9B-ST for Home Theater Amp

To answer the post above, check the 9B-THX review that Stereophile did (Vol.23 No.9) - also check Bryston's site for more reviews. Looking through my 2001 Recommended Components list from Stereophile I show they rated it Class A.

Like SD, I am an unapologetic fan of Bryston. In fact, I run the 4BST and 5BST in my HT arrangement. Have listened to the 9B any number of times and think, quite simply, you can't miss if that's the one you settle for. Superb piece. It's what I would have bought had I not already owned the 4B, which I am unwilling to part with. SD's right: Bryston amps are very conservatively rated and behave as though they are a lot more powerful than published specs.

Figure out those things most important to you and let them drive your decision: sound, quality of construction, warranty, your tendency to buy the latest and greatest toys, what have you. If you like to settle on something for the long pull, you'll have to look long and hard to find something other than Bryston to fill that bill better. For some people it's Krell, others, CJ, Levinson, McIntosh, Pass. All great stuff.

The equipment from the folks at Bryston does just fine for me. OTOH, if you're a compulsive upgrader, buy whatever suits your fancy. I don't have the budget for that indulgence, but salute anyone who does.

I have to agree with those of you who support Bryston amps I have had a lot of experience with a number of mega $ amps, like Krell (hard and shrill), Levinson (sublime but buckish), Aragon, Classe, Audio Research, etc blah blah, and none of them offers anywhere near the value and performance of the Bryston amps.....I think if you are building a world class digital theater system and you aren't using Bryston amps, you might as well feed your money to the cat!

So is the 9b a multi channel amp, because i am talking multi channel amps and sght,has no brystons near the top,only ead and aragon.The reason i need an amp to do both is iv'e heard the 4bst is not great with theils but other,and i am not talking levinson or krell amps can drive the big thiels with 100 watts rms, this tells me maybe bryston,s are maybe only good with easy to drive speakers.I am not hear to slam brystons,just asking if anyone compared earthquake or ead with one.This is not the kind of info you can find in a reveiw,so i am asking owners. A 20 year warranty,i could live without but great sonics on 2 and multi channel from the same amp,i can't.

Let me add my kudos for the 9B-ST...I bought one after hearing Emmett's (see first post above). He's my little brother, and I couldn't let him get the jump on me. I drive Thiel 1.5s with it, and am very satisfied. Just for the record, my factory spec sheet says the amp clips at 160 watts into 8 ohms. I assume that's one channel driven, but with independent power supplies for each channel, it shouldn't matter.