Bryston 28B-SST2 or Karan Acoustics KA-S 600 ?

In the hundreds of times that I've heard Bryston amplifiers in recording studios - I've never thought of them as forward, or "un musical".

It's true, Bryston claims that their amps all sound the same - they just get more powerful, if you spend more.

Thieliste, I'd definitely recommend Brystons for your Thiels - just figure out how much power you'll need and get the smallest amplifier that you'll need for the speakers/room. It might be overkill to get the most expensive amp in the Bryston line - there's no magic dust with the more powerful amps - just more power.

I had a similiar setup as Wrm57, a pair of Bryston 28sst's paired with a VAC phi beta tubed preamp, powering my Venture Speakers...and it was not a musical match. When I switched in my new Hegel H-30, as a single stereo amp, and paired it with a EnKlein power cord, then I created magic. Just because the Bryston is capable of incredible power doesn't mean it always delivers the fine, subtle music cues and sonic deapth and detail that makes our hobby so captivating. But as always, these things are system dependent, with synergy.Have not heard your speakers. The single stereo Hegel will be less expensive than a pair of your mono's..I also had an Ayon CD5-s, and switched to a computer set up with Oppo dac, and Playback design dac, and found them both to be better than my Ayon...good luck with your search...

Hi Mribob,

Nice to meet a fellow Phi Beta fan. I'm a little surprised at your experience with the 28Bs, as my system does not lack for subtle cues and musical depth. But these things, as you say, are system-dependent and ours are pretty different. My sources are exclusively vinyl through tubes and speakers are PMC IB2i, known to work well with Bryston. Some amps just don't work so well with some speakers. Glad you found a great synergy for your Ventures, which I've never heard but would like to someday--they look to be exceptional.

Never heard the Hegel H30 either but I just read Absolute Sound review. It looks like a great piece! How long does it take to warm up :)

The Hegel runs cool, and I usually leave it on 24/7, except when leaving on vacation for over a weekend. Like the Brystons, if powered off, it will sound its best after being powered on for around 1 hour...
I agree with your post, and we should acknowledge that much of what we prefer is totally system dependent, and based on how we wish our systems to sound. There is a lot of quality gear and its hard to pick tops and bottoms, unless you go to a beach! The goal is to simply enjoy the music, and not focus on the gear...