Bryston 4B ST Amplifiers

Bryston 4B ST Amplifiers 

DESCRIPTION

250w x 2 channels

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 116  
[Jul 05, 2011]
audio_chopshop
Casual Listener

Got this at a decent price, very good condition but with a blown fuse. The other fuse was about to melt, black and scorched!!!. Someone had a lot of fun with this amp. I tested it with my 200w meter and I probably overloaded the input from my DAC, so it started clipping close to 200w. I haven't done another test yet but will certainly try it again (warranty expiring in 2018 really inspires me). This thing is built tough. Conservative looks, but very solid. It's not too big or very heavy, pretty compact actually, to my surprise. I suspect the insides are just as tough, since it survived a meltdown . I still like tube and VFET sound more, but I can drive this amp beyond normal listening levels with any load I have around and get a good dynamic, transparent and clean sound. I don't think I had any kind of spiritual experience or whatever audiophiles call it (I believe I did with tubes, though), but I wasn't actually disappointed with it neither.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 21, 2010]
djphu
Audio Enthusiast

My first power amp. All i gotta say is WoW!!!!! worth every penny. This amp just opened up my speakers to its full potential.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Sep 20, 2009]
project1971
Audio Enthusiast

i bought it from germany used from a very nice person and is the pro version.i hear with b&w matrix 802 s3 and the combo is just fantastic.yhats why i decided to write down my expirience with this amp.if neutral is so musical then bryston is in the right path.incredible and well defined bass neutral and trasparent mids and sweet treble with lots of energy.multilayers of texture and organ placement and its real that it can drive almost any speaker of this world.one last thing i noticed is that ground lift makes a diference in sound , just find the right place for you because i think that except groun loops has to do something and with mains power phase.just great!!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 04, 2009]
Bryan Hunt
AudioPhile

Nice amp, but I didn't care for it. I found there was an emphasis in the upper midrange that got annoying over time. However, it does pump out a nice tight bass, and overall it was a good amp--just not great. I think there are better choices. I settled on a McCormack DNA1 Revision A as my keeper.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Feb 21, 2008]
bikemad
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Detail big soundstage and bass to die for with very tight control with 250 watts at 8 ohms and ability to double at 4 ohm etc this has got to be able to drive almost any loud speaker.

Weakness:

None I can think of maybe if I spent mega £££s but then do I get a musical sounding hifi or a clinical one which only a few of my cd's sound great and the rest I may as well bin !! no thanks Iv heard systems like that though quite shocking.

This is the best amp Iv owned mono blocks and some nice stereo intergrated and power amps,this is just superb.
The bass goes though the floor soundstage is big and transparent anyone who says these amps dont work hav'nt set their kit up right or use the wrong cables etc.
Im using target R1 stands with my Proacs some Feet of silence under my G98 which sit's upon my diy carbon legged acrylic hifi stand and lastly pure silver Missing link cryo ref mains wires and Coherent (alloy wire) speaker and ic's.

Anyone who spends £££s upon kit then uses a cheap crap setup wont get half of what their hifi can give,mine sounds musical warm detailed and just enough bite but not fatiguing in any way.

Customer Service

The 20 year warranty for any owner has got to be one of the best in this hifi industry.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz,Musical fidelity,Arron,Wiliams Hart.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 30, 2007]
TheRambler
AudioPhile

This is one of the best power amps at this budget. I also tried some tube amps (mono block AudioNotes, even listened EARs, at the end, my musical ears preferred this beatiful natural amp. Here are some tips to get best from your 4B ;
plug it directly to wall, do not use any extension cables whatsoever. You'll loose bass response and body of instruments. If you use XLR inputs even with RCA interconnects you'll be amazed with improvement of bass response.But be patient to break-in of this XLR circuit. Try to use high qulity cables to get best from your amp. Also use WBT or Eichmann bananas. You'll hear better deep bass response. Watch if its warming; normaly it should not even after many hours.If its warming it means it needs adjustment on all bias circults, it is normal after so many years..Its a just 15 minutes job for a qualified service. your baby will reborn to give you more happy hours. Cheers to all B4 lovers...

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 30, 2007]
TheRambler
AudioPhile

This is one of the best power amps at this budget. I also tried some tube amps (mono block AudioNotes, even listened EARs, at the end, my musical ears preferred this beatiful natural amp. Here are some tips to get best from your 4B ;
plug it directly to wall, do not use any extension cables whatsoever. You'll loose bass response and body of instruments. If you use XLR inputs even with RCA interconnects you'll be amazed with improvement of bass response.But be patient to break-in of this XLR circuit. Try to use high qulity cables to get best from your amp. Also use WBT or Eichmann bananas. You'll hear better deep bass response. Watch if its warming; normaly it should not even after many hours.If its warming it means it needs adjustment on all bias circults, it is normal after so many years..Its a just 15 minutes job for a qualified service. your baby will reborn to give you more happy hours. Cheers to all B4 lovers...

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 06, 2005]
RICKY009
AudioPhile

Strength:

POWERFUL. SOLID BUILD QUALITY. 20 YEAR WARANTY. GREAT COMPANY TO DEAL WITH. GREAT VALUE.

Weakness:

NONE. I NOTICED THAT SOME PEOPLE SAID THAT THEY DID NOT THINK THAT THE 4B DID NOT PRODUCE GOOD BASS. THEY ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR EXCEPTIONAL BASS, AND YOUR ROOM MAY BE A PROBLEM. OR YOUR SPEAKERS ARE TOO SMALL. ADD A SUB, EVEN A CHEAP ONE.

OWNED 4B ST FOR ABOUT 3+ YEARS NOW. FIRST TIME I PLAYED THIS AMP THROUGH MY 10 YEAR OLD YAMAHA RX-750 STEREO RECEIVER (THROUGH PRE-OUT RCA TERMINALS), AND MY SLIGHTLY OLDER JBL L80 t3 3-WAY LOUDSPEAKERS, I WAS IN AWE! FORTUNATELY, THE JBL's RECOMMEND 300 WATTS OF CONTINUOUS POWER, AND THE YAMAHA's POWER RATING IS AT 80 OR 85 WPC. SO THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME I HAD A 250 WPC POWER AMP DRIVE THESE SPEAKERS. I COULD NOT BELIEVE THE DIFFERENCE. THE BASS WAS SO MUCH MORE POWERFUL AND I COULD REALLY TURN THE MUSIC UP, LOUD, AND STILL HAVE CRYSTAL CLEAR MUSIC. NOTE, RECEIVERS ARE RELATIVELY UNDERPOWERED IF YOU LIKE TO TURN IT UP AND THE TUNER CREATES SUBSTANTIAL DISTORTION, FURTHER LIMITING YOUR ABILITY TO CRANK IT UP. THE MUSIC (ROCK) WAS FULLER, MORE POWERFUL THROUGHOUT THE FREQUENCY SPECTRUM. I WAS HOOKED AND THAT WAS MY FIRST "SHOT" AND SOON, THE ADDICTION SET IN. I WANTED MORE! I NEEDED MORE. COULD NOT LIVE W/OUT IT. I THINK THE BEST WAY TO BUY A BRYSTON PRODUCT IS THROUGH EBAY OR OTHER SITES WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO SELL THEIR AMPS, PROBABLY TO BUY BIGGER AND BETTER. OR, BECAUSE THEY ARE BROKE, B/C THEY SPENT TOO MUCH ON EQUIPMENT. AT ONE POINT, I OWNED TWO (2) 4B ST's; A 3B SST; A PAIR OF 7B ST MONOBLOCKS; AND A 14B SST. I SOLD ALL BUT THE 14B SST AND ONE 4B ST, WHICH I STILL HAVE NOW. THE 4B ST IS A FINE AMPLIFIER FOR THE MONEY. IT IS BUILT SOLID AS A ROCK, EVEN MORE SOLID THAN THE 14B SST. IF YOU DON'T NEED MORE POWER, TO DRIVE BIG POWER HUNGRY SPEAKERS, LIKE MY B&W 801C's, THEN THE 4B ST IS A STEAL. BUY ONE. CHECK EBAY OR AUDIOGON (I FORGET IF THAT IS THE NAME OF THE SITE). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 27, 2005]
bappy
AudioPhile

Strength:

Perfect soundstage and good imagine also sweet vocal and very open.

Weakness:

Lack of lower bass, which is not very clear.

This is my second review and I have just recently changed my speaker from Dynaudio Audience 70 to Dynaudio Contour 3.3 and first of all 4B SST has no problem to drive them. By the way this review is about 4B SST not 4B ST. Build Quality: Very decent and prestigious look. Not very aggressive like krell but beautifully done in a sophisticated way. Very heavy in weight like a tank, so you there is something to consider. Features: well furnished and nice, the way it should be in decent power amp. Sound: It has done a wonderful job with my new Contour 3.3, which is by the very difficult to drive. Very good imagine and soundstage is unbelievable. Upper end is the main strength of this amp. But I think lower end is not that talked about thing in this regards, Overall this is a perfect amp., for the money where you can not go wrong with your decision. I can’t say that this is the best amp. In the World, but it is something that you will appreciate. Only thing that I am still working on to understand that many has said that it has good bass, but it is very hard to believe for me that it does, in my opinion bass has it’s own color which it should not have. It is little boomy bass and unnatural, but as I said I am still working on that and probably I will change my speaker cable to see how it works with other cable. I have had this amp. For over a month now and it is still burning and I think it will get little better after this month of burning. One need to try this amp. With a different Power Cord like Harmonic Tech AC Pro II or some other good brand to open this amp. Up. It really works.

Similar Products Used:

Krell, Adcom.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 09, 2005]
bappy
AudioPhile

Strength:

Deep Bass, very clear and beautiful vocal, enough detail anyone can have.

Weakness:

I do not like the soft touch power switch.

It was a big step for me as I was using Adcom GFA 555II. I have just installed it last night so it will be my first view. Actually I am writing this review about 4B SST not 4B ST. It just opened up all the windows those were blocked with Adcom for so many days. Wonderful soundstage and the bass is incredible. Vocal you have to listen to believe it how life it is. I will write further on this after listening my 4B SST little longer.

Similar Products Used:

Krell KAV 250, Adcom 5500 etc.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 116  

(C) Copyright 1996-2018. All Rights Reserved.

audioreview.com and the ConsumerReview Network are business units of Invenda Corporation

Other Web Sites in the ConsumerReview Network:

mtbr.com | roadbikereview.com | carreview.com | photographyreview.com | audioreview.com