[Chewbacca 319]

This question came to me the other day when I was at a local hi-fi shop. I'm not in the market at the moment for any new gear but the staff are very friendly and I always enjoy checking out the latest and greatest One brand they had just recently started carrying was quad. I have in the past owned some quad gear and still own a quad 909 power amp and the matching CDP-2 digital pre-amp/CD player that I picked up local to me quite cheap for a secondary system, besides that I haven't kept up with the brand at all. Well colour me surprised when I checked out their current offerings.

The one piece in particular that stood out to me was the Quad Artera Solus play all in one player. 75 watts RMS into 8 ohms ( at 0.002% total harmonic distortion), with several RCA inputs, balanced and unbalanced outputs, Bluetooth input, a pretty capable DAC inside (2 optical, 3 coaxial, and 1 usb input with support for PCM data up to 32-bit/384kHz and also DSD 64/128/256 through an ESS 9018 chip) and built in DTS play-Fi that supports streaming Spotify, Tidal, Amazon Music, Deezer, Qobuz, HDtracks, TuneIn, iHeartRadio and SiriusXM. On top of it all it also has a built in CD player using a well regarded JVC drive. The build quality looked well thought out and high end, even smoked glass on the top (not sure if that's the most durable but it sure did look nice) and was a hefty 26 pounds for such a small device.

The sales guy there demo'd it for me and I was blown away. Everything just worked, and worked very well; I'm probably not the best judgement as to quality of CD players but to my ears it sounded very good as well. Here's the kicker though, considering everything that this amp provides I thought it was going to be at least $5000 or $6000 (Canadian) but to my surprise it was a modest $3500.  I need another amplifier like a bullet in the head but boy was I thinking about picking one up haha.

I mention all of this because It begs the question why doesn't bryston develop a product like this. You're starting to see a lot of other high end manufactures offer modest powered all in one systems (Naim unity atom comes to mind) and they seem to sell very well. I don't expect bryston to ever implement a CD player into an amp but besides that I could see a bryston designed all in one player selling very well (integrated amp with built in DAC and streaming). I don't think this would cannibalize their existing lineup aside from perhaps the b135 cubed since there will always be people wanting to buy seperate amps, pre amps, DACs, etc. I could see it being a modern day reintroduction of the Bryston B60 with some extra bells and whistles.

Now I wouldn't expect such a piece of gear costing $3500, I think that's a bit unrealistic; regardless of price I do think it's something that would do well, hell I'd buy one. Food for thought, and curious to see what others here would think about such a hypothetical product

[MttBsh]

I’m getting more and more interested in all in one electronics - the usual debate over compatibility of separates becomes a non-issue, the internal components are definitely designed to work in harmony and there’s the reduced expense of interconnects and a smaller form factor.  The ideal would be a unit where the individual components can be pulled out and upgraded as technology improves.

[zeeman]

"DTS Play Fi"  LOL!  It's dead already.  The only Integrated Bryston needs to worry about is the one they're probably already working on:  BR-20/4b cubed integrated. 

[veloceleste]

My guess is a 3b3 for the amp section. 200/300 wpc is plenty for most integrated amp applications. The form factor of incorporating a 4B into an integrated would make the unit too unwieldy imho. However if Bryston somehow creates amp modules in the spirit of the powerpac amps that might make a 4B based amp section feasible.

[Chewbacca 319]

I think a few of you are missing the point I'm raising. As for the DTS Play-Fi front end for streaming I agree that isn't the way to implement it, I think having built in Chromecast would be a much better avenue in my opinion due to its popularity and ease of use. Personally, as with many other "all in one systems" I think an amp like this shouldn't be high wattage.

If people want 100, 150, 200 plus wpc that's what a dedicated power amp is for. Like the 2b and b60 60 wpc is way more than enough, not only does this keep size and heat dissipation down, but also cost. If someone were to want more power they could easily use pre outs on the back to feed in a higher powered amp. I think to be competitive with the competition a lower powered design makes sense. The types of people who are buying products like these are either using standmount speakers or easy to drive towers. They don't want a massive intrusive brick of an amp. They want something sleek, modern and tasteful in both size, appearance and style.

Again this is all my opinion and mine alone, but I believe If something like this could be made as potentially a entry position to bryston gear I could see it selling through great, would be great cross marketing with the new bookshelf speakers bryston showed off at Montreal audio fest. To keep costs down and competitive I wouldn't even be opposed to bryston implementing some of the class D modules seen in their D-65Z amps. Bel canto is a big pusher in the high end Class D space and they appear to be doing well.

[jobiwon]

I like Quad gear.  I have there their Artera Stereo amp in my main system.  I used to own a set of there S-5 towers and thought their imaging was particularly good.

Here is review if the play that gives a little more detail on whats inside.
 https://www.stereophile.com/content/quad-artera-solus-integrated-amplifiercd-player-page-2

Keep and eye out on the used market they pop up on there for like $1.5K

[gbaby]

This question came to me the other day when I was at a local hi-fi shop. I'm not in the market at the moment for any new gear but the staff are very friendly and I always enjoy checking out the latest and greatest One brand they had just recently started carrying was quad. I have in the past owned some quad gear and still own a quad 909 power amp and the matching CDP-2 digital pre-amp/CD player that I picked up local to me quite cheap for a secondary system, besides that I haven't kept up with the brand at all. Well colour me surprised when I checked out their current offerings.

The one piece in particular that stood out to me was the Quad Artera Solus play all in one player. 75 watts RMS into 8 ohms ( at 0.002% total harmonic distortion), with several RCA inputs, balanced and unbalanced outputs, Bluetooth input, a pretty capable DAC inside (2 optical, 3 coaxial, and 1 usb input with support for PCM data up to 32-bit/384kHz and also DSD 64/128/256 through an ESS 9018 chip) and built in DTS play-Fi that supports streaming Spotify, Tidal, Amazon Music, Deezer, Qobuz, HDtracks, TuneIn, iHeartRadio and SiriusXM. On top of it all it also has a built in CD player using a well regarded JVC drive. The build quality looked well thought out and high end, even smoked glass on the top (not sure if that's the most durable but it sure did look nice) and was a hefty 26 pounds for such a small device.

The sales guy there demo'd it for me and I was blown away. Everything just worked, and worked very well; I'm probably not the best judgement as to quality of CD players but to my ears it sounded very good as well. Here's the kicker though, considering everything that this amp provides I thought it was going to be at least $5000 or $6000 (Canadian) but to my surprise it was a modest $3500.  I need another amplifier like a bullet in the head but boy was I thinking about picking one up haha.

I mention all of this because It begs the question why doesn't bryston develop a product like this. You're starting to see a lot of other high end manufactures offer modest powered all in one systems (Naim unity atom comes to mind) and they seem to sell very well. I don't expect bryston to ever implement a CD player into an amp but besides that I could see a bryston designed all in one player selling very well (integrated amp with built in DAC and streaming). I don't think this would cannibalize their existing lineup aside from perhaps the b135 cubed since there will always be people wanting to buy seperate amps, pre amps, DACs, etc. I could see it being a modern day reintroduction of the Bryston B60 with some extra bells and whistles.

Now I wouldn't expect such a piece of gear costing $3500, I think that's a bit unrealistic; regardless of price I do think it's something that would do well, hell I'd buy one. Food for thought, and curious to see what others here would think about such a hypothetical product

I think you should stick to being a consumer and let Bryston and its employees concern themselves with product development. An all in one product using the same power supply is most likely a no go. Remember, Bryston is more concerned with quality products with good sound. You are asking for an audiovox product.

[drummermitchell]

All in one,No Thanks.
What if your dac dies,your player or whatever.
Have had that happen with a few dacs bdp’s over the years.
From the 1 -2,#2 just made it for warranty.
Have the bdp-3 now.
For me iif a component goes in the all in one UR FKD for a month or more.
Separates you can borrow a dac or player till your unit comes back.
Anything digital FKs up.

[R. Daneel]

This question came to me the other day when I was at a local hi-fi shop. I'm not in the market at the moment for any new gear but the staff are very friendly and I always enjoy checking out the latest and greatest One brand they had just recently started carrying was quad. I have in the past owned some quad gear and still own a quad 909 power amp and the matching CDP-2 digital pre-amp/CD player that I picked up local to me quite cheap for a secondary system, besides that I haven't kept up with the brand at all. Well colour me surprised when I checked out their current offerings.

The one piece in particular that stood out to me was the Quad Artera Solus play all in one player. 75 watts RMS into 8 ohms ( at 0.002% total harmonic distortion), with several RCA inputs, balanced and unbalanced outputs, Bluetooth input, a pretty capable DAC inside (2 optical, 3 coaxial, and 1 usb input with support for PCM data up to 32-bit/384kHz and also DSD 64/128/256 through an ESS 9018 chip) and built in DTS play-Fi that supports streaming Spotify, Tidal, Amazon Music, Deezer, Qobuz, HDtracks, TuneIn, iHeartRadio and SiriusXM. On top of it all it also has a built in CD player using a well regarded JVC drive. The build quality looked well thought out and high end, even smoked glass on the top (not sure if that's the most durable but it sure did look nice) and was a hefty 26 pounds for such a small device.

The sales guy there demo'd it for me and I was blown away. Everything just worked, and worked very well; I'm probably not the best judgement as to quality of CD players but to my ears it sounded very good as well. Here's the kicker though, considering everything that this amp provides I thought it was going to be at least $5000 or $6000 (Canadian) but to my surprise it was a modest $3500.  I need another amplifier like a bullet in the head but boy was I thinking about picking one up haha.

I mention all of this because It begs the question why doesn't bryston develop a product like this. You're starting to see a lot of other high end manufactures offer modest powered all in one systems (Naim unity atom comes to mind) and they seem to sell very well. I don't expect bryston to ever implement a CD player into an amp but besides that I could see a bryston designed all in one player selling very well (integrated amp with built in DAC and streaming). I don't think this would cannibalize their existing lineup aside from perhaps the b135 cubed since there will always be people wanting to buy seperate amps, pre amps, DACs, etc. I could see it being a modern day reintroduction of the Bryston B60 with some extra bells and whistles.

Now I wouldn't expect such a piece of gear costing $3500, I think that's a bit unrealistic; regardless of price I do think it's something that would do well, hell I'd buy one. Food for thought, and curious to see what others here would think about such a hypothetical product

Bryston has to consider the global market, the most important part of which is the North American market. I don't know how much they care about what the European customers want. Otherwise they'd find a way to keep the B60 in production. Not only they're not interested in its 'successor' – a lower powered amp, but I've no doubt they're planning a bigger version of the B135, most likely based on their 3B power amp. This is why I've sort of given up on Bryston – they just don't make the products that interest me and the prices in the EU are distasteful. EU is hardly 'poorer' (for a lack of a better word) than the US and yet, makes like Naim outsell Bryston ten-fold. Clearly, they know the market better than Bryston does. Even if you consider the 'other' Canadian brand, Simaudio, they fare a lot better than Bryston in the EU, even if these two companies are on a similar technological level. Simaudio still makes small 50 Watt amplifiers and even offers them with built-in DACs and streamers. Bryston doesn't. Hardly anyone buys an American muscle car in the EU, but many people do buy lots of small Citroens and Peugeots.

Now sure, each to his own. Bryston dealer told me to go buy something else. No worries, I already have. But I've heard it from Bryston too many times for it not to be symptomatic. They managed to make just about everything else, including a turntable, which I won't comment on.

[Rocket]

Hi,

The difference is that Quad is now made in China where the labour rates are very low. Personally, if I can I like to support products where employees have the opportunity to obtain a fair pay for the work that they do. I've had 3 Bryston products so far in my system and all where well made.

In Australia we still like muscle cars. Unfortunately, we don't have auto manufacturing here anymore but we import great cars like the Ford Mustang. Much more preferrable in my opinion.

Cheers Rod

[R. Daneel]

Hi,

The difference is that Quad is now made in China where the labour rates are very low. Personally, if I can I like to support products where employees have the opportunity to obtain a fair pay for the work that they do. I've had 3 Bryston products so far in my system and all where well made.

In Australia we still like muscle cars. Unfortunately, we don't have auto manufacturing here anymore but we import great cars like the Ford Mustang. Much more preferrable in my opinion.

Cheers Rod

Hi Rod!

It’s a common misconception that labour is cheap in China. It is not. In fact, a colleague of mine recently concluded that an average wage of a worker in Chinese electronic industry is 600-700 € which is higher than an average wage of workers in Eastern Europe. The reason they can do electronics cheaply is the availability and pricing of – everything! Raw materials (iron, aluminium, copper, tantalum) are probably one tenth of those in Europe, or the US. Furthermore, factories in China can get massive group discounts for parts which means they can manufacture a complete device for less than would cost you just to buy the parts in other parts of the world!

The part that does bother me though is the absolute disregard for the environment as well as the fact that ‘intellectual property’ has no meaning in China. Theft is not only tolerated, it is preferred and even awarded. If you plan on doing business with them, be prepared to overcharge because the first project you deliver will also be the last – they’ll just copy whatever you’ve done and reuse it multiple times. Take my word for it.

One other thing worthy of mention is Taiwan – it has really nothing to do with mainland China. They have completely different labour laws and a very high GDP per capita, higher than Japan in fact. People often avoid Taiwanese electronics believing it is the same as Chinese. It is not. Perhaps not as good as Japanese, because the Japanese are a very modest bunch who takes great pride of the things they do, but it isn’t far off.

Fundamentally, I agree that our local communities and economy should be supported. If you don’t like Chinese manufacturing, learn not to like it for the right reasons. I have many a horror stories and examples why you should but this is hardly the place to talk about it.

Cheerio!
Antun

[whydontumarryit]

If anyone wanted what was aked for here then the Bryston A series wireless would have been your choice. Since they went the way of the dodo we can surmise that what was asked for is not reasonable for any company to pursue if profits mean something.

[Rocket]

Hi Antun,

Thanks for your comments.

Cheers Rod

[R. Daneel]

Hi Antun,

Thanks for your comments.

Cheers Rod

Cheers, Rod!

Antun

[whydontumarryit]

BTW, this hypothetical product you want is already available with features and specs exceeding the example you show and it's $900. It isn't 1997. I'm not mentioning competing products in this forum, do your homework.

[R. Daneel]

BTW, this hypothetical product you want is already available with features and specs exceeding the example you show and it's $900. It isn't 1997. I'm not mentioning competing products in this forum, do your homework.

Thank you very much for the recommendation! It is very useful and I am sure Bryston appreciates you not mentioning other brands on this forum.

Cheers,
Antun

[colhogan]

I'd rather have a twenty five year old "anything "from Bryston than a brand new chinese product.

[whydontumarryit]

I'd rather have a twenty five year old "anything "from Bryston than a brand new chinese product.

France