Why Bryston. Well, a LOCAL dealer for starters. I wanted Magnepan speakers (3.6) and they carried both.
Then I read a LOT of info saying Magnepan and Bryston are very synergistic.
So Bryston was on my (very) short list to audition.
Also, On of the early things that helped me put Bryston on my short list is a reviewer (I respect) with a good system uses Bryston in his own reference system.
I had a Forte' 4a (Nelson Pass design amp) and so I might have tried out some Pass stuff, but no local dealer AND they are much more expensive.
I heard about Parasound J.Curl design,, but the Parasound warranty (including only the dealer can send it in for warranty.. sucked)
Then Classe' which the same dealer with Bryston and Magnepan also carried)
The dealer had NO Classe' amplifiers in stock to demo (the current recession made this understandable, he would order it, but not demo it)
So I auditioned the Magnepan with the Bryston 4B-SST2, BP-26, and the Bryston CD player, for several hours with music I brought along. I liked it.
also listened to MAC stuff (was in the same room at the dealer) and did NOT like the sound. Very 'old school' is my description of the MAC sound.
Later I brought my powerline conditioner to the dealer, and plugged all the stuff into that. Auditioned again for a few hours. The stuff plugged into the Monster 700SS conditioner smoothed up the HF a bit, and was great. (I bought another conditioner, a used Furman REF 20i for a great price within driving distance. The Furman is what I have the Bryston stuff connected to now, with the digital stuff from the Monster conditioner.
So then i decided yes I want the Bryston 4B-SST2 and the Magnepan 3.6s.
Because i was happy with the sound, I also bought the Bryston preamp: BP-26 and power supply. And the Bryston DAC (which the dealer did NOT have, but listening to the Bryston CD player, i thought (along with all the rave reviews) OK.
Then I also got the 1.5 phono.
The warranty and audition convinced me to buy Bryston.
So after the stuff arrived set it up and started listening.
I was NOT excited about the Bryston DAC. and found after swapping all sorts of things around, (nearly a month of every day 8 hours or more a day) that the Bryston DAC was exactly the same (soundwise) as my old DAC, an Adcom DA700 i bought used for $200. (then stuffed with antistatic foam, a tweak I read about and like)
So I returned the Bryston DAC. I initially thought perhaps something is wrong with the DAC, but after returning it, my dealer said it was fine. (I have to say his hearing is not in the same class, as i had auditioned stuff before, and he cannot hear a difference that leaves ME with bleeding ears! (the high frequencies) so if he plugged it in and decided it was fine... My take was the Bryston DAC was not oversampling at all, even though the light was on. But that is just a guess. And i will never know.
I bought a tube buffer, A VAC Standard tubed preamp (used) to fix up (actually disguise) the digital grunge I am bothered by. With the VAC between the DAC and BP-26 the sound is pretty good.
I bought a second Bryston 1.5 phono. But once the second one came, and I compared the two 1.5s.. eventually I realized the second one just sounded better than the first! (I have no idea why..) And i realized I would just not want to use the lesser one, (and selling such a device later that needs a separate power supply would be hard to do if I decided much later it was not good enough... anyway two months had passed, so I asked the dealer to allow me to return the first Bryston Phono 1.5 with a 'restocking' charge.(also the 1.5's serial # were consecutive. BUT the second 1.5 phono had the rounded corners, and the first one had the squared off ends on the front panel.) Whether the parts were changed or just some oddity of construction... (I even opened them up to see if the internal jumpers were set differently..)
Anyway, I am happy with the Bryston stuff I have kept.
I was early on concerned: "Did I make a mistake? (because of the DAC) but once I heard the second Phono with the new TT I bought, I cried as it was so beautiful sounding I then KNEW it was ALL (Bryston Amp, pre, and phono, and the Magnepan 3.6s) right for me.
(since the preamp and amp passed the sound, I knew they were good too. (where my digital stuff is not at the same level of quality as the phono.
I had originally wanted an Audio Research REF-3 preamp, (instead of the Bryston BP-26) but it was $1,500. MORE used, and has tubes. I just retired (and the retirement bonus is how I bought the stuff) and I did not want to have to worry about new tubes ($400.) every two years. As I listen all day every day. With the Bryston BP-26 I leave it on 24/7 and never have to worry about it using up tube life.
And I would have been buying the ARC pre with NO audition.. And I was not happy about that. (though I have an Audio Research SP-15 I bought used, and liked it very much, and still use that ARC for the second phono stage)
So THAT is why "I" bought Bryston.
From my tale one can see I am not easily pleased, and demand the finest in reproduction especially the high frequency content.
So to get my recommendation, means more than usual...
(stuck up! ain't I?)
