2. amps-preamps
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Bryston Powerpac?

I was thinking of upgrading to Bryston 7B ST monoblocks and came across what I consider a great idea: the Powerpac 250. This is what appears to be a compact mono power amp without the usual "big box". These things can be attached directly to the back of a speaker since they have screw holes in a base blate sort of thing, rendering the speaker very close to a powered speaker and obviating speaker cables almost entirely. With bi-ampable speakers, just think, slap on two of these per speaker and you have 500 watts at your diposal... Are they anything close to 7Bs in sound? How much do they go for? The price I can easily get from local dealers. Insofar as some appreciation of the sound quality though, I am sure the dealer will tell me they're great, unless he is trying to steer me to something more expensive or simply to something gathering dust in the shop. I am not sure that they are stocked. If they can be found locally, I will certainly give them a listen. In the interim, does anyone have experience with these?
pbb
sdcampbell
2,136 posts
 
I have a friend who uses the PowerPac 120's to drive his rear surround speakers, and he's very pleased with them. The "120" version is simply one channel of amplification taken directly from the Bryston 3B-ST, which is their 120 wpc power amp. I do not have first-hand experience with the PowerPac 250, but given its power rating it is likely to be one channel of amplification taken from the 4B-ST (250 wpc amp). I own the 4B-ST amp (as well as a 5B-ST, and Bryston's SP-1 pre/pro), and recommend their products highly. You may be able to obtain more info about the PowerPac's from Bryston's Web site at: www.bryston.ca. From their Web site, you can also send an E-mail to James Tanner with any technical questions you have. James is a great source of information, and always responds very promptly to inquiries.
hifixpert
25 posts
 
I agree with all of the comments from Sdcampbell above. I am also a Bryston enthusiast, and have owned the PowerPac 120 amplifiers in the past. They sound wonderful; were sufficiently light that they were easy to carry and place; can be situated right next to your speakers, which means very small speaker cable runs; particular ease of access to the speaker terminals; and of course getting two pair is a real easy way to have all of the advantages of vertical bi-amping. There are several differences with the more powerful 7B-ST amplifiers: (a) obviously not quite as much power output, though biamping mitigates that issue; (b) they give off a slight pop during turn-on or turn-off (which to me was basically irrelevant since I left them on all of the time); and (c) the ability of the 7B-ST as well as the 14B-ST (which I presently own and love) to drive very low impedance loads.
argent
245 posts
 
I have emailed James Tanner about this amp already, and he confirmed that it was indeed a mono amp from the 4B-ST. He said they retail for $1400. I myself have just left the Bryston family for a Proceed AMP 5 for the home theater. Anyone interested in my 4B-ST should check out my add on this site.
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