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Need feedback from Bryston amp owners

I'm thinking of buying the Bryston 3B SST amp. Does anyone have this amp or a comparable amp like the 4B SST? I heard they are strong in the low end (bass).
dazman
sean
6,231 posts
 
Bryston's don't like low impedances and are dynamically limited. I've said this for several years and Stereophile confirmed this in their last review of a very large Bryston amp. Sonically, i find them to be both unimpressive and uninvolving.

If you have a softer ( treble and upper midrange reduced ) sounding speaker that maintains a higher average impedance and you listen to music that is both moderate in terms of dynamic range and average spl requirements, have at it. They are ruggedly built and have a phenomenal warranty that they definitely DO stand behind. Sean
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sean
6,231 posts
 
Dynamically limited relates to the quantity and speed of power available during dynamic transients. In other words, i've found Bryston's to be lacking in "useable" dynamic headroom. The aforementioned Stereophile article notes this also, as the reviewer found the 500 wpc Bryston going into clipping before the 350 wpc Levinson unit that he compared them to. There was also another smaller ( than the Bryston ) amp mentioned in that review ( can't remember what it was ), but they also stated that it also "dynamically" out-powered the Bryston.

Other than that, a well designed SS amp just keeps delivering more power as impedance is reduced. Obviously, it's going to run out of steam at some point, but prior to that point, it's either got it or it doesn't. Sean
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sean
6,231 posts
 
Adding to my last post, the lack of headroom and resultant momentary clipping could explain why some folks experience listening fatigue with Bryston's. That is, the non-linear high frequency distortion and smearing that result bother them enough to make the amps unlistenable over a period of time.

Obviously, not everyone or every situation may run into this problem. Some can hear things that others don't. Some have loudspeaker & cabling loads that might aggravate the situation whereas others may have more benign loads. Some might / might not listen loud enough for the problem to arise. This could be why there seems to be such a controversial take on this specific subject. Sean
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