[R. Daneel]

Hi James (and anyone who knows)!

I’ve noticed that the B60 integrated and BP6 preamp have been discontinued. May I ask if this has something to do with the fact the circuits in these two mostly use through-hole components rather than SMD so they’re more labour-intensive?

I’m asking because I don’t see any successors to these products and find that a shame because they were quite wonderful, particularly the B60.

With that in mind, are there any plans for a successor? Something SMT-based, to keep the cost down, and finally take down the dominance of “small” European-made integrated amps that, IMHO, couldn’t even play a shadow to the B60.

Cheers,
Antun

[James Tanner]

Hi Autun

No it was not the hole through.  It was that most dealers and distributors felt the B60 was underpowered and expensive. At the end we were selling hardly any BP-6's or B-60's so there was not enough interest fro our customers to continue.

Also the new B135 is selling well and had more power so it became the successor to B-60.

I assume we will look at expanding the integrated amps but my sense is that customers want more power then the B135.

james

[alexone]

...then the BR20 should now get the chance to have a powerful amp ''inside''...add a 3B³ or a 4B³ (as far as possible) and you've got your new Monster-Integrated amp made by Bryston

and hell yes, the B60 is an absolutely amazing sounding piece of gear

al.

[R. Daneel]

Hi Autun

No it was not the hole through.  It was that most dealers and distributors felt the B60 was underpowered and expensive. At the end we were selling hardly any BP-6's or B-60's so there was not enough interest fro our customers to continue.

Also the new B135 is selling well and had more power so it became the successor to B-60.

I assume we will look at expanding the integrated amps but my sense is that customers want more power then the B135.

james

Hi James!

I was afraid you were going to say something like that.

While I can certainly understand the urge to "go bigger", that is not what I personally need.

As for the B135 being a successor to the B60, although I am sure the B135 outsold the B60 by a significant margin and in that sense could be seen as its successor, with all due respect James, I don't think that's the natural conclusion here. All points aside, where I live the B135 is 6500 € and at that price, some 2500 € more than the B60 before it was discontinued. It's hardly a comparison.

I know that distributors always ask for "more power" but there's more to their reasoning than just power since selling less of more expensive units can bring significant savings compared to selling more of less expensive units. Their goals aren't necessarily aligned with the needs of the customers.

For example, in Europe, you will hardly find a 100 Watt+ integrated amplifier, even if you are shopping uptown, from the likes of Naim and Densen. That's because they know very few people in Europe, which is their main market, needs or wants a high-powered amplifier. Our living spaces and coincidentally, music rooms, just aren't that big and the only thing a big amplifier does is consume more electricity which, again, isn't free, especially now.

The B60 was exactly where it ought to be and IMHO, if the sales were not prodigious even in Europe, then the lack of a remote control had more to do with it than the power output. As crazy as it sounds, even to me, a lack of remote operation can kill a product just like that. That's also the reason why a used BP26+MPS2 sells for far less than a BP17.

I am not a distributor or a dealer and am advocating for a B60 successor precisely because I am the type of customer who cares.

Cheers,
Antun