[myview]

I am sorry if this topic has been brought up and answered somewhere on this forum before.  I am new to the forum and have not had a chance to comb the forum and I need some pretty quick answers.

Question: are there any differences between the 3 models 4B, 3B and 2B SST2 besides the power?  If my speakers are well-known to be an especially easy load to drive, won't 2B SST2 be sufficient for "normal" home listening?  (which implies that buying 3B or 4B will be an overkill)

Thank you

[James Tanner]

I am sorry if this topic has been brought up and answered somewhere on this forum before.  I am new to the forum and have not had a chance to comb the forum and I need some pretty quick answers.

Question: are there any differences between the 3 models 4B, 3B and 2B SST2 besides the power?  If my speakers are well-known to be an especially easy load to drive, won't 2B SST2 be sufficient for "normal" home listening?  (which implies that buying 3B or 4B will be an overkill)

Thank you

Hi Myview,

Welcome to the insane asylum!

There is no 'better-best' with Bryston. The quality of the 2B, 3B and 4B amplifiers are the same. You're simply choosing the power requirement needed. That said get the most power you can afford as the extra power usually translates to more control and better dynamics with most speakers.

james

[myview]

Hi James,

Thank you for the quick reply.  Sorry to be dwelling on this a little longer.

Let's say my intended speakers are an easy load to drive and I know for a fact that driving them will be a piece of cake even for the 2B (with the volume knob hardly turned past 10 o'clock 99% of the time), will having so much power in reserve (in the case of 3B and 4B) make sense at all - financial or otherwise?

When you say "more control" and "better dynamics", what do you mean precisely?  Can you please explain this to me a newbie?  I listen to a lot of classical music - full scale orchestral, chamber and solo - but also enjoy jazz vocals.  Thank you

[James Tanner]

Hi James,

Thank you for the quick reply.  Sorry to be dwelling on this a little longer.

Let's say my intended speakers are an easy load to drive and I know for a fact that driving them will be a piece of cake even for the 2B (with the volume knob hardly turned past 10 o'clock 99% of the time), will having so much power in reserve (in the case of 3B and 4B) make sense at all - financial or otherwise?

When you say "more control" and "better dynamics", what do you mean precisely?  Can you please explain this to me a newbie?  I listen to a lot of classical music - full scale orchestral, chamber and solo - but also enjoy jazz vocals.  Thank you

Hi myview,

The more efficient and benign an impedance load your speaker has the better.  So driving a horn system with an efficiency of 104dB at 1 watt 1 meter is a whole bunch easier to drive than a typical dynamic speaker at 88dB efficiency. Generally the 'nominal' impedance given by the speaker manufacturer is just a guide and typically the phase/impedance  curve is more indicative of how difficult a specific loudspeaker is to drive.  So most speakers benefit from more power.

By more control and better dynamics I just mean that the extra power helps provide a reserve that can be used at times when needed. Most people do not realize how much 'short term power' is needed on transient musical material. Think of it like a 4 cylinder car vs. an 8 cylinder car You're going 60 miles per hour but you need to pass and that extra torque needed to pass is just sitting there in reserve with the bigger engine.

Hope this helps.

james