[rippington]

Hello

I was just wondering if I could ask you guys a question, as the
Bryston experts..!

I am (or was until a short time ago) about to pull the trigger on a used
Bryston 4B-SST.

However, I've just been contacted by a dealer who it appears for more money,
can sell me a 3B-SST2 (squared).

I'm looking to buy a Bryston, as my current Proceed BPA-3 amplifier(125wpc) is very
laid back.  My current system is too laid back, smooth across the mids and really lacking in jump factor and slam.

I want to maintain a neutral treble though, and am somewhat 'paranoid'
about brightness.

I listen to a variety of music incl female vocals etc and, only own
bookshelf speakers (Paradigm Signature V2; 89db effic and 6ohm) so, I don't 'think' I really need 300w per channel via the older 4B-SST.  Power-wise, I think the newer 3B-SST2 would be okay.

I have the Cambridge 840c cd player (fairly dry sounding) and the Meridian
568 preamp(fairly warm/smooth sounding) - do you think I'd end up with
brightness with a 4B-SST in this mix?  Cabling is Wireworld Platinum/Silver
Eclipse (very neutral.)

The power of a 4B would be great but, the more 'neutral'/less bright overall
presentation of the newer SST2 (from what I've read) is very appealing - I
don't like bright/hard treble!

I should state I'm not in a position to hear either amp, and I've never
heard either model - a blind buy for me.  I have however heard the Anthem
P2 which I loved!!  I understand the SST series is very similar to the P2.

The amp would not only serve 2 channel duties but would act as the main (L/R) ch amp in my combined 2ch/HT system.  Room size 16x11.

In light of my above comments which would you go for?  An older 4B-SST or a newer 3B-SST2?  

Thank you so much for your advice/thoughts!

[Mag]

You're in luck cause I actually heard the Signature V2 speakers compared to Paradigm Studio 20's. I was impressed with how this speaker could really throw the sound out when you cranked it, like you could not tell that the sound was coming from the speaker, and this was in a rather poor acoustic room. It bettered the 20's in detail, but there was apparent sibilance in the tweeter from the MP3 Demo disc. For that reason I went with the 20 as I had a lot of Mp3 music and thought it was a better match with my other Studio speakers.

Anyway the 3B SST/2 is more than enough power for this speaker. The SST/2 has much better control on the tweeter than the SST. The treble is more linear but not harsh sounding, however this is more dependent on the speaker and I don't think that would be a problem with the Signature speaker with either amp.

The SST/2 has what I call more bass vibe and can process subtle details that I never noticed with the SST amp, once I got use to the sound I found listening to the SST amp lean in comparison. However I prefer the SST amp for my Center Channel.

Also the amp sound is neutral so what you are likely to hear is that of your pre-amp (fairly warm/smooth sounding). But I caution if your pre-amp is not up to Bryston specs the bass maybe a tad muddy with the SST/2 because it can't process the extra vibe.

So IMO if you think your pre-amp is up to snuff then the 3B SST/2 is the amp to get.

 

[Chicago]

I own a 4Bsst and I don't consider it too bright.  Others with more knowledge about the line will hopefully chime in but I believe the 4Bsst represented a significant improvement over the 4Bst.  The 4Bsst2 is better but to my ear the differences are more subtle.  I would go with the 4Bsst because it will give you more flexibility if you decide to upgrade your speakers.  If you don't like the 4Bsst it should be easy to move with little to no loss. 


Good Listening,
Mike

[alexone]

hi, Rippington!

...and welcome to the forum

since your speakers don't need the power of a 4B SST i'd say that the 3B SST² is the right amp. i own both the 4B SST and the 3b SST² and the 3B is truly a great performer especially to  drive smaller speakers  in a mid sized room. this is actually exactly my setup now at the moment - the 3B SST² and bookshelf speakers and i don't miss anything.

hope this helps...

al.

[rippington]

Hi everyone

Thanks so much for your responses!!  I really appreciate your prompt response to my question.

Well, due to circumstances of $$, I've purchased the 4B-SST. 

The 4B-SST was from a private seller, used, and the 3B-SST2 was new from a dealer that could apparently do an ok price for me.

In the end, the 3B-SST2 would have been exactly $2000 dearer.  Out of my budget!  So, the 4B-SST won by default, basically!!

Can't wait to get it and hear it!!

Thanks again for your help!

[alexone]

...nice amp anyway the 4B   so congrats and a happy listening!!

al.

[drummermitchell]

I would have went with the 4Bsst also,nice to have extra power just in case.
Read a review on the 4bsst and 4Bsst2 where the reviewer compared them both and it seemed so minimal as to the difference that he said that to sell off a 4bsst for the sst2 didn't make much sense as not a big difference.
Perhaps when we get into the 7,14,28's maybe there it's a big difference.
Of course that was a review so take it anyway you want.
Wish I could remember which review I read .

[Chicago]

That is a great amp to build a system around.  I love mine and I don't think you are in any danger of considering it too bright, especially with that pre-amp.  If possible make sure to get the original sales receipt to keep the 20 year warranty in force.  There is a manufacturing date when Bryston started requiring this for repairs and I can't recall the date, but I know it is on their web site.

Good Listening,
Mike

[Stu Pitt]

A lot of people characterize Bryston's sonic signature in different ways - I've heard it called bright, warm, grainy, liquid, and so on.

IMO Bryston isn't any of these things.  What they're hearing is the Bryston letting through whatever it's fed and/or the speakers.

You may hear brightness.  You may hear a distant sound.  I'm not a Bryston apologist, but I'd be willing to bet that if you're hearing things you don't want to hear, it's something else in the system.  If it doesn't work out right, I'd look at the source and/or the preamp next.  If there's a very small amount of an undesirable trait, the cables.

The reason why I've owned my B60 for so long and will never get rid of it is that it gets out of the way better than anything else I've heard/can afford.  Whatever changes I've made in my system have always been easily audible.  Since owning my B60, I've changed every component and cable and heard differences every time.

I should clarify that the B60 didn't make me change everything.  It was the first piece I bought after I decided I wanted a total system upgrade.  With a lot of amplification, there's always a sonic quality that remains whenever you change other things.  With my B60, there's no character that's constantly there that I can detect.  With other amps, when I made source changes, the differences were minimal or marginal at best, with my B60, the differences are very apparent.