Bryston 7B SST-2 (SQ) Review

[James Tanner - Bryston]

Report from the recent 2009 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest Show in Denver:

Thomas Norton Blog - Stereophile Magazine
RMAF IX: Big Wonking Speakers, Itty Bitty Room
2:08 PM ET

If I had to give a prize for the best sound at the show, it would be a toss-up between the Wilson Sasha W/Ps tied to Ayre electronics, as discussed earlier, and the PMC MB2XBDi speakers driven by Bryston electronics (BCD-1 CD Player, BP26 Preamplifier and 7B SST-2 AMPLIFIERS).

[two dot]

James,

Glad that Bryston AND PMC are getting their due.

Great stuff for sure!!!

[jdandy]

Last night I read the Stereophile review of the Bryston 7B SST² mono block amplifiers. My impression of Michael Fremer's attempt at reviewing the 7B SST² was he really wasn't interested in the amplifier from the outset, but was obligated to turn in X number of words before the publishing deadline, so he reluctantly banged out his article. He spent 20% of the review telling me what others have said about other Bryston amplifiers. He spent another 20% of the article teling me how wonderful and expensive his Mobile Fidelity Titan amplifier is, describing its attributes like that was the point of the review. He wasted additional words on long descriptions of record recording techniques, and layouts of churches where records were recorded. Michael was jamming all the filler he could into this review to build the word count, then reluctantly returned to bash the Bryston 7B SST² some more for not carrying the same load of water as his beloved $35K Titan. Even when Bryston supplied him with a fresh pair of 7B SST² amps with the upgraded transformer, he remained on the negative side right to the end of the article, with his very last comment. "But before buying a pair listen to the competition." Yeah, thanks for the sage advice Micky, like a person auditioning premium amplifiers wouldn't do that without your encouragement.

Michael, please keep your precious Titan amp that costs five times more than a pair of Bryston 7B SST² amps, and your mega buck speakers, turntable and arm, phono preamp, cartrdge, interconnects, speaker cables, isolation platforms, and your big comfy chair. Play your system loud, and play it long. Have a ball. It will give you something more productive to do than write reviews of amplifiers you have no interest in, just to earn a living.

[mb2]

+1 Dan
You couldn't have said it better! BRAVO!BRAVO!
I presume he twirls his brandy to see if it sticks to the side of his glass while he writes his so called fair reviews,and i don't even own any Bryston,but c'mon!!!
I would like to know how many people have the 7bsst2 in a $4 -$500,000 system in their home?

[weird]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Last night I read the Stereophile review of the Bryston 7B SST² mono block amplifiers. My impression of Michael Fremer's attempt at reviewing the 7B SST² was he really wasn't interested in the amplifier from the outset, but was obligated to turn in X number of words before the publishing deadline, so he reluctantly banged out his article. He spent 20% of the review telling me what others have said about other Bryston amplifiers. He spent another 20% of the article teling me how wonderful and expensive his Mobile Fidelity Titan amplifier is, describing its attributes like that was the point of the review. He wasted additional words on long descriptions of record recording techniques, and layouts of churches where records were recorded. Michael was jamming all the filler he could into this review to build the word count, then reluctantly returned to bash the Bryston 7B SST² some more for not carrying the same load of water as his beloved $35K Titan. Even when Bryston supplied him with a fresh pair of 7B SST² amps with the upgraded transformer, he remained on the negative side right to the end of the article, with his very last comment. "But before buying a pair listen to the competition." Yeah, thanks for the sage advice Micky, like a person auditioning premium amplifiers wouldn't do that without your encouragement.

Michael, please keep your precious Titan amp that costs five times more than a pair of Bryston 7B SST² amps, and your mega buck speakers, turntable and arm, phono preamp, cartrdge, interconnects, speaker cables, isolation platforms, and your big comfy chair. Play your system loud, and play it long. Have a ball. It will give you something more productive to do than write reviews of amplifiers you have no interest in, just to earn a living.

Hello folks

I know, and i remember reading RG's review in HIFI+ of the Wilson maxx2. He used multiple amps, that he clearly listed to garner that nice review of those speakers. Using those speakers singularily for a the entire review seems tripe.

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by werd

Hello folks

I know, and i remember reading RG's review in HIFI+ of the Wilson maxx2. He used multiple amps, that he clearly listed to garner that nice review of those speakers. Using those speakers singularily for a the entire review seems tripe.

I am not sure if I understand what you are stating. I would expect a reviewer to try speakers with more than one amplifier if possible. It does not tell me what I need to know if a certain reviewer only tells us what a speakers sounds like thru big VTL mono-blocks.

[weird]

Originally Posted by Stillone

I am not sure if I understand what you are stating. I would expect a reviewer to try speakers with more than one amplifier if possible. It does not tell me what I need to know if a certain reviewer only tells us what a speakers sounds like thru big VTL mono-blocks.

Hello

I was just saying that RG used multiple amps for a on a single speaker review of the Wilson Maxx2. Is it unreasonable for a reviewer to try multiple speakers on a an amp review? Especially if the combo wasnt working out. I am not suggesting filing through every speaker he had, but i am sure he couldve moved on from the Wilson maxx to something else and still remained unbiased.

[NewBrystonUser]

7B SST Advice Please

Hi everyone, I am new to forums and this is my first post here.

We have just received a new set of 7B SST-Squared (Xmas present) and hoping to get some advice. We received a set of used equipment (Audio Research) from my audiophile brother over the past few months and this latest was a complete surprise. We know nothing about Bryston (sorry!) so it is a total surprise on top of more surprises.

1. What is the approximate break-in time for these amplifiers?

2. We have a fully differential line stage that specifies 2V RMS output into 200K ohms balanced (XLR) load and maximum of 40V RMS. Which 7B SST input voltage selector is the better match?

3. What are the normal initial acoustical characteristics of a pair of factory-new 7B SST-squared?

What we are hearing now (initial 4 hours) are as follow:
1. Clearly better resolution at the high level separating out more information in our music.

2. Less coherent in presentation. Instruments are separated and revealed but they are disjoint, not quite forming a coherent musical picture on "stage". The center is larger and loud while the sides sound rolled off and soft. Placement is fuzzy sometimes, nicely layered other times.

3. There are some instruments (brass, drums, strings) that come across with full glory of all its beautiful shades but other instruments (cymbals, high pitch percussive) sort of start and then vanish? Very strange.

4. Not yet fully clear at the lowest detail. We can hear more into the music but each instrument is not clear enough yet to sound real. For example, our previous amplifier presents violin as a violin with little listening "effort" on our part. The new 7B presents the violin but we cannot quite hear all of the violin's sonic signature so we strain to hear it but cannot quite get it all.

Are all these normal and to be expected first out of the box? Does anyone know how long the burn-in will take until the sound begins to mature?

Thank you very much for any advice and experience you care to share!
Anna

ps.
Thank you jdandy and Vintage Pete for the welcome!

[jdandy]

NewBrystonUser.......What a wonderful gift. Wow.

I am not as experienced with Bryston as with other gear, but someone will be along quick enough to help answer your questions.

Welcome to Audio Aficionado.

[Vintage Pete]

NewBrystonUser....Wow...Santa Claus has sure been good to you!!

As Dan said, we'll have to wait for the Bryston "Gurus" to chime in...as I'm sure they will. You'll find a lot of enthusiasm for Bryson here, and rightly so.

Welcome to the forum!!

Pete