Any experience with Bryston 4B ST Amps

[jblbgw_man]

Just interested in anybody's experiences with the Bryston 4B ST sonic quality, I was looking at using 1 for LF and the other to drive the HF sections on my 4435's .... all comments and opinions and/or experiences greatly appreciated ...... I guess I'm curious how it will go on the HF section .....:cheers:

[richluvsound]

For a studio Bryston on the HF yep ! For home use no ..... too dry-for home , Class a or tubes :D

If you can find a 3bst for the HF , i found it a lot warmer on my 4435's

Rich

[Ian Mackenzie]

Hence your quest for Paslabs.

I have enyoyed the synergy of Passlabs and JBL for 10 years.

[Earl K]

FWIW to the original question ( I also wouldn't use a 4B for HF ).

Although I do use a Bryston 2BLP ( Pro ) balanced inputs .

The balanced inputs are DC Biased ( don't ask ) with Polystyrene Film Foil caps creating a sloppy HiPass around 200 hz . FWIW, the standard amps topology, doesn't use any electrolytics of it's own in the front end .

This CCed front end sounds way better than it has any right to .

I figure its due to some bizarre form ( or implementation ) of ; a "Feed Forward Super Symmetry" that happens (due to the CCed caps ).

Anyways, the sound is much richer than what I'm used to from older Byrstons .

( And it costs small potatoes to implement . )

<> cheers

[richluvsound]

Hence your quest for Paslabs.

I have enyoyed the synergy of Passlabs and JBL for 10 years.



Yep ... I'm almost there . I get the panels laser cut next week , assemble and cross my fingers as I plug it in ....

DAC next project :D

Rich

[jblbgw_man]

For a studio Bryston on the HF yep ! For home use no ..... too dry-for home , Class a or tubes :D

If you can find a 3bst for the HF , i found it a lot warmer on my 4435's

Rich
Rich ... am I wrong but I would have thought the 3B ST and the 4B ST would have sounded the same, just one with more output power than the other, I don't have the schematics in front of me but usually when they have several models but with different output power ranges the topology is basically the same with the exception of extra output devices and larger transformer of course.... or am I missing something here?

[richluvsound]

In technical terms I cant explain it , but I know what I heard .

Btw, my 4435's were not bi-amped at this point .

Rich

[jblbgw_man]

Yep ... I'm almost there . I get the panels laser cut next week , assemble and cross my fingers as I plug it in ....

DAC next project :D

Rich
Rich ... is the PASS Class A amp your building schematic and layout available to the general public and if so where ? :cheers:

[richluvsound]

Sorry Mods ... I duplicated this post ...... please delete this one if you see it .

Cheers ,RuF

[richluvsound]

cus you aint getting the urn back :D

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs/

http://cgi.ebay.com/30W-Mosfet-class-SE-amplifier-huge-PCB-/320514022773?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa01fdd75

Guido has been brilliant and no way I could have done it with out his help ... Its been a steep learning curve .

Ian is the other in house Pass Guru .

Rich

[jblbgw_man]

cus you aint getting the urn back :D

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs/

http://cgi.ebay.com/30W-Mosfet-class-SE-amplifier-huge-PCB-/320514022773?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa01fdd75

Guido has been brilliant and no way I could have done it with out his help ... Its been a steep learning curve .

Ian is the other in house Pass Guru .

Rich
Cheers for the info Rich ..... any designs with higher power? (I might be able to design a water jacket around the heatsinks to preheat my mains water before it goes into the hot water service) :p

[richluvsound]

There are other designs you can scale up . There is a ton of energy there too ! Some very clever and helpful people getting on with the fun side of life. In fact the place reminds me of here before the LH decline into anarchy ':D

Papa Says ' DO IT'

Rich

[Ian Mackenzie]

I have built a number of aleph J, it is the ultimate Aleph

[richluvsound]

I have built a number of aleph J, it is the ultimate Aleph

I was at the laser cutters today .... :D

Just the case to put together and wire it all up .... I have really enjoyed the whole process .... Amps and Dac's sure take up a lot less room .

A little DAC next I think ... !

Hope your well down there and the new home is coming together !


Rich

[jblbgw_man]

Now getting back to the original topic .... any other experiences with the 4B ST anyone can share ?

[Chas]

The ST's were solid performers, but as others have noted, maybe a little dry and clinical. Good for their age, though.

Today's SST squared series are vastly superior IMHO. I am using bridged 2B SST2's and a 4B SST2 in my main system with great results.

If I owned ST series amps I would relegate them to LF service.