Bryston/PMC/MA

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I went to a dealer this morning to audition some more speakers in the 2K bracket, and the electronics he set up was an all-bryston system comrimising of
Bryston BP26 preamp/power supply
Bryston 4BSST power amp
Bryston BCD 1 CD player

First off were (again!) the monitor audio GS20's which i had enjoyed at 2 previous dems, but hooked up to this system, te vocals sounded a touch too bright-not something i had experienced before.
Second were the PMC FB1's which sounded much nicer than when i head them previously, the leanness had gone, plus they seemed to control the brightness a touch, but it was still there nonetheless.

next were the proac response D15's -partnered with this system they were horrendous!!! I had to get the guy to swap them over after one track! shame, as I was really looking forward to spending some quality time with these speakers.

By now i was coming to terms with the fact that the electronics were consistenty brught with whatever speakers you put with it, so last of all we hooked up the dynaudio focus 220's, which were really nice!

Given the electronics, i was listening to, i ffound the PMC's. and the dynaudios front runners, but i told the dealer that i found the system consistenly bright, but he sadly couldnt give any explanation exept to say that the MA's were "a little shiny"

Lovley guy, very very helpful but i really didn't want to patronise the guy any further by commenting any more on the bryston electronics.

So i was wondering i this me being a total plank, or has anyone else ffound bryston kit on the bright side??? I know WHF use some of this in their reference system, so ...🙂
 
I have a review from another respected hifi mag of the same amp except with the 3B-SST. They claim it has high treble which can be described as 'excitable'. Is this just treble detail or brightness?

My experience of Proac speakers was that they're rather sparkly, something that disappointed me too having hyped myself up to buy some.

Given your budget, see if you can try some of the new Spendor A6. I suspect that they might be rather good.

Good luck!
 
thanks igglebert,

Itwas generally too bight. Even bassy tracks showed a hint of brightness, and with springsteen it was awful!
 
clivej:thanks igglebert,

Itwas generally too bight. Even bassy tracks showed a hint of brightness, and with springsteen it was awful!

That's an interesting comment about Springsteen - of the three albums I've had of his, the quality has been sadly lacking on every one of them, all sounding rather bright and harsh.

Tony.
 
Many people find the Gold's to be a bit bright. I have the 60', as well as the surrounds and centre. They can be a bit bright. I also have the Bryston BP26 and really like it. Certainly any reviews I have read on it are all very positive, as are the reviews on the 4B-SST. I have not heard the GS 20's so I can't comment on them. I do also find the Gold's to be a bit fussy about placement.
 
well this is the fourth time that i have heard the gs20's and with the exeption of this morning, the 3 prevoiusoccasions, with different amplification/sources they sounded fine.
 
I was both interested and surprised when I read your post. I think PMC recommend Bryston amps for their speakers, as they use these to develop their kit. I think they may be Bryston distributors.

Would it be worth asking the dealer to swap the CD for another brand to see if that is the source of the imbalance? I have the FB1s and find them quite smooth.
 
TNTTNT:
I was both interested and surprised when I read your post. I think PMC recommend Bryston amps for their speakers, as they use these to develop their kit. I think they may be Bryston distributors.

Correct-they do, and vice versa, so although they were a touch on the bright side, I wasnt too surprised to hear that they, along with the dynaudios, were the more well-suited of the four pairs I listened to.

TNTTNT:Would it be worth asking the dealer to swap the CD for another brand to see if that is the source of the imbalance? I have the FB1s and find them quite smooth.

I dont think so. The next step i feel is a serious bout of home demos to find hich ones suit the acoustics in my room.-)
 
I would certainly try the Spendor A6.

I do understand what you are saying about brightness.
Years ago I had a pair of Marantz MA6's class A mono-blocks and found the sound to be brittle, clinical with the sound stage open to an extreme. I really tried to like them but found after 6mths I couldn't live with them anymore.
At the time I had a pair of Roger LS6's with custom made crossovers.

I know that the music source is critical in system matching at this level, my best reference amp of the past for musicality must be the Quad 303/33 with a separate power supply and upgraded circuit boards. Haven't heard anything, ever to beat it. (pity about its power output though)
 
trevor79:I know that the music source is critical in system matching at this level, my best reference amp of the past for musicality must be the Quad 303/33 with a separate power supply and upgraded circuit boards. Haven't heard anything, ever to beat it. (pity about its power output though)
I'm getting my Quad 405 upgraded by Netaudio to their MK3 version this year at some point. Really looking forward to it as it should be good!
 
clivej:I went to a dealer this morning to audition some more speakers in the 2K bracket, and the electronics he set up was an all-bryston system comrimising ofBryston BP26 preamp/power supplyBryston 4BSST power ampBryston BCD 1 CD playerFirst off were (again!) the monitor audio GS20's which i had enjoyed at 2 previous dems, but hooked up to this system, te vocals sounded a touch too bright-not something i had experienced before. Second were the PMC FB1's which sounded much nicer than when i head them previously, the leanness had gone, plus they seemed to control the brightness a touch, but it was still there nonetheless.next were the proac response D15's -partnered with this system they were horrendous!!! I had to get the guy to swap them over after one track! shame, as I was really looking forward to spending some quality time with these speakers.By now i was coming to terms with the fact that the electronics were consistenty brught with whatever speakers you put with it, so last of all we hooked up the dynaudio focus 220's, which were really nice! Given the electronics, i was listening to, i ffound the PMC's. and the dynaudios front runners, but i told the dealer that i found the system consistenly bright, but he sadly couldnt give any explanation exept to say that the MA's were "a little shiny"Lovley guy, very very helpful but i really didn't want to patronise the guy any further by commenting any more on the bryston electronics.So i was wondering i this me being a total plank, or has anyone else ffound bryston kit on the bright side??? I know WHF use some of this in their reference system, so ...🙂

What kit do your speakers need to match with?ÿ
 
JoelSim:
clivej:I went to a dealer this morning to audition some more speakers in the 2K bracket, and the electronics he set up was an all-bryston system comrimising ofBryston BP26 preamp/power supplyBryston 4BSST power ampBryston BCD 1 CD playerFirst off were (again!) the monitor audio GS20's which i had enjoyed at 2 previous dems, but hooked up to this system, te vocals sounded a touch too bright-not something i had experienced before. Second were the PMC FB1's which sounded much nicer than when i head them previously, the leanness had gone, plus they seemed to control the brightness a touch, but it was still there nonetheless.next were the proac response D15's -partnered with this system they were horrendous!!! I had to get the guy to swap them over after one track! shame, as I was really looking forward to spending some quality time with these speakers.By now i was coming to terms with the fact that the electronics were consistenty brught with whatever speakers you put with it, so last of all we hooked up the dynaudio focus 220's, which were really nice! Given the electronics, i was listening to, i ffound the PMC's. and the dynaudios front runners, but i told the dealer that i found the system consistenly bright, but he sadly couldnt give any explanation exept to say that the MA's were "a little shiny"Lovley guy, very very helpful but i really didn't want to patronise the guy any further by commenting any more on the bryston electronics.So i was wondering i this me being a total plank, or has anyone else ffound bryston kit on the bright side??? I know WHF use some of this in their reference system, so ...🙂

What kit do your speakers need to match with?ÿ

Joel,

If you mean, what system to i have? Then its an all-meridian system;
508 cd player
501 preamp
555 power ampsx2
ortofon SPK 5000 speaker cable(also is going!)
attenuated kimber crystal AG between cd layer and preamp
chord chobra mark 1 everywhere else (these will also be upgraded)
 
With your system I would definatly want to inject a little warmth into it, the Spendors along with the Ecosse Reference MS-2.3 cable would be high on my list to try.
 
trevor79:With your system I would definatly want to inject a little warmth into it, the Spendors along with the Ecosse Reference MS-2.3 cable would be high on my list to try.

Hi trevor,

The problem with the spenors is that they are not biwireable/biampable, so ultimatley good though they are ufortunatley i have to turn them down.

Will deinatley look into the ecosse though!;-)
 
Mordaunt Short Performance 6!
But I have blown your budget with style. With the system you have it will justify spending much more money on the speakers to get the maximum pleasure out of it, but you will enjoy for evermore.
 
trevor79:Mordaunt Short Performance 6!
But I have blown your budget with style. With the system you have it will justify spending much more money on the speakers to get the maximum pleasure out of it, but you will enjoy for evermore.

Hmmmm!🙂LOL

what about the Spendor S8e's any thoughts?
 
Spendor S8e's thoughts

Yes, but they need to be placed around 3' off the back wall and need about 200hrs running in before they are at there best.

For a natural sound they take some beating. Fussy about positioning to get the best out of them.

I do like spendors, wouldn't buy anything else without an audition of them. Mods to the crossovers take them to an even higher level.
 
"The problem with the spenors is that they are not biwireable/biampable, so ultimatley good though they are ufortunatley i have to turn them down.

Will deinatley look into the ecosse though"

Dont let the fact that some speakers are not Bi-wirable influence your decision.

The Dynaudio's cannot be Biwired, and you have already said you liked them.

Some manufactures prefer not to Biwire they speakers, it also has the advantage that you dont have to run two sets of cables to each speaker, which means you can get a better quality cable for the same money!

Personally, I dont find Bryston's bright at all, they just play it as it is. This leaves the recording, speakers and your personal preference.

You could try Focal, Audiovector (similar to Dynaudio, but upgradable when funds allow!) or B&W (personally I dont like these speakers, too laid back and boring, but you may like them)
 
Am going to listen the the spendor range this weekend! Plus going to re-listen to the proacsthe exact same speakers, but at a different dealer and using a different system that was used originlly
 
I have the 3B SST. I was deciding between the 4B SST and 3B SST and ultimately went for the smaller amp which I found to be more transparent, even though I had my mind almost set on going for the 300 watts instead of only 150 watts when I entered the dealer. The clarity and detail is very good and I don't find the amp to be bright, but perhaps it's because I'm pairing it with a tube preamp (Audio Research SP16L).

Interesting thing is although I would have liked to have had a lot more reserve horsepower, the salesguy told me that unless I'm listening at very loud levels (which I don't), it's better to go for the smaller amp so that it can operate within it's "sweet spot". I guess this is a fairly common assumption that amps sound better operating at about 40% level rather than at 20%. Which is why I sometimes wonder if those 1000 watt monoblocks (of which Bryston do manufacture one as well) is a bit of overkill to satisfy Americans' wish for all things big and powerful, and nothing else.
 
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