That's due, in great part, to Bryston's inherent conservatism in every aspect of the company's public persona. Maybe they do privately cross-dress and throw debauched bashes and hang from chandeliers, but their public face is one of an engineering-centric, low-key, value-oriented organization…
Having never reviewed the 7B SST—or any Bryston amplifier—in my system, I have no idea how much sonic improvement, if any, has been wrought by these changes. But I thought…
Oddly, it was the primitive-sounding The Beatles' Second Album, including the American meddler Dave Dexter's added reverb, that clarified both the differences between the amplifiers and the Bryston's basic personality. The first track, "…
Revisiting the Original 7B SST2s
It took but a few minutes to hear what I reported in the review: the soft attack, murky sustain, and mutable decay. I revisited the Beatles' cover of "Roll Over Beethoven" and some of the other tracks, and added a few new ones, including "We Can Talk," from an exceptionally fine-sounding SACD of…
Description: Solid-state monoblock amplifier. Output power: 600W continuous into 8 ohms (27.8dBW), 900W into 4 ohms (26.6dBW). Gain select and sensitivity: 29dB (2.3V in = 600W into 8 ohms), 1V setting; 23dB (4.6V in = 600W into 8 ohms), 2V setting. Frequency response: not specified. Distortion (IM or THD+noise): <0.005%, 20Hz–20kHz, at 600W; <0.007%, 20Hz–20kHz, at 900W. Noise measured with input shorted, 20Hz–20kHz: >110dB below rated output at 29dB gain (–75dBu), >113dB below rated output at 23dB gain (–79dBu). Slew rate: >160V/µs. Damping…
Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn, Cobra, Castellon turntable, tonearm, & stand; Artemis SA-1 turntable; Graham Phantom B-44 II tonearm; Lyra Titan i, Soundsmith The Voice cartridges.
Digital Sources: Playback Designs SACD/CD player & DAC, BPT-modified Alesis Masterlink hard-disk recorder, Meridian-Sooloos Music Server.
Preamplification: Manley Steelhead, Audio-Technica AT-PEQ3, Audio Valve Sunilda, Simaudio Moon LP5.3 (with outboard power supply) phono preamplifiers; darTZeel NHB-18NS, Musical Fidelity Primo preamplifiers.
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I examined the Bryston 7B SST2's measured behavior using mainly Stereophile's loaner sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It" and www.ap.com); for some tests, I also used my vintage Audio Precision System One Dual Domain.
Before performing any tests on an amplifier, I run it for 60 minutes at one-third its specified power into 8 ohms, which is thermally the worst case for an amplifier with a class-B or -AB output stage. The Bryston's chassis and heatsinks were way too hot to touch after 30 minutes of…
Editor: When we read Michael Fremer's review of the Bryston 7B SST2, we were pleased with the many positive things he said. The Bryston 7B SST2 amplifier, like all of Bryston's SST2-series products, has received rave reviews, accolades, and awards from the audio press around the world since the products debuted in January 2009. John Atkinson's measurements of the product samples we submitted reinforce that the 7B SST2 is a state-of-the-art high-powered amplifier with extremely low distortion: "Finally, when tested close to clipping into 4 ohms with the demanding…