Bryston owners ONLY

Hello! Like you I've been thinking of doing the same. I have a 4B(NRB) driving a pair of Swans. Upon audition they were driven by the 7B(ST's). Haven't sounded the same since.

The past few days I have been e-mailing various high-end stores to get some input on my thoughts. Also spoke with James at Bryston. My idea is to upgrade my NRB to either the SST or purchase a used ST to go in its place. Then purchase a 3B of that series and bi-amp.

GOOD NEWS

For those of you who love tubes, you can use the 4B on the bass and drive the uppers via a tube amplifier.

Here is an excerpt from a reply by James Tanner:
"As for passive byamping usually the woofer requires more power than the mid
or tweeter so 1/2 power is fine. The thing to be careful about is the 'GAIN'
of the amplifiers have to be the same. The gain on the NRB is 30 dB the gain
on the ST and SST is 29 dB. So you would be better to get another NRB 3B to match."

Hope this may be of some use to some people.

Jarrod

Jarrod - just to add on here an NRB cannot be brought up to SST status only ST status. Actually the ST can't be updated either...There were too many changes with components and layout when Bryston went to the SST version.

To: Rgd

Thank you! I knew that the NRB isn't upgradable. That's why I am going to be using either used ST or going all the way to the SST series. The point I was trying to make is keep within the same series. However since the ST & SST both have the same gain, one should be able to use a 4B(ST) on the bottom and the SST on the top end.

CORECTION: Stick with the same line. I forgot that the new series has higher output.

Jas

Just saw this thread and would like to add that I've upgraded from the 3 to 4 to 7B-ST's. Each adds more weight to the bass and clarifies dense muscial passages. So, as always, your choice depends on what you like and what music you play. I like solid bass so thought it very worthwhile to move through the line. From everything I've heard, the 7B-ST's are superior to two bridged 4B-ST's. I also read a very recent review (I believe in Stereophile)that suggested the SST's don't necessarily beat out the ST's on all fronts. In fact, the reviewer actually preferred the 7B-ST to the equivalent SST for serious listening.

If you're happy where you are, stay where you are and take that first to getting off the merry go round ;-) As you can probably tell, I'm an audioholic who is still having too much fun to quit. Whatever you decide, try before you buy, preferably in your home. Happy Listening.