Ideal Pre Amp for Bryston 3B ST or 4B SST 2

12-07-10: Bob_reynolds
Paperw8, I agree with your comment regarding synergy in general, but proper impedance matching between a preamp and amp is a very real concern when mixing products from different manufacturers. It typically involves mixing different technologies - solid state and tubes.

you raise a good point about the need to be concerned with matching between tube devices and solid state devices. i don't follow the tube scene but i am aware that there can be issues with interfaces the two technologies. as i understand it, signals from tube preamplifiers can have dc components that can be a problem with some solid state amplifier inputs that don't have dc-blocking capacitors in the input path. i don't know that sticking with the same brand provides any specific advantage, but in any event, if someone intends to mix technologies it's always a good idea to check for potential compatibility problems. the main problem that i would expect is that you might be limited to using single ended amplifier inputs if you use a tube preamplifier.

as to the idea of impedance matching between preamplifiers and amplifiers, that is not done to my knowledge (i am taking "impedance matching" to mean the output impedance of the preamplifier is equal to the input impedance of the amplifier - and my comments refer to solid state only). preamplifiers and amplifiers typically have high input impedances because what you want to do is to transfer a voltage (you're not really trying to maximize power transfer between the preamplifier and the amplifier).

one notable exception is krell cast inputs, which tend to be low impedance. but the point of the krell cast system is that you are transferring a current from one device to another, so you don't want amplitude of the transferred current to be limited by a high input impedance. according to krell, the idea of waiting as long as possible before converting the current into a voltage results in superior sound reproduction. i have never heard a krell cast setup so i can't comment on how well the system achieves its stated objectives.

Paperw8, Since you don't follow the tube scene try mating a Quad preamp with your favorite solid state amplifier and tell me how you like the sound.

Besides preamps and amplifiers matching electrically they must also match sonically. You can mix and match to your heart's content and come up with all kinds of sounds which I have done countless times, but whenever I mate like brands of preamps and amplifiers there is a rightness to the sound that is never achieved with the mixing and matching.

This is why I say a Bryston preamp is idea with a Bryston amp. Unless you don't know the difference. Then it really wouldn't matter.

12-08-10: Rrog
Paperw8, Since you don't follow the tube scene try mating a Quad preamp with your favorite solid state amplifier and tell me how you like the sound.

you can make reasonably deterministic statements about whether different components are electrically compatible. but you can not make deterministic statements about what sounds good. you may be right that i might not like the way a given tube preamplifier and solid state amplifier pairing might sound, but since i haven't heard one, i can't say for sure. even at that, such a system might sound good to someone else.

i happen to be fine with the sound of my bryston preamplifier/amplifier configuration, but someone else might use a non-bryston preamplifier and bryston amplifier and find the sound of that system preferable. by and large this audiophile stuff is mostly about personal preferences: you can't tell me what my personal preference "should" be any more than i can tell you what your personal preference "should" be. that's just the way that it works...