Parasound A21 vs Bryston 4bsst 2

Ricred1, I take it you have the Aerial 7T's already? They are not cheap! A more difficult load with a minimum resistance of 3 ohms. As others have said, speaker amp synergy will be important, hopefully you can get the amp on a 30 day trial as many of the internet shops offer.

As for cables, they really are system dependant, but I really am taken with solid core conductor based cables. Morrow Audio makes a unique version, and Audioquest is another such option. Silver conductors can also be excellent for soundstage, but can be more forward sounding. There are some good cable threads in the cable section to get some ideas.

"In other words, for those who say get the Bryston, is it twice as good as the Parasound?"

Absolutely not, IMO.

Bryston hands down.

I would take Zd542's advice and focus on the entire system. You may be better served spending the money you save not buying the Bryston on your source components than cables.

Tough to beat the value of the Parasound gear overall. I am looking at the A21 and P7 myself now as an upgrade to my Anthem/Oppo system.

Good luck

Dave_72, Have you compared the A21 to your 4BSST. I was wondering how I would be able to identify a middle or the road vs really high end component, if I get a chance to compare

Sorry, I haven't. I have heard them separately. Well, I wouldn't say the 4BSST is really high end. That is reserved for the big boys of the Bryston line; 14BSST2 and 28SST2.

Anyway, a middle of the road component will be a bit restricted in the frequency response and dynamic range. The music sounds more canned. A real high end component will be effortless in frequency response and dynamic range. You're coming very close to recreating an actual live event and approximating the sound of real instruments.