[Bob Reynolds]

Hi Bob,

Thanks - yes the fellow that did the measurements/testing called to congratulate us on the DAC - said he sees many very exotic and pricy units with little to be positive about.

james

Yep, that's true.  It was the DAC I was especially interested in since I'm considering the new Bryston CD player. 

1) Does the CD player use the same ICs that the internal DAC does -- those mentioned in the review?

2) Is there a schematic of the DAC available? I didn't find one on the Bryston web site.

-- Bob

[Eric]

congrats, james!

as for bryston 4b sst (c-series?), i have read a positive chinese review from a taiwanese hi-fi magazine. let me know if you want a copy. 

cheers,
mike

Hi Mike,

A copy would be great -thanks.
Is it in English?

james

Some guys want everything

[James Tanner]

too bad the BP26 has not been reviewed.  I think it's an outstanding preamp.  I know it's been reviewed on other magazines with glowing reports.  Unfortunately, seems like unless it's in Stereophile getting their stamp of approval, it does not get the respect the product deserves.  I think a home run was hit with the BP26MC.  What a superb phono stage as well as the line.  I think the phono stage is a steal.

I have it combined with a 3B SST (deserves a review there as well) and could not be happier.   
 
Bought them even though I was told I would not like them by other audiophiles.  Ends up, I am more than pleased with them.

Looking forward to reading the 100 and the 4B reviews.  I would think they should be very good reviews.

Hi mitcho,

Yes I agree it seems like Stereophile has much more influence on people than other countries magazines. I know the US dealers say that overseas reviews are a waste of time for increasing interest in the US.

The BP26 DAC has been requested by Stereophile for review.

Also keep you eye out for fantastic reviews on the 28B Mono amplfier the 10B Electronic crossover and the Torus 20 amp power isolation unit coming soon to a Stereophile magazine near you..

james

[Bob Reynolds]

The BP26 DAC has been requested by Stereophile for review.

Also keep you eye out for fantastic reviews on the 28B Mono amplfier the 10B Electronic crossover and the Torus 20 amp power isolation unit coming soon to a Stereophile magazine near you..

james

Looks like James has been very busy! I appreciate the effort.

I bought the BP26 basically based on a review of an older Bryston preamp published in The Audio Critic by David Rich. It'll be nice to see how the BP26 measures in Stereophile. BTW, I believe all the back issues of The Audio Critic are available for free download.

Since Dr. Rich is now reviewing for The $ensible Sound, maybe Bryston should consider providing review samples to them.

[James Tanner]

Yes I know David very well - he is an excellent reviewer and a very knowledgeable engineer.

james

[mitcho]

Hi James

seems even our Canadian mags have a limited effect on the US. However, the review from the Inner Ear report convinced me to get the BP26 MC and Audio Ideas Guide did likewise on the 3B SST.   They had great comparisons between the older 25 and 3B ST vs the newer models.

You would think they would be interested in possibly the 26 MC considering the resurgence of vinyl.  Quite a phono stage.

Keep up the good work.   Nice to see Cdn mfg's doing well.

[eelekim]

hi james, the review is in chinese... 

[James Tanner]

hi james, the review is in chinese... 

OK thanks - I will try and get it translated - can you give me a quick summary and what the conclusion was?

james

[Lancelot]

I've owned about 8 Bryston products, including presently, a 3B SST which I am very happy with.
I'm a little suprised at James Tanner's enthusiasim for Dr. Rich ( and by default The Audio Critic) . Unless my memory serves me wrong both the gentleman and the magazine were of the opinion that amps not driven beyond reasonable distortion and power limits basically sound the same.I DIDN"T say built the same, have the same reliabilty or variability in useage ( balanced and RCA etc.)
Therefore Bryston products would be highly praised for their design, bench performance and long term reliability. Better sound- not according to them.
So, does Bryston consider itself a company that builds highly reliable, excellent measuring components that sound very good ( but not necessarily better than significantly less expensive components) or do they believe all their hard work enables their components to both sound better  as well as measure better therefore justifying the cost premium.
I'm not sure you can have it both ways as a company philosophy.

[James Tanner]

I've owned about 8 Bryston products, including presently, a 3B SST which I am very happy with.
I'm a little suprised at James Tanner's enthusiasim for Dr. Rich ( and by default The Audio Critic) . Unless my memory serves me wrong both the gentleman and the magazine were of the opinion that amps not driven beyond reasonable distortion and power limits basically sound the same.I DIDN"T say built the same, have the same reliabilty or variability in useage ( balanced and RCA etc.)
Therefore Bryston products would be highly praised for their design, bench performance and long term reliability. Better sound- not according to them.
So, does Bryston consider itself a company that builds highly reliable, excellent measuring components that sound very good ( but not necessarily better than significantly less expensive components) or do they believe all their hard work enables their components to both sound better  as well as measure better therefore justifying the cost premium.
I'm not sure you can have it both ways as a company philosophy.

Hi lancelot,

I just like David personally.

james

[eelekim]

Hi James,

I forgot what it says in the review and I don't have the review in hands. But its title reads "Able to bring you into concert hall - Bryston BP26 pre-amp & 4B SST amp" [ http://acdc.com.tw/shop/newsdesk_info.php?newsdesk_id=35 ].

mike

[john1970]

To everyone reading the Stereohile "Review" of the 4B SST please note the following techincal errors:

1) The amp weighs ~59 lbs not 44 lbs as stated in Stereophile (April 2007, pg. 151) according to my bathroom scale.  I admit that my scale could be off by a couple of pounds, but it is not off my 15 lbs!
2) The amp delivers 500 W per a channel into a 4 ohm load not 400 W / channel as stated in Stereophile (same issue and page).
3) The amp contains eight 5600 uF filter capacitors per a channel not eight 4700 uF filter capacitors (same issue and page).

Aside from these errors I was very disappointed that it was not a formal review with analytical measurements from JA.

Best,

John

[ryder]

Who is the reviewer if it's not JA? If they mess up with the technical specifications I wouldn't be too sure on the write-up anymore, but then the 4B-SST is undoubtedly a great amp which is next in my dream list.

[James Tanner]

The reviewer is Larry Greenhill the technical measurments are JA.

james

[niels]

Yes, stunning review !  How popular is B100 by the way ?  It hasnt sold many in my country, that I know. People tend to go for separates in that pricerange, or look for something "beefier".
I had some demands that had to be met though,  weight and a compact chassis was also important since my equipment is housed in an antique chinese cupboard, and 60 pounds of separates would certainly upset my wife !
Actually Greenhill in the section about comparing with the 4B SST first says its a 250 watt amp...so I guess he was in a hurry....