Bryston Class D Amplifiers

[TankTop5]

Getting one of those Buckaroo class D amps is equivalent to say a Corolla. Where's a Bryston class D is equivalent to a Mercedes..

An extra $1k for premium chassis and $20 year warranty is definitely worth it not to mention resale value.

 

[Verdinut]

Getting one of those Buckaroo class D amps is equivalent to say a Corolla. Where's a Bryston class D is equivalent to a Mercedes..

Although the Bryston cost a lot more than the Purifi and Hypex amps, there may be exceptions but in most installations, with comparable amp power ratings, you shouldn't hear any difference in SQ between them, but perhaps enjoy possession pride.

 

[flyboylr45]

Have no clue if better or not, Bryston doesn’t use Hypex, Purifi nor Ice modules. They build their own in house... I’d love to have Gene or Amir measure one of these to see how they really stand up.

 

[ski2xblack]

Getting one of those Buckaroo class D amps is equivalent to say a Corolla. Where's a Bryston class D is equivalent to a Mercedes..

Not sure I buy this analogy. Instead, think of the entire system as the car, and the amps as the engines, so the better analogy would be a couple of Mercedes but one with an LS engine wap. That seems to do more justice to the Buckey amps. They're good at what they do. Really, really good.

 

[everettT]

Not sure I buy this analogy. I would think of the system as the car, both Mercedes, but one with an LS engine wap. That seems to do more justice to the Buckey amps. They're good at what they do. Better than a freakin Corolla analogy!

Not to mention if you wanna pay a little more for heat sinks and an upgraded case they'll do it, which makes Buckeye a still a great value given the level of performance.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Getting one of those Buckaroo class D amps is equivalent to say a Corolla. Where's a Bryston class D is equivalent to a Mercedes..

If all people cared about is power and sound, they can also just get a pro amp from crown, Yamaha, or QSC.

Most people don’t even need external amps. AVRs from Yamaha and Denon are perfectly fine with extremely low THD.

Nothing wrong with driving a KIA or Hyundai car. It gets people from point A to point B just fine.

For some people, owning an amp that is only about 10” wide and only weighs about 10 pounds is unacceptable when all their other components are 17” wide. Others couldn’t care less.

It depends on the individual and where they are in life. For some people, pride of ownership and aesthetics are just as important as measurements and SQ.

Yes, first-world problems.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

An extra $1k for premium chassis and 20 year warranty is definitely worth it not to mention resale value.

Just a few years ago, when people mentioned the name “Bryston”, most people automatically thought, “10K amp - forget about it, too rich for my blood”.

This is especially true with all the inflation and companies jacking up prices.

And to get a genuine Bryston high-power amp with 20 YR parts and labor + pride of ownership for almost “the same price” plus a “few dollars more”, is different to me, I guess.

 

[trochetier]

Cannot comment on Bryston's Class D amps. Their A/B amps are nearly bullet proof. I am using a 4B-ST (Lexicon 225) to drive my pair of Maggie 1.7s. The amp is now 38+ years old. About 12 years ago the amp moaned from one channel when shutting down. Sent it back to Bryston for service they charged me $80 (I think). They said it was only a dirty contact otherwise the amp met all the specs. . It cost me more for shipping than the service.

 

[trochetier]

Out of curiosity I looked up if one is on sale -

https://reverb.com/item/91563085-lexicon-225-bryston-4b-st-thx-certified-power-amplifier-fully-serviced-by-bryston

 

[PENG]

$2,500 200x2 ATI AT522NC 66 lbs (17 x 6 x 15.5) 7YR

$3,500 225x2 Bryston BD-225 53 lbs (17 x 5.3 x 17) 20YR

$5,000 200x2 NAD M23 21 lbs (17 x 5.3 x 17) 3YR

$3,500 100x2 Benchmark AHB2 12 lbs (11 x 3.5 x 8) 5YR

$1,150 230x2 Buckeye PURIFI 8 lbs (10 x 3.5 x 13) 2YR

If based on bench test measurements, none of those class D amps beat the Benchmark AHB2, except the Bryston's have not been tested so being class D, they may have a chance, as some higher model Purifi amps have managed to do on some test benches.

For class AB amps, last time I checked, the Chinese made Topping amp still ranks top on the Audiosciencereview.com chart, but that's just ranked by just one metric, single point SINAD.

Topping and Benchmark probably are the only two class AB amps that still rank in the top 10 group currently.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

If based on bench test measurements, none of those class D amps beat the Benchmark AHB2, except the Bryston's have not been tested so being class D, they may have a chance, as some higher model Purifi amps have managed to do on some test benches.

For class AB amps, last time I checked, the Chinese made Topping amp still ranks top on the Audiosciencereview.com chart, but that's just ranked by just one metric, single point SINAD.

Topping and Benchmark probably are the only two class AB amps that still rank in the top 10 group currently.

If SINAD is the only thing that matters to the individual, then I bet there are cheaper alternatives like the Chinese amps. Just like if FR is the only that matters, then there are cheaper alternatives to high-end speakers. I bet Chinese speakers can have great FR too.

There’s an amp and speaker and car and house for everyone.