Laundrew, I wondered the same thing myself. I hate to be a "fanboy" of anything, but I've been a Bryston fan ever since I had a BDA-1. I was SO floored at what it did. And that 4B-SST2 I listened to was almost life-altering. There's no experience like finding out what MORE your system is capable of when you find a piece that was REALLY holding it back. Anyway, I certainly felt like Bryston was for me.
I've got a bit to add, but for those who skim threads, let me state right now that something is all better this morning.
I'm a pretty empirical kinda guy. I like answers and explanations I can see and prove. They make me comfortable, probably from their predictability. I'm also a relatively emotional person, meaning I have no problem expressing my feelings. I can fly off the proverbial handle when I'm past my tolerances. I'll shed a tear for a decent movie that strikes a chord with me. And I'll grab my little boy (he's 15 months old, and my first), abandon any concern for the opinions of others, and giggle and play with him in the frozen food section of the grocery store just because it's fun.
All of that to say that high end audio (I don't know what else to call it) is an immense joy and incredible frustration for me. The best thing I ever heard about high end audio was from the person whom I purchased most of my Bryston equipment. It was something like this: "I may think it sounds amazing. I may think it sounds awful. Know what REALLY matters? The opinion of the guy writing the check." My point is, it's really unfair or difficult to say something doesn't sound good. It may not sound TO YOU. My wife hates blue vein cheeses. I love them. All anyone can really say with certainty is that they agree or disagree. There is no empirical benchmark everyone can agree on. Rather, we look for people with similar or identical opinions to our own. And since I can't say with empirical certainty that a Bryston amp is great, I've relied on brief past personal experience, personal experience with their other equipment, and opinions of others. Typically, if I own or heard a piece I enjoy (or disliked), I look for like-minded opinions and see what they did like, hoping to point me in a direction I will like. Thus, I really expected this Bryston 9B-SST2 to be to my liking.
I was disappointed when the 9B-SST2 did not match up to an amplifier that cost less and doesn't have the best reputation within its brand. I hoped break in was the culprit. I scoured Google hoping to find others who'd commented on it. Surprisingly, there wasn't much. One owner was amazed at what an overnight, non-stop CD playing did for some 7B-SST2's. Others mentioned the 100+ hour mark. And a few posters stated that, because Bryston runs their amps for 100 hours before ever shipping them that there is next to no break-in required. So much for consistency! The whole thing was disheartening, and about a million miles from anything empirical or predictable.
I value or rate additions to my system when I find out if it increases (or decreases) my emotional response to music. Initially, the 9B did not elicit an emotional response with me. It really hasn't had much more break-in than before. Maybe another 5 hours, max. The only other thing I did was really get to crank up the volume this time. Previously, I was at conversational levels of loudness. With the house to myself for a bit, I got to let it loose a bit and breathe.
I don't know if time, a few more hours of use, or increasing the volume caused the change. For all I know, my ears changed or the cables had to acclimate to a new amplifier (though I doubt that, but I've read that others believe that can be the case). But this morning, Elton John's piano sounds like a piano again, not like a synthetic reproduction. Violins in Sarah Brightman's "Time to Say Goodbye" make me take a slightly longer breath in. And the Eagles sound much more like they did when I saw them live. Part of me is skeptical; that I'm just hearing what I want to hear. This week, I'll bounce the two amps back and forth and see how they make me feel. But I'm suspecting even then that I won't feel or hear differently. Regardless, I found myself tapping my foot to the music, and for me at least, THAT was what I expected and what I'm looking for.
So, I'm encouraged and cautiously optimistic, especially if there's more room for improvement. I'd love to continue reading about others' experiences, and I'll add any updates on my end.
PS - I also immediately considered that the volume was a facade. I turned the volume back down and listened again. While quieter (and therefor having less dynamic range) the qualities were still there. So it wasn't just a placebo from increased loudness (at least I don't think it was... time will tell).
