Bryston Amp v.s others?

The Bryston is a good amp and has the best warranty in the business, but sound wise you can find slightly better. The Coda has somewhat more bass slam and a more a realistic high end - it is a superb sounding amp and a great value. The Classe is also something you should consider - similar bass to the Bryston but a somewhat better highend. Don't get me wrong, Bryston is very good (I've owned a 3B, 3B-ST and 4B-ST) and currently own a 5B-ST (three channel amp) but there are better sounding amps in that price range. Listen for yourself before you buy.

The Bryston 4B-ST is an outstanding amplifier sonically and operationally; will drive almost everything; is not subject to ground loops and similar irritations; and is supported by a company with an exceptional service policy. In the unlikely event of repairs(and I speak from experience having many years ago once damaged some output devices through a mistake I made and not because of a fault of the amplifier) service is immediate and unquestioned and free of charge (other than shipping)and the turn-around time through their facility in Vermont is almost always 24 to 48 hours. Finally, when you call with a question, you actually get to speak with a live technically competent individual. In fact, I recently e-mailed Bryston with a question, and received a lengthy and useful reply from Chris Russell, who is in charge of Bryston design and manufacture.

Well there are lots of choices, but it should come down to the synergy of your system. I would place McCormack, and Belles ahead of the Bryston in my system, they both make better music. The 20 year warrenty is no big deal to me, I have had a Krell for 10 years with no problems, in fact none of the 15 or so audio components of have owned over the last 15 years have had a problem (except for a cassete deck). Let YOUR ears and SYSTEM be the factors that make the decision

After listening to all of the above I chose McCormack. The Bryston was a close second. The difference was that the McCormack was more "musical" and the Bryston was more "accurate" with my gear (SF Line-1, Hales Revelation Threes and CAL transport and DAC). In the end it came down to system synergy and that the McCormack, which already sounded good, was also upgradeable. My DNA-1 has SMc Audio's Rev. B upgrade. It already exceeds all the stock boxes, but I still plan on going back for more!