Bryston SST Amplifiers (1 Viewer)

[JohnnyN]

I just had a chance to audition the 9B SST mated to JMLab Cobalt speakers today and all I can say is WOW. subtle presence with very deep sound stage, exceptional clarity, detailed imaging and many more superlatives... So I checked on audiogon, and every single Bryston SST that was up for sale on the classifieds has been sold... I hear very little mention of bryston amps on here so was just wondering if anybody who has actually owned Bryston amps can offer some owner's opinions, what they had the amps mated to, and whether or not they ever experienced any problems... Bryston must really believe in their product, because they come with a 20 year transferrable warranty...

2 Channel amps that I am considering currently include:

Parasound A23 or A21, + a few non halo parasound amps
Bryston 3B SST
Conrad Johnson MF2200
Adcom GFA5500 or 5400

and a few others...

I know there are many others that should be on this list, but these are the amps that I can actually audition...

 

[MikeTz]

I've had Bryston amps since 1980 and they are outstanding. In the last year I upgraded to a 9B-SST and 3B-SST for my 7 channel system and I love it. The amps sound great on stereo, SACD/DVD-A, and theater.

Bryston amps are conservatively rated (my 3B-SST clips at 172 watts versus the 125 watt specification), will drive any speaker load, have extremely low distortion, and very tight bass control. Oh yeah, they also have the best warranty and customer service in the business.

MT

 

[George Kouzev]

There are many happy bryston owners out there, I have had my Bryston 9BSST for a week now and I it is great. Can't go wrong. If you go and read the numerous reviews and facts on the Bryston site you will see many testimony, including feedback from many professionals using it to mix multichannl music. Brystons are used for mixing sound of movies many movies by a few holiwood studios, Finding Nemo, Freaky Friday, Chicago, and other's. Oscars screening setups also include Brystons.

The 9BSST is rated 125W/ch at 0.01% distortion at 8ohms, it measures 154W at 0.1% and clips at at... I do not know as the sound becomes painfully loud to my ears before I can reach clipping.

As for the rest, MT said it well.

GK

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I have a 4b-st and have been searching for a 5 ch amp to match with it for 7.1. I have so far gone through Sherbourn and Anthem. I think the only proper match is the ... 9b-st. But I'm saving up for a 3b-sst plus 9b-sst combo. Just like Mike!

 

[Levesque]

''I hear very little mention of bryston amps on here so was just wondering if anybody who has actually owned Bryston amps can offer some owner's opinions''

You don't hear alot about Bryston products because owners don't have any problem with them!!!

It's so true. 20 years of warranty. Awesome customer services. You e-mail them they give you an answer in 4 or 5 hours. And they are really quick to exchange any faulty product.

Bryston amps are said to be ''bright'' but it''s not true. Bryston just don't roll-off the high frequencies like Rotel or Parasound are doing, so they give you the recording exactly the way it was intended to be heard. So you hear what the sound ingeneer was planning, not what the amp designer want you to hear... They are not bright, but transparent.

I own a Bryston 4BSST (2X350W) paired with Paradigm Signature S8. The 4BSST makes those S8 sing! Transparacy, accuracy.

Impossible to clip (almost... but in my case it is). Build like a tank. Sturdy. Transparent. That's Bryston.

 

[JohnnyN]

I'm really impressed... now if I can just justify the additional costs...

 

[Terry St]

The only complaints you'll hear on this board about Bryston are about their cost. Their performance and build quality are simply unassailable. You simply have to see one in person to know what I mean. They're like military hardware: Practically indestructable. The reason so many pro's love Bryston amps is that they can take serious punishment and still deliver impeccably accurate sound.

There is one thing you should note however... That 20-year warranty they come with is fully transferable. In fact, there is absolutely no paperwork required. You give them the amp's serial number and they will service it if it was made less than 20 years ago. It's that simple.

As a result of this policy, Bryston amps are some of the most worry-free amps to buy used. Sure, you might be getting an amp that is 4 or 5 years old, but it will still have several times the warranty left on it than almost any other brand! Working within a given budget, I'd take a used Bryston over just about anything that's new.

 

[Phil A]

I have a 14BSST driving the left and right and a 6BSST driving the center and surrounds. I'ved owned the 4BST in the past and old power pacs (wish I kept one of them as I'm doing my basement and probably want a stereo amp to go with a 6-channel receiver I have). In my room and with my main speakers the old 4BST was pushing it. I changed to another brand (when Bryston was slow getting into home theater stuff) and I can't imagine going away from Bryston. Great stuff. I even know of someone who had his amp fried by lightning damage and Bryston fixed it at no charge.

 

[George Kouzev]

I know there is enough said already, but another thing some people may get influenced by, well I did The Bryston 9BSST and a couple of the other Brystons (can't recall which) got Class A (highest) rating by Stereophile magazine (not SGHT), for pure musical performance.

GK

 

[JohnnyN]

ok... I've heard the Bryston 9B SST and I would assume the 3B SST would have very similar characteristics since all the channels are essentially monoblock amps. My only problem now would be justifying the $2100 asking price for a new one vs getting two parasound HCA1000A amps and running them as monoblocks... I'd be getting 400 Watts at 8 ohms mono to each of my left and right channels... I'm currently powering Canton Ergo 90 which are 4 ohm speakers, but will be replacing with B&W Nautilus 803 in the near future... Have any of you bryston owners upgraded from parasound? was it a big difference?

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Johnny- If you look around, you can find them discounted some...