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Review 1 of 1
Price Paid:
$4095.00
from Audio Advisor Summary:
I stared in horror at a blown channel from my old Adcom GFA-555 amplifier. This legendary amp for audiophiles who feel that price matters had served me well for two decades with its big soundstage and 200 watts output. I dreaded the expense of replacing it because what blew the channel out were my beastly speakers--the Martin Logan Ascent electrostats. Their ability to pummel any amplifier that dared to raise volume against its 2 Ohms or less resistance has been my great frustration when the amp's circuit breaker cuts off the music from overheating.
Since price does matter to me, finding an amp that can handle 2-4 Ohms at high volume within a reasonable price range was a tall order, especially when my component cabinet limited an amplifier's depth to 16 inches. Amplifiers that I had tested in my system, but punished by the Ascents, were Anthem Statement A2 225 watts and Musical Fidelity A5.5 250 watts. Neither presented a satisfying soundstage compared to the Adcom at moderate volume levels. So a leap of faith and price range was required by me to purchase the 300 watts Bryston 4B SST. The Canadian built Bryston has been the reference amp of choice for several top audio reviewers with electrostat speakers and versions of the 4B has been time tested for two decades. Its 20-year warranty is unparalleled within the audio industry.
The amplifier was delivered with free shipping from Audio Advisors in a mere two days. Lifting its 50 lb weight was barely manageable and I was grateful that I didn't buy some other brand where the weight exceeded the Bryston. Its 15.75 inch depth, 17" width and 5" height fully fitted its cabinet position. Its brushed silver front plate and thick heat sinks were simplistic, yet, when observed from a few feet, it reminded me of a gorilla raising his shoulders and projecting forward his chest to intimidate territorial intruders by appearing even more massive than he actually was. Trust me, the 4B looks impressive and once planted on its spot, I had no desire to move it again.
The Bryston included a thick 14 gauge, 3 prong power chord, in which the manufacturer recommended to plug directly into a dedicated 20 amp wall outlet. When I checked its power consumption specs, the 4B has the ability to draw 2100 watts of power at its maximum 500 watts output and 4 Ohms rating. I estimated that to be 18 amps and it defines the Bryston's ability to deliver high current power on demand.
The 4B's back panel has speaker wire outputs, balance and unbalanced inputs for each of its dual mono channels, along with 1 or 2 volt gain switches. Also, a bridged mode switch for 900 watts of single channel output. There is a main circuit breaker switch and when it's on, it allows the user to turn the amp on or off with a front panel soft switch. One LCD light for each channel is also on the front. It glows green for ready to play, orange for thermal shut-down, flashing red for clipping and steady red for muting.
THE SOUND OF MUSIC
The Bryston 4B SST was placed into my system which included the highly acclaimed Cambridge Audio Azur 840c CD player, Anthem TLP-1 pre-amplifier and the amazing Synergistic Research Discrete Alpha Sterling interconnects, which allows one to hear deep into the music with richness added to the sounds. They warm the cool characteristics of any solid state amplifier.
For starters, I went to one of my favorite acoustic CDs, Bleeker Street, which contains the great folk songs from the sixties performed by modern day artists. The acoustic guitars sounded fantastic with full bodied mid-range sound. An accented pluck of a nylon string came through with superb dynamics. Strings had that magic sparkle that is heard live, but a lot of credit goes to the Alpha Sterlings. It was the most realistic acoustic sound I've ever heard recreated. I was very surprised on how full and up front the vocals were. They had a near perfect definition and holographic clarity within the soundstage. Speaking of soundstage, it was as wide and deep as I've ever experienced. Every instrument was detailed within its own space with plenty of ambience and air. Background percussions were astonishingly detailed and I discovered new instrumentation that I never knew existed in a recording.
In listening to an wonderfully produced album by T. Boone Burnett, Raising Sand with Robert Plant and Alison Kraus, the track, Killing the Blues, the vocal harmonies are deliciously distinct with Plant on the right channel and Kraus on the left. Their voices were ceiling to floor huge, yet, perfectly full bodied heard clearly from the background instruments. The Bryston's bass detail was the best I've ever heard. I was shocked by its dynamics and fullness. But there was a big difference compared to the tube amps that I've heard and are also noted for their lush bass. The Bryston develops its full bass below the 250 Hz area which keeps it out of the lower mid-range to avoid having that annoying mid frequency bump experienced by tube amps. The 4B's mid-range is perfectly neutral and fully detailed which is my personal preference. The upper treble was clear, smooth with grain free detail, which delivered hours of listening pleasure. It impressed me on how liquid and dynamic the Bryston played.
After the easy listening session, it was time to push the Martin Logans with high powered rock. This was the area in which electrostats have challenged amplifiers. A sound quality that I hated about my Ascents was their reproduction of power guitars. Compressed and cheesy is the best way to describe it. The track that best represented this effect was Bruce Springsteen's Radio Nowhere. I love playing it loud on my car's Bose system, but I have despised hearing it on my home speakers. So in the player the CD went and before I sat down, this glorious wall-of-sound came out of the Logans that I thought they were incapable of producing. The power guitars were huge and deep as one would have heard live through the band's personal sound system. I listened in awe and repeated the track before I realized that my amp never shut down. After an hour of playing loud music, I was amazed that the Martin Logans had submitted themselves to this mighty powerful amp.
Another impressive design feature of the Bryston is how it dissipates heat quickly. After a long period at high volume, the 4B does get hot, but cools down to a touchable very warm in just a few minutes. So, for audiophiles with demanding speakers, I highly recommend the mighty Bryston 4B SST amplifier.
ADDITIONAL SPECIFICATIONS:
THD 110dB; Slew Rate > 60 volts per microseconds; Bandwidth 1 Hz to 100 Hz; Damping Factor > 500; Available with a black or silver front plate and 17" wide or 19" with rack handles.
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