Comments from The Audio Critic about Bryston's amplifiers

myview · « **on:** 28 Dec 2011, 05:41 am »

Dear all,

I came across this (rather old) publication: http://theaudiocritic.com/back_issues/The_Audio_Critic_26_r.pdf

It has some pretty nice things to say about Bryston amps.

Cheers

Elizabeth · « **Reply #1 on:** 28 Dec 2011, 10:54 am »

The Audio myths propaganda in that link certainly are propaganda!
I did not get past it to read the bryston stuff.
Pretty much like the author thinks he is all knowing.

tomytoons · « **Reply #2 on:** 28 Dec 2011, 03:18 pm »

That is why that publication is not in existence as far as I know.
It is destined for the recycle bin.

Ashamed I used to subscribe shhhhhhh

spinner · « **Reply #3 on:** 28 Dec 2011, 08:26 pm »

As with many audio writers his views are a mixture of facts veneered with assumptions and self righteous pontification.

milford3 · « **Reply #4 on:** 28 Dec 2011, 09:14 pm »

Wow!! What a read. No mention of Bose! Interesting.

rofo · « **Reply #5 on:** 31 Dec 2011, 12:03 am »

Wow, this guy new what he was writing about and didn't care about advertising. I guess that is why the mag went belly up.

Warren_Buff · « **Reply #6 on:** 31 Dec 2011, 12:29 am »

Quote from: rofo on 31 Dec 2011, 12:03 am

Wow, this guy new what he was writing about and didn't care about advertising. I guess that is why the mag went belly up.

And the Voodoo-companies (Nordost, Kimber, Synergistic "Research" and many more) would of course never advertise in a magazine like Audio Critic which tells the readers that expensive cables are just a PR-joke and has nothing to do with better sound.

The 10 biggest lies in audio is a very good article (some people feel attacked when their believes do not reflect what science says).
Serious companies like Bryston, Logitech, Cambridge audio, Benchmark Audio and some more would benefit in more awareness among the audiophiles about all the snake oil which is in the hi-fi business. Unserious companies (and companies making bad products) like cable-companies, tube amp companies, Edge electronics, DartZeel etc. want us to be believe in their voodoo.

By the way, this is worth reading:
http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/10-01-06/#feature

SHV · « **Reply #7 on:** 31 Dec 2011, 01:07 am »

"audio engineering would be immune to the kind of magical thinking we see in other fields. "
***********
Humans seem to be "hard wired" for magical thinking. What, if any evolutionary advantage that confers, I don't have a clue. The major variable seems to be what/where an individual/society applies their "magical" thinking. Audio may be the least harmful.

Steve

Devil Doc · « **Reply #8 on:** 31 Dec 2011, 01:13 am »

Peter Aczel was discredited long ago. Got caught giving an excellent speaker review to a company he had a monetary interest in.

Doc

TONEPUB · « **Reply #9 on:** 31 Dec 2011, 01:16 am »

Quote from: Warren_Buff on 31 Dec 2011, 12:29 am

And the Voodoo-companies (Nordost, Kimber, Synergistic "Research" and many more) would of course never advertise in a magazine like Audio Critic which tells the readers that expensive cables are just a PR-joke and has nothing to do with better sound.

The 10 biggest lies in audio is a very good article (some people feel attacked when their believes do not reflect what science says).
Serious companies like Bryston, Logitech, Cambridge audio, Benchmark Audio and some more would benefit in more awareness among the audiophiles about all the snake oil which is in the hi-fi business. Unserious companies (and companies making bad products) like cable-companies, tube amp companies, Edge electronics, DartZeel etc. want us to be believe in their voodoo.

By the way, this is worth reading:
http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/10-01-06/#feature

You ought to give a Darzeel amp a listen. They make pretty nice stuff. Yes, it's expensive because you're paying a penalty for it being made in low quantity and in Switzerland, but great sound nonetheless.

With an 18 month backlog to get a Dartzeel amp, I'd hardly say they are an "unserious" company...

grsimmon · « **Reply #10 on:** 31 Dec 2011, 04:27 am »

The Audio Critic lives on in the form of his webzine, though his writing is infrequent. I think he has some very interesting reviews in the last 5 years particularly for speakers and music. I'm very thankful I came across his site and consider my current system better because of it.

werd · « **Reply #11 on:** 31 Dec 2011, 07:52 am »

What a bunch of nonsense. everyone of those 10 points were not my experiences at all. Frickn crap every single point and completely out of touch. Oh well.

grsimmon · « **Reply #12 on:** 31 Dec 2011, 08:35 am »

Predictably, reactions to The Audio Critic tend to be pretty polarized. Regardless, I thought his comments about the Bryston amps in that issue were spot-on.

James Tanner · « **Reply #13 on:** 31 Dec 2011, 05:15 pm »

I have a neat story for you involving AUDIO CRITIC.

Many moons ago - late 70's - Bryston had just built its first 4B and we ran an advert in the then popular AUDIO Magazine - it said something like " Bryston 4B BEST AMP IN THE WORLD"

Anyway Audio Critic had a section in the magazine called "HIP BOOTS". This was dedicated to pointing out all the bullshit that manufacturers said in there ADs or literature that was suspect or downright dishonest

So in one of these colums Peter pointed out how rediculous it was for a company to claim they had the worlds best amplifier - in hindsight I agree it was a dumb move.

Anyway here is where it gets interesting. Back in those days the high end audio show was in Chicago and we could not afford a room to demo our gear so being the crazy Canucks we were we dragged our first 4B to Chicago and believe it or not dragged it around the show from room to room asking other manufacturers to try it on their speakers - how naive aye

Long story short after much rejection a great gentleman by the name of John Dalquist said he would be glad to try the amp on his speakers the DQ10's

As he was listening Peter Aczel from Audio Critic walked in and John stated he thought the Bryston sounded quite good on his speakers. Peter agreed and asked if he couLd review it. He did and stated in the review that maybe this small company from Canada was correct - it may in fact be the worlds best amp.

I am sure Peter meant it 'tongue in cheek, but it launched the 4B as a consideration for people considering a quality amp in those days.

James

SoundGame · « **Reply #14 on:** 1 Jan 2012, 03:05 am »

Quote from: James Tanner on 31 Dec 2011, 05:15 pm

I have a neat story for you involving AUDIO CRITIC.

Many moons ago - late 70's - Bryston had just built its first 4B and we ran an advert in the then popular AUDIO Magazine - it said something like " Bryston 4B BEST AMP IN THE WORLD" Anyway Audio Critic had a section in the magazine called "HIP BOOTS". This was dedicated to pointing out all the bullshit that manufacturers said in there ADs or literature that was suspect or downright dishonest So in one of these colums Peter pointed out how rediculous it was for a company to claim they had the worlds best amplifier - in hindsight I agree it was a dumb move.

Anyway here is where it gets interesting. Back in those days the high end audio show was in Chicago and we could not afford a room to demo our gear so being the crazy Canucks we were we dragged our first 4B to Chicago and believe it or not dragged it around the show from room to room asking other manufacturers to try it on their speakers - how naive aye

Long story short after much rejection a great gentleman by the name of John Dalquist said he would be glad to try the amp on his speakers the DQ10's As he was listening Peter Aczel from Audio Critic walked in and John stated he thought the Bryston sounded quite good on his speakers. Peter agreed and asked if he couLd review it. He did and stated in the review that maybe this small company from Canada was correct - it may in fact be the worlds best amp. I am sure Peter meant it 'tongue in cheek, but it launched the 4B as a consideration for people considering a quality amp in those days.

James

Hey James, I'd heard the part of this story about the Audio Critic review and Bryston's original catch line for the 4B but did not know about what you guys did at the Chicago show. That is so cool that you folks were so hyped about your product you were willing to try that out....who's idea was it...Chris or you?

planet10 · « **Reply #15 on:** 1 Jan 2012, 03:39 am »

Quote from: Warren_Buff on 31 Dec 2011, 12:29 am

The 10 biggest lies in audio is a very good article

One of the best pieces of straight-faced satire i've ever read.

dave

zybar · « **Reply #16 on:** 1 Jan 2012, 04:32 am »

Quote from: Warren_Buff on 31 Dec 2011, 12:29 am

And the Voodoo-companies (Nordost, Kimber, Synergistic "Research" and many more) would of course never advertise in a magazine like Audio Critic which tells the readers that expensive cables are just a PR-joke and has nothing to do with better sound.

The 10 biggest lies in audio is a very good article (some people feel attacked when their believes do not reflect what science says).
Serious companies like Bryston, Logitech, Cambridge audio, Benchmark Audio and some more would benefit in more awareness among the audiophiles about all the snake oil which is in the hi-fi business. Unserious companies (and companies making bad products) like cable-companies, tube amp companies, Edge electronics, DartZeel etc. want us to be believe in their voodoo.

By the way, this is worth reading:
http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/10-01-06/#feature

Tube amp companies are unserious or produce bad products - I don't think so!!

While I like my Bryston BDP/BDA combo, I love my Atma-Sphere MA-1/MP-1 combo even more (that's a tube amp and preamp). Atma-Sphere hasn't been in business since 1976 by accident or luck!!

James, sorry for promoting another brand in your Circle, but silly posts that make broad and sweeping statements that everybody knows is incorrect can't go unanswered.

George

zybar · « **Reply #17 on:** 1 Jan 2012, 04:37 am »

Quote from: TONEPUB on 31 Dec 2011, 01:16 am

You ought to give a Darzeel amp a listen. They make pretty nice stuff. Yes, it's expensive because you're paying a penalty for it being made in low quantity and in Switzerland, but great sound nonetheless.

With an 18 month backlog to get a Dartzeel amp, I'd hardly say they are an "unserious" company...

One of the best amps I have ever heard (tube or ss) is the Dartzeel amp. Heard it drive my 5A's to 110+ db's until it started flashing danger signs and we backed it off. While it did sound outstanding, the cost and other issues will keep me from ever owning it.

I am still waiting for James to drop ship a pair of 28B SST²'s so I can hear how they compare to the Atma-Sphere MA-1 MK 3.1's.

George

James Tanner · « **Reply #18 on:** 1 Jan 2012, 12:25 pm »

Quote from: SoundGame on 1 Jan 2012, 03:05 am

Hey James, I'd heard the part of this story about the Audio Critic review and Bryston's original catch line for the 4B but did not know about what you guys did at the Chicago show. That is so cool that you folks were so hyped about your product you were willing to try that out....who's idea was it...Chris or you?

Hi SoundGame

You know it was so long ago I am not sure how we came up with the idea - I think it was just one of those things that evolved because we were attending the show anyway.

James

tdinut · « **Reply #19 on:** 2 Jan 2012, 04:46 am »

Quote from: TONEPUB on 31 Dec 2011, 01:16 am

You ought to give a Darzeel amp a listen. They make pretty nice stuff. Yes, it's expensive because you're paying a penalty for it being made in low quantity and in Switzerland, but great sound nonetheless.

With an 18 month backlog to get a Dartzeel amp, I'd hardly say they are an "unserious" company...

Hi Jeff,

Great to see you again! How do you like Dartzeel compared to Burmester? Is Burmester still one of your references? Thanks!

Joe aka "Joeinid"