Bryston Amp Recommendations?
 

We've been in the process of building up our first ever 5.1 setup for nearly two years now. As Mac folks, we already own four channels of Mac amplification and all of the speakers we need. We don't own an active sub, yet, but that's another topic for another thread.

At this point, I'm looking for that 5th channel of amplification and, as I've been researching the possibilities, I'm beginning to think that a nice used Bryston amp might fit the bill. As with our Mac MC300, I'm thinking that investing in an amp that can be bridged for single channel use might be best.

We have a B&W HTM3S that we will be using as our center channel speaker (50 - 250W), so an amp that can be bridged for more than 250W would be ideal.

If anyone has any thoughts on a used Bryston power amp(s) that fits this description, I'd appreciate your recommendation(s). By the way, we're hoping to keep the budget for the center amp at under 2,500 USD.

Thank you for your time :thumbsup:

2B-ST if you wish to go with a small profile. 3B-ST or 4B-ST would also meet your needs. Great amps.

Bridging an amplifier is rarely the "best" approach, imo.

Nice
 

Thanks for the kind recommendations, Glenn. :D

Our Experience With Bridging a Stereo Amp
 

The engineer in me tends to be pretty wordy, so I make an effort to economize. What I should have said is, "...might be best for our budget." If we ever decided to expand beyond 5.1, we would be in a better position with a "bridgeable" stereo power amp...and, come to think of it, we've bridged our MC300 in the past with great results. We're back to using it as a stereo amp now, and it still works great. In fact, I wish I could afford another one like it. :thumbsup:

3BSST Balanced Inputs
 

I was just taking a zoomed-in look at the rear panel on a Bryston 3BSST power amp. The balanced inputs don't look like the XLR receptacles I'm used to seeing for that purpose...so I'm wondering it they're set up for TRS (Tip-Ring-Sleeve) plugs? :scratch2:

No, if it's a 3BSST it should have conventional XLR connectors.

Right, they do look different from other XLRs but connect perfectly!

Both my 3B-ST & 4B-ST looked 'different', if you will. But WW XLR ICs plugged right in with no drama.

Bryston Balanced Inputs
 

Yeah, they're definitely different than the XLR balanced inputs on our Mac stuff, but it's great to know that our interconnects will work. :D

Once again, great to know this. Thanks, Glenn. :thumbsup: