[rmurray]

  Some fellow hi- fi friends and I were wondering which  Bryston power amp would have the most forward presentation and which would have a greater laid back effect. I thought the 4B is the more in your face type but what do you members think.? I am referring to the current series of sst sq. from the 2B up to the 14B Thanks for anyone's experienced opinions on this.

[Diamond Dog]

If we're talking SST2-series only, to my ears FWIW the sweetest Brystons are at the opposite ends of the spectrum - the 2 & 3 and then the 28's. I wouldn't say any of the SST2's are particularly "in your face ".

D.D.

[redbook]

 Do you mean "sweet" is a laid back sound.? I thinks "in your face" would mean a more up front , closer type of soundstaging. 

[95Dyna]

I would say none of the above.  All the Bryston amps are cut out of the same mold and only vary by horsepower so that the owner can choose the amp that best suits his/her application e.g. speaker load, room size and interraction etc.  The myriad of variables in each persons situation will account for more of the differences in the presentation than the difference in Bryston amp model.

[turnovertherecord]

I would say none of the above.  All the Bryston amps are cut out of the same mold and only vary by horsepower so that the owner can choose the amp that best suits his/her application e.g. speaker load, room size and interraction etc.  The myriad of variables in each persons situation will account for more of the differences in the presentation than the difference in Bryston amp model.

Also preamps ?

[95Dyna]

Also preamps ?

Preamps not so much with the SP3 and BP17 being a newer design than the BP6-16-26.  I do recall James saying that the 6-16-26 were identical at the core and differed only by features, inputs and outputs and of course the outboard PS for the 26.

[redbook]

 Yes but laid back as well

[s4s4s4]

Not too much diff if played within their comfort zones. Maybe the 7b, 14b and 28b's have a small advantage when the balanced inputs are used. The 2BLP is different story, a softer sound with less control on the bottom end.

[Diamond Dog]

Do you mean "sweet" is a laid back sound.? I thinks "in your face" would mean a more up front , closer type of soundstaging. 

No, Redbook - I meant "sweet " as opposed to an amp which is more aggressive-sounding in a negative way - over-bright to the point of making you want to cut a listening session short due to fatigue.I don't mean "sweet" like "sounds like a McIntosh". None of the SST2's are what I would consider aggressive-sounding. To me, that's what "in your face" means and it gets old really fast, especially if other parts of the system add emphasis to the problem in some kind of reverse synergy. Taking something bad and making it worse. Dynamic is fine. Over-aggressive has me reaching to turn it down or off.
I know the theory is that the SST2's all sound the same and that the only difference is the power increases as you go higher up the Bryston food chain but I think a 28 sounds different than a 4. And better. Not that a 4BSST2 sounds bad at all, a 28 just does some things better. Maybe I'm nuts.

D.D. 
 

[rob80b]

  Some fellow hi- fi friends and I were wondering which  Bryston power amp would have the most forward presentation and which would have a greater laid back effect. I thought the 4B is the more in your face type but what do you members think.? I am referring to the current series of sst sq. from the 2B up to the 14B Thanks for anyone's experienced opinions on this.

Hi guys ,

Haven’t been in the neighborhood much, but if one gets their system finely tuned and Bryston amps being extremely neutral, I’ve find a forward presentation or one that has a greater laid back effect should really come down to the recording. Choice of speaker and speaker placement also carry the leading role but have a tendency to lean toward one or the other. I’ve also recently discovered that the preamp can also have an effect on this to some degree as well as the source.
But to say the SST/SSTsq amps are either, is IMHO a false premise.

[Elizabeth]

The longer I own my 4B-SST² amp the more I appreciate it's perfection.

[rmurray]

  Thank you for the replies ....

[Grit]

The longer I own my 4B-SST² amp the more I appreciate it's perfection.

I got to demo one (4B-SST2) this week and I'm very impressed. It's powering B&W 804 diamonds, fed by a BDP-2, into a BDA-2, and then into a Rotel receiver. And that made me wonder... each piece of Bryston equipment I've added has made a quite noticeable difference. That's not really fair to the Rotel receiver though. I think it's great for what it cost. However, I'm really curious how much difference a better preamp or SP3 would make. The Rotel's on analog bypass.

Going back to Bryston amps though, I find myself wondering if I should get a 4B-SST2 and a lower powered 9B-SST2 for the center/rears, or some such combo. I'd prefer to go 4B-SST2 and 6B-SST2, but I'm looking for ways to save a bit. I've read some posts where people say there's a difference in sound between some of the Bryston amps. Is that a subtle difference (not likely to show up on HT), or do they sound noticeably different?

[brucek]

I've read some posts where people say there's a difference in sound between some of the Bryston amps. Is that a subtle difference (not likely to show up on HT), or do they sound noticeably different?

The total harmonic distortion plus noise (THD+N) of the 4BSST and 4BSST² is 0.005% across the entire audible audio spectrum at full power. The specification is the same (and incredibly good) for both amps.

Many companies only offer their THD spec at one frequency (usually 1KHz) rather than across the full 20Hz to 20KHz range, and at a reduced power level to obtain decent numbers. This is because amplifiers can suffer from large increases in distortion levels at higher frequencies and power levels. 

THD is a significant specification and probably one of the most important offered, since it tells you the amount of signal degradation as it passes from input to output. The accepted figure of 0.1% is often used to indicate that people can't hear any differences if the THD is less than this.

Yet, Bryston amps will alter an input signal only by 0.005%, and both the 4BSST and 4BSST² are identical in that regard.

Do you really feel you could tell these amps apart or any of the Bryston amps?

[Mag]

Going back to Bryston amps though, I find myself wondering if I should get a 4B-SST2 and a lower powered 9B-SST2 for the center/rears, or some such combo. I'd prefer to go 4B-SST2 and 6B-SST2, but I'm looking for ways to save a bit. I've read some posts where people say there's a difference in sound between some of the Bryston amps. Is that a subtle difference (not likely to show up on HT), or do they sound noticeably different?

I think I gave my opinion on the 3B amps that I use in my 5.1 setup awhile back.

Anyway, when I went from the SST on the mains to the SST2 I noticed a lower noise floor in that the music stands out more against a blacker background, this is something you take for granted after awhile, but is noticeable at first.

I was using the ST on the center channel which I really liked the tone of, but I found that the SST did more of a disappearing act which being that I sit relatively close in a near field setup is more important to me in achieving a seamless soundstage between the front mains and center channel. I tried the SST2 which I found too forward and too much bass. This was without adjusting the center channel from previous settings. Being that you can adjust the center channel this may not be a concern if you're sitting farther back than my 5' distance. In fact I listened to an all SST2 setup at the dealer when I demo-ed the SP2 and didn't find it forward but rather a smooth seamless soundstage.

So I'm using a SST2 on the mains, SST on the center and ST on the surrounds without noticing any tonal differences. This is mainly 90% music and 10% movies. The differences of the amps are more in subtle details and linearity, so you can use different Bryston amps in HT and have a coherent tonal sound.