[montreal.prime]

Hello fellow music lovers!

I am getting a little project studio together and I've recently bought KRK 7000b passive monitors. As soon as I got them, I went straight to the computer to find an amp to match them.

After doing some research and digging through Craigslist,
I am buying a Bryston 3b tomorrow for 400$CA (I'm in Quebec).
However I was unable to correctly identify the model of this Bryston, it seems very old, and haven't gotten anything out of my 20 min search session. It's not an NRB or ST though.

So here I stand now, addressing the community, asking for your help
1) can you identify the amp in the picture?
2) is 400$ a good deal?
3) did you have any experience with Bryston driving your studio monitors? Any useful advice?

Thank you very much for your time
Cheers

[James Tanner]

It is one of the original 3B Pro amps.

james

[montreal.prime]

Thank you for the quick reply!

Do they share the same great Bryston reputation as the other ST and NRB models?

[James Tanner]

Thank you for the quick reply!

Do they share the same great Bryston reputation as the other ST and NRB models?

ABSOLUTELY!

james

[montreal.prime]

Very nice! is 400$ a good price?

I will be letting you know how it sounds with my KRKs.
I am mostly into electronic music production - kind of like Daft Punk or Justice. A little bit of hip-hop - everything produced by Danger Mouse (like DangerDoom). Also, I have a Tom Waits kind of project in work.

Anybody here in music production?

[Mad Mr H]

3) did you have any experience with Bryston driving your studio monitors? Any useful advice?

  .

Have you heard of PMC ?

I have a pair of PMC BB5 as my main speakers and 5ch MB2 for cinema

All run with Bryston amps.


So thats a BIG YES to running monitor speakers with Bryston

[texaslonghorn]

Hi Montreal.  I recently bought an older 3B as well after searching for one for some time.  Yes, $400 is a good price, especially in CDN.  I paid more for mine and I was happy.  They seem to go closer to US$700 from what I have seen.  However, I should clarify that I didn't research or buy the Pro - but I think the only difference is the input connectors.  Enjoy.

[b5pt9]

Congrats on ypur purchase, looks like that 3B is in nice shape.

You should be able to find a manual and spec sheet for your amp on the Bryston website under Technical menu - its near the bottom under Legacy Power Amps.

And one thing to be aware of is the older amps have no electronic soft start/shutdown so turning the amp on and off is hard on the power switch.  A lot of folks leave the amps on 24/7 so that it stays at a nice warm constant operating temperature.

There are unproven rumours that these amps sound better when at proper operating temperature

[pope_face]

Alright, I'm new here, so rather than posting a completely new thread I'm just going to piggyback off this one... I've just picked up a couple 4B's this past week, and I'm testing them out, but they seem a bit "thin" (compared to my Nikko power amps). However, I'm used to turning all my units off after I'm done listening to music, and I've only tested them out for an hour or so at a time, so maybe that's the issue. I just heard today (as in the last reply) that the amps like to be warmed up, so I've left one on to see if that makes a difference.

Anyway, before this gets too long, my issue is that my music seems to feel a bit "washed out" and lacking "soul"... I know that's a very vague comment to make, but it seems as if there's no depth to the music. I find the sound is a huge improvement over my Nikkos - guitar riffs, vocals, and bass are a lot cleaner - but it's almost tiring to listen to music for any length of time. Has anyone else experianced this? Does letting the amp heat up for XX amount of hours make a difference? Is there some way to remedy this, or is it just one of the "perks" of owning a Bryston?

For those who need more info on what I'm running the 4B with, I've got a NAD 5220 CDP, ADA SSD-66 pre/pro, and a pair of B&W DM580 & local speakers in parallel. I'm also running my PC via a little DAC. The amps are the only things that changed for my comparisons... same components, cables, speakers, placement, and songs...

Fil

EDIT: I'm wondering if my speakers are a bit anemic, and my comparisons are between the Bryston with the B&Ws, and what I remember my old system to sound like. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I'll keep the Brystons... I've got until Wed to decide whether or not to keep them (I bought them from a shop).

[Viajero5000]

Alright, I'm new here, so rather than posting a completely new thread I'm just going to piggyback off this one... I've just picked up a couple 4B's this past week, and I'm testing them out, but they seem a bit "thin" (compared to my Nikko power amps). However, I'm used to turning all my units off after I'm done listening to music, and I've only tested them out for an hour or so at a time, so maybe that's the issue. I just heard today (as in the last reply) that the amps like to be warmed up, so I've left one on to see if that makes a difference.

Anyway, before this gets too long, my issue is that my music seems to feel a bit "washed out" and lacking "soul"... I know that's a very vague comment to make, but it seems as if there's no depth to the music. I find the sound is a huge improvement over my Nikkos - guitar riffs, vocals, and bass are a lot cleaner - but it's almost tiring to listen to music for any length of time. Has anyone else experianced this?

Yes, I have experienced this with the 4B-ST in one of my systems. The primary cause was synergy issues with the rest of the components in the system. 

[Stu Pitt]

It could very well be a warm up issue.  My B60 sounds pretty thin and lack luster when cold.  It really warms up and carries a tune after about 2 or 3 hours of being powered up.  It gets better with more time, but I don't think its as noticable as it is early on.

It could also be your ears.  The old amp could have been artificially full sounding and over-doing it, so to speak.  For example, when I bought a Speed Box for my turntable, my first thought was where did the bass go?  After a few records, I realized that the flab was removed, and the bass was far tighter, quicker, and deeper.  The bass was originally artificially full, if you will.

Maybe the Bryston is revealing the limitations of the rest of the system or recording.  A more transparent component will show flaws easier.

Or maybe Bryston just isn't for you.  I know its sac-religious around here (even to me), but its not for everyone.

I'd keep the Bryston warm and live with it for a few weeks.  Afterward go back to the old amp for a day or two, then A/B the two and see which is better.  The differences should be pretty appearent IMO.