#1
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Bryston\4B 'sound'
I have been curious about Bryston amps for some time. A month or so ago I ran across a deal I could not refuse.
I am using it in my office rig with a pair of JBL 4412A studio monitors which have titanium tweeters. It is a nice improvement. The overall sound is well controlled. Instruments sound as they should. Previously the bass was a bit flabby. That has changed. With the 4B the bass is very nicely controlled. I can hear the rebound on a drum hit. The mids are good. They do seem a bit bright though. Could that be the combination of the Bryston 'house sound' and titanium tweeters. How would you describe the Bryston 'house sound'? What improvements are there to be had by moving to newer designs? Is there a point in the progression of designs where there is a significant delta in sound? Thanks!! |
#2
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Is your amp an original 4B or one of the follow-on generations (-ST, -SST, etc.)? I find Bryston amps to be very flat in their frequency response from bottom to top. 'Revealing' would be a good description. With poorly recorded digital music they can be ruthless.
Regardless, having owned several -ST, SST and other Bryston amps I was never successful (to my ears) matching one of them with metal-domed tweeters. As you state, a bit bright for my tastes. Especially for longer-term listening. I found Bryston amps to be a wonderful match to soft-dome tweeters such as those used in Joseph Audio speakers, etc. The one exception to the metal-domed tweeters I found was Focal's inverted dome Be tweeter used in their top-end speakers (and some earlier Wilson speakers), which did not suffer from this 'brightness'. As always, all amps & all speakers do not play well together and YMMV.
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Glenn... Canton Reference 9 Clearaudio SM Pro Focal Bathys JLA 10" Dominion Kuzma Stabi S w/MC & MM Magnepan 1,7i McIntosh MA8950 & MR88 Oppo 203 Roon Nucleus Rose Hifi RS150B Shunyata Gemini-4 Sony ST-A6B, TA-F6B, ST-J75 & PS-X75 Sorane SA1.2 & TA-1L Stillpoints LP1v2 WW Pt, Au & Ag |
#3
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The older Bryston amplifiers do tend to sound a bit bright, so your results don't surprise me if you have an older 4B. The newer amps definitely have a relatively warmer sound to them, although I still don't consider them warm-sounding amps.
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Primary sources: VPI TNT III/SDS turntable, SME-V arm; Bryston BDP-3 digital player; Bryston BDA-3 DAC; McIntosh MVP-881 disc player; McIntosh MR-80 tuner. Preamplifier Audio Research Ref 5SE; Audio Research Ref Phono 2SE; Moon 430 HA. Amplifiers Conrad Johnson Premier 1B; Audio Research D-300; Bryston 4B. Speakers Infinity IRS Beta. Recorders Tandberg TD20A; Crown SX-822; Nakamichi 670ZX; Alesis Masterlink ML-9600. Power Tice Power Block/Titan (x2); McIntosh MPC1500; API Ultra II-20; multiple 20A derated dedicated lines. |
#4
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Each generation has less noise and distortion than the previous. Some people describe it as warmth or smoothness, I would call it purity. Bryston philosophy is not to give anything a “house” sound.
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#5
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I appreciated your input and decided to give Bryston another go. I picked up a 4B SST. The mids are quieter and more detailed. The bass is clean, tight, and decisive. The highs, while certainly not shy are much more in line with the lower freqs.
I may still look for a silk tweeter but for now my office rig is good. Thanks! |
#6
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What is your preamp??
I had a 2B SST for 13 years and zero problem. Very nice amp.
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MOON 600i v2-MOON Néo 260D/Rega P8+Ania Pro-ModWright PH9.0/Elac AF61/Bis Audio cables |
#7
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Mytek Brooklyn DAC+
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