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I've been in the process of getting a new amp to replace my old Proceed Amp II. I had listened to the Ayre K5 and liked it, but last week I wandered into my dealer and saw a Bryson 4B SST that they had in for evaluation. I took it home for a listen and it was love at first sight (hear?). The Bryston is rated at 300 watts at 8 ohms and the extra power translates into removing a sense of strain and congestion that is especially obvious during large scale orchestral passages, but is also evident even on smaller scale works. My dealer came by for a listen and his first reactions was that there was much more depth and that the Bryston "spreads things out more." That is does and in spades. Imaging is wonderful and you can actually discern some "air" (i.e. you can sometimes hear the space between instruments). I had only heard this twice before on other systems (Acoustats and IRS) and was really floored. The high end is liquid and it is wonderful at capturing ambience. Instrumental decay is very natural and defined. The Maggies seem very comfortable with the Brystons in a way that's hard to define. About all I can say is that they sound "right" together.
Follow Ups:
I ran my 3.6's with a 4BST for several years, then I bought a used Proceed HPA, in my experience it does a much better job of driving the 3.6's.My dream is to bi-amp the 3.6s someday, running the Bryston on the bass panels and the proceed on the mid/tweeters. First I need to save the cash for the x-over.
Can't speak to the 4BST as I've never heard it before. On my system the extra power of the Bryston made a huge difference on my 1.6's. I wish I could bi-amp with Brystons. Not that the Proceed was bad. I lived with it for a long time very happily.
I have gone back to the 4bST with the 3.6's but prefer the Proceed HPA, at 500w at 4ohms it never seems to streesed by the demands of the 3.6's..I've got the amps, most of the cables, just need the active crossover to start the bi-amp setup. Hopefully if I can sell my laser disc player and LD collection on ebay, I'll have some cash for a used Bryston 10b or a Marchand x-over..
Ohhhhhh. I was using an earlier version the Amp II which was 150 watts per side. It was stressed much more than I thought judging by the difference between it and the Bryston.
Do any of the Brystons have sufficient power to drive the 20.1's? Is bi-amping a necessity, or can one use a single amplifier? Can they be converted to monoblocks?
The Bryston can drive the 20.1's -- the question is this optimal and I believe the the answer is probably no (disclaimer: I don't own 20.1's). Also Magnepan has always designed their top-of-the-line models to be biamped and the 20.1 is no exception. Even if the amplifer is up to the task, biamping will be better (assuming equal quality amplifiers).I would recommend active biamping rather than bridging two 4B SST's for the following reasons:
1) The cost of an active crossover is minimal (about another $500) compared to what you have put in (cost of 20.1's and two amps - estimate > $15000)
2) there are big advantages to replacing the original crossover, connectors and fuses and building a new passive crossover will exceed the cost of the active crossover
3) IMO an active line level crossover is always better than a passive speaker level crossover (especially with Maggies) and
4) when you bridge a stereo amplifier you double the effective lowest impedance that it can tolerate (where 4BSTT in stereo mode can handle a 2 ohm impedance, in bridged mono mode, the lowest it will go is 4 ohms and that may be pushing it with the Maggies).
I may be an egoist but at least I don't talk about other people.
You can bridge them I believe. I'd think that they would have more than enough power bridged.
I have a 4B SST driving Tympani IVa woofers up to 200 Hz. Above that a pair of Bryston 7B STs take on the reponsibility of caring for 3.6Rs in a Maggie hybrid system. I hear no need to go elsewhere.
The 4B SST is an almost perfect match for Maggies. (And I say "almost" only because there is no "perfect" anything.) Keep in mind, Jim Winey uses Bryston amps for his own system, and Magneplaner has been know to demo their speakers with either Bryston or ARC amps - so you do the math. If they are good enough for the manufactuer, they should be good enough for us - and they are.
John Crossett____________________________
It sounds like English, but I can't understand a word you're saying.
Lbob,I have a post below on Oct 3rd mentioning my use of a Bryston 4B-SST with a pair of Maggie 3.6R's. Some use to fault Bryston for making a bulletproof amp but maybe a little bright and cold. The SST version of the 4B is a totally different animal - very smooth, yet extended top end - nothing like the old amp. It was warmer sounding than the old tube amp it replaced but with plenty of detail. I even had an audiophile friend come over and listen - never told him a thing and he picked out the same characteristics that I mentioned. You can find the SST version of the 4B used for $1700 - $2200 or so on Audiogon depending on condition and how badly the seller wants to make a deal. A real nice amp for driving Maggies, Apogee's, ML's etc. that is very competetive with some of the amps in the 5K to 10K range.
I compared the4B SST with a Classe CA 300 with my 1.6s. I bought the Classe. I have a BP25 pre.
had my 4B SST for a couple of years. my only caution would be chose your other components mwisely. I can overwelm a Preamp that isn't quite up to the task.
So, are you going with the Bryston ?
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