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Finally took the Bryston 4B Cubed plunge

Back in January, I solicited folks on the forum for input on the Bryston 4B cubed amp. I was kicking around the idea of replacing my Parasound A21 amp. After dealing with poor health for the past few months, I finally did it! My take on the Bryston is: it's a keeper. It is a better sounding amp than my A21, but by only a very small margin. The Bryston gives the feel of being in a concert hall. An extremely full sounding amp with great detail and there's more emphasis on instrument placement than I've experienced before. The bass doesn't suffer at all either, very tight and clear. In comparison only to the two amps I'm discussing, if the Bryston were a "10", the Parasound would be a close "9". If I were to improve on my system (God forbid, I already have $35K into it), the 4B cubed would definitely be driving it. A premium solid state amp. 
To all the the forum members that were willing to guide me with their opinions, I give a heartfelt thanks. My previous posts (inquiries) were met with sincerity and am grateful that none of the discussion went off the rails. A few members contacted me personally, some I couldn't respond to. I didn't try to ignore anyone, there's simply a downside to old age and a weak heart.
professorsvsu
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jafant's avatar
jafant
19,355 posts
 
Thanks for sharing all of your thoughts on this excellent gear.

Happy Listening!
xcool's avatar
xcool
273 posts
 
Hi @professorsvsu sorry to chime in on this 2 year old thread. I have a few questions on your Bryston 4B3.

I’m in the middle of an upgrade cycle. Almost 3 months ago, I purchased a pair of B&W 804 D3. I have since added Parasound JC-2 BP preamp. For power amps, I have Parasound A31. I only run a 3 channel HT system with a Marantz 8802A preprocessor.

I’m now looking into upgrading my music with a new stereo amp. I just purchased the Parasound JC-5 due to very good reviews and the fact that I love my JC-2. I’m only a few days into it, and I have to say I’m not very impressed with the JC-5. I find it not much better than my A31 if at all. I do think I hear some lower frequency bass that I didn’t with the A31, but the overall bass department seems a little calm and less prominent to me. Bass is one of the area that I like to see improvement. I understand I probably should let the JC-5 burn in a little longer before doing critical listening.

However, there is another issue that might be a show stopper for me. The JC-5 runs really HOT. I’m housing it in the same cabinet as my JC-2, and now the JC-2 is extremely hot also. Due to the size of the JC-5, this is my only option right now.

So the question I have is 1) how hot does the Bryston run? 2) Do you find a good improvement of bass in the Bryston than your A21? 3) Does the Bryston sound bright in the high frequency in any way? I have tinnitus and I really don’t like bright sounding amps.

Bryston also is much smaller in size and gives me more flexibility of housing it away from my JC-2. So I’m eager to give that a try if I can find a sound improvement over the A31.
nekoaudio's avatar
nekoaudio
489 posts
 
@xcool I don't find the Bryston cubed amps to run particularly hot. They are class AB and you will need ventilation, but even after extended use I feel fine touching them by hand. I find the Cubed series models sound very smooth and non-fatiguing, with excellent detail. In comparison to Parasound, the two companies have different goals for the sound character so it really comes down to personal preference.
auxinput
2,920 posts
 
@xcool - I have found that the Parasound amps are not necessarily bass monsters.  In fact, you need a really good high current low resistance power cord to improve the bass on JC1 monoblocks!

That being said, the Bryston are not bass monsters either, especially on a faster high resolution preamp such as Parasound JC2.  If you had a warm/slow preamp, the Bryston would probably be a better match.  The Bryston's are very fast responding amps and need a warm full sounding preamp, such as a Marantz or maybe even McIntosh type warmth.

I'm not sure what to recommend to you for strong bass.  Maybe a Pass Labs X250.8 would be good, but I don't know how they are on bass.  Maybe others can chime in with recommendations.
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