I was a bit skeptical that a tiny integrated amp could produce anything like high end sound, but after listening I was converted. So much so that I bought
one. Warm, maybe even a little too sweet, but very engaging. Perfect choice
for those who live in an apartment or who simply want good sound without alot
of fuss. Not really as good as separates costing twice as much as some have
stated, but worth the asking price. Buy one, forget about the equipment, and
enjoy the music.

I decided to sell my 4BST, I was frustrated using a sub par preamp with it, no $$ to upgrade to a proper pre amp, so I bought a B-60. It is perfect for my small apartment. The sound is typical Bryston, my third Bryston piece, so the overall sonic cleanliness came as no surprise. It does take more then the 24hr burn in time that some magazine reviewers have suggested. Some of you have mentioned a couple of weeks. I am finding as time goes by, the latter is true. If I had to describe what I'm hearing to someone looking for this unit, the bass is fantastic, accurate, controlled, not overwhelming. Mids are bang on, highs right now remain a little forward/crisp, too early to tell. They will smooth out no doubt. If your listening space is small, seriously consider this piece. I used to love the appearance of raw power, the 3B and 4B sitting atop their amp shelves, make the visual sacrifice and prioritize space and sonic benefits of matching an amp with size of space you have to work with. It will definently pay off. Using the same set of PSB 800s, I notice the amp runs warmer than my 4B, there must be a reason for the limited heat sinking, Bryston loves their cooling fins (this might prevent me from hooking up a pair of small Martin Logans). If you are looking for a budget set up look no further. I probably still got ripped off at $1490.00 from a commercial dealer but our local high end provider wanted $1900-(a little much), so make sure you look around/wheel-and-deal if purchasing new. The other nugget of excitement is that if you are really tight, you can remove the jumpers later and use a bigger amp to utilize the B-60 for your pre amp, potentially saving the purchase of another pre amp. Nothing to critize, use quality cabling, I'm using Audioquest Crystal bi wired into my mainsteam PSBs, MIT interconnects, NAD CD, I know, needs an upgrade, and a Yamaha tuner....on a budget it'll do. Get the amp. By the way, having bought and sold two other Bryston amps, when it comes to selling the B-60, you won't have it very long. Bryston stuff sells itself. 20 yr transferable warranty, do the math.

I would like to add to Sergei's findings regarding the Pre-section of the B-60:

BEWARE! it doesn't match with many power amplifiers. Although it is a very
good sounding preamp section, I found that it somehow restricted the output of
the poweramp section of the amp(B-60).

Using the B-60's preamp section to drive a Nakamichi PA-7 Power amp, the sound
was somehow restrained as if it was tied tightly with a thick rope. Tried it also with a Quad 606, Denon Poa-2800, Krell Kav-250..(all having a benign input
impedance) and got the same result.

However, when the B-60's power amp section was hooked to another preamp,even
with a bottom of the line Rotel preamp, the sound really opened up. It was if
the power output was 100 watts instead of 60!!!

That's why I recommended the Source Component Harmonic Recovery System with
the B-60. It really opened up the sound & had no character of its own to impose
on the B-60. The HRS increases the signal gain by about 3db thus driving the power amp optimally.

That's all I have against the B-60. Otherwise, it is a superb amplifier that I
actually preferred over the Krell Kav-300I.

It seems, that the B60 domain has been clearly established. It is suitable forsmall listening rooms, and efficient speakers. I was fitting it to Platinum
Solos, and it ran out of juice. It did outclass Arcam 10 and Classe CAP80 on the way,
where I found Arcam to sound slightly harsh and lack resolution, and Classe
to be muddled, while with slightly better bass. However, B60 was smothered by
Belles 150A fed by the Bryston's preouts (see Belles' reviews for details
on that one). I think, the preamp part of the B60
is better than the power part. A good integrated, but not for everybody.

The reviews have gotten it right on this one. I dont know what kind of speakers a guy giving it 2 stars is using but my guess is he couldn't tell an am radio from a live concert. The B60 is superb. I have compared it against the following: Arcam 10, 9 and 8. Creek 4330SE, Audio Refinement Complete, Classe CAP151, and the Krell KAV 300i. All around the Bryston is the better performer when matched well with a speaker that can handle the definition and detail the B60 brings. I have found Monitor Audio to sound superb.
The 2 star guy should be reviewing on this site. You need to be able to hear.

After listening to a well broken in unit for a week, I decided it wasn't for me. Even Though the amp was very open and detailed, it messed up the male voice and did not render a very realistic presentation of cymbals or other instruments with high frequency shimmer. I think it sounds mid-fi-ish. Other than its openess, it doesn't really do anything any better than a lot of other amps. I thought the Conrad Johnson, CAV-50, sounds better with a more realistic presentation other than its low end. I do not feel the Bryston is worth $1800 w/ remote.

Probably like most, I was curious whether Stereophile had done it again by providing high praise to a somewhat eccentricly small amp like Bryston's B60 unit. During my quest for audio nirvana, however, I have to say that I'm glad to have auditioned a number of other fine components so as to appreciate the qualities the Bryston does provide.
This is solely for the reason that the B60 does *not* do everything that one would want. It certainly doesn't play music at enormously loud volumes (I for one was swayed initially by the Arcam Alpha 10 due to this increase in power but got over it quickly due to its upper end grain)and it does get somewhat congested when playing chamber music at loud volumes.

That said, for the majority of cd's that I listen to (rock, folk and jazz) and the size of room I have, it does play music with amazing definition and clarity. Originally I had a Creek 4330 (which is a fine unit btw for its price) but was missing some of the resolution I had heard in other amps like the Analogue Puccinni. I am still absolutely amazed at the razor sharp imaging it produces while adding absolute "nada" to the sound. Considering that the majority of my listening is done around 95-100db, the lack of additional power is really more of a moot point to me. I'd say there's about 5% of the time where I wish I could push it up just a little farther.

I have lessed some of the power requirements by filtering my mains (B&W CDM1s) with a sub-woofer at 65hz. Consequently I typically have plenty of power left for mid-range dynamics. But for those that have fairly efficient speakers and desire quality over quantity, IMHO this amp can't be beat for its price. Even without the superb workmanship and stellar warranty, this unit is an extremely good piece!

Do yourself a favor and audition this unit without pre-conceived conceptions of what an amp should "look" like. It's small, diminuitive package hides the fact that what comes out is nothing short of amazing.

Neutral, in the best sense of the word. Dead quiet preamp section. Elegant, understated styling, with excellent build quality inside and out. I agree with some reviewers below,
who rate its preamp section higher than the power amp section.

It is what it is...don't try to drive very inefficient or
difficult to drive speakers to high levels with this amp, or
you'll get clipping, whether you realize it or not(see below).

I kept missing the sweetness of tubes. Got a deal on a Conrad Johnson MV50 power amp, which sounds MUCH better driving my MMG's, even though the MV50's rated output into these 4 ohm speakers is only about half of what the Bryston will do (rate@100w/c into 4 ohms, the Bryston's probably doing more like 115). I kept the B60 as a preamp, at which it excels.
To be specific, with the Bryston as integrated driving my Magnepans, I'd keep hearing a somewhat clangorous quality with piano crescendos on some CD's at moderately high volume, which I was mistakenly blaming on the player (Rega Planet). Soon as the MV50 went into the system, this was gone, like stink. . Here's what I think was happening: The B60 was clipping pretty regularly with the MMG's, which, like all Maggies are known for liking lots of power. Only, it wasn't clipping so badly that your ear/brain would say "Ewwww...clipping." I'm sure the Conrad Johnson MV50 is clipping even more. Only because of its tubes, which recover more gracefully and quickly than transistors from clipping, you don't notice it. This is not something I noticed at 1st-I think you need to live with a piece for a long time to fully understand its strengths and weaknesses.
Moral of the story:pair this piece with speakers at least 87db/watt or so in sensitivity, and preferably with a benign modulus of impedance.
You could do a lot worse, even if you just use this unit as a preamp, as I am. It's essentially a BP20 without the balanced outputs, and remote power supply, and sounds to me about as neutral and quiet. Another plus-as a preamp,
its low gain actually matches a lot of sensitive tube amps
a lot better than most full function preamps, which have WAY TOO MUCH GAIN (ie, volume barely cracked for low to moderate listening levels). Gonna weight the ratings,so it comes out 4.5, which is about right, in my humble opinion.

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This is the only solid state product I've lived with long term.

Forgot to mention that you have replace the stock jumpers at the back in order for you to realize the full potential of this amp. I had replaced mine with pure three 22awg solid silver wire from homegrownaudio.com.

Everything improved! You name it, bass definition, tonality, imaging, separation of instruments etc. incredible!!!

Kevin of homegrown was the one who advised me of the construction. Check out his website for those who are interested.

Love it, love it, love it! High end sound without all of the fiddling, although I know that a lot of audiophiles love to fiddle, just hook it up and enjoy the music. Isn't that why we got into hi-fi in the first place? My wife loves the fact that it doesn't draw any attention to itself sitting on the end table.
I have it hooked up to a pair of Maggie 1.6's (A hard sell in the spousal approval department), M&K MX200 sub, and a Meridian 24-bit cd player. All interconnects and speaker wire are Kimber Cable silver.

All I can say is go out and listen to it for yourself. There are alot of other great integrateds out there like the YBA integra, Classe CAP's, and Krell's KAV300i and 500i, but I found the Bryston to be the most endearing of the group.

Not the most powerful, not the best low end slam (with the Maggies who cares), not the most open and detailed highs, perhaps the best mid-range of the bunch, but overall it was the most satisfying and involving. With the 20 year warranty how could one go wrong.

Four stars in absolute terms, five stars for value.