the upgrades. However I agree with the posters that allowing several types of upgrades picked by the purchaser, be it wiring or a complete reworking of the speaker, would end up as a chaotic scene in the marketplace.

Don_S · « **Reply #19 on:** 27 Jun 2016, 03:34 pm »

Years after the speakers are built, most people listening to them won't know what wire is inside or remember. All they will remember is their impression and the brand. That one pair of speakers will represent the Bryston brand to them. Do you really want to leave the reputation Bryston has worked so hard to achieve subject to the fickle whims of audiophile amateur speaker designers and their favorite wire brand on the day the order was placed?