Good preamp match for Bryston 4B ST

I used to own a Bryston 4B ST. The input imedance is 50 kOhms, which by today's standards is an easy load for most preamps. My favorite preamp mated with the 4B ST was an Audible Illusions Modulus 3A, which you might find used within your budget. The Modulus 3A will flesh out the sound of the Bryston a bit over comparably priced solid state preamps, without sounding colored like some tube preamps. At the time I owned the Bryston, I also tried out Bryston, Quick Silver, Balanced Audio Technology, and various passive preamps. The Audible Illusions was the best fit of the bunch.

Alan

I'm finding myself leaning towards a tube pre, with at least four inputs (ideally including phono), also ideally with at least remote volume. One reason I'm inclined to go with tubes is that the high end on the Dalis (dual tweeters) is quite intense and can sound a bit harsh with some instruments. Overall, I love them, but I want to make the best pre match here. For all this, of course, I'm willing to stretch the budget some. Aljordan, the 3A sounds interesting, I wish it had a remote. Which Bryston did you try? Stevecham, could you say more about the "synergy" with the BP25. Any other thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you all very much. Rick

I connected the pre and power amp with balanced Synergistic cables and the 4BST powered Thiel 7s at the time I had this system. Wish I'd kept the 7s but that's another story.

My thoughts around synergy are not so much sonic as they are from a design standpoint, where the manufacturer optimized the output of the BP25MC specifically for their ST series of amps. I had no experience with other preamps, except for a brief audition with a CJ 17 preamp in that system; the results were very "sweet" sounding but I lost the dynamic punch that the BP25 had. Certinly this is one of the quietest combinations I've ever had. Quality cables were a must, and I also tried Tara Labs, I liked the Synergistic more. Another contender for a quality solid state preamp at a bargain price, unless you're sold on tubes, is Parasound's JC2.

What preamp are you currently using? I'm currently using a BP 6 preamp and it's excellent but I don't think any Bryston pre will do anything to reign in those Dali tweets unless your current pre is overemphasizing the treble range already.

I like the Audio Research suggestion for tubes if they're in your price range, but if you're still entertaining solid state I'd recommend a Marsh P2000b. Detailed but refined treble and will let more tonal color and emotion through than a lot of other solid state preamps. I had mine paired up with a Bryston 2BSST for a demo and it was a very nice match. They occasionally show up used here in the $600 - $700 range.

Best of luck.