Does a Bryston amp have emotion?

Hantra · « **on:** 14 May 2004, 02:09 pm »

All:

I have only heard one Bryston, the 4BSST. It was mated to B&W Nautilus 803's, and it was so bright, we pulled it out. I know the B&W's can be extremely bright with the wrong amplifier, but it's pretty difficult to make my speakers (Piega C3 Limited) sound bright.

For this reason, I am wondering if a Bryston will work for me. I am addicted to the Plinius house sound because it bleeds emotion. In my system, I can put in any Plinius, even the integrateds, and I will feel everything the performace throws at me. Other amps will NOT do that, even though they may be more articulate. The Plinius isn't extremely detailed, and doesn't have the microdynamics I heard in my system with the B60. But to my ears, the 8200MkII beat the B60 by a wide margin.

How high up the ladder do you have to go with Bryston to get something that conveys emotion, and sees deep into the music?

Also, does anyone in NC have a Bryston they could bring over and do some listening? That would be cool. . .

Thanks,

B

jethro · « **Reply #1 on:** 14 May 2004, 08:53 pm »

Bryston equipment is known for a flat frequency response with low distortion giving lots of detail (correct me James T. if I am wrong).

I think you will find that Bryston amps have a more even frequency response the higher you go up in the line. I have noticed this and it seems to be independent of the speakers (i.e. not a power issue alone). Personally I prefer the 4B-ST over the 3B-ST. I haven't heard the 7B-ST/SST yet but I hope to have a new 4B-SST very soon.

The only speaker that I really found Bryston amps "bright" with, are the higher end JMLabs. They weren't pleasant to listen to for me. I have used Bryston gear with B&W 60X-S2 series speakers which has a similar (according to the B&W literature) tweeter. I found no problems with the B&W speakers. I have found that my PMC IB1's have a higher range than other speakers but the sound isn't harsh. I think this may have something to do with the flat frequency response of the IB1's.

If you can, try to get a listen to the 4B-ST/SST in your setup.

KJ · « **Reply #2 on:** 14 May 2004, 09:11 pm »

I own a Bryston 3B-ST and B&W 805s. I think they put out a very neutral sound IMO. I have heard the N803s with both ST and SST Bryston amps and thought they were equally neutral sounding. Perhaps the brightness is coming from somewhere else down the line? Cables, source, interconnects, etc. The system I heard had a Bryston preamp, Kimber interconnects and cables with a Rega source. My $.02.

-KJ

WEEZ · « **Reply #3 on:** 14 May 2004, 09:54 pm »

My experience with Bryston is limited- as I have not heard all the amps. I did spend some time listening to the B60 (as I've written in other threads) and "bright" does not describe my experience. Very clean, smooth, detailed, yet still with texture- was my experience. (Naim CD5i & 805's).

What I noticed most was how quiet the B60 is. I mean, QUIET. The background was BLACK. I have never heard an amp with a lower noise floor.

It could just be a point of reference for some. If you're looking for Bryston amps to sound like vintage tube amps- they won't.

Also, the Plinius 8200 amp has 3x the power of a B60, so while I've never heard the 8200, I would't be surprised that it sounds "bigger" than a B60.

The 3bsst, 4bsst etc. are way more than I need for my speakers and room, so that's why I didn't listen to them.

Everybody hears things a little differently- no two rooms are alike- and tastes can vary. But flat, extended frequency response does not equate with "bright".

My $.02--

WEEZ

WEEZ · « **Reply #4 on:** 14 May 2004, 10:58 pm »

I forgot....

IMHO

WEEZ

KKG · « **Reply #5 on:** 16 May 2004, 12:54 pm »

Hi there

I opine that it is subjective to up stream equipments, cables, mood, recording quality, etc.

My amps/speakers configuration is - BP 25 + 4B ST + NHT 2.5i.

This is the tune I'm playing - King's College Choir, Cambridge (John Wells organ; David Willcocks, conductor), 'ding dong merrily'.

Now, when I play it on the Gyrodec/RB600/Ortofon Kontra B/DACT CT100, I hear a nice sound stage, clear picture of the choir with tinkling of some bells, etc, nice harmony.

When I play it on the Thorens TD 166 II/TP 11/Linn Basic/Rotel RQ 970BX, I feel Christmas is next week!

What can I say?

mcrespo71 · « **Reply #6 on:** 3 Jun 2004, 10:24 pm »

Quote

I am addicted to the Plinius house sound because it bleeds emotion.

Why are you looking elsewhere if this is what you like? Why don't you just move way up the Plinius line, as I'm sure they also get better when you move past their unbelievable integrateds.

Michael

miked510 · « **Reply #7 on:** 21 Mar 2005, 10:31 pm »

Quote from: jethro

The only speaker that I really found Bryston amps "bright" with, are the higher end JMLabs. They weren't pleasant to listen to for me. I have used Bryston gear with B&W 60X-S2 series speakers which has a similar (according to the B&W literature) tweeter.

I would agree with you, but after a year of ownership, the brightness has settled down into detail, transparency, and midrange bloom - just south of earbleed. I enjoy my rig now, better now. Previously I had a Cary SLP 2002 upstream with modded oil-caps and hand-selected tubes.

Sony DVP-S9000ES Allen Wright Vacuum State mods -> Bryston SP-1 -> Bryston 6B-SST -> JM Lab Electra 936 - all Nordost.

JarrettH · « **Reply #8 on:** 22 Mar 2005, 07:57 pm »

Just flip the emotion switch on.

PhilNYC · « **Reply #9 on:** 22 Mar 2005, 08:19 pm »

FWIW, I have a customer who owns a Bryston 4BSST. The rest of his rig is a Wadia 830 (running direct) and Vandersteen 3A speakers. With this setup, things sounded very transparent and neutral (not bright at all), but also somewhat lifeless and flat. We introduced a preamp (Blue Circle BC103 solid state), and the resulting sound had pace, sparkle, and emotion. So I think you really need to consider the pairing/synergy...

Eric · « **Reply #10 on:** 23 Mar 2005, 04:28 pm »

I concur with Phil. I have a Bryston 4BSST that I had paired with a BP-20. The sound was accurate and detailed, but something was missing for me. I introduced a SAS 10A linestage and it added the musical dimension I was looking for without sacrificing the power and neutrality of the Bryston amp

Yogus · « **Reply #11 on:** 23 Mar 2005, 08:47 pm »

I wonder if the MPS2 in the BP26 adds more musicality??

Eric · « **Reply #12 on:** 23 Mar 2005, 09:00 pm »

I don't want to communicate in any way that the Brystom pre is not a great preamp. It is. I just preferred the SAS 10A. If I had not heard the 10A, I would still have the Bryston

Nomoretweaks · « **Reply #13 on:** 25 Mar 2005, 12:56 pm »

Let me share my humble experience. I switched to Bryston from Exposure which is a very "emotional" amp. (I just needed more power) My first impressions were - whatever Bryston model I tried -surprisingly obvious: as if a slightly messy but colorful artist left the room and in came an efficient and tidy manager. Initialy it caused a lot of concerns in spite of obvouus gains (transparency, separation, lack of distortions etc.). But the trick is - the longer you are listening to it the more true musical emotions come through. So listening again to my old amp half a year later I felt it to be more "colored" rather than "emotional". (Althoug I must admit coloured in a very nice and exiting way). So I would not be afraid of loosing the emotional side of it with Bryston. If it's there on the disc - Bryston will translate it correctly, it will never exaggerate it though. But you will need some time to adapt to the new sound.

John Ashman · « **Reply #14 on:** 25 Mar 2005, 01:51 pm »

Good amplifiers don't "emote", they relay. Music has emotion, people have emotion. If you you think your amp is missing "emotion", perhaps it's not the amp that's missing something.