Hmm, maybe my unit fell within the problematic batch.
Agree with you on the authorized distributors who refuse to send the amplifier to the manufacturer in order to save money. I was actually prepared to send it back on my own account...but the 4A fuse seemed to work so I left it as that.
Maybe I'll send it in to Bryston after 5 years - the shipping from Singapore to Canada is expensive so I would only do it when I'm ready to sell it off or something.
I dont know if it's the 230V mains in Singapore and the UK that is the problem - I don't hear of any folks in the US / Canada complaining of this problem and your mains run at 120V
Sadly, that just means people in the US are less likely to claim warranty than people in Europe. This is what the statistics show.
To me the equipment is either working perfectly or it is broken and this is exactly how you should look at it too. People shouldn't behave like drunken millionaires when it comes to spending money on indulgances of this sort. We'd all be better off if they didn't.
Some of the stuff HI-FI manufacturers sell costs an unbelievable amount of money as though it is something built by Boeing. So you should be 100% confident the equipment will work perfectly as if your life depended on it - which it would be if you flew in a Boeing.
There are very few HI-FI manufacturers in the world that can provide this level of reliability and most of them are Japanese.
I have seen some seriously flawed equipment to the point I couldn't believe some of it was sold as a finished product. I'm not an electrical design engineer but some principles apply to all fields of engineering and I know if I made products like that, I'd be out of business. Bottom line, don't buy any of the CD players in the Cyrus line-up or any of the digital streamers in the Naim line-up. Owning such contraptions is like a curse.
I know this isn't helpful to you but it might make you feel better.
Cheers!