brystob3bsst2 or anthem statement a2

[dracul]

hi,all.

I would like to purchase a power amp: an either Bryston 3b sst2 or an Anthem Statement A2. I will use a Yamaha RX-Z9 as a pre-amp , Oppo bdp 95 as an universal player and a pair of Polk LSi 15s. Which of these two amps do you think are better for music? On a forum a guy who auditioned both said that Bryston presented some sibiliance in the upper range. I was ready to get the Bryston but now I am having second thoughts. Does anybody out there know which of these two amps are the better one? Thanks.

 

[PENG]

hi,all.

I would like to purchase a power amp: an either Bryston 3b sst2 or an Anthem Statement A2. I will use a Yamaha RX-Z9 as a pre-amp , Oppo bdp 95 as an universal player and a pair of Polk LSi 15s. Which of these two amps do you think are better for music? On a forum a guy who auditioned both said that Bryston presented some sibiliance in the upper range. I was ready to get the Bryston but now I am having second thoughts. Does anybody out there know which of these two amps are the better one? Thanks.

If just because someone tells you something that may be a matter of opinion or his/her impression and you have second thoughts then how about if I tell you something like the A2 sounds very clinical (whatever that means) with no warmth at all.

Those amps are well built, and should sound transparent. They are designed to simply amplify the signal without altering the waveform other than the magnitude.

Technically speaking, the A2 has more power output, lighter and likely cheaper (not sure). The Bryston offers a much longer warranty, true mono block design with two separate power transformers and likely more capacitance. Anthem says they have lots of capacitance but if you look at their specs they don't have as much as equivalent (power wise) Bryston, or others in roughly the same price range such as Adcom, Parasound models. Still, overall the A2 should be the more powerful of the two.

I really think if you try to compare their specs, and sound quality base on hearsays/others perceptions, you will be lost. It may be better to make your decision base on non technical things that matter to you.

 

[jinjuku]

If you are talking about better SQ and are spending $4K on an amp for $2K (at best) worth of speaker....

The Anthem A2 should be around $600-700 used. That is what I would go for.

If we are talking new (as in the Brytson):

Sell your LSi 15's while you still can get $900 for them. Add that to the $4200 you are looking at spending on an amp. Take the resultant $5100 and get $4500 worth of speaker and $600 worth of amp.

I will bet you the cost that it will destroy LSi 15's + Anthem / Bryston.

 

[cornelius]

I wouldn't go on what one reviewer says about the Bryston's "sibilance". They are incredible amplifiers and if you go with one, will bring you years and years of world class performance. I would like to know if he level matched the amps when listening to them, and A/B'd them at the same time, not relying on poor sonic memory!

I'm not sure what your speakers demand power-wise, but IMO the 3B might be overkill. If you want an amp that you can upgrade speakers with, and want to keep it for 20 or more years then go for it. I'm thinking of getting a 2B or McIntosh power amp and building around it as technologies change - swap out Preamp, D/A's and sources over time, and let the Bryston be the constant foundation. The nice thing about Bryston, is the ability to send the amp back to the factory if need be. All amps definitely do not age well, but it's always really nice to know that you can get the product up to spec (20 year warranty is nice.). McIntosh doesn't have Bryston's warranty, but again, you can send any amp back to the factory and they'll bring it up to spec for you. I had a Mac before, and the nice thing is their value increases over the years!

 

[PENG]

I will bet you the cost that it will destroy LSi 15's + Anthem / Bryston.

It won't be easy to destroy the LSi 15 but I agree he will get more by spending 4K on speakers instead of on an amp. His RX-Z9 has plenty of power when driving only 2 speakers even if they are 4 ohm nomial like the LSis.

 

[jinjuku]

It won't be easy to destroy the LSi 15 but I agree he will get more by spending 4K on speakers instead of on an amp. His RX-Z9 has plenty of power when driving only 2 speakers even if they are 4 ohm nomial like the LSis.

I think it would be quite easy to clobber the LSi15. Take the Salk Veracity HT2-TL. I would be willing to bet the LSi 15 gets dominated.

Not saying the LSi 15 is a bad speaker. But given the budget I layed out I could do much better with a two channel Adcom/Parasound/Rotel used.

LSi wise my preference would be the 9's plus a stand alone sub or two vs the 15/25's. But they aren't keeping up with Salk, or the Statements, or the Zaph Revelator 2.5 way. I would say the NatalieP or Modula MTM would be a better speaker.

Still don't know if the OP is talking about new or used pricing. So to go on any further until noted is just academic. If the OP isn't looking to spend $4200 on an amp...

 

[JAC]

Off topic, but if I remember correctly Dracul means the Dragon, and in legend the father of Dracula.

On topic, as a dealer for both, I'd likely suggest the BRYSTON, but it depends on your budget, the level of listening expectations/expertise, and the rest of your system synergy.

 

[PENG]

Off topic, but if I remember correctly Dracul means the Dragon, and in legend the father of Dracula.

On topic, as a dealer for both, I'd likely suggest the BRYSTON, but it depends on your budget, the level of listening expectations/expertise, and the rest of your system synergy.

As an user of both brands and happy with both, I would love to hear your reasoning. If you don't want to say, no problem I understand.

 

[jinjuku]

I know Brytson has this killer warranty.

My DC 300A is 33 years old. Last time I had it benched (over a decade ago) it was STILL hitting it's published specs. Last time I fired it up it ran fine though I would have to bench it again to make certain. But I don't think it's lost anything. It's just not the ultimate in fidelity any longer. Now back in 87 , when I got it, that was another matter Time marches on.

The Adcom 5503 I have is circa 96 and still hitting above spec. For the cost of a Bryston you could purchase another quality amp 3 or 4 times over (though you 99% likely wouldn't have to).

Experience has led me to not get too wrapped up over the warranty axle. Everyone elses mileage may vary.

 

[JAC]

As an user of both brands and happy with both, I would love to hear your reasoning. If you don't want to say, no problem I understand.

Hi Peng,

Actually I like BOTH amps a lot, but my personal preference is the BRYSTON in its new "squared" versions.

While specs are similar enough in both, in the systems I put together, I like the sound of the BRYSTONs.

They seem equally as quiet (a biggy with me) if not quieter, and they seem to have cleaner transients with less hang (which might be due to a higher slew rate).

The 3b SST2 also has the capability to be bridged for greater flexibilty (which however may not help the OP due to his having 4 ohm speakers)

One other factor that weighs in favor of the BRYSTON is the 20 yr warrantee.

But all that said it would be hard to go wrong with either, and if price is a factor, which the OP did not mention, then one could be perfectly/equally happy with the Anthem.

This might be especially true using the Z-9 as a preamp (although for an AVR, its preamp section is of a rather high caliber)

 

[jinjuku]

They seem equally as quiet (a biggy with me) if not quieter, and they seem to have cleaner transients with less hang (which might be due to a higher slew rate).

You can not blindly compare slew rates between different amps. Slew is a derivative of negative global feed back. It scales accordingly. A higher slew rate generally denotes a higher negative feedback design which can present its' own challenges (and some people don't care for high negative feedback design).

One other factor that weighs in favor of the BRYSTON is the 20 yr warrantee.

But all that said it would be hard to go wrong with either, and if price is a factor, which the OP did not mention, then one could be perfectly/equally happy with the Anthem.

But how much does it affect price? What 'premium' is being paid. Again I have a 33 year old and 15 year old amp that are doing fine.

I'm not knocking Bryston, but a bit of due diligence is in order. It's all about what you value. There is a member at AVS forum that likes the $299 Peavey IPR 1600 just as much as his Bryston. The only amp to outclass it SQ wise in his opinion was his Pass Labs.

 

[3db]

I know Brytson has this killer warranty.

My DC 300A is 33 years old. Last time I had it benched (over a decade ago) it was STILL hitting it's published specs. Last time I fired it up it ran fine though I would have to bench it again to make certain. But I don't think it's lost anything. It's just not the ultimate in fidelity any longer. Now back in 87 , when I got it, that was another matter Time marches on.

The Adcom 5503 I have is circa 96 and still hitting above spec. For the cost of a Bryston you could purchase another quality amp 3 or 4 times over (though you 99% likely wouldn't have to).

Experience has led me to not get too wrapped up over the warranty axle. Everyone elses mileage may vary.

Bryston has been know to take back amps past their warranty periods and repair them without cost to the owner. I'm glad you had luck with your equipment but your experience hardly serves as a benchmark for all electronics. If I had the money, I would spring for Bryston and never look back. It may cost more thnan some comparable rather than some company just interestd in making the sale and forgetting about after sales service.

 

[3db]

hi,all.

I would like to purchase a power amp: an either Bryston 3b sst2 or an Anthem Statement A2. I will use a Yamaha RX-Z9 as a pre-amp , Oppo bdp 95 as an universal player and a pair of Polk LSi 15s. Which of these two amps do you think are better for music? On a forum a guy who auditioned both said that Bryston presented some sibiliance in the upper range. I was ready to get the Bryston but now I am having second thoughts. Does anybody out there know which of these two amps are the better one? Thanks.

Don't put alot of stock into that person's resport. Sibilance is an over emphasys of high frequency components but if you look at the frequency responses of both amps, their ruler flat well beyond the human range of hearing. Their is no sibilance. What the guy may have heard was bad interaction between a speaker and a poor acousticaly treated room that over emphasized the highs. Either amp is good but my nod would go Bryston for warranty alone.

 

[jinjuku]

Bryston has been know to take back amps past their warranty periods and repair them without cost to the owner. I'm glad you had luck with your equipment but your experience hardly serves as a benchmark for all electronics.

Not saying my experience is a benchmark of any sort. Just my experience.

I will say this: My DC 300A cost $350 in 87. I wonder what a Bryston cost back then. It's great the Bryston can take a $4K plus amp and do a gratis repair.

I wonder what enables them to do that? I would personally roll the dice on something that costs 4 times less and 'just maybe' you have to replace it 15 years down the road.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Off topic, but if I remember correctly Dracul means the Dragon, and in legend the father of Dracula.

Off topic: I don't really care about the amps, but I do like vampire movies, so thanks for the info.

On topic: If it were a multiple choice quesion on an exam, I would pick the Bryston also.

Now if it were an essay question of "What amp would you buy for these Polk speakers?", my answer would not be either Bryston or Anthem, unless they are less than $1K.

Both the Anthem & Bryston amps are great and they both will sound great for music and all sound reproduction.

Any sound "anomaly" will be due to the speakers, not the amps.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

As an user of both brands and happy with both, I would love to hear your reasoning. If you don't want to say, no problem I understand.

Duh? Hello?

It's because the Bryston amps sound better with the B&W 802D speakers.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Hi Peng,

Actually I like BOTH amps a lot, but my personal preference is the BRYSTON in its new "squared" versions.

While specs are similar enough in both, in the systems I put together, I like the sound of the BRYSTONs.

They seem equally as quiet (a biggy with me) if not quieter, and they seem to have cleaner transients with less hang (which might be due to a higher slew rate).

The 3b SST2 also has the capability to be bridged for greater flexibilty (which however may not help the OP due to his having 4 ohm speakers)

One other factor that weighs in favor of the BRYSTON is the 20 yr warrantee.

But all that said it would be hard to go wrong with either, and if price is a factor, which the OP did not mention, then one could be perfectly/equally happy with the Anthem.

This might be especially true using the Z-9 as a preamp (although for an AVR, its preamp section is of a rather high caliber)

I don't believe in all that "quieter" and "transient" and "hang" stuff, but I forgive you since you gave us the info on the Dracula thingy.

I do like the Bryston 20yr warranty.

If I were rich, I would open up my own amp business and offer a lifetime warranty and charge $10K per amp.

Sure, rich people will buy them.

 

[DenPureSound]

Emotiva

Heck, all I ended up with was an Emotiva XPA-5 for $900, and a five year warranty. I would not put all the monies into the amp(s), but into the speakers -- am drooling over some Paradigm S6 or S8's... I will have to save for a while. Sure like those Wharedale Diamond 10.1 bookshelves @$350/pr.
Would like to have a couple of those for Heights...

 

[jinjuku]

If I were rich, I would open up my own amp business and offer a lifetime warranty and charge $10K per amp.

Sure, rich people will buy them.

Yep, when you have $500 in parts cost and sell for $10K you can afford to be the magnanimous manufacturer with the industry leading warranty and even offer to repair/replace a defective unit after warranty.

It's like advertisements I see for tires and furniture: If we can't beat/match their price we'll give it to you:!!!! rolleyes: Well duh...

Or

No credit application will be refused!!!!

Or

Lifetime warranty for an insanely priced amp!!!!

A little common sense goes a long way.

 

[3db]

I don't believe in all that "quieter" and "transient" and "hang" stuff, but I forgive you since you gave us the info on the Dracula thingy.

I do like the Bryston 20yr warranty.

If I were rich, I would open up my own amp business and offer a lifetime warranty and charge $10K per amp.

Sure, rich people will buy them.

This would preclude a customer service department which is non existant on companies such as Krell, Mark Levinson, etc. These companies steel your money with no performance advantage over the likes of Bryston etc and give you the advantage of having no customer service period. Take the money and run.