[spinner]

  Yes , me as well. I think we asked this question before but maybe........in this new year..we will have the choice of the smaller monos.

[rmurray]

 srb said it for me...thanks ,saved me a lot of typing. Bring on the 4B monoblocks please.  

[mkaiser]

Ahh... The 7B-SST2 IS the 4B-SST2 in monoblock configuration...
So I am wondering what you are asking for???

Not really, the 7b's are 600Watts. The 4b is a good idea at 300Watts for people who do not need such excessive power plus they will sell more do to a more realistic power rating.

James, alot of manufacturers make mono's in the 200-300Watt range. Is this something Bryston may think of doing in the future?

Mark

[Diamond Dog]

Not really, the 7b's are 600Watts. The 4b is a good idea at 300Watts for people who do not need such excessive power plus they will sell more do to a more realistic power rating.
Mark

 People don't necessarily buy the 7B SST2 rather than the 4B SST2 just to have access to "excessive" power. As explained by Chris Russell recently in another thread, the bigger amps sound better. Unless the larger transformers and cap banks etc. are carried over to the proposed 300 watt monos, I'm not sure I see what the point would be for people who own 4B SST2's to replace them with a monoblock version of the same amp unless you want to change amp placement in your system or are just looking for what the British so charmingly refer to as " kit rack kudos ". More money for questionable benefit. Am I missing something here?
 

D.D.   

[spinner]

 Perhaps a greater channel separation and less cross talk between transformers. Is that the difference between the 7b and the 14b.I wonder?

[Elizabeth]

Ahh the slow one drooling in the corner (me) finally 'gets' what YOU guys are going on about.
Not the 4B-SST2 chassis (as mono (which is basically a 7B-SST2)
But  the 4B-SST2 split into two separate mono amps..
OK. I am now on the same page.
So you guys want a pair of mono amps equal to the 4B...
Ahh the price is gonna be way too much.
The added chassis, transformer and power supply is at least half again the price of a single 4B
So the 4B-SST2 is around $5 grand, a pair of half 4B-SST2 is gonna be $7,500.

Which means it is a crazy idea. (IMO) It is just not realistic to think folks are gonna buy such a product in numbers enough to justify making it. Mainly as the pair are just a 4B.
Like it would be a pair of 3B made into a mono configuration. So like each 7B is a few bucks more than a single 4B.
the 3B as a mono would be as a pair $8,500!!!!!!!!!!!
It just is not gonna happen folks.

Now what I want has already been said will never happen: A deluxe set of tone controls in a chassis powered by the BP-26 power supply.
With plenty of features. Run through the tape loop so it could be in or out of the circuit.
I drool at the possibilities.
The best part is it would be very unique. No high end manufacturers have any tone controls, but PLENTY of folks actually wish they could have some..
I would pay $2,500 to $3,000 for a matching box to sit on my BP-26 with three pot low mid high tone knobs, a few knobs for shelving tilt sets for each area. A loudness contour knob with several settings from little to a lot.
I get all fuzzy and warm thinking how much I would LOVE such a Bryston product.
You Bryston guys have NO IDEA what a cool INNOVATIVE product it would be. It might 'bust the dam' (damn!) lack of tone control accessibility in modern audio gear.
It certainly is as good an idea as a headphone box!!!!

[Diamond Dog]

Perhaps a greater channel separation and less cross talk between transformers. Is that the difference between the 7b and the 14b.I wonder?

I'm not sure that there is all that much difference sonically between the 7 and 14B SST2 - a 14B SST2 is basically two 7's in one chassis/box in a dual-mono configuration. The real difference occurs when you move up in the line from the smaller to larger transformers, cap banks etc. and the larger energy storage and other benefits that come along with that. That's why I don't think you'd really gain all that much by switching from a 4B SST2 to two 300W monos in comparison to switching from the 4 to 7's or a 14 or from those to 28's. Then you gain really tangible sonic improvements even if you never run those big boys to their maximum potential volume-wise. But it costs.

D.D.

[redbook]

 That's probably true from that standpoint. The thing is ,the 300 powerpacks  already exist  . What more for Bryston to offer those with a regular chassis and face? 

[Diamond Dog]

That's probably true from that standpoint. The thing is ,the 300 powerpacks  already exist  . What more for Bryston to offer those with a regular chassis and face? 

And brought up to the SST2 standard. But once again, are you going to get much sonic improvement over just going with the less-costly 4B SST2 ?

D.D.

[SoundGame]

And brought up to the SST2 standard. But once again, are you going to get much sonic improvement over just going with the less-costly 4B SST2 ?

D.D.

The question is why do the 7B's exist, when the 14B should do and is cheaper?  Why create the 28b's instead of creating a 56b stereo amp.  There are some advantages to going the monoblock route.  If you have the room for monoblocks and you don't mind having the double chasis - I would think the separation would provide for exactly that - more separation between channels, more isolation of the channels, more room for cooling, more room to add extra capacitance and/or a slightly larger power supply etc. etc.
 
I also believe that the increase in price should not be dramatically more than the difference between the 14b and 7b's, especially when you factor in that the 4B mono might end up selling more units then the 7B.  The question is - what would you name them?

[Diamond Dog]

The question is why do the 7B's exist, when the 14B should do and is cheaper?  Why create the 28b's instead of creating a 56b stereo amp.  There are some advantages to going the monoblock route.  If you have the room for monoblocks and you don't mind having the double chasis - I would think the separation would provide for exactly that - more separation between channels, more isolation of the channels, more room for cooling, more room to add extra capacitance and/or a slightly larger power supply etc. etc.
 

Again, I don't think the performance difference is as great between the 7B and 14B as between the 4B and moving up to the 7B or 14B. My thought is that the 7B largely exists for those who want to be able to place their amps close to their speakers to utilize shorter cable runs. The 14B is a pretty well-designed dual mono and I think that in terms of the attributes you suggest like better channel separation, etc., the performance difference is not going to be as great as moving up a step in the Bryston amp hiarchy would be, G. As to why there is no 56B, using the difference between the 7B and 14B as an example, I think one reason might be that you'd be talking about a really ponderous unit weighing in at nearly 200 lbs. That's a real-world practical consideration - one reason I went with 7's myself rather than a single 14 was that the idea of dealing with a 100 lb. amp had limited appeal in a variety of ways. Sound-wise, I think I could have lived with a 14B SST2 quite easily.
I also expect that there is no great appetite to introduce a new product that would probably do more to drain sales away from units which are already established and successful ( and which they are already set up to build ) than it would to win new business.

D.D.

[Elizabeth]

One issue is Bryston uses the chassis of the stereo model to base the next level mono on.
So the 4B-SST2 chassis is the same as the 7B-SST2
And the 14B-SST2 chassis is the same as the 28B-SST2 chassis.
So what would they base the 4B-SST2 mono on?
The chassis they currently have, for the 150watt stereo 3B-SST2 would be the natural chassis for a mono 300 watt
So..Since the 3B-SST2 costs $4,295. in USA.
So turning that into a pair of mono amps: Pair for $9,000. No way.
When you could buy a stereo 14B-SST2 for the same money, or for a 10% increase, a pair of 7B-SST2.

IMO you guys are being unrealistic to seek a mono pair of 4B-SST2.
The price would be totally unreasonable

[Diamond Dog]

+1.
All this spitballing is fun if you go in for that sort of thing but where the rubber hits the road, you've gotta make a business case for a new product introduction. These guys have been at it for a long time, they know what they're doing and if they thought that a 300W mono was going to shift some serious units and make money doing it, they'd be building them.

D.D.

[PRELUDE]

Again, I don't think the performance difference is as great between the 7B and 14B as between the 4B and moving up to the 7B or 14B. My thought is that the 7B largely exists for those who want to be able to place their amps close to their speakers to utilize shorter cable runs. The 14B is a pretty well-designed dual mono and I think that in terms of the attributes you suggest like better channel separation, etc., the performance difference is not going to be as great as moving up a step in the Bryston amp hiarchy would be, G. As to why there is no 56B, using the difference between the 7B and 14B as an example, I think one reason might be that you'd be talking about a really ponderous unit weighing in at nearly 200 lbs. That's a real-world practical consideration - one reason I went with 7's myself rather than a single 14 was that the idea of dealing with a 100 lb. amp had limited appeal in a variety of ways. Sound-wise, I think I could have lived with a 14B SST2 quite easily.
I also expect that there is no great appetite to introduce a new product that would probably do more to drain sales away from units which are already established and successful ( and which they are already set up to build ) than it would to win new business.

D.D.

well said 

[srb]

If there is no compelling reason for a mono 4B to exist, then there isn't any more of a compelling reason for a 7B to exist.
 
If 2 X 7Bs, with the cost of a second chassis plus additional capacitance, can be built for an extra premium of only $650 over the stereo 14B, then a similar pricing model could absolutely exist for monoblock/stereo 4B models.
 
If Bryston chooses not to manufacture it, that's fine, but the forum is full of requests for smaller monos as well as request for a single center channel.  And most of those people don't seem to want the older circuit in a bolt-on utility chassis known as the PowerPAC 300.  And I don't blame them.
 
Steve

[larevoj]

I actually don't feel much is missing in Bryston amplifiers.

I do think a complete refresh in their preamplifier line is necessary and quite urgently.  Especially on their PSU for their top model preamplifier. Currently the MPS-2 is limited to only a few component - what is the point? Why not have a dedicated PSU that is all beefed up only for the BP27? The BP 27 needs a screen somewhere desperately to indicate crucial information and a HT bypass done right. It needs to have all necessary connectivity to all other Bryston electronics without any tradeoff otherwise it doesn't make sense.

On digital front I think Bryston got it nail down pretty well. The BDA-1 and BDP-1 combo is really good and only if necessary an upgrade on BDA-1 firmware. I would suggest to another deck for file storage and ripping. A plain Bryston box similar to BDA-1 and BDP-1 with a CD slot-in mechanism and come standard with 2TB storage expendable to 6TB by adding drives slots. It has to be dead silent with linear power supply and simple indicators for available storage space, drive status, etc. The complete package would meant a hassle free solution for user and simply enjoy the music. The current interface to the BDP-1 is reasonable but it can definately do better in terms of GUI and making it more user friendly.

I think with the above improvements Bryston will solidify the market they have captured.

Cheers! 

[larevoj]

One more thing - Enjoy the Music! 

[James Tanner]

Interesting suggestions folks - thanks

James

[Alpha10]

If Bryston chooses not to manufacture it, that's fine, but the forum is full of requests for smaller monos as well as request for a single center channel.  And most of those people don't seem to want the older circuit in a bolt-on utility chassis known as the PowerPAC 300.  And I don't blame them.
 
Steve

Just one last point on the potential 4BSST2 Mono, as home cinema/Multi-channel music is pretty big these days, and look at someone like myself, the 4BSST2 is plenty for my front two, at present I use a Powerpac-120 for my centre (the 300 was too large to fit behind the speaker), if I could buy a 4BSST2 mono for the centre to match power across the front three, hell yes!

Cheers

[Diamond Dog]

If there is no compelling reason for a mono 4B to exist, then there isn't any more of a compelling reason for a 7B to exist.

Steve

The actual existence of the 7B mono might just be the most compelling reason for the non-existence of the proposed 4B mono.

If Bryston chooses not to manufacture it, that's fine, but the forum is full of requests for smaller monos as well as request for a single center channel.   
Steve

Is it that " the forum is full of requests for a small mono " ( which seems perhaps a bit hyperbolic ) or is it that there have been multiple requests from the same small group of people posting anonymously on an on-line manufacturer's forum ? Requests which have been repeatedly and consistently met with tepid response from the manufacturer. Again, if the populace was indeed clamouring at the gates of Castle Bryston ( now that would bring tourists to Peterborough... ) in large numbers, crying out for 4B monos, do you not think Bryston would be capitalizing on that ?

D.D.