Bryston 4B3 vs Mac MC462 vs Pass Labs X250.8, OR... GRYPHON Diablo 300?

Hi Morg111, just to be clear unfortunately it is the mc452 I will be testing at home as my dealer doesn’t have the 462 as a demo yet.  My assumption is that the 462 may be slightly better than the 452 but not leaps and bounds, and if I did buy Mac I would of course go with the c2600/462.  Also as an aside, while I have 25 years experience testing swaths of “mid-fi” grade equipment (say < $10K for full system) and have been very careful with what equipment I choose, this is really the first time I’ve been testing equipment at a much higher level.  Just a disclaimer on my findings!  I do agree with the comments in the pro review of the Bryston cubed line you referenced, and actually had seen it before.  To me the Bryston seems like a no-brainer at its price-point.  We’ll see how it stacks up against the higher grade (or priced) gear.

Jafant I don’t really have higher level components currently but will be upgrading with the amp.  Here is what I currently have:
-Arcam A85 integrated amp, and matching P85 power amp (currently bi-amped)
-Arcam iRDAC 
-Van Den Hul D-352 speaker wire
-Audio Note Interconnects (can’t remember model offhand but they cost around $400)
-Mac Mini running Audirvana driving the DAC over USB.
-Exact Audio Copy is used to produce FLAC files stored on the Mac Mini.

So nothing fancy currently, but the Arcam A85 was a classic that punched way above its weight and had a ton of attention at the time.  But a far cry from the Diablo 300... The dealer that will be loaning me the Mac gear in the past has been VERY generous with borrowing much higher grade cables and interconnects, so I expect I will have options to test the Bryston and Mac gear with.

Nyev,
Missed your later post about not being able to get your hands on the 462. Well...alas, my search continues for a 462 review. There is one that Mac has attached as a marketing tag in their MC462 marketing from a Norwegian reviewer, though it is so bad, it sounds like the reviewer just read the marketing hype on the 462’s increased dynamic range and usual power, and then added a few more words to make it their own. Really, that bad, unless a whole lot is lost in google translation to English.

I’m still keenly interested in your comparison: 4B3 v MC452 as HiFi-Advice sent me a private email raving about the Bryston’s paired with my Martin Logans, however he admitted without hearing the Macs, that’s just a straight recommendation.

I will actually have the opportunity to test the 462, but not in my home.

In a few weeks, after my in-home audition of the Bryston 4B3 vs Mac c2600/452, I’ll be testing the 462 in a shop and comparing with the Gryphon Diablo 300 connected to B&W 803 D3’s (again I have the D2 which is not the same but that’s the closest I can get with my audition of the Gryphon vs c2600/462).

After that test, I hope to be able to make a decisive choice.

 

nyev
Thank You for citing your current set-up. After all shoot-outs have been completed, give a shout-out for your dealer/retailer!

Looking forward to your next report.
Happy Listening!

I have been using the Bryston 4B3 since 2016 and have since changed to tube preamp to drive and will say the soundstage produced is detailed, dynamic, transparent and neutral. The older iteration of the Bryston 4B has been known to be very forward sounding. I have pondered on trying to swap the Bryston with something more warm sounding like McIntosh or the Pass Labs but always find myself trying to replicate neutrality from solid state amp with a touch of warm from a tube pre for my next upgrade.