[XOR]

Hello,

I found this forum after wanting to get a headphone amp and searching to see if Bryston had any offerings. I was very happy to see they are about to introduce one.

I have been a Bryston user for over a decade now. Starting with a BP-25 and 3B-ST feeding into Martin Logans and then into Dynaudio Contours.

I had tried many amps from different high-end companies and not only were they significantly more money than Bryston, they didn't sound as good to my ears nor have as good of a warranty. The fact that many professional studios used Bryston gear closed the deal for me. The people mixing my CDs and movies used this gear to make the music so I didn't know why I should believe non-Bryston gear could make it sound better. So I bought all Bryston gear and never looked back.

Fast forward and I eventually moved on to the 9B-SST when I setup a home theater system and paired it to the SP 1.7. I have run this system now for many years and have never once felt that it didn't perform at a top level at all time.

I won't wade into the cable debate except to say that I took James's advice over a decade ago when I spoke with him and built inexpensive but good quality interconnects that I still use today that sound great. I also still use 10 Gauge zip cord to run my speakers and the Bryston power cord from the wall to keep it all powered up. I don't recall if that's what he recommended, but I figure I am keeping with the spirit of things and have never heard a performance issue doing this. There is a ton of snake oil being sold in the audiophile world and I'm glad that Bryston has nothing to do with it.

I have considered upgrading the 1.7 to a 2.0 version but just haven't felt too compelled to do it yet. Perhaps as the higher resolution audio becomes more available I'll consider it. My 9B-SSTs are working great as well but an SST^2 upgrade could be in the future as well.

So thanks for reading my post. I guess I'll just say that I've been very happy with my gear and have not felt any real need to upgrade the core parts for some time. They have proven to be very reliable and, most importantly, sound terrific. I am always amazed when I hear other high end gear just how good my Bryston equipment compares (and I think outperforms despite their almost always higher prices).

I have recommended Bryston gear to others many times over the years and will continue to do so. I can't wait for their headphone amp to come out.

[BrysTony]

Welcome to the forum.  There is a ton of good information here for the Bryston owner and a lot of good people to talk about most any related subject.  For example before you commit to the SP 2.0 you will see on this forum that the SP 3.0 is in the final stages of release to market and you may want to go with that one.  Look forward to hearing more from you in the future and again -- Welcome to the forum.   

Tony

[alexone]

hi, XOR and welcome to the forum. would you mind to post a few pics of your system

al.

[Phil A]

Welcome!!

[James Tanner]

Nice to hear from you Dad

James

[RLL1]

Welcome to the forum!

[nikon]

James

Is XOR your father ? 

[SHV]

"There is a ton of snake oil being sold in the audiophile world and I'm glad that Bryston has nothing to do with it."
********
Exactly the reason that I felt confident in buying a BDA and BDP unseen and unheard.

Steve

[James Tanner]

James

Is XOR your father ? 

NO - just being a smart-ass.

james

[XOR]

Thanks for the welcome. I will do some more research on the SP 3.0. It will be interesting to see what changes are in store.

Re: Snake oil

Honestly I see so much nonsense put forth by supposed experts in this hobby that I don't trust much of what they say on gear without hearing it myself. With Bryston I know that it's what the pros use and the pros don't have time to mess around with stuff that doesn't help them get their jobs done. I won't wade into the debates, but some of the stuff I see around cables for example is outright fraud. IMO.


Re: Photos

I can post photos of my system, but it pales in comparison to what many of you are running I am sure. I use Bryston SP 1.7 to intput into a 9B-SST into Dynaudio Contour 1.8 MkII speakers. I run these speakers for Left, Right and Center Channels. The rears are PSB side firing speakers. My sub is a HSU TN1220HO with 500 Watt amp fed from a crossover out of the SP 1.7. It puts out enough bass to shake glasses out of my cupboard if I wanted. I was running a California Audio Labs player for a while for CDs, but I haven't turned it on in years as I am now all digital so I sold it.

I am looking for a solution to play highres digital music better. I am in the process of converting my entire library to Apple Lossless Format from lower res versions. I am testing to see if I can actually hear the difference or not. If I can hear the difference I may consider purchasing a better external DAC to handle this side of things.

Re: Buying Bryston without demoing

Yep. I'd do it in a second. And I will with the headphone amp. I trust them that much to do what they say they will do.

Re: DIY Bryston-like interconnects

I made my interconnects with Canare 806 cable and Neutrik connector termination. If you do a good job soldering they will perform very well for very little money.

[vegasdave]

Cool, you're a level headed kind of guy. And yes, Bryston is still pretty good bang for the buck even at current prices.

[XOR]

Cool, you're a level headed kind of guy. And yes, Bryston is still pretty good bang for the buck even at current prices.

There's the rub. I think it is quite possible that if I sold my 9B-SST today I'd get the same money out of it that it cost me! The prices have gone up considerably. I don't blame Bryston for this, just an observation on the costs of high-end audio products in general.

[SHV]

"I am looking for a solution to play highres digital music better.."
*********
Perhaps the enthusiasm of the newly converted but the BDA/BDP combo has a very low snake oil level.

"I made my interconnects with Canare 806 cable and Neutrik connector termination. If you do a good job soldering they will perform very well for very little money."

I have used the same approach for 10 years; use the appropriate Canare wire and Neutrik connectors.  If people want to avoid soldering, Markertek has a large assortment of pro-grade cables at reasonable prices. 

Steve