Anyone have any info on this preamp? I've checked the Bryston website, but apparently is is old enough that it doesn't even show up on the Legacy page. I have sent an e-mail to Bryston, but haven't heard anything back yet. I've also checked a few other sites and have done a general search, but didn't found much. If anyone has any info I would appreciate it.
For general info, this is a solid state preamp, 1U tall and about 9 inches deep, very heavy for its size. It has 3 line level inputs, a phone stage (MM?), tape loop, mute, balance and low filter (for the TT, I assume). As expected, build quality is excellent. A co-worker wants to sell it and I'm demo'ing it against my ASL AQ2004DT tube preamp. The reason I'm interested in the Bryston is because of the phone stage and tape loop, neither of which the AQ2004 has.
I was only able to spend a little time listening to it this weekend, but what little I did hear was impressive. The 0.5B sound is very clean and detailed, noticably more so than the AQ2004, plus it is quieter. The mid-range is not as warm and pronounced as the AQ2004, but the low and high ends are better better resolved, so the sound is more evenly balanced across the entire range. But the biggest thing to jump out at me was the soundstage. The Bryston had more depth, was wider and more stable than the AQ2004.
The AQ2004 was better with some material. I especially liked how Sade and Jacintha sounded with the tube pre, their voices become like warmed velvet that caresses your ears when played through the tubes.
I was a little surprised that Sam McClain also sounded better though the tube pre, although his voice was not quite like warm velvet.
OTOH, Elton John sounded better with the Bryston, as did Dido, Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Moody Blues, John Coltrain, some classical and Stevie Ray Vaughn.
All the listening was CDs, from my Carver SD/A-360, through a Sherbourn 5/1500A power amp and Vandersteen 2C speakers. I hope to listen to some vinyl and maybe some hi-rez stereo (DVD-A) this week.
