[gene9p]

Perhaps more break in is needed but the mini A's fell flat on their faces when playing LP's. I am using a Rega p3-24 with an Exact cartridge and Cambridge 540 Azur Phono pre amp. I played Diana Krall's latest, WALLFLOWER, not her best, and it was flat, tinny and very harsh. I then tried SantanA's AMIGOS, the speakers corners remaster, the track GITANO which is  outstanding ,was mediocre at best;. Thinking maybe something was wrong, I re set up My B&W 805 sig's and and the music from my Turntable came to life. I then set the mini A's back up and put on XM radio Coffee House, and the mini A's just loved it. Are these speakers meant for digital and streaming but not old fashioned analog? Time will tell as they are up and running again all day while I am out and will wait a few more days before playing LP's again.

[James Tanner]

Perhaps more break in is needed but the mini A's fell flat on their faces when playing LP's. I am using a Rega p3-24 with an Exact cartridge and Cambridge 540 Azur Phono pre amp. I played Diana Krall's latest, WALLFLOWER, not her best, and it was flat, tinny and very harsh. I then tried SantanA's AMIGOS, the speakers corners remaster, the track GITANO which is  outstanding ,was mediocre at best;. Thinking maybe something was wrong, I re set up My B&W 805 sig's and and the music from my Turntable came to life. I then set the mini A's back up and put on XM radio Coffee House, and the mini A's just loved it. Are these speakers meant for digital and streaming but not old fashioned analog? Time will tell as they are up and running again all day while I am out and will wait a few more days before playing LP's again.

Hi Gene

It should not matter what the source is?

james

[Servingthemusic.com]

Agree, I think his results are saying more about his source than anything else. Of course, not hearing the system, I am just making
an educated guess.

To my way of thinking, speakers don't love or hate anything, if designed to be rather neutral, like I think Bryston speakers have, they simply are reflecting what ever is downstream?

[gene9p]

nothing wrong the source..the B&W's prove that. They were placed on the stands in the exact position as the Bryston's.Lps via turntable were bad sounding on the Mini A's but not the 805's. Just stating the facts as I hear them. The B&W's are well broken in obviously so I plan to keep on giving the Mini A's more time to break in. They are still very new. I had not wanted to compare these two sets of speakers but had no choice when I heard the harsh sound produced. It took me as a surprise considering how they sounded with Cd playback and the XM signal. I had to be sure and when the B&Ws sounded fine I knew all was fine with the setup. I'm sure they need more time and this is a test in progress.  I am not trying to prove anything with meters, computers,microphones, etc in some perfect pro setup room. Just sharing my experience and what you might expect in your own home

[Servingthemusic.com]

Actually the only reason I went down that path was due to the fact your other sources seemed to sound fine, which is a bit odd. I just can't see there being that
big a disparity. But I trust you know your system well. Curious to see if things improve.

[James Tanner]

Hi Folks,

Another Bryston Mini A speaker review - starting to be recognized as setting a standard in their category.

http://www.avrev.com/home-theater-loudspeakers/bookshelf-monitor-loudspeakers/bryston-mini-a-loudspeaker-review.html

james

[gene9p]

Nice review!!.

Glad to see the use of the BDA-1 DAC which I also have. It notes that he used them for several months before writing his review. That is why I am not discouraged about LP playback as mine are only a week in use. On the digital end, I can agree with his description of how great the cd's he listened to sounded. They are so realistic  with vocals and instruments. Unlike any I have heard before myself. I also agree on how well they are made and the beautiful fit and finish. Mine are the vinyls and they are superb.  I like that he used several different amps, including a Carver tube amp, so others that have similar amps can relate to how they might sound on their systems. Interesting that he changed the jumpers to improve the sound. Ya never know about little tweaks. I might try my Sig's jumpers for the heck of it as well as changing out my Acoustic Zen cables from phono pre to some Audioquest Diamond backs that I have as spares. They are very addicting speakers and very easy to fall in love with.

[James Tanner]

Nice review!!.

Glad to see the use of the BDA-1 DAC which I also have. It notes that he used them for several months before writing his review. That is why I am not discouraged about LP playback as mine are only a week in use. On the digital end, I can agree with his description of how great the cd's he listened to sounded. They are so realistic  with vocals and instruments. Unlike any I have heard before myself. I also agree on how well they are made and the beautiful fit and finish. Mine are the vinyls and they are superb.  I like that he used several different amps, including a Carver tube amp, so others that have similar amps can relate to how they might sound on their systems. Interesting that he changed the jumpers to improve the sound. Ya never know about little tweaks. I might try my Sig's jumpers for the heck of it as well as changing out my Acoustic Zen cables from phono pre to some Audioquest Diamond backs that I have as spares. They are very addicting speakers and very easy to fall in love with.

Thanks Gene - I really liked his comments regarding the fact that the speakers were able to resolve changes in the front end.  That's what a neutral speaker should do and even in our first reviews on the Model T speakers the two major comments were - 'These speakers tell you whats's going on with you're sources' and 'These speakers are really FUN to listen too"

james

[gene9p]

Good news on the TT isuue. Changing the cables did the trick. The cables were creating some bad sound issues that did not happen with the B&W's but weren't good for the Bryston's. The Audioquest Diamondbacks have my TT playing beautifully now.

PS. The Audioquest Black Mamba's were harsh as well. Cables do make a difference if anyone thinks not.

[James Tanner]

Good news on the TT isuue. Changing the cables did the trick. The cables were creating some bad sound issues that did not happen with the B&W's but weren't good for the Bryston's. The Audioquest Diamondbacks have my TT playing beautifully now.

PS. The Audioquest Black Mamba's were harsh as well. Cables do make a difference if anyone thinks not.

Hi gene

So these are the cables from the Turntable into the Phono stage?

james

[gene9p]

the cables from the Cambridge phono stage to the Parasound JC2 pre amp seem to be the culprit for some crazy reason but there is no mistaking how much difference the Diamond backs made in the sound.

[gene9p]

Last night's listenings were all vinyl LP's. First up was the Mono Remaster of the Beatles SGT PEPPER. The sound and detail was terrific and the music was spot on in the center of my listening set up. I am not a big fan of the MONO remasters as others are. I own several original mono's of the Beatles and they sound much better than the new releases. Next was the Stereo remaster of REVOLVER. The playback was incredible and the fun of sound mixing that the Beatles like to use was as good as it gets. The track of YELLOW SUBMARINE had me laughing out loud. Next was my original pressing of the soundtrack of A HARD DAY'S NIGHT. This was the first Beatles LP I ever bought and picked up prior to even seeing the movie later that week.It is about 51 years and has been played on some of the worst record players ever but it is still one of my prize possessions. It was amazing on the Mini A's. Every detail of this High Fidelity lp was beautiful to hear. It was as if this is what the Mini A 's were built for. Definitely the star of the show last night. I would own these speakers if only to play back this record. It was that good. Next up was another mono album Frank Sinatra's STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT. I thoroughly enjoyed the sound produced by the Mini A's from this LP. Welcome to my home Frank. On to another Sinatra, the recently remastered COME FLY WITH ME. This lp is very smooth and detailed and the speakers made this a pleasure to listen to. Finished up with one side of the great 2 LP set of John Williams STAR WARS. The soundtrack orchestrations sounded beautiful and the final track, the scene from THE CANTINA jumped right out at you.Tomorrow I plan on more vinyl. Probably more rock and definitely some more soundtracks such as the new RED VINYL release of  BLADE RUNNER.If anyone has an lp or cd they would like me to check out, let me know. If I have have it, I will give it a spin.

[James Tanner]

Last night's listenings were all vinyl LP's. First up was the Mono Remaster of the Beatles SGT PEPPER. The sound and detail was terrific and the music was spot on in the center of my listening set up. I am not a big fan of the MONO remasters as others are. I own several original mono's of the Beatles and they sound much better than the new releases. Next was the Stereo remaster of REVOLVER. The playback was incredible and the fun of sound mixing that the Beatles like to use was as good as it gets. The track of YELLOW SUBMARINE had me laughing out loud. Next was my original pressing of the soundtrack of A HARD DAY'S NIGHT. This was the first Beatles LP I ever bought and picked up prior to even seeing the movie later that week.It is about 51 years and has been played on some of the worst record players ever but it is still one of my prize possessions. It was amazing on the Mini A's. Every detail of this High Fidelity lp was beautiful to hear. It was as if this is what the Mini A 's were built for. Definitely the star of the show last night. I would own these speakers if only to play back this record. It was that good. Next up was another mono album Frank Sinatra's STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT. I thoroughly enjoyed the sound produced by the Mini A's from this LP. Welcome to my home Frank. On to another Sinatra, the recently remastered COME FLY WITH ME. This lp is very smooth and detailed and the speakers made this a pleasure to listen to. Finished up with one side of the great 2 LP set of John Williams STAR WARS. The soundtrack orchestrations sounded beautiful and the final track, the scene from THE CANTINA jumped right out at you.Tomorrow I plan on more vinyl. Probably more rock and definitely some more soundtracks such as the new RED VINYL release of  BLADE RUNNER.If anyone has an lp or cd they would like me to check out, let me know. If I have have it, I will give it a spin.

Hi Gene

Thanks for the update - I am planning a weekend myself with the Mini A's !!!!!

james

[gene9p]

Got to see the British Invasion Tour Saturday night at the local Music Hall in Tarrytown..incredible to see Denny Lane, Billy J Kramer, Hollies, Searchers. Peter Asham of Peter and Gordon, and others, Chad and Jeremy were terrific and I bought a live concert cd they were selling. They signed it for me and Denny Lane signed my Rockshow blu ray that I had brought along. Great to meet all of them after the show. I played the C& J concert cd Sunday and it sounded so live on the Mini A's it was like being back in the hall. It is a beautiful acoustic live performance. The Mini A's are breaking in nicely now and anything I throw at them sounds top notch. I also added the use of my Velodyne subwoofer to accompany the speakers so more to follow.

PS: I did use the speakers for HT fronts and they handled surround fine. Guardians of the Galaxy was a good test with the music tracks that play directly from the fronts.

[James Tanner]

Hi Folks,

Jeff at Soundstage Magazine is doing a review on our Middle T - looks like a really nice setup!



james

[gene9p]

So how did your weekend with the Mini A's go? 

Big decision week..sell this set at a low price  or return them. I have to pay return shipping.  I will then order pair in a Wood finish.Either way the Mini A's are going to be a part of my set up for quite some time . My 805 sig's will get some rest for the time being but they will never be sold.

I am thinking around 800 , my cost of speakers plus shipping via Fed Ex to anywhere in the continental USA. Assuming one doesn't mind the one speaker with the dings. That' 400 less than the cost of a new pair, without dings of course.

I have 100% Positive feedback on Audiogon for several years and over 300 plus on e-bay and would never consider selling them if there was an issue the one speaker just in case anyone is thinking about them.

[James Tanner]

So how did your weekend with the Mini A's go? 

Big decision week..sell this set at a low price  or return them. I have to pay return shipping.  I will then order pair in a Wood finish.Either way the Mini A's are going to be a part of my set up for quite some time . My 805 sig's will get some rest for the time being but they will never be sold.

I am thinking around 800 , my cost of speakers plus shipping via Fed Ex to anywhere in the continental USA. Assuming one doesn't mind the one speaker with the dings. That' 400 less than the cost of a new pair, without dings of course.

I have 100% Positive feedback on Audiogon for several years and over 300 plus on e-bay and would never consider selling them if there was an issue the one speaker just in case anyone is thinking about them.

Hi Gene

I'm still at it ! - Trying all my different types of music. 

I have owned a lot of speakers in my day and in rare cases I find myself not wanting to go to bed but instead just listen to one more selection -   In the case of the Mini A's I find myself enjoying rather than assessing.    They are just so much fun to listen to.

james

[James Tanner]

Hi Folks,

Please see the attached link.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/bookshelf-speakers/bookshelf-speakers/bryston-mini-a-bookshelf-speakers-review.html

This is a very extensive review on our Mini A bookshelf speaker from The Secrets of Home Theater Magazine – please pay close attention to the reviewers comments on the ‘SUPERIOR POLAR’ response as we think it says a lot about how real speakers will perform in real rooms!

[gene9p]

Interesting that he preferred them straight ahead. I did at first but now have them slightly toed in. Perhaps since his placement is very close to sidewalls according to his measurements. I also used them without a subwoofer until the past few days as I too wanted to hear them on their own. I understand what he is saying about getting a sub to blend in with the Mini A's. It took me a bit of tweaking to get it sounding right. I will try plugging the back ports also. I just did my laundry so plenty of clean socks..LOL. He lost me and I am sure others by being over technical in his testing methods and use of software. He should edit and remove that part of his article. Those tests as well as video tests for tv's are meant for machines not human ears and eyes. As a regular at the VE annual Tv shootouts, machines and software are pleased with the results, but those of us there see the failures in real time viewing. In other words, the machines see perfect results but they are not in tune with the human eye. So too, his over testing and measuring  time could have been better spent breaking in the speakers and listening to music and movies. His results speak nothing of actual quality of sound of the Mini A's to the human ear. I believe, since there is no mention of break in time, that some of the harshness was the result of lack of break in.

A good review in some ways. More of an engineer's review than an audiophile's. Some geeks may like it. I don't see using the MIni A's as a desktop speaker. I am really enjoying having the Mini A's in my home. If I was to refer anyone to this article, I would use a lot of white out before letting them read it.

[James Tanner]

MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: 2015 CES Report


March 2015
 

Been a while since I posted here but just thought I'd share my experience, as I was able to go to the 2015 CES this year

A real shocker (closer to the realm of reality as far as price goes) was the Bryston Mini-T speaker.





These speakers are stand mount, IIRC they're 22" tall.

The sound radiating from these was absolutely stunning and very full range for a more compact loudspeaker, I believe they're about $3200 the pair.

Mattsk8




ED: - System on demo was:

Bryston 7B SST2 Mono Amplifiers
Bryston BP26 Preamp
Bryston BDP-2 Digital Player
Bryston BDA-2 DAC
Bryston Mini T Loudspeakers