What made you go Bryston?

Napalm · « **on:** 24 Apr 2010, 09:21 pm »

I must first confess that I'm a little bit puzzled, as judging by the musical preferences in the "What are you listening to" thread, this board is populated by rockers, bikers, punks, goths and skinheads

. Which would suggest to me some different route in equipment choice.

I have a rather eclectic taste in music and I have a little bit of everything in my collection. However it is acoustic instruments / vocals recordings that pushed me this direction. Stuff like classical music, opera, choirs, acoustic guitar, sparse jazz arrangements. I can listen to rock/pop through about anything, but a muffled soprano or a screechy violin are a no go for me.

So here's my question: which musical genre had a particular/decisive contribution in your selection of Bryston gear?

Nap.

vegasdave · « **Reply #1 on:** 24 Apr 2010, 09:52 pm »

Everything sounds great with the Bryston gear. I play mostly classic rock and heavy metal. I've played some horribly recorded rock recordings, and they didn't come out as bad as I thought they would. They were in fact listenable!

1oldguy · « **Reply #2 on:** 24 Apr 2010, 10:59 pm »

For this old guy its Blues,Jazz,Rock,Pop,instrumentals,Some Electronic,Reggae,Older Country(Don Williams kinda vibe)

1ZIP · « **Reply #3 on:** 24 Apr 2010, 11:59 pm »

Quote from: Napalm on 24 Apr 2010, 09:21 pm

So here's my question: which musical genre had a particular/decisive contribution in your selection of Bryston gear?

Nap.

To be brief....NONE! I bought Bryston because it had a known reputation for being
neutral!

whanafi · « **Reply #4 on:** 25 Apr 2010, 03:06 am »

Late 70's - a dealer - in Ottawa.

I was freshly minted from university and had landed an unbelievable gig programming. The daily rate was more than most people made in a week, and flush with cash, decided to get a "good" stereo. They sold me a pair of Celestion Ditton 66 speakers, a Yamaha receiver, and a Yamaha direct drive turntable with a Shure V15 Type IV cartridge.

Unfortunately, smoked a tweeter in the first week listening to some screaming electric guitar. Went back to the dealer who gently explained about clipping and the need for clean power.

THAT is when I got a Bryston amp. I built a Hafler pre-amp from a kit to tie it all together.

Talk about hog heaven...

That was my rig for many years until I moved overseas, the kids destroyed the turntable, and the Bryston blew-up while running on a transformer, and I didn't know it could be repaired (which I am now told was possible)

I had such fond memories of the performance that when I recently decided to build a system again, it was Bryston all the way.

HsvHeelFan · « **Reply #5 on:** 25 Apr 2010, 05:41 am »

I'm an Orchestra musician that listens to Classical, Jazz and Rock.

I don't listen to much metal or hip-hop.

My rock tastes are from the early 60's through the early 80's with occasional recordings later than that, depending on the artist. Includes Beatles, Eagles, ELO, Fleetwood Mac, Alan Parsons Project, Pink Floyd, Queen, Steely Dan, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Rolling Stones, U2, The Who

My classical music are recordings from 1955 and later. Classical music is almost entirely based from Beethoven and later. I listen to very little Classical music before Beethoven. Beethoven, Berlioz, Brahms, Bruckner, Copland, Dvorak, Gershwin, Hindemith, Hanson, Holst, Mahler, Mussorsky, Ravel, Respighi, Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Strauss, Wagner.

Jass is stuff from the 40s and later. Lots of Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, Wes Montgomery. Frank Sinatra.

That's just off the top of my head. I've got between 500 - 600 CDs.

What got me considering Bryston was the 20 year warranty.

What convinced me to purchase a Bryston was a friend loaned me his 4B for the weekend, provided I could come up with a pre-amp. I was astounded at the difference that the Bryston and the Parasound pre-amp made with the rest of my system. The detail, the clarity, the soundstage and the depth of the soundstage all convinced me that I had to have one of these Bryston amps.

Even my lovely wife, who doesn't pay much attention to music said "That sounds really good".

My benchmark recordings are Telarc's "Time Warp" tracks 3 "Battlestar Gallactical" and track 4 "Love Theme from Superman" along with a Telarc recording of the Cleveland Orchestra performing Mussorsky's "Pictures at An Exhibition".

This evening, I listened to Michael Buble's "Crazy Love" Sinatra's "The Concert Sinartra" with his terrific rendition of "Ol' Man River". Jeff Lynne's/ELO "Zoom" and Pink Floyd "The Division Bell", followed by Telarc's "Time Warp" and "Very Best of the Cincinnati Pops" - "Sing, Sing, Sing", "Phantom of the Opera" and "Terminator Theme".

That's a pretty typical listening session for me.

I'd really like to hear the Terminator theme off of that Telarc CD with 28B's and PMC iB2's. Hopefully, one of these days, I'll be able to do that.

HsvHeelFan

vegasdave · « **Reply #6 on:** 25 Apr 2010, 09:08 am »

Cool stories!

Anonamemouse · « **Reply #7 on:** 25 Apr 2010, 02:14 pm »

Quote from: Napalm on 24 Apr 2010, 09:21 pm

So here's my question: which musical genre had a particular/decisive contribution in your selection of Bryston gear?

actually: none. for me it was just a matter of evolution. i'll just stick to the amplifiers i remember, i had many since childhood.

long ago, just after dinosaurs roamed the planet, i started off with a philips all in one thing, a birthday present when i was a kid. this was replaced with a pioneer amplifier and a teac turntable. the pioneer was succeeded with a somewhat larger brother, followed by a teac. there also was an akai somewhere, but i don't remember when i had this.

i moved out on my own, and the first pre/power amp combination entered the house. the pre was a passive box (don't remember the manufacturer), the power amp was a jamo pro thing, with a fan in the back which was so noisy i could hear it in my kitchen. it didn't stay for long, a yamaha natural sound entered the system. the passive box was replaced with an aaron pre, after the yamaha died i also bought an aaron poweramp. eventually both were replaced by aaron's latest and greatest (at the time). i still have the aaron pre amp, the power amp was sold to make money for a silver 4B SST2, which is now sitting idle and powerless in front of my now 17 days old (since it left peterborough) black 4B SST2.

as a kid i was a hardcore metalhead, but my taste has widened considerably. my most recent buy on cd was slashes latest, but the album before that was an old angus and julia stone one. i now not only buy an album because it is from a particular group or artist, but also because it sounds excellent.
as mentioned in another thread i returned death magnetic to the store. if it sounds like sh*t i am no longer interested. the equipment i have now has no mercy on bad recordings, it simply gives what it gets.

vegasdave · « **Reply #8 on:** 25 Apr 2010, 03:32 pm »

You have 2 4Bs...are you bi-amping?

rob80b · « **Reply #9 on:** 25 Apr 2010, 05:56 pm »

Needed an extra amp to drive some Celestions while working on a new electronic music piece for four channels, popped into Long & McQuade for a rental and grabbed a 2BLP. That was back around 1984 or so, the improvement on every type of music was unmistakable, purchased a new one the next day. That was shortly followed by a the .5 pre-amp after hearing what it's phono was capable of, the rest was history.

Robert

Anonamemouse · « **Reply #10 on:** 25 Apr 2010, 07:35 pm »

Quote from: vegasdave on 25 Apr 2010, 03:32 pm

You have 2 4Bs...are you bi-amping?

Nope. I do have 2 4B SST2 amps, but they do sound quite different. For bi amping one needs two identical amplifiers, and loudspeakers that allow it. i never built it in.
one of the 4B SST2's is for sale.

Napalm · « **Reply #11 on:** 25 Apr 2010, 07:40 pm »

Quote from: Anonamemouse on 25 Apr 2010, 07:35 pm

Nope. I do have 2 4B SST2 amps, but they do sound quite different. [...]

The silver one has more bite to the point of having a metallic flavor, while the black one is softer, with velvety notes coming out from a black background.

Right?

Nap.

Anonamemouse · « **Reply #12 on:** 25 Apr 2010, 07:52 pm »

Quote from: Napalm on 25 Apr 2010, 07:40 pm

The silver one has more bite to the point of having a metallic flavor, while the black one is softer, with velvety notes coming out from a black background.

Right?

Nap.

uhm... kinda.
read my From 4B SST2 to 4B SST2 topic, and you know what's happening here. the new version of the 4B SST2 actually does sound quite different.

I thought about trying the bridged thing, but it is too much hassle with cables and such. not really worth all the messing with a 1280 lbs amp...

Napalm · « **Reply #13 on:** 25 Apr 2010, 07:58 pm »

Quote from: Anonamemouse on 25 Apr 2010, 07:52 pm

uhm... kinda.
read my From 4B SST2 to 4B SST2 topic, and you know what's happening here. the new version of the 4B SST2 actually does sound quite different.

I thought about trying the bridged thing, but it is too much hassle with cables and such. not really worth all the messing with a 1280 lbs amp...

I know.... I followed that topic... if I were you I would sell the older one and keep just the new one.... bi-amping / bridging will open a completely different can of worms... so why not keep it simple (and less expensive)...

Nap.

vegasdave · « **Reply #14 on:** 25 Apr 2010, 09:00 pm »

Well, if he needs to sell it, then be my guest. I personally would keep the older unit and bi-amp. I plan on bi-amping with the SST on the bass, and the SST2 on the mid/hf.

Stu Pitt · « **Reply #15 on:** 25 Apr 2010, 09:07 pm »

What got me into Bryston...

A while back I owned an NAD 320BEE. I was looking to buy an integrated amp around $1500. I almost bought a Naim Nait 5i, but it was just a touch too edgy to my ears. The dealer, who doesn't sell Bryston, recommended looking into a used B60.

I knew about their warranty and service, so I looked on Audiogon. I wouldn't spend that kind of money on anything used except Bryston. I found one with the right options - remote and phono, amount of warranty left, condition, and price. After that I went to a local Bryston dealer and told them what I was looking at. They didn't have a B60 on the floor, but the demoed the entry level seperates for me and told me what the differences would be. The salesman even looked at the Agon ad with me and told me what questions to ask the seller.

I got it at a price that I could sell it for if I didn't like it. 4 years later, it's the only piece of gear that I've never seriously contemplated replacing. I've bought all my other gear from those two dealers.

Not that I blindly follow Bryston and think everthing else is crap, but I highly doubt I'll buy anything other than Bryston in the future. The only way will be if I can't afford what Bryston has. I'm trying to save up for a BDA-1, but it's a lot harder than I thought. Seems like everytime I get close, something breaks around the house and I'm back to square one.

Laundrew · « **Reply #16 on:** 25 Apr 2010, 09:46 pm »

Quote from: Stu Pitt on 25 Apr 2010, 09:07 pm

Seems like everytime I get close, something breaks around the house and I'm back to square one.

I see that "Murphy" also visits other individuals as well. “Shakes fist violently at Murphy!”

Be well...

jaxwired · « **Reply #17 on:** 25 Apr 2010, 11:26 pm »

Stu, speaking of the B60, there's a used one on audiogon right now, SST version in silver for a bargain price of $1000. This seems really cheap to me given that the BP6 usually sells for quite a bit more on audiogon and it doesn't have the amp section. I've got no use at all for it, but I'm tempted because I really love the minimalist nature of the B60.

Stu Pitt · « **Reply #18 on:** 26 Apr 2010, 12:50 am »

Jaxwired-
I don't know what your finances are like, but if you've got $1k burning a hole in your pocket I'm sure you can find a use for the B60.

They've been going for cheaper than that, but most haven't had a remote, SST, were older and so on. I don't know the date on that one either. Seems like a good deal to me.

rob80b · « **Reply #19 on:** 26 Apr 2010, 01:11 am »

Quote from: jaxwired on 25 Apr 2010, 11:26 pm

Stu, speaking of the B60, there's a used one on audiogon right now, SST version in silver for a bargain price of $1000. This seems really cheap to me given that the BP6 usually sells for quite a bit more on audiogon and it doesn't have the amp section. I've got no use at all for it, but I'm tempted because I really love the minimalist nature of the B60.

Hey Guys,

Now that my once dog eared B60 has been given a face lift with the SST panel, it's making me a bit nostalgic for reasons given above seeing I started way back with the .5/2BLP combo. Maybe I'll find a more prominent position for it than hiding behind the sofa.
And yes the minimalist nature does have its appeal.

Robert