As a few of you know, I've got some Bryston gear in house for a demo and for what it's worth, this is my amateur review of the gear. These are the current models. The BP6 is the entry Brsyton preamp, but they only offer 3 preamps and my understanding is that they are all very similar. The 2bsst is the new "squared" model that recently was introduced. This amp offers 100 w/ch @ 8 ohms and 180 w/ch @ 4 ohms. The rest of my gear is in my signature. Here's a pic of the kit on my hifi rack:
Setup:
Initial when I unpacked and setup the preamp and amp, I was unimpressed. My NAD gear doesn't have the thick piece of aluminum across the front, but it feels more polished to me and also weighs quite a bit more. However, this is really a case of mass market versus boutique manufacturer. The Bryston gear has the look and feel of hand made electronics. The ancient slender power toggle on the preamp looks like what you would find on an oscilloscope from the 1960's.
The BP6 preamp is a pretty no nonsense affair. There are only 3 knobs, an input selector, a balance control, and a volume control. They feel solid and very well made to the touch. Hooking up my source to the back of the BP6, I was slightly concerned how loosely the Chord cables fit. They were much tighter on the NAD preamp. However, a test tug assured me that they were secure enough.
The BP6 came with a remote. Also a no nonsense affair, it only controls volume. Up, down, and mute are the only buttons. It's all aluminum and is heavy. It appears the removal of 4 phillips head screws would be required to replace the battery.
The Bryston 2bSST2 amp has an input sensitivity selector in the back which can be set at 1V or 2V. The manual indicates that the 1V setting provides more gain. I tried both and could hear no audible difference other than loudness. I used the 1V setting for all my listening. The amp has a single switch on the front for power which doubles as the amps model badge. The switch feels like quality when pressed. The amp has 2 lights which are green when the amp is functional and will turn other colors to indicate a problem or clipping.
Listening:
I expected the Bryston pair to sound a bit more transparent and detailed than my NAD gear, and I was eager to find out if this was true, but my real apprehension was with the bass performance. The NAD C275 amp has bags of dynamic power. It will drive pretty much anything effortlessly and I really love the warm fat bass the NAD produces.
I tried Corinne Bailey Rae's new CD "The Sea".
Track 8, "Paris Nights" has some deep pounding bass that made for a good first test. Through the Bryston pair the bass was lightning fast and solid. It did not sound like 100w/ch to me. The bass is impressive for being the entry model Bryston amplifier.
Next up, another bass test. I consider Ingrid Michaelson's track "Way I am" from her "Girls and Boys" CD a gold standard for bass.
The song opens with a stand up acoustic bass being plucked and is well recorded. This particular track when played through my NAD gear provides a tiny bit too much bass and I tend to avoid it. Until now, I blamed my bass heavy Dynaudio speakers for this. With the Bryston pair, the bass was spot on. It was well extended, but more importantly it was very controlled and sounded extremely natural. This Ingrid Michaelson track also allowed me to assess the neutrality and transparency of the sound. Her voice was extremely open and clear sounding, very musical and enjoyable.
Next I listened to Joshua Radin's CD "We were here".
Track 3 "Everything'll be alright" features Joshua's whispery voice that had a holographic realism to it. I can only describe it as crystal clear sound. The steely atmospheric sound of the guitar on this track was conveyed in spades. It was attacking and gritty when it should be, but never harsh. This Bryston gear is eerily detailed. Each intake of breath, each pursing of the lips, every little nuance is present which translates to feeling like you are there.
I suspect that my Dynaudio speakers are an especially good match for the Bryston gear because the Contours are laid back and warm sounding. They never sound bright or harsh. But all that detail and clarity coming from the Bryston pair made me worry about harshness and listening fatique. So I pulled out my Patty Griffin's "Living with ghosts".
If this CD doesn't make me wince, nothing will. This CD features Patty alone with an amplified acoustic guitar. First I tried track 6 "Poor man's house". After listening to it twice through, I never once felt anything other than a crystal clear communication of the performance. No sibilance was ever present and even though I was playing this louder than normal listening levels, it was always pleasant and musical without a hint of harshness. Then I switched to track 2 "Let him fly" which is a gorgeous song with rich detailed guitar work and a tremendous vocal performance from Patty. Again, it was an OMG moment.
The last track I will discuss here is from an artist named "Jude" who released "No one is really beautiful" in 1998.
I really like this CD, but Track 6 "I do" is a real work out for amplifiers. The track starts with Jude's gorgeous smooth soprano voice, but when the bass kicks in, if the amp doesn't have an iron grip on the speakers, it sounds bloated and distorted. It's not just that the bass get's boomy, it's like it doesn't even sound like bass. It takes on an artificial deep vibrating sound that is completely unnatural. The Bryston made this song sound like heaven. I've never heard it sound so good.
So, that's about it, the Bryston pair is outstanding. Are there any detectable flaws? Yes. First, the bass is terrific, but I wouldn't go as far as saying its superior to my NAD equipment. It's just different. There are some CDs that I really love the rich warm fat bass that the NAD produces. The Bryston bass however does provide most of that same power, but it's either more controlled or less powerful, I'm not sure which. The NAD bass is very very good.
Another issue is volume. The NAD gear goes louder. Now I don't use my gear for parties and I don't listen at concert levels, but the Bryston amp did run out of volume while I could still stand it. The NAD does not. However, the Bryston will go very loud indeed, definitely loud enough for most people. With more efficient speakers this would probably be a non-issue.
But in final comparison of the NAD to the Bryston gear, considering the price difference, the NAD gear faired very well but the Bryston gear trumps the NAD in detail, clarity, and transparency. The Bryston gear is shockingly clean and clear. Only in power and bass performance was the NAD gear a peer of the Bryston offering. But don't get me wrong, the NAD pair is absolutely fantastic equipment and I love it.
My only concern with the Bryston gear would be that it is so detailed that it might become fatiguing with long listening sessions. I did not detect that at all, but I would need to spend a lot more time to be sure that it wasn’t an issue.
Setup:
Initial when I unpacked and setup the preamp and amp, I was unimpressed. My NAD gear doesn't have the thick piece of aluminum across the front, but it feels more polished to me and also weighs quite a bit more. However, this is really a case of mass market versus boutique manufacturer. The Bryston gear has the look and feel of hand made electronics. The ancient slender power toggle on the preamp looks like what you would find on an oscilloscope from the 1960's.
The BP6 preamp is a pretty no nonsense affair. There are only 3 knobs, an input selector, a balance control, and a volume control. They feel solid and very well made to the touch. Hooking up my source to the back of the BP6, I was slightly concerned how loosely the Chord cables fit. They were much tighter on the NAD preamp. However, a test tug assured me that they were secure enough.
The BP6 came with a remote. Also a no nonsense affair, it only controls volume. Up, down, and mute are the only buttons. It's all aluminum and is heavy. It appears the removal of 4 phillips head screws would be required to replace the battery.
The Bryston 2bSST2 amp has an input sensitivity selector in the back which can be set at 1V or 2V. The manual indicates that the 1V setting provides more gain. I tried both and could hear no audible difference other than loudness. I used the 1V setting for all my listening. The amp has a single switch on the front for power which doubles as the amps model badge. The switch feels like quality when pressed. The amp has 2 lights which are green when the amp is functional and will turn other colors to indicate a problem or clipping.
Listening:
I expected the Bryston pair to sound a bit more transparent and detailed than my NAD gear, and I was eager to find out if this was true, but my real apprehension was with the bass performance. The NAD C275 amp has bags of dynamic power. It will drive pretty much anything effortlessly and I really love the warm fat bass the NAD produces.
I tried Corinne Bailey Rae's new CD "The Sea".
Track 8, "Paris Nights" has some deep pounding bass that made for a good first test. Through the Bryston pair the bass was lightning fast and solid. It did not sound like 100w/ch to me. The bass is impressive for being the entry model Bryston amplifier.
Next up, another bass test. I consider Ingrid Michaelson's track "Way I am" from her "Girls and Boys" CD a gold standard for bass.
The song opens with a stand up acoustic bass being plucked and is well recorded. This particular track when played through my NAD gear provides a tiny bit too much bass and I tend to avoid it. Until now, I blamed my bass heavy Dynaudio speakers for this. With the Bryston pair, the bass was spot on. It was well extended, but more importantly it was very controlled and sounded extremely natural. This Ingrid Michaelson track also allowed me to assess the neutrality and transparency of the sound. Her voice was extremely open and clear sounding, very musical and enjoyable.
Next I listened to Joshua Radin's CD "We were here".
Track 3 "Everything'll be alright" features Joshua's whispery voice that had a holographic realism to it. I can only describe it as crystal clear sound. The steely atmospheric sound of the guitar on this track was conveyed in spades. It was attacking and gritty when it should be, but never harsh. This Bryston gear is eerily detailed. Each intake of breath, each pursing of the lips, every little nuance is present which translates to feeling like you are there.
I suspect that my Dynaudio speakers are an especially good match for the Bryston gear because the Contours are laid back and warm sounding. They never sound bright or harsh. But all that detail and clarity coming from the Bryston pair made me worry about harshness and listening fatique. So I pulled out my Patty Griffin's "Living with ghosts".
If this CD doesn't make me wince, nothing will. This CD features Patty alone with an amplified acoustic guitar. First I tried track 6 "Poor man's house". After listening to it twice through, I never once felt anything other than a crystal clear communication of the performance. No sibilance was ever present and even though I was playing this louder than normal listening levels, it was always pleasant and musical without a hint of harshness. Then I switched to track 2 "Let him fly" which is a gorgeous song with rich detailed guitar work and a tremendous vocal performance from Patty. Again, it was an OMG moment.
The last track I will discuss here is from an artist named "Jude" who released "No one is really beautiful" in 1998.
I really like this CD, but Track 6 "I do" is a real work out for amplifiers. The track starts with Jude's gorgeous smooth soprano voice, but when the bass kicks in, if the amp doesn't have an iron grip on the speakers, it sounds bloated and distorted. It's not just that the bass get's boomy, it's like it doesn't even sound like bass. It takes on an artificial deep vibrating sound that is completely unnatural. The Bryston made this song sound like heaven. I've never heard it sound so good.
So, that's about it, the Bryston pair is outstanding. Are there any detectable flaws? Yes. First, the bass is terrific, but I wouldn't go as far as saying its superior to my NAD equipment. It's just different. There are some CDs that I really love the rich warm fat bass that the NAD produces. The Bryston bass however does provide most of that same power, but it's either more controlled or less powerful, I'm not sure which. The NAD bass is very very good.
Another issue is volume. The NAD gear goes louder. Now I don't use my gear for parties and I don't listen at concert levels, but the Bryston amp did run out of volume while I could still stand it. The NAD does not. However, the Bryston will go very loud indeed, definitely loud enough for most people. With more efficient speakers this would probably be a non-issue.
But in final comparison of the NAD to the Bryston gear, considering the price difference, the NAD gear faired very well but the Bryston gear trumps the NAD in detail, clarity, and transparency. The Bryston gear is shockingly clean and clear. Only in power and bass performance was the NAD gear a peer of the Bryston offering. But don't get me wrong, the NAD pair is absolutely fantastic equipment and I love it.
My only concern with the Bryston gear would be that it is so detailed that it might become fatiguing with long listening sessions. I did not detect that at all, but I would need to spend a lot more time to be sure that it wasn’t an issue.
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