[Dave-in-Cambodia]

When I was a college student in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I had several chances to listen to -- and be completely impressed by -- the 2B / 2BLP. The current was the thing that I couldn't get over: For a 50wpc amp it just seemed to never, ever, ever strain. Now I have a weird opportunity to get my hands on one, but .... I've also heard an awful lot of gear in the meantime.

So what does everyone think? With new caps (e.g.) can a 2BLP still compete? I'm imagining that things like noise floor, channel separation, and detail resolution are probably areas that have come a long way in the intervening decades, but I'm honestly not sure.

[sfraser]

I would say the design still stands strong. Keep in mind the unit you are looking at could be quite a few years old and getting a bit tired. However Bryston offers a refurb program which will ensure the amp meets or exceeds the spec's it originally left the factory with. From what I understand Bryston is revisiting components and using better one's  if available.  Hope that helps .

EDIT just noticed you appear to be located in Cambodia, if you are thinking about the refurb path, you may want to confirm with Bryston if the program  is now available outside of North America.

[Jozsef]

Glad you asked. Over a few decades, Bryston has made tremendous strides beyond that old 2B LP but it remains an exceptionally well designed amplifier made with the best components available. I recently set up a system using a 2B LP and .4B preamp. Both of these had been serviced by the factory with all new capacitors installed and were playing through a pair of modest size Axiom speakers. Leaving undefined audiophile terms aside, it sounds glorious and lifelike, certainly not a painful compromise.

I'm going to digress for a moment to point out that rock and pop music, which I happen to enjoy, is usually not recorded well enough for a decent system's qualities to be apparent so choosing anything on the basis of sound quality in that situation can be an endless quest and an exercise in frustration, depending on who your favorite artists are. The old Dorian classical label is probably the best anyone has ever done and they sound splendid on the oldest and the newest Bryston gear alike. You probably have a decent chance of a consistently enjoyable experience if you're a jazz fan as well.

If you want to spend hundreds rather than thousands, I'd say these old components are the way to go.