Bryston 7B SST-2 (SQ) Review

[James Tanner - Bryston]

Hi All,

Link to a review on the new 7B SST-2 mono amp. I have heard this reviewers system(s) over the years and he is one hard guy to please!

The Inner Ear Magazine - Discover High End

james

[jdandy]

James.......I think he likes them! Thanks for the link. It was an enjoyable read.

So what we have in the new Bryston 7B SST² is a monoblock amplifier that delivers 600 watts into 8 ohms, rock solid bottom, midrange with the glow of tubes, and a top end rich with accurately reproduced harmonics. What's not to like about that?

[ian@pmc]

Best amplifier.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by ian@pmc

Best amplifier.

As long as one keeps synergy with speakers in mind... I can think of a few speakers it would go with very well with and a few it would not. I believe the reviewer used the Ethera Vitae speakers? Very "full and sweet sounding speakers" is what the review of those speakers said. That would go with the 7BB SST very well.

[KingRT]

Fremer from Stereophile (Jan), called them everything but a great amp.
Toughest review from a magazine, that I have read in a while.
He even let them send another pair.

[James Tanner - Bryston]

Best of 2009 Award

Bryston 7B SST2 C-Series Monoblock Power Amplifiers Redesigned and ready to go. Review by Anthony Nicosia

james

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by KingRT

Fremer from Stereophile (Jan), called them everything but a great amp.
Toughest review from a magazine, that I have read in a while.
He even let them send another pair.

I wish Mr. Fremer would stick to analog, that way I could ignore him completely.

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by Stillone

I wish Mr. Fremer would stick to analog, that way I could ignore him completely.

Jim.......+1, and have felt this way for years. His analog attitude is a little far fetched, too, if you ask me.

[James Tanner - Bryston]

Hi All,

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of course but I have to say I found the Stereophile 7B SST² review very perplexing given that the rest of the world has overwhelmingly embraced the 7B SST² as one of the worlds’ great amps.

Even John Atkinson the editor from the same magazine (Stereophile) reported from the most recent 2009 CES: “With "Superman's Song" from Crash Test Dummies, played back through a Bryston BDA-1 D/A processor, BPA-26 preamplifier, and pair of 7B-SST² mono-blocks, the sound was simply superb.”

Another review we got on the 7B’SST’s at CES 2009 was from Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity Magazine: “My wrap-up of the show is with what I think was the best audio demo that I heard. The Bryston/Thiel room was sublime auditioning. The demonstration was actually from Bryston VP of Sales, James Tanner. His equipment melded with the Thiel using his BPA-26 preamplifier / BDA-1 processor combination and Bryston’s 7B-SST mono-blocks.”

Harry Pearson ended his CES show coverage article with the Maggie Room at the Alexus Park. Here is what he had to say:"Last, but, hardly least, Magnepan, in a special room at the Alexus Park, set up a demonstration that didn't look, on paper, all that promising. You had to hear it to believe it: a terrific spread, and for once, quite wide dynamic contrasts, and from a Maggie no less, plus a midrange and high end lower in distortion than any of the company's smaller speakers. The effect: breathtaking.

This special Magneplaner demonstration was powered by and all BRYSTON system consisting of: Bryston 7B-SST Mono Amplifiers x 3, Bryston BP26/MPS-2 Preamplifier and Bryston BCD-1 CD Player.

I would say that the above seems to support the fact that all seems fine with the performance of the 7B SST-2’s.

So it seems to me that this particular reviewer is definitely in the minority with his impressions of the 7B’s? My only thought is that most of us spend countless hours tweaking our systems in a way that provides us with the sound we want or prefer and inserting another component into the system will not always be perceived as better short term. Sometimes an accurate amplifier (just check out the measurements in the Stereophile review) works against you initially because it does not enhance or exaggerate any specific part of the frequency spectrum.


James

[cmalak]

James...I would agree with you generally that highly accurate/revealing components may not be welcome in some systems (based on owner's listening preferences) but Michael Fremer has used high-powered SS highly accurate and revealing electronics from Musical Fidelity for quite some time. So I don't think it's that. It may be that there might have been an impedance (or other type of) mismatch between his pre-amp and the 7B SST-2's. Not sure. I am assuming this just came out in the latest Stereophile issue and I haven't received mine yet. Does anyone know what pre-amp was used in Fremer's system with the 7B SST-2? Just a thought.