Bryston 10B Sub Active Crossover In Studio System

[jdandy]

The Bryston 10B Sub active crossover finally arrived yesterday. It is a fine looking, well made component, and surprisingly heavy for its small size. It comes with rack mounting ears attached, so I removed and stored them. I ordered the 10B Sub with balanced connectors, so it was a couple of hours before I was able to actually get the crossover into the two channel tube system. I had the two McIntosh XLS112 powered subwoofers fed with unbalanced cables, so I had to re-cable the left and right subwoofer runs from the McIntosh C1000T with balanced cables. Once that was complete it took less than 20 minutes to get the Bryston 10B Sub into the rack, and connected to the preamp, amps, and subwoofers. I have enough room in one rack space to install the 10B Sub on top of the C1000T. Most likely, I will put a set of Rollerblock Jr.'s between the C1000T and the 10B Sub. The Bryston 10B Sub is powered from the PS Audio Power Plant Premier using a two meter Wireworld Silver Electra power cord, identical to the other power cords used in the two channel tube system.

Setting up the initial crossover points could not be easier. Bryston included a well documented owner's manual with plenty of drawings and graphs that clearly show the various setup configurations and control functions. The well thought out controls make it simple to select the low pass and high pass crossover settings, as well as the attenuation slopes of the lowpass and highpass filters in separately adjustable 6, 12, or 18dB per octave slopes. Each highpass and lowpass control for both left and right channels has a separate mute switch. This allows you to individually turn on and off the four 10B Sub outputs, and safely allows muting of each output when adjustments are made to the crossover points or attenuation curves. All the controls work smoothly, positively, and noise free.

I began the setup process by selecting a lowpass and highpass setting of 70Hz, with 12dB per octave slopes for both channels, and setting the two McIntosh XLS112 subwoofer crossovers to 95Hz. I set the level controls on both XLS112's to the 12:00 o'clock position, and began playing the audition with Fourplay - Between The Sheets. The first track, "Chant", begins with some powerful drum strikes on Toms in combination with kick drum strikes, and some rattling of wooden blocks floating in the soundstage. The drums initial attacks and diminishing skin vibrations are impressive. I have listened to this track many times before installing the Bryston 10B Sub active crossover, and the impact was good with the subwoofers included, but was clouded by the SF Guarneri Memento's small mid-bass drivers struggling to reproduce frequencies below their true and useful range while at the same time trying to cope with the dynamics of the kick drum strikes in this frequency range. This was particularly noticeable at volumes above 90dB peaks. The first thing I noticed with the Bryston 10B Sub active crossover in the system was the dynamics of the drums had been extended without the smearing created by the GM's mid-bass drivers trying to reproduce frequencies below their limits. The next thing I noticed was greater authority in the initial drum strikes, plus improved definition as the drum skin vibrations dimenished in volume level. I could hear deeper into the decaying vibrations. Without the Guarneri Memento's mid-bass drivers in the lower octave frequencies, the impact and resulting drum skin vibrations from the stick attacks became far more coherent.

I stopped the music, and made an adjustment to the gain on both XLS112 subwoofers, raising the output controls to the 1:00 o'clock position, then repeated the track "Chant". Getting closer. I tried adjusting the crossover controls on the XLS112's to their off positions and listened, but decided I prefered the 95Hz crossover setting. It helped remove any attenuated crossover point frequencies that arrived at the subs from the slope curve settings on the Bryston 10B. I continued to listen, and tried the 6dB and 18dB slope settings for both lowpass and highpass crossover points, as well as adjusting the crossover points down to 60Hz, and up to 80Hz for both lowpass and highpass points. I ultimately settled on 80Hz as my crossover points for both lowpass and highpass, with 12dB slopes on all four controls. With a final small bump in the gain on the two XLS112 subs I arrived at a wonderfully homogeneous blend of Guarneri Memento's to McIntosh XLS112 subwoofers. Using the subwoofers gain controls to balance the relationship between the subwoofers and the Momento's allowed me to leave the 10B's highpass gain controls in their unity gain positions. These two left and right channel gain controls are designed to raise or lower the highpass signal +/- 5dB in 1dB increments. My preference is to adjust the subwoofer's gain controls for a perfect balance, thereby eliminating any need to raise or lower the highpass signals as they pass through the Bryston 10B.

All this tweaking of controls, listening, more adjusting, and more listening took me until almost 10 PM last night. I decided a Tangueray and Tonic with a twist of lime, actually a double, had been earned. Time to relax and enjoy some serious auditioning of the two channel tube system, now incorporating the Bryston 10B Sub active crossover.

Ah yes, the Tangueray is working. I selected Dan Siegel Project - Fables. This CD has some very deep synthesized bass, and thunderously low back ground sounds that rumble behind the flutes, percussions, keyboards, and synth. This is the recording that first clued me to the limits of the Memento's mid-bass drivers. I could actually hear the mid-bass drivers having difficulty reproducing the lowest frequencies on this CD. With the Bryston 10B Sub active crossover in the sound system, relieving the Memento's from the extreme low frequency duty, the lowest synthesized bass is now thunderously solid. The Memento's are now free of any lack of proportionality in their sound resulting from the sonic defects previously derived from the loss of mid-bass driver control, and the lower midrange is now perfectly transparent. What's more, the dynamic range of the Memento's has been increased with the extra headroom now available from the two McIntosh MC275 amplifiers. I found myself listening to volume settings on the C1000T as high as 54, producing peaks of 104dB on the SPL meter with no hint of any sonic degradation. Previously, without the Bryston 10B Sub in the signal path, a setting of 50 on the preamp was the limit. Not only have the dynamics improved, but the lower mid range frequencies are revealing a new found firmness and definition. With the Memento's mid-bass drivers no longer overlapping and struggling in the frequency ranges now handled exclusively by the XLS112's, their mid-bass drivers have been freed from the murkiness previously experienced. Bass definition is markedly improved, as is the mid-bass frequency range.

All and all, I am very pleased that I finally decided to purchase and use the Bryston 10B Sub active crossover in the two channel tube system. I am happy I ordered a brand new unit, fresh from the Bryston production line, and now that I have it in the system I am over the anxiety of waiting for it to arrive. I don't like to wait. The performance improvements the 10B Sub provides in the two channel tube system is well worth the price of admission. As good as the Sonus Faber Guarneri Memento speakers are, and no doubt they are spectacular, all two driver monitor speaker systems have their limits, almost always in the lowest frequency range. Simply adding a subwoofer, or in my case two subwoofers, made a gigantic improvement in the sound system's low frequency response, although there was still the Momento's mid-bass driver limitations generating a smudge in the sonic signature of the lowest octave. Removing the low frequency chore from the monitors, and transferring it strictly to the XLS112 subwoofers has collectively brought new found detail and definition to the entire system's performance. The Bryston 10B Sub active crossover has proven to be an excellent upgrade to an already very nice sound system. I can highly recommended the Bryston 10B Sub active crossover to anyone needing active crossover control of their monitors and subwoofers.

[Masterlu]

One things for sure, we don't need a professional audio reviewer...

We have Dan! Great job as always, and so glad you are enjoying your new Bryston 10B

[PHC1]

Dan, glad you found the 10B useful in your system.

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

One things for sure, we don't need a professional audio reviewer...

We have Dan! Great job as always, and so glad you are enjoying your new Bryston 10B

Ivan.......Thank you. I tell it like I see and hear it. Fortunately, the Bryston 10B Sub deserves all of the accolades. You know me well enough to understand I can be equally definative when things take a southbound twist.

The two channel tube system is really struting its stuff this evening.

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Dan, glad you found the 10B useful in your system.

Serge.......Everything you previously described about the Bryston 10B Sub in combination with the Sonus Faber Guarneri Memento's and external subwoofers is spot on. Ever since I failed to buy your 10B Sub when offered, I have wanted to go this route. I knew there were gains to be had from moving the lowest octave off the GM's. The overall coherency of the entire system's performance has been elevated from the addition of the Bryston 10B Sub active crossover. I am glad I followed your advice on this one.

[Poobah]

Awsome review as always... If I had a 2 channel system I would be sold.

[Vintage Pete]

Great write up Dan, as always...and the unit looks at home in the stack. Very nice indeed. If I had room for two subs, I'd be looking into one of these. No doubt a superb product. I've also no doubt that removing the responsibility of the lowest region from your monitors has yielded audible benefits.

Pete

[hkval]

I think this review will be on the Bryston Plant"s Refrigerator Door on Monday morning. You are an excellent reviewer because you write to teach, not to impress.
Howard

[jdandy]

Howard.......Thank you for the kind words. I think I would rather be on Bryston's refrigerator than McIntosh's dart board.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Howard.......Thank you for the kind words. I think I would rather be on Bryston's refrigerator than McIntosh's dart board.