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
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...
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.
Why is that? It out performed my Classe' preamp. I don't get it? Also very nice folks at Bryston to talk with. I'm digging this 26...Nothing wrong with the 17 either...My PS Audio DSD is pretty hot so matching the gains is interesting...
So what's your verdict?  17 or 26?  I'm trying to decide if the BDA1 and BDP1 are even worth considering and too stupid to know other than they have gotten pretty cheap.  I like cheap.  BDA3 not cheap.
I liked the 26. However, it was not a good fit with my Classe' CA M600 Monoblocks and PS Audio Directstream DAC. The gain on the 26 was too much with my system. No control without turning the volume down on the DAC. Even turning the volume down I did not have much control. 9 oclock on the 26. Not much play... With my Classe' Sigma SSP  set to bypass and balanced , I never have to touch the volume on the DAC and I have great control with the volume. Also because of the gain mismatch I was getting a hum, could be a ground issue? I think the 26 would be a better fit with Bryston's amps. Even then not sure how it all gels. That 26 has some punch, almost too much in my opinion. The 17 compared to the 26 sounded thin to me. As indicated that 26 has some thump! What amps do you have? I would make sure everything is a good fit..No experience with the BDA 3, and your right not cheap. I would talk with a good Bryston rep and explain all your gear that is in your system. Its a good company to deal with. I'm back with my Classe' Sigma and my life is now less stressful! Idid a 50/50 hours 26/17...That volume deal was frustrating... If I go down the preamp road again I might explore Audio Research Ref 6se or the 6? Also not cheap! Don't hesitate if you have any other questions about these 2 units...