3B SST

This is a little brother to the highly-respected 14B-SST power amp

Bryston has a name for itself recently as a purveyor of no-nonsense, yet sonically stunning amplifiers. Not to mention its 20 year parts and labour warranty currently unmatched by any other amplifier manufacturer I know of. As a highly satisfied owner of the incredible 14B-SST I wanted to see if the SST moniker worked as well for the lower reaches of the Bryston range as it does the upper. To test this out in my system I took a look at the next to bottom-of-the-range power amp, the 3B-SST.

The 3B-SST may be small at 430 X 125 X 275mm (whd) in the Bryston hierarchy of amplifiers, but this is belied in its presentation. With that 430mm-wide faceplate the 3B-SST looks and feels, at 10kg, every bit as well built as its big brother. And a look around the back shows that it's just as well endowed with connectors, having both unbalanced RCA inputs and balanced XLR inputs which can also take TRS (Tip-RIng-Sleeve) connectors.

The various inputs are selected with a side switch, with a second switch allowing you to change sensitivity from 1V for full output to 2V. The bindng posts are extremely well made five-way binding posts and a detachable 10A IEC input is supplemented with a selectable Power On mode to bypass the front panel On/Off switch for accessing remote power via a 12V trigger for custom installs and home theatre.

A remote power-on for the amplifier also has a selectable delay to avoid overloading the mains. The 3B-SST is rated at 150 watts per channel (up from the 125 W/ch of its predecessor) into 8 ohms, with 250W/ch into 4 ohms. The 3B-SST can also be bridged to deliver 450W into 8 ohms whilst sacrificing some current delivery into difficult loads.

The 3B-SST was auditioned with my Perpetual Technologies P-1A/P-3A Signature with Monolithic power supplied by a Sony DVP S7700 DVD player acting as transport. This was supplemented by a Musical Fidelity A308CR CD player. Analogue was provided by my Basis Gold Debut/Graham 2.0/Benz Glider combination feeding a Klyne System 7 PX 3.5 phono stage. Pre-amp duties were carried Out by my KreIl KRC-3 pre- with Bryston 14B-SST power amp for comparison together with a MusIcal Fidelity A308 integrated. Speakers used included the Omen Ra 18:12, Totem Hawk, Trinity Trident, Martin Logan SL-3, Aerius 1 and Clarity. An Isotek SubStation and 2K Qube provided power conditioning with a Music Works distribution block and mains cables. All equipment was supported on RDC Aspekt racks. Cabling was supplied by XLO, Chord and Townshend Audio.

Sonically the 3B-SST came on song with as little as 50 hours burn in. Once burnt in this amplifier reached its optimal sound after about one hour of use. The imaging of this amplifier is incredible I’d go as far as saying it’s the equal of the 14B-SST in lateral stage portrayal, allowing every speaker I used to image well beyond its outer edges precisely and consistently when the information was on the recording. This is a critical point, as this amplifier will not flatter or overlook problems with either the source component, pre-amp or recording.

This amplifier tells you what’s happening good and bad, and for me that is of critical value, as it should be for anyone who wants to know how recordings really sound. On material that has been carefully crafted, like Sting’s Nothing Like The Sun [A&M AMA6402]. the track ‘Englishman In New York’ is always a difficult one for any system to get right, with the gentle saxophone line weaving its way throughout the track and then, straight after a sax line where the pace is lifted, an incredibly forceful drum solo at the 3m15s mark. Coupled with the vocal performance of Sting this is a track that’s easy to get wrong. Get it right, however, and the recording can give a very strong impression of being in the recording studio.

In the case of the Bryston 3B-SST with the Totem Hawk. Martin Logan Clarity or SL-3 loudspeakers this impression was complete and maintained throughout the track. The feeling of energy and pleasure of these musicians working together comes through unimpeded, with Branford Marsalis’s sax and Sting’s vocals playing off each other. The bass sits central on the soundstage slightly off to the right whilst Stings vocals sit dead central in the stage. Whilst it’s easy for these two performers to congeal Into the centre of the stage, with the 3B-SST both lines were performed in their own space with palpable air around both Sting and the bass. Even a recording I'm intimately familiar with the 1987 recording by Helen Watson Blue Slipper [EMI SCX 6710] - has the power to stop a listener dead in his tracks. Helen Watson’s vocals on ‘When You Love Me I Get Lazy’ walk in the room and take up a position dead centre in the listening area, clear of the speakers, yet without any harshness or aggression in the upper mids to cause listener fatigue. The illusion portrayed sonically is one of a performer in your room. It’s pointless at this level discussing transparency and relative balance of the sound; if the vocals are correct to the level you feel you are truly hearing just the performer, it’s absolutely clear there’s nothing going on to detract from this phenomenal representation.

The sax again weaves its way through this track, delivering both tremendous power when called for and great subtlety when necessary. The play on the cymbal - almost caresses at times - is still solidly locked into place on the stage without splashing around whilst the rest of the percussion carries outstanding levels of impact and drive, again sitting rooted in their own space on the soundstage. The leading edge portrayal of all instruments, whether acoustic or electric, string or percussion, is as good as I've heard to date from any amplifier. Yet this ability is not the sole province of the 3B-SST when coupled with the SL-3 or Clarity; indeed, this ability is endowed on the likes of the Totem Hawk and the Trident Trinity, both dynamic designs though outstanding ones at that.

In comparison with the 14B-SST, the 3B still manages to root the acoustic and electric guitars on ‘New Rock island line’ to the far-right and left hand sides of the stage respectively consistently with each speaker tested beyond its outer edges. Whilst the 14B manages to carry a shade more bass weight and paints its bass textures with a subtly wider palette, the 3B is to all intents and purposes indistinguishable at normal listening volumes from the 14B, with the speakers starting to show signs of distortion at 120dB in-room long before either amplifier shows any signs of compression or distress.

Even approaching 100dB, both amplifiers were still able to effortlessly portray each instrument on the soundstage as rooted solidly to its own space with air around it. What’s very clear is that this amplifier does not curry favour for any particular area of the frequency range, neither is it an amplifier that adds any richness or warmth at any point, meaning in a system that lacks bass weight or body in the midrange this amplifier might well exacerbate the 'matter of fact’ sound of such a system. If that’s the case, a somewhat better choice could be the Musical Fidelity A308 amplifier, which to my ears has a somewhat richer midrange and slightly more weight in the lower registers if at the expense of the lightning speed of the 3B-SST.

This compact £1725 amplifier is, for me, a greater achievement than the 14B-SST delivering performance that matches its bigger brother in a more compact package at under half the price. I have no doubt that unless you have a very large room or exceptionally inefficient speakers then you would be as well purchasing the 3B instead of the 14B and spending the rest on more music - this amplifier is that exceptional.

Bryston might well have inadvertently just released the biggest competitor to its own 14B-SST. Along with the Musical Fidelity A3.2 pre-amplifier. I consider this to be on this year’s bona fide bargains. This amplifier be on the shortlist of everyone with £2000 or more to spend on an amplifier. I can’t issue a stronger recommendation than that.

Words David Allcock