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.

 

[NMG]

I’m Canadian and can’t afford a Bryston AB amp but I might be able to swing one of their Class Ds based on price if and when it comes time to upgrade. Would really like to see an in depth review of one. Gotta support the homeland, LOL!

 

[lovinthehd]

I’m Canadian and can’t afford a Bryston AB amp but I might be able to swing one of their Class Ds based on price if and when it comes time to upgrade. Would really like to see an in depth review of one. Gotta support the homeland, LOL!

What would you expect the review to provide particularly?

 

[NMG]

Mainly curious about the specs and how they measure up to other Class D amps. It seems like the Hypex and Purifi modules are pretty established and perform well, so interested to see how the Bryston compares given they seem to using their own proprietary design.

I assume that they will measure very well, but hey, it’s a brand new product for them so it would be interesting to see the results and get feedback from others who spend some time with the amps.

 

[TankTop5]

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.

View attachment 75378

Honestly I doubt it tests as good as the Benchmark in sinad but who really cares? “If” it has as much output as stated which I’m sure it does then it’s already won. That’s not to mention a premium case and 20 year warranty. I think Bryston hit it out of the park .

This thing really needs to go on a bench test as these specs are ridiculous in the dynamic range and absolutely crush other class D amps, most have very little dynamic range above spec

 

[Movie2099]

I need Bryston to make a 3ch-800w each channel Class D amp. For my front 3. They can also do 1ch-1000w class D as well. Price them around $5k-$10k. I'm down!

 

[PENG]

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.

Yes, I only mentioned SINAD, but if you look at the other metrics on ASR bench test results, you could hardly find anything that it would not do better than the previous benchmark for power amps based on specs/measurements, i.e. the Benchmark AHB2.

Here's one SINAD vs output graph, but not single point, instead, it is for 20 Hz all the way to 15 kHz, as Amir commented, essentially no frequency dependency!!

Topping LA90 Discrete Amplifier Review | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum

and it beat the Benchmark amp significantly in output vs SINAD too, if used within its rated output:

and then the huge dynamic output:

That is, for a 66 W rated amp!

Would I buy such a class AB power amp, hell no, but not because it is Chinese made, discrete, and/or bench test measurements, SINAD, FR IMD or whatever, but simply because I want to have a lot more rated output than what I actually need, this Chinese amp is not going to do it for my speakers in my room, though practically speaking, it will do the job, but again I want more, say about 4X my actually need would be a good starting point.

 

[PENG]

Honestly I doubt it tests as good as the Benchmark in sinad but who really cares?

Right, though I do care, not because of SINAD performance at all, but because I care about the design and build, such that I would like to see evidence that an amp might have superior quality that while will not result in audibly better sound quality, would indicate supremacy in terms of design and build.

Another factor is of course perceived reliability, and on that, I would put a lot more faith in the Bryston amp than I would on the Benchmark amp.

Regardless, SINAD alone, even if measured full audio bandwidth, mW to rated output, imo is only important on "all else being equal" basis, as long as it is high enough, such as >80 dB. (0.01%), that even a midrange AVR can do and based on Bryston class AB amps average range (based on many tests, they typically do <0.005%, or -86 dB) will put such an amp in the "transparent" category. So again, I only care for the reasons I mentioned, not because of perceived/audibly better sound quality.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Right, though I do care, not because of SINAD performance at all, but because I care about the design and build, such that I would like to see evidence that an amp might have superior quality that while will not result in audibly better sound quality, would indicate supremacy in terms of design and build.

Another factor is of course perceived reliability, and on that, I would put a lot more faith in the Bryston amp than I would on the Benchmark amp.

Regardless, SINAD alone, even if measured full audio bandwidth, mW to rated output, imo is only important on "all else being equal" basis, as long as it is high enough, such as >80 dB. (0.01%), that even a midrange AVR can do and based on Bryston class AB amps average range (based on many tests, they typically do <0.005%, or -86 dB) will put such an amp in the "transparent" category. So again, I only care for the reasons I mentioned, not because of perceived/audibly better sound quality.

I think we can all agree that reliability (warranty), design, implementation, build-quality, measurements, price, aesthetics, and pride of ownership are all buying factors.

We have to look at all the factors.

I would say that all these amps mentioned (including the least expensive Buckeye) sound equally good. So the purchasing decision is based on all the other factors.

 

[gene]

What are your thoughts/opinions on the Bryston class D amps?

The BD-325 is 325 Watts into 8-ohm, 650 Watts into 4-ohms, Linear Power Supply, Massive Toroidal Transformers, Bryston’s legendary 20 YEAR Warranty. Oh, and the cost is almost HALF of their class A/B amps.


The BRYSTON BD-225-2 is 225-WPC Stereo Amp, retails $3495 with a 20-YEAR BRYSTON WARRANTY.






It looks like the Bryston Class D are similar to the ATI Class D amps: both use Linear Power Supply (not Switching Power Supply). Both the ATI and Bryston class D amps are heavy and weigh like some class A/B amps.

Is this a Bryston design or a repackaged Axiom which I tested years ago:

Axiom Audio A1400-8 Digital Multi-Channel Amplifier Review

Axiom Audio has redefined performance expectations of Class D amplifiers with their A1400-8. Sporting 200 watts per channel all channels driver, this amp is a real space saver.

www.audioholics.com