[James Tanner]

James

Are there any other reviews in the works from some of the more notable mags, etc?

I'm in the process of buying a new preamp to replace the 2 channel bypass I've been using on my SP1.7 (pretty close to pulling the trigger on a Pass Labs XP-20). My dealer doesn't stock any Bryston gear, so a demo is not possible. I'm fearful that the BP17 is too close to the SP1.7. However, a few more reviews might convince me to give the BP-17 a try.

Keith

Hi Keith

No sorry nothing in the works at Stereophile or Absolute Sound.  The BP17 is based on the circuitry we developed for the SP3 so quite different than the SP1.7.

james

PS - Who's the so called Bryston dealer that does not stock Bryston?  Private message is OK.

[sweetspot]

James, West End Electronics has been your Newfoundland dealer for decades, and to my knowledge has never carried Bryston products, for fear of not being able to sell it!

[James Tanner]

James, West End Electronics has been your Newfoundland dealer for decades, and to my knowledge has never carried Bryston products, for fear of not being able to sell it!

Thanks I will look into that. They seem to do pretty well with it?

James

[sweetspot]

James, Yes the Bryston line does sell well because of the quality & reputation. However, there are never any Bryston products in stock to demo.If you wish to purchase your products,you only order them thru West End.I'm sure there are other AC members here that can concur.

[redbook]

 Seems to be a stellar product but one thing annoys me.  Why not provide the proper XLR balanced input sockets.? Kind of a deal breaker to me.

[James Tanner]

Seems to be a stellar product but one thing annoys me.  Why not provide the proper XLR balanced input sockets.? Kind of a deal breaker to me.

Hi,

Mainly because The BP 17 Pre would then have to be a redesign from the B135 Integrated amp as it does not have Balanced inputs.  The cost effectiveness of the BP17 Preamp and 2.5B amp is they are essentially the same product as the B135 but available in 2 separate enclosures rather than one.

james

[redbook]

 Thanks James

[KeithA]

Thanks I will look into that. They seem to do pretty well with it?

James

Yeah, it is West End. They are my 'go to' dealer for everything I buy. As you know, I've been a 'dyed in the wool' Bryston user for years and I've ordered it all through West End. I never got to demo any of that gear. However, I had no issue blindly ordering it since based on the reviews I read I had a good idea of what I was getting. Andrew Marshall basically sold me on the gear with his reviews in AIG. For the most part, I don't mind that they don't stock as I'm not sure how well they could sell the inventory. I'm not even sure I would stock a $10,000 piece of gear in Newfoundland! I will always buy my Bryston gear heough there and in the near future will likely buy a BDP from there as well.

However, with the preamp upgrade I'm looking for something several notches up (hopefully) and I'm weary that the Bp17 may be too similar to the SP1.7. It may be completely different, but it's almost like I'd like to be able to try it out in that case. Now mind you, any other preamp I'd have to order blindly as well since no dealer of any brand in Newfoundland stocks much high end stuff. However, based on what I've read the Pass appears to be well received and likely a step up from what I have. However, even that unit would be coming from a dealer in Nevada! Will it be much better than the SP1.7? I don't know, but since I have the upgrade itchI'm willing to take the chance, I guess, based on what I've read.

So, for what it's worth, I'm ok with the fact that my Bryston dealer does not stock the higher end stuff. If I can find a few corroborating reviews in noted mags, for example, I will likely continue to order my Bryston stuff unheard in the future.

I have a good relationship with West End and find the service stellar. im sure if I pushed gently, my contact would order something I was looking at since there would be a 99.4% chance I would buy it anyway. However, I don't do that since I wouldn't want to stick them with something on the floor if I didn't pull the trigger.

So, for me, having local dealer access to purchase the Bryston gear is a plus, whether or not they stock the line or not. I will always try to buy local first before I look to buy from away.

Keith

[KeithA]

Hi,

Mainly because The BP 17 Pre would then have to be a redesign from the B135 Integrated amp as it does not have Balanced inputs.  The cost effectiveness of the BP17 Preamp and 2.5B amp is they are essentially the same product as the B135 but available in 2 separate enclosures rather than one.

james

James, from reading this I get a sense that the BP17 is not what I'm looking for anyway. I guess I'd be tickled if Bryston came out with a new 2-box preamp designed from the ground up. However, that's likely not something you guys consider relevant and not even on your radar to produce.

I know the BP-26 exists, but it doesn't have HT bypass/unity gain, which it a must for what I'm looking for since I still want to run my SP1.7 as my HT processor.

Keith

[turnovertherecord]

Any other reviews on the BP-17 to date

[James Tanner]

Any other reviews on the BP-17 to date

No sorry nothing in the works on that front other than the Secrets of Home Theater Review we got a few months back.

james

[mkaiser]

Yeah, it is West End. They are my 'go to' dealer for everything I buy. As you know, I've been a 'dyed in the wool' Bryston user for years and I've ordered it all through West End. I never got to demo any of that gear. However, I had no issue blindly ordering it since based on the reviews I read I had a good idea of what I was getting. Andrew Marshall basically sold me on the gear with his reviews in AIG. For the most part, I don't mind that they don't stock as I'm not sure how well they could sell the inventory. I'm not even sure I would stock a $10,000 piece of gear in Newfoundland! I will always buy my Bryston gear heough there and in the near future will likely buy a BDP from there as well.

However, with the preamp upgrade I'm looking for something several notches up (hopefully) and I'm weary that the Bp17 may be too similar to the SP1.7. It may be completely different, but it's almost like I'd like to be able to try it out in that case. Now mind you, any other preamp I'd have to order blindly as well since no dealer of any brand in Newfoundland stocks much high end stuff. However, based on what I've read the Pass appears to be well received and likely a step up from what I have. However, even that unit would be coming from a dealer in Nevada! Will it be much better than the SP1.7? I don't know, but since I have the upgrade itchI'm willing to take the chance, I guess, based on what I've read.

So, for what it's worth, I'm ok with the fact that my Bryston dealer does not stock the higher end stuff. If I can find a few corroborating reviews in noted mags, for example, I will likely continue to order my Bryston stuff unheard in the future.

I have a good relationship with West End and find the service stellar. im sure if I pushed gently, my contact would order something I was looking at since there would be a 99.4% chance I would buy it anyway. However, I don't do that since I wouldn't want to stick them with something on the floor if I didn't pull the trigger.

So, for me, having local dealer access to purchase the Bryston gear is a plus, whether or not they stock the line or not. I will always try to buy local first before I look to buy from away.

Keith

Interesting, since Bryston only have 4 products that are 10k and above. (7b's, 14b, 28b and sp3). The rest of their stuff is quite affordable.

[KeithA]

Interesting, since Bryston only have 4 products that are 10k and above. (7b's, 14b, 28b and sp3). The rest of their stuff is quite affordable.

For you, I'll change the number to $5,000 

Different number.......same conclusion 

But seriously, in this case they wouldn't stock a $4,000 to $5,000 2-channel product since based on their experience, there is a large chance it will have trouble selling. There is another small, mid to high end dealer here as well and it's the same story with those lines carried....they can't stock the pricier stuff.

In the end, I ended up ordering a product from a far away dealer based on  a few positive 3rd party reviews that were floating around and all worked out great.

Keith

[vegasdave]

A friend of mine in Minnesota who has an engineering background tells me Pass Labs is not so good and that they use cheap parts. Bryston is much better than Pass, imo.