Pros:
Very neutral, exceptional build quality, powerful, 20yr warranty
Cons:
Speaker wire binding posts
The Bottom Line:
If you want to hear the music instead of the equipment then this is the amp for you.
Overall Rating:
Author's Review
Bryston amplifiers are built like a tank and have a 20yr transferable warranty. The 3b-ST is rated at 120w although they actually put out around 150w as is shown on the test sheet that comes from the factory. It has balanced inputs as well as RCA's although I don't believe the circuitry is a truly balanced design. It has a ground lift switch which seperates the internal circuitry from the chassis and will help eliminate ground loop noise. The sound is hard to describe since this amp really doesn't seem to add anything to it. It's very neutral and quiet. It keeps tight control over the bass, has a very open and airy midrange, and has sparkling highs. Because of how neutral this amp is, it will be the perfect building block for the rest of my system. Be warned though that if you have bright sounding speakers then the Bryston will reveil their true nature and may not be a good match. The only bad part of the Bryston amps are the speaker binding posts. Because Bryston is made in Canada, the laws require them to have saftey terminals so that if someting fell across them there wouldn't be a short. The binding posts are covered with plastic and if you use spade lugs on your speaker wire then it may not fit. I believe the spades have to be no wider than 5/16" outside dimentions. The terminals will accept bare wire and bananna plus also.