[denjo]

Hi James and all Bryston owners

I read with keen interest of Bryston's objective to ensure that the first watt sounds as good as the last, and of why the music is so wholesome and organic even at low listening volumes. There is one other phenomena which I have observed with my Bryston B100 (which although will not see a SST2 version) has the uncanny ability of making conversation, diction and lyrics quite discernible! I have compared the Bryston with other amplifiers on hand (notably my trusty YBA and new Accuphase) but every time I swop the amplifiers, this quality of allowing me to follow lyrics, diction and conversation keeps being highlighted whenever the Bryston is playing! This is a real advantage when using the Bryston for TV viewing. Also, I am almost "forced" to follow not only the flow of the music but the clear enunication of the words by a speaker or singer. I wonder if other Bryston owners have a similar experience to share. All I can say is that Bryston's attempt to achieve neutrality is clearly showing results.

Best Regards
Dennis

[James Tanner]

Hi Dennis,

It is a very intersting comment about being able to discern voices and other low level signals with the Bryston. We have always found that as we were able to bring the system noise floor down the ability to hear into recordings and perceive low level detail improved. Our current products have noise floors that approach the theoretical limits available.  I was told yesterday that our 28B is going to get a Golden Ear award and one of the comments in the review was how quiet the background was, allowing you to see into the soundstage and resolving low level details like never before.

I had a dealer over last night and I played him the Roger Waters CD - Amused to Death - that has the dog barking on the right and the radio talk show and British soldier talking on your left. It is really difficult to hear what the talk show host and the lady he is talking to are saying to one another.  The dealer commented that this was the first time he could make out exactly what was being said.

By the way if your system is working really well this CD will put the dog barking at the beginning of the cut on your right shoulder and the British soldier talking on your left shoulder. I played it for my dealer last night on the Quad 2905 setup and he was absolutely blown away - his comment - "James I have never heard Quads like this before - amazing!"

Enjoy the music.

james

[Daniel Datchev]

Hi James,
reading your post I tried on my system Roger Waters Amused to Death.The first bark is on the right but later it is moved just right of the centre. About the conversation I think that hearing the whole wasn't to main purpose, because there is overdubbing the conversation.A kind of multilayer sound picture as Pink Floyd always have been.Once I auditioned B&W 803 with Musical Fidelity KW "series" in Luxembourg and the sound wasn't so impressive.On the 6-th track where is the rocket impact I usually lower the volume. I`m not sure but I think that the record is with 18dB headroom, which allows to listen at high volume and when needed to have a fast  boom like symphonic music.
Daniel

[James Tanner]

Hi James,
reading your post I tried on my system Roger Waters Amused to Death.The first bark is on the right but later it is moved just right of the centre. About the conversation I think that hearing the whole wasn't to main purpose, because there is overdubbing the conversation.A kind of multilayer sound picture as Pink Floyd always have been.Once I auditioned B&W 803 with Musical Fidelity KW "series" in Luxembourg and the sound wasn't so impressive.On the 6-th track where is the rocket impact I usually lower the volume. I`m not sure but I think that the record is with 18dB headroom, which allows to listen at high volume and when needed to have a fast  boom like symphonic music.
Daniel

Hi Daniel,

Yes I know the dog bark is only on the right when the cut first starts and then moves to the middle.  But it is a good test for depth as well in the system because the dog bark in the middle is about 20 feet back!

I agree that maybe the intent wasn't to let you hear the conversation (who knows what the intent was) but if a system resolves low level detail well you can certainly make out what is being said - at least on my Quad, Maggie and PMC systems you can. The interviewer is talking to a lady and she is talking about buying her daughter something that was on sale.

james

[Daniel Datchev]

Hi James,
from the pictures of your systems I know you can better say about positioning the sources.
On my system the lady`s voice is placed on the left of my left speaker, maybe because of the first point reflection causes like there is phantom speaker on the left, but I can live with that as far the sound is pleasant and involving.
Daniel

[werd]

Hi James and all Bryston owners

I read with keen interest of Bryston's objective to ensure that the first watt sounds as good as the last, and of why the music is so wholesome and organic even at low listening volumes. There is one other phenomena which I have observed with my Bryston B100 (which although will not see a SST2 version) has the uncanny ability of making conversation, diction and lyrics quite discernible! I have compared the Bryston with other amplifiers on hand (notably my trusty YBA and new Accuphase) but every time I swop the amplifiers, this quality of allowing me to follow lyrics, diction and conversation keeps being highlighted whenever the Bryston is playing! This is a real advantage when using the Bryston for TV viewing. Also, I am almost "forced" to follow not only the flow of the music but the clear enunication of the words by a speaker or singer. I wonder if other Bryston owners have a similar experience to share. All I can say is that Bryston's attempt to achieve neutrality is clearly showing results.

Best Regards
Dennis

Hi Denjo, The b100 is a unique bryton product and shows what they can do when u put pre and power on one chassis. James i was wondering if Bryston plans on sst/2 upgrade or a 300 watt version of it's intergrateds?

[James Tanner]

Hi James and all Bryston owners

I read with keen interest of Bryston's objective to ensure that the first watt sounds as good as the last, and of why the music is so wholesome and organic even at low listening volumes. There is one other phenomena which I have observed with my Bryston B100 (which although will not see a SST2 version) has the uncanny ability of making conversation, diction and lyrics quite discernible! I have compared the Bryston with other amplifiers on hand (notably my trusty YBA and new Accuphase) but every time I swop the amplifiers, this quality of allowing me to follow lyrics, diction and conversation keeps being highlighted whenever the Bryston is playing! This is a real advantage when using the Bryston for TV viewing. Also, I am almost "forced" to follow not only the flow of the music but the clear enunication of the words by a speaker or singer. I wonder if other Bryston owners have a similar experience to share. All I can say is that Bryston's attempt to achieve neutrality is clearly showing results.

Best Regards
Dennis

Hi Denjo, The b100 is a unique bryton product and shows what they can do when u put pre and power on one chassis. James i was wondering if Bryston plans on sst/2 upgrade or a 300 watt version of it's intergrateds?

Hi werd,

No the B100 intergrated is not affected by the upgrades because the B100 uses the 2B SST amp. Most of the changes on the 2B SST Squared are the input stages (impedance's, balanced inputs, etc.  So with an integrated amp your connecting directly to the poweramp section therefore no changes where required.

james

[James Tanner]

Hi Dennis,

It is a very intersting comment about being able to discern voices and other low level signals with the Bryston. We have always found that as we were able to bring the system noise floor down the ability to hear into recordings and perceive low level detail improved. Our current products have noise floors that approach the theoretical limits available.  I was told yesterday that our 28B is going to get a Golden Ear award and one of the comments in the review was how quiet the background was, allowing you to see into the soundstage and resolving low level details like never before.

I had a dealer over last night and I played him the Roger Waters CD - Amused to Death - that has the dog barking on the right and the radio talk show and British soldier talking on your left. It is really difficult to hear what the talk show host and the lady he is talking to are saying to one another.  The dealer commented that this was the first time he could make out exactly what was being said.

By the way if your system is working really well this CD will put the dog barking at the beginning of the cut on your right shoulder and the British soldier talking on your left shoulder. I played it for my dealer last night on the Quad 2905 setup and he was absolutely blown away - his comment - "James I have never heard Quads like this before - amazing!"

Enjoy the music.

james

Got this from the dealer this morning:

Hey James,
 
The Quad's really blew me away last night! 

Thanks,
Gary

[werd]

Hi James and all Bryston owners

I read with keen interest of Bryston's objective to ensure that the first watt sounds as good as the last, and of why the music is so wholesome and organic even at low listening volumes. There is one other phenomena which I have observed with my Bryston B100 (which although will not see a SST2 version) has the uncanny ability of making conversation, diction and lyrics quite discernible! I have compared the Bryston with other amplifiers on hand (notably my trusty YBA and new Accuphase) but every time I swop the amplifiers, this quality of allowing me to follow lyrics, diction and conversation keeps being highlighted whenever the Bryston is playing! This is a real advantage when using the Bryston for TV viewing. Also, I am almost "forced" to follow not only the flow of the music but the clear enunication of the words by a speaker or singer. I wonder if other Bryston owners have a similar experience to share. All I can say is that Bryston's attempt to achieve neutrality is clearly showing results.

Best Regards
Dennis

Hi Denjo, The b100 is a unique bryton product and shows what they can do when u put pre and power on one chassis. James i was wondering if Bryston plans on sst/2 upgrade or a 300 watt version of it's intergrateds?

Hi werd,

No the B100 intergrated is not affected by the upgrades because the B100 uses the 2B SST amp. Most of the changes on the 2B SST Squared are the input stages (impedance's, balanced inputs, etc.  So with an integrated amp your connecting directly to the poweramp section therefore no changes where required.

james

Hi James, so is it safe to say that the B100 was a model in their design goals? In pursuit of perfecting the sst to get the sst/2?

[niels]

I have Martin Logan speakers, and beeing electrostatics they of course demand a stable amp, not just to shine, but actually to produce sound. I have had a vintage Pioneer Elite 300 watt power amp that shut itself down with peaks over 5 watts output, I had a 350 watt integrated Thule 350 amp that muffled its way through the music, tried an integrated digital Cary amp that sounded like a vintage car radio, and, I have told this before, when I switched the Bryston on for the first time to try it out it took 1 second of music and I knew I was home.....
This is not so interesting, but just shows that sometimes you find what you are looking for.
Anyway, I have also told this before, one evening I switched on the Bryston and listened to some wireless music, my wife thought it was a bit loud so she asked me to turn it down a bit. I quickly pressed the volume down on the remote just once, and the sound disappeared.
This, to me, is a very rare treat, dynamic sound at very very low levels, and then on "difficult" speakers.
And denjo is right, the uncanny transparency of Bryston really struts its stuff when it comes to voices, but yes, the whole frequency range is utterly transparent, and you get the feeling that the only limit is the sky.
The transparency can often be confused with excessive treble, edgy sound, brightness, and the sheer resolving power of Bryston is a bit too much for some people, or speakers.....

But, on the other hand, is the B100 ready for the future?  Call me nuts, but I think that almost all my music sounds "bad". I guess I am biased, but a good movie soundtrack send as pcm to the Bryston really takes my breath away, and listening to a J.J.Cale music file afterwards makes me frustrated.
I simply cant wait for uncompressed Blu-Ray music and try DTS HD Master or whatever its called. But then I dont need the Bryston dac anymore, I would like to compare/experience this though.

[James Tanner]

Hi James and all Bryston owners

I read with keen interest of Bryston's objective to ensure that the first watt sounds as good as the last, and of why the music is so wholesome and organic even at low listening volumes. There is one other phenomena which I have observed with my Bryston B100 (which although will not see a SST2 version) has the uncanny ability of making conversation, diction and lyrics quite discernible! I have compared the Bryston with other amplifiers on hand (notably my trusty YBA and new Accuphase) but every time I swop the amplifiers, this quality of allowing me to follow lyrics, diction and conversation keeps being highlighted whenever the Bryston is playing! This is a real advantage when using the Bryston for TV viewing. Also, I am almost "forced" to follow not only the flow of the music but the clear enunication of the words by a speaker or singer. I wonder if other Bryston owners have a similar experience to share. All I can say is that Bryston's attempt to achieve neutrality is clearly showing results.

Best Regards
Dennis

Hi Denjo, The b100 is a unique bryton product and shows what they can do when u put pre and power on one chassis. James i was wondering if Bryston plans on sst/2 upgrade or a 300 watt version of it's intergrateds?

Hi werd,

No the B100 intergrated is not affected by the upgrades because the B100 uses the 2B SST amp. Most of the changes on the 2B SST Squared are the input stages (impedance's, balanced inputs, etc.  So with an integrated amp your connecting directly to the poweramp section therefore no changes where required.

james

Hi James, so is it safe to say that the B100 was a model in their design goals? In pursuit of perfecting the sst to get the sst/2?

Hi werd,

Well I would not go as far as that because the 28B was really the motivation for the SST2 (sq) series but as you move down the lineup the changes required becomes less. So the B100 uses the 2B SST amplifier and the 2B SST amp changes where only the input stage.

james

[pardales]

I have Martin Logan speakers, and beeing electrostatics they of course demand a stable amp, not just to shine, but actually to produce sound. I have had a vintage Pioneer Elite 300 watt power amp that shut itself down with peaks over 5 watts output, I had a 350 watt integrated Thule 350 amp that muffled its way through the music, tried an integrated digital Cary amp that sounded like a vintage car radio, and, I have told this before, when I switched the Bryston on for the first time to try it out it took 1 second of music and I knew I was home.....
This is not so interesting, but just shows that sometimes you find what you are looking for.
Anyway, I have also told this before, one evening I switched on the Bryston and listened to some wireless music, my wife thought it was a bit loud so she asked me to turn it down a bit. I quickly pressed the volume down on the remote just once, and the sound disappeared.
This, to me, is a very rare treat, dynamic sound at very very low levels, and then on "difficult" speakers.
And denjo is right, the uncanny transparency of Bryston really struts its stuff when it comes to voices, but yes, the whole frequency range is utterly transparent, and you get the feeling that the only limit is the sky.
The transparency can often be confused with excessive treble, edgy sound, brightness, and the sheer resolving power of Bryston is a bit too much for some people, or speakers.....

But, on the other hand, is the B100 ready for the future?  Call me nuts, but I think that almost all my music sounds "bad". I guess I am biased, but a good movie soundtrack send as pcm to the Bryston really takes my breath away, and listening to a J.J.Cale music file afterwards makes me frustrated.
I simply cant wait for uncompressed Blu-Ray music and try DTS HD Master or whatever its called. But then I dont need the Bryston dac anymore, I would like to compare/experience this though.

Nicely written and very interesting post and thread. Some would say that there is such a thing as too much transparency if only the most superbly recorded materials is listenable. While I don't think this is what you are saying  you sort of imply it. Is that what you are saying about your B100?

[denjo]

The B100 is truly an outstanding integrated and is arguably one of the best integrated (if not the very best) that I have heard. One only appreciates the true qualities of an amplifier after listening to it over an extended period of time! The more I listen to the B100 the more I feel that it has got all of the music right, from the bass lines, the midrange to the HF. What more could one ask for?  Add a built-in DAC, excellent phono and a superb remote (BR1) and you are ready for audio nirvana!

[danman]

Niels which model of Martin Logan do you own? I am using the Quest that I rebuilt with new panels woofers and modified crossover and I can definately agree with what you say about how they light up with the Bryston amps!

These are not an easy speaker to drive but if done properly can give you the most wonderful sound I have ever heard! Of course they are not for everybody.

I am impressed with how the amps can handle the dips and peaks of these speakers without skipping a beat. I was not sure at first how they would handle the Quest because it is one of the more difficult speakers from Martin Logan but I never had a shut down even though they are not rated below 4 ohms!

Out of curiousity would it be even better to have the amp wired in parallel for Martin Logan speakers?

[werd]

Niels which model of Martin Logan do you own? I am using the Quest that I rebuilt with new panels woofers and modified crossover and I can definately agree with what you say about how they light up with the Bryston amps!

These are not an easy speaker to drive but if done properly can give you the most wonderful sound I have ever heard! Of course they are not for everybody.

I am impressed with how the amps can handle the dips and peaks of these speakers without skipping a beat. I was not sure at first how they would handle the Quest because it is one of the more difficult speakers from Martin Logan but I never had a shut down even though they are not rated below 4 ohms!

Out of curiousity would it be even better to have the amp wired in parallel for Martin Logan speakers?

Hi, Blue Circle amps are great with Martin Logans also.

[danman]

Never used them.

In all honesty, I seriously doubt I will buy anything but Bryston!

[werd]

I have Martin Logan speakers, and beeing electrostatics they of course demand a stable amp, not just to shine, but actually to produce sound. I have had a vintage Pioneer Elite 300 watt power amp that shut itself down with peaks over 5 watts output, I had a 350 watt integrated Thule 350 amp that muffled its way through the music, tried an integrated digital Cary amp that sounded like a vintage car radio, and, I have told this before, when I switched the Bryston on for the first time to try it out it took 1 second of music and I knew I was home.....
This is not so interesting, but just shows that sometimes you find what you are looking for.
Anyway, I have also told this before, one evening I switched on the Bryston and listened to some wireless music, my wife thought it was a bit loud so she asked me to turn it down a bit. I quickly pressed the volume down on the remote just once, and the sound disappeared.
This, to me, is a very rare treat, dynamic sound at very very low levels, and then on "difficult" speakers.
And denjo is right, the uncanny transparency of Bryston really struts its stuff when it comes to voices, but yes, the whole frequency range is utterly transparent, and you get the feeling that the only limit is the sky.
The transparency can often be confused with excessive treble, edgy sound, brightness, and the sheer resolving power of Bryston is a bit too much for some people, or speakers.....

But, on the other hand, is the B100 ready for the future?  Call me nuts, but I think that almost all my music sounds "bad". I guess I am biased, but a good movie soundtrack send as pcm to the Bryston really takes my breath away, and listening to a J.J.Cale music file afterwards makes me frustrated.
I simply cant wait for uncompressed Blu-Ray music and try DTS HD Master or whatever its called. But then I dont need the Bryston dac anymore, I would like to compare/experience this though.

Dude u r goin to be paying a hell of alot of coin to get the kinda hardcore class A analogue circuitry that your bda has into a blu ray player. This dac made me appreciate native 16 bit again. I think its alot less about digital logic and more about analogue circuitry that makes things sound great. Just a thought

[niels]

Nicely written and very interesting post and thread. Some would say that there is such a thing as too much transparency if only the most superbly recorded materials is listenable. While I don't think this is what you are saying  you sort of imply it. Is that what you are saying about your B100?
[/quote]

This is first an answer to you, and then to some others that responded.
Its not that only the best recorded materials sound best, really, but, again, in a way it is. Problem is that albums are recorded in different studios, by different producers etc., and of course you have the "Pink Floyd" sound and "Motown" sound in a way, and I guess this is my , personal, problem. So many albums and so much music is recorded with no or little regard to sound quality, and is compressed dead. The music is fine though.
Another example is the case where the quality is superb, but you cant listen to that kind of music, we all know this problem as well.
I can honestly say that the last 2 years I have only bought 2 cd´s, both Eva Cassidy....
To prove what kind is animal the B100 and its d/a is, my favourite radio station is Atlanta Blues Society. They use a lowsy 48 mbps stream, but it ROCKS!  Stereophile wrote about the Logitech Transporter that it makes your music files "shine like crazy diamonds" and listening to Atlanta Blues Society at 48 kbps through this dac will send your jaw to the floor.
Other stations at maybe 128 or even 256 kbps doesnt sound as good, so its all in the producing.
So no, its not only hi rez that can sound good with the Bryston, its just that you get an ear opener as to how most music REALLY sounds.

danman: In my signature I wrote that I have Martin Logan Aeon I. These have a minimum impedance at 20K at 1,4 ohm, but is generally 4 ohm overall. Both the Cary 306 and the Thule IA350B just gave up driving these.
I have no experience with parallel drive with Bryston, but look at the Martin Logan Forum, there are quite info I think. (Most folks in there are Sunfire biased so be aware....)

werd: I think I will be very happy the day I get a Blu-Ray, watch the magnificent picture, and can let the Bryston decode the pcm, or take DTS Master HD out from it via the analogue outputs into the Aux of the Bryston.
2L from Norway already produced the worlds first music Blu-Ray, the Divertimenti. Would like to hear it really.

[danman]

Sorry Niels about not reading your bio.............I have a real bad "man" cold these days and am a little off!

I am already on the Martin Logan forum and they are quite heavily into Sunfire.

Lastly Niels not to be nitpicky but this is just a thought..................As great as the B100 is, you may benefit from more power to you Aeon's. Maybe a 4B-SST2 would light those things on fire! However, please do not think I am being critical here because that is not my intention it is just that at a certain volume, martin Logan's need juice. My 2 cents!

[niels]

Yes, I could maybe benefit from a bigger amp. I bought the B100 and speakers when I sold my house (with home theater in the basement) and bought an apartment while selling all my theater stuff, including a Sony D50 crt projector with only 900 hours on it, otherwise this kind of equipment would be out of my range.....
This leaves only the desire for a lottery ticket win, so chances tell me it will never happen. Me being in a small apartment also mean I cant play loud. You would laugh your evil laugh if you knew how many db a Radio Shack meter shows when I play music.....but yes, a 4B would sound awesome also at low volume, I am sure.
I was playing with the thought of another 2B, and then use one amp per speaker, but I doubt maybe there would be a difference.