2. amps-preamps
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Bryston BP-26 VS 17Cubed

I have been demoing the Bryston BP-17 Cubed for approx. 50 hours. Friday I received my Bryston BP-26. Two different animals here. Both,great pieces of gear. As indicated in my other posts, my gear is Classe' Cam-600 Monoblocks, PS Audio Directstream DAC and memory player, Joseph Audio Pearl 20/20. (these have the graphene mid-range). All dedicated circuits, with Furutech Power Cables, you guys got the picture. The 17 has slight warm presentation, you could call it refined, with detail, and easy listening. The 26 does not have that warmness, but the detail is unreal! Very black background, way more punch than the 17, incredibly transparent, perhaps more musical...If you don't have the right gear I think the 26 could come across as fatiguing and a little too much in your face. I also have a very large room. But I have the right gear, and this is truly a very cool listening experiment! I only have about 12 hours on the 26 to this point. As James Tanner expressed to me if you like mostly classical the 17 might be the best choice, I do like classical however lots of my listening is Blues, guitar forward, female and male vocals. I think the 17 does better at lower volume, but what the 26 does overall is a more musical presentation. I thought this would be easy, I said to a friend I'll know in the first song which unit I like the best. Wrong! At this juncture I'm liking the 26 more in my set up. After another 20 more hours or so on the 26 I'll go back to the 17 and share what my listening results translate to. Hope this helps for anyone on the fence trying to choose between these two units. John
jakesnak
masi61
97 posts
 
Thanks for the review and comparison. I am a BP 26 owner and I can attest that it has a very detailed sound! You are using the external power supply, yes? I have not auditioned the 17 at all. I love that the BP 26 has such heavy duty connectors/sockets for XLR connectors. I am using mine with a Bryston 4B2 amp and a Bryston DAC.  My speakers are Thiel CS 3.6 and this system is indeed very revealing of both good and bad recordings. I have been generally able to fix it when the sound is too harsh. Also, my system is hooked up to a Bryston BIT15 power conditioner and everything is VERY quiet.
jakesnak OP
176 posts
 
Hello Masi, you have a very nice system there. Yes I'm using the MPS-2 power supply. I thought after listening to the 17 that would be my pick! Now I'm thinking the 26 for sure. I cannot believe the detail! I think the 17 would be more forgiving, but that does not translate to better SQ. As I indicated the 17 has a tube like quality, some warmness. Don't get me wrong the 17 is a good unit, but the 26 is so transparent! And the punch that it delivers! At 9-10 on the volume knob it fills the room!  I never used a conditioner. I ran 10 gauge wire to all my dedicated circuits (6) and lost my mind and matched the circuits with Furutech outlets...Rhodium, and I soldered all the connections. I could be wrong but I think you loose some dynamics with the conditioner. Have you ever tried your system without the conditioner? Do you use the polarity switch? As of yet I have not used mine. Eventually I may sell my Classe' CAM-600 and go with Bryston...This hobby isn't cheap, is it! Take care...John
jakesnak OP
176 posts
 
Went back to the 17 after 20 hours on the 26. Keep in mind my room (log house) is 30x26x26h. My initial listening reaction is the 26 fills the room more, much larger sound stage, wider, higher, the music is more present, and the detail is much more revealing than the 17. The 17 sounds thinner to me now. Its amazing, when I first listened to the 17 I thought this is the one. Now after listening to the 26 not so sure! I think these 2 units will drastically respond differently as to what gear you match with them. Smaller room? Perhaps the 17 would work better? Hope this helps....John
jakesnak OP
176 posts
 
Update: If you are using an external DAC, make sure you play with the volume control on the DAC. I have a PS Audio DSD. Someone at PS Audio told me they recommend the volume to be at 100. That's Wrong! I kept saying that the Bryston BP-26 had too much gain. Adjust the attenuator to your system! You will gain more control and tonality with both the BP-26 and the 17 cubed....More so with the 26...
gammonit_2000
83 posts
 
Bryston.  The red headed step child of the audio world.  Never quite good enough to some, always having to prove itself.  You would have thought that 20 year parts and labor warranty would have done it.  Nope.  Still doubters.  Sigh.
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