[R. Daneel]

Hi Folks,

I was asked a question the other day and it made me think.

The question was ‘why do our customers purchase Bryston products and how do we attract more customers to these tenets’.

Appreciate any input.

James

For EU customers,

the biggest problem in Bryston's line-up at the moment is the lack of a lower-powered integrated amp. I don't know whether B-60 is discontinued or not, but it isn't on the website and that makes it non-existent to a new customer. Yet, there is the 2BLP which probably has less reason to exist than the B-60.

If you want an integrated and it has to be a Bryston, you have to buy the B-135 and that one is perceived as unnecessarily powerful - really. In fact, if you look at amplifier line-ups from European manuafcturers, you will typically find 80 W amps at the bottom, even in the highest-end and most expensive series that the manufacturer offers.

Younger folks want more Watts, more everything, but they're not your customer base as they lack the finance. Your customer base in the older gneration of music enthusiasts and in Europe, that means less Watts and more quality. Now, compare a top-end Naim like the SuperNait 3 to a Bryston B-135. At 80 W, it seems seriously underpowered and yet, they sell lots of them because it is certainly powerful enough for a typical living room or a lounge here. It also costs less than higher-powered offerings and consumes less electricity.

Cheers!
Antun

[spartana]

I would need to take some time to remember all gear that I owned over the years. It was all very different but it was mainly not the sound that made me turn to other brands - it was lack of reliability.

With Bryston that problem seems to be gone now. It works like clockwoork.

Apart from that I agree with Antun. The entry level of Bryston does not fit the overall "down-to-earth" approach of the company.

[GrooveControl]

Nothing new really to add, but just want to support the points Antun and Spartana are making.  The B135 is too much for an entry integrated.   I'm currently running a B60R in my main system with a 3Bsst just sitting on the sidelines. I swap them in and out now and then, but don't ever miss the 170 watts/ch (at clipping) that my 3Bsst can deliver.  I just don't ever listen at those levels anymore. With my speakers being 93db efficiency,  I don't even push the B60 that hard.

[Testsystems]

Why Bryston?  Simple.  Superb engineering at a reasonable price. 

I have always maintained "The best warranty is one you will never use".  Over the years I have owned virtually all Bryston gear and have had only isolated issues. I most cases it was an upgrade not a repair.  The service department is fantastic and I have nothing but good things to say about their turnaround.

Resale value is another reason to consider their gear.  It holds its value very well, unlike other brands that tend to be a constant stream of new products or one hit wonders.  Bryston only updates their products when there is a genuine reason to do so.  This spring I had two original 3B's recapped and updated to give to my daughter as a gift.  They will be good for another 20 years!

I would like to see a refreshed tweeter for their line of excellent Model T speakers and perhaps a refreshed BAX ( add software Tilt Control, optional Sub Out, etc. ) to compliment their active Trex speakers.

Keep up the great work.

Drew Wilson P. Eng ( retired)

[Metal Forever]

- Excellent sound, quality, reliability and an outstanding customer service.
- Clear vision (~ linearity is the goal) and no non-sense products or options (~ MQA).

[R. Daneel]

I think some of you fellas missed the point of this thread. It isn't an appraisal thread so please read the opening post.

Cheers - Antun

[James Tanner]

Hi Antun

Yes one of the issues we have always faced is as an industry how do we get more people into quality audio and in this case into our brand.

One of the ideas I had was the BAWD product as I see it as a way to entice customers starting out with a quality unit at a price point most can afford?

best
james

[GrooveControl]

I think audio is becoming a very personal hobby.  I have two children now in their late 20s that show zero interest in my hi-fi.  They have their phones, tablets or laptops, and a pair of wireless headphones and are content with that.  They can play it as loud as they like and not worry about disturbing others, and they can play what they like and not worry about being judged for what music they like. My kids enjoy their music wherever they are, at home, in the car, on a walk, anywhere, without disturbing others.

I have acquired a pair of AirPods recently. The convenience and sound quality you can obtain for a few hundred bucks is ridiculous.  I find myself using them more and more each day, as the hifi gets used less and less. I use them just about anywhere but the shower.

Bryston headphones could be a cool product to go with your BHA-1. Adding bluetooth to them would open up them up to a whole new audience. An audience who is interested in hifi sound, but not interested in hifi gear.   

[R. Daneel]

Hi Antun

Yes one of the issues we have always faced is as an industry how do we get more people into quality audio and in this case into our brand.

One of the ideas I had was the BAWD product as I see it as a way to entice customers starting out with a quality unit at a price point most can afford?

best
james

Hi James!

Yes, absolutely! Like in any industry, it is difficult attracting new customers/clients without losing your identity and 'doing what everyone else does'.

Different companies utilise different business strategies. One of the them is to create a new line of cheaper products under a different brand name, to avoid 'cheapning' the main brand. In such scenarios, the marketing is still based around the 'main' brand. That endeavor however is an expensive one.

However, you mentioned the merging with a manufacturing company (I forgot the name, sorry), but perhaps having access to advanced SMT machinery might speed up the process of design and manufacturing. Bryston could also design and manufacture components and/or entire devices for other companies. It has been doing that for years but now it could be more efficient. Not many people are aware of this but very few HIFI companies have the ability to design and manufacture their own PCBs and populate them with all the necessary components. So, this 'access' gives Bryston an edge. This, I think, is a safer business as the flow of money is likely more constant than to depend strictly on manufacturing your own products.

One area Bryston could expand it's portfolio into are active monitoring solutions for studios. It's clear that the days of amplifiers and passive speakers are coming to an end (not that I welcome it). Bryston is a specialist in amplifier tech and obviously quite capable in speaker design as well. I don't know how that would incluence Bryston's relationship in UK, PMC being a distributor and all of that, but I have been disappointed far too many times with the quality of monitoring in most sutdios. In the pro segment, approaching high-profile mixing and mastering engineers, especially in mainstream musical genres, might prove an effective tactics to reach out to new clients. The generous warranty period would be pretty much a total shocker in this segment of market. With that, monitor controllers (a fancy word for a preamp) could become a part of that portfolio etc.

Cheers!
Antun