Which is better?

jimmyp58 · « **on:** 4 Jul 2004, 04:01 am »

As you can tell, I own a 14B SST. I was replying to a subject on another forum where a guy said that bi-amping two 4B SST's is far superior in tonal quality and clarity than a 14B SST; he, and B&W according to him, claim the 14B SST is just a 'loud' amp with little tonal qualities so he'd be far better off bi-amping the two 4B SST's he's considering getting. No matter what, he's getting an awesome amp(s) because of the high quality Bryston puts into all their amps but is there any validity to this comment by him and allegedly B&W? I know my 14B sounds flippin' awesome but is there anything I am missing by not going this route versus what I have?

Jim

James Tanner · « **Reply #1 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 03:23 pm »

When you consider that B&W owns Classe Amplifiers you can consider the source when commenting on Bryston.

james

jimmyp58 · « **Reply #2 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 04:51 pm »

Amen James, I completely forgot about that affiliation. Also, thanks for responding.

Jim

gazza982 · « **Reply #3 on:** 5 Jul 2004, 12:38 pm »

Jim,

I used 2 x 4B SSTs and tried passively biamping my B&W Nautilus 800s. I've since sold them and now use 2 x 7B SSTs which control the N800s a lot better.

2 x 4B SSTS didn't sound alot better than 1 x 4B on its own.

Regards

Garry

jimmyp58 · « **Reply #4 on:** 5 Jul 2004, 03:21 pm »

Thanks for the reply Garry....

Jim

Fife · « **Reply #5 on:** 5 Jul 2004, 05:30 pm »

I am sure the 1 X 14B SST is better than 2 x 4B SST

This is the same analogy as using 2 X 3B vs 1 X 4B.

Also, the 14B SST can go down to 1 ohm if required.

jimmyp58 · « **Reply #6 on:** 5 Jul 2004, 06:33 pm »

Very good point I forgot all about. Thanks...

Jim

Roberto · « **Reply #7 on:** 12 Jul 2004, 03:37 am »

Hello All, I'm new to this forum (just learned of it this morning) but have been a Bryston fan for most of my "hi-fi life". I've owned much of their gear so I feel a moral obligation to comment on the suggestion that the 14B lacks tonality. I currently own the 7BSST monoblocks which are very similar to the sonic purity of the 14BSST. Those who made their assessment of the 14B's limitations may be tampering with the truth. These amps have all of the audiophile attributes including "tonality" in spades....and yes they can go darn loud. One should take the time to properly listen to any of the current Bryston amps. Properly listening means taking the care to select a neutral cable and neutral preamp and the Brystons will honestly reproduce what the recording has to offer. I've used them with well designed tube and solid state preamps and they sing equally well in either setup. I find they all work well with Kimber 8TC (another honest product). The midrange presence is just right, the bottom end is world class and the highs are extended and beautifully transparent. Oh yeah, and they're covered for 20 years which is about 4 times the industry average....did I mention they go loud

jimmyp58 · « **Reply #8 on:** 12 Jul 2004, 09:57 am »

Thanks Roberto...

redbook · « **Reply #9 on:** 12 Dec 2010, 09:58 pm »

James, I know this is old but waaaaaaaay back then myBryston dealer mentioned that B&W tried to buy Bryston! Instead they settled for Classe'. Did this really occur? I think there was something about Bryston being aligned with PMC at that time

James Tanner · « **Reply #10 on:** 12 Dec 2010, 10:19 pm »

Quote from: redbook on 12 Dec 2010, 09:58 pm

James, I know this is old but waaaaaaaay back then myBryston dealer mentioned that B&W tried to buy Bryston! Instead they settled for Classe'. Did this really occur? I think there was something about Bryston being aligned with PMC at that time

Hi,

Not true - a check never showed up

james

redbook · « **Reply #11 on:** 12 Dec 2010, 10:24 pm »

Good one.thanks James..........

vegasdave · « **Reply #12 on:** 12 Dec 2010, 11:40 pm »

Quote from: Roberto on 12 Jul 2004, 03:37 am

Hello All, I'm new to this forum (just learned of it this morning) but have been a Bryston fan for most of my "hi-fi life". I've owned much of their gear so I feel a moral obligation to comment on the suggestion that the 14B lacks tonality. I currently own the 7BSST monoblocks which are very similar to the sonic purity of the 14BSST. Those who made their assessment of the 14B's limitations may be tampering with the truth. These amps have all of the audiophile attributes including "tonality" in spades....and yes they can go darn loud. One should take the time to properly listen to any of the current Bryston amps. Properly listening means taking the care to select a neutral cable and neutral preamp and the Brystons will honestly reproduce what the recording has to offer. I've used them with well designed tube and solid state preamps and they sing equally well in either setup. I find they all work well with Kimber 8TC (another honest product). The midrange presence is just right, the bottom end is world class and the highs are extended and beautifully transparent. Oh yeah, and they're covered for 20 years which is about 4 times the industry average....did I mention they go loud

Excellent post. Yes, there are some people that like to bash BRYSTON, almost as if it's a sport. Most of them lurk around the bulletin boards. They don't know what they're talking about. The Hell with them. What do they know? They think their exotic (and much more expensive) favorites are sooo much better and BRYSTON is not true high-end. Wrong. We know better than that!

Laundrew · « **Reply #13 on:** 13 Dec 2010, 12:39 am »

Quote from: vegasdave on 12 Dec 2010, 11:40 pm

Excellent post. Yes, there are some people that like to bash BRYSTON, almost as if it's a sport. Most of them lurk around the bulletin boards. They don't know what they're talking about. The Hell with them. What do they know? They think their exotic (and much more expensive) favorites are sooo much better and BRYSTON is not true high-end. Wrong. We know better than that!

Vegasdave, I am almost wishing that I would of disintegrated you when I had the opportunity!

Be well...

vegasdave · « **Reply #14 on:** 13 Dec 2010, 01:16 am »

Laundrew, I make no bones about what I say. And I don't mince words. I stand behind what I said, and that's that. If you don't like it, well I dunno what to tell you.

BRYSTON haters go to Hell!

Laundrew · « **Reply #15 on:** 13 Dec 2010, 01:25 am »

Quote from: vegasdave on 13 Dec 2010, 01:16 am

Laundrew, I make no bones about what I say. And I don't mince words. I stand behind what I said, and that's that. If you don't like it, well I dunno what to tell you.

BRYSTON haters go to Hell!

Absolutely incredible; I am truly at a loss for words.

Take care vegasdave...

vegasdave · « **Reply #16 on:** 13 Dec 2010, 01:37 am »

Unless you were kidding around...then I take it back.

95Dyna · « **Reply #17 on:** 13 Dec 2010, 02:40 am »

Quote from: jimmyp58 on 4 Jul 2004, 04:01 am

As you can tell, I own a 14B SST. I was replying to a subject on another forum where a guy said that bi-amping two 4B SST's is far superior in tonal quality and clarity than a 14B SST; he, and B&W according to him, claim the 14B SST is just a 'loud' amp with little tonal qualities so he'd be far better off bi-amping the two 4B SST's he's considering getting. No matter what, he's getting an awesome amp(s) because of the high quality Bryston puts into all their amps but is there any validity to this comment by him and allegedly B&W? I know my 14B sounds flippin' awesome but is there anything I am missing by not going this route versus what I have?

Jim

This argument has come up so many ways in so may threads it's getting tired. From pure physics or from common sense if you prefer, how could it possibly make sense to dedicate 300 wps into 8 ohms to the high pass and low pass respectively and have it sound better than 600 watts dynamically available to the entire frequency range. We all know the lower frequencies are far more demanding than the highs. So what happens when a demanding low frequency passage requires 400 watts and you have 300 of them available only to the high pass? I guess the woofers would starve, no?

1ZIP · « **Reply #18 on:** 13 Dec 2010, 03:23 am »

Quote from: vegasdave on 13 Dec 2010, 01:16 am

Laundrew, I make no bones about what I say. And I don't mince words. I stand behind what I said, and that's that. If you don't like it, well I dunno what to tell you.

BRYSTON haters go to Hell!

You know it would almost be worth a return trip to Vegas and CES to meet Dave.

Napalm · « **Reply #19 on:** 13 Dec 2010, 03:58 am »

Quote from: vegasdave on 13 Dec 2010, 01:16 am

BRYSTON haters go to Hell!

Well. I can't see how you can *hate* some electronics... unless you somehow got shafted, like in having repeated failures and the manufacturer failed to honor warranty or something like that. But then you are actually hating the company, not the box.

Nap.