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Reprint from:
HIFI & Records
The magazine for High-Quality Music Reproduction
"It is surely not the best amplifier in the world but do
give it a listen", suggested the Sun- Audio sales manager
Thomas Bernhard after he had read about our planned power amplifier
comparison in the preview section of our last issue. In hindsight
one can only say "a clever sales understatement" but
one that is appropriate for what is probably the most unpretentious
power amplifier in the world market.
What advance praises should we have taken seriously?
After all the Bryston (amplifier) from Canada is only one professional
studio rack space tall, and with its feet takes up barely two
inches. That is the reason why we underestimated the B-60, while
at the same time it exerts an almost magical attraction for the
ladies. He or she who appreciates products without embellishments,
without complications, unadulterated, knows at first glance- long
before the first audition - that this one "will be great!"
With these kind of customers Bryston will storm
many an open door with its 20 year warranty. People who are by
nature skeptics might suspect an irresponsible exaggerated marketing
trick, but Bernhard has a simple and plausible explanation ready
for what is hard to believe, i.e. in the past Bryston has always
repaired all amplifiers as an accommodation with out charge and
does not intend to change this. And so that customers don't discover
this unpresidented service after years, and only if something
goes awry, this policy has been made official and declared as
the waranty. In addition this warranty does not apply only to
the original owner as is usual, no, it is even transferable. Imagine
the following local advertisement: "For Sale, Bryston B-60,
Remaining Warranty 18 Years!"
But only a company that for the last 35 years
has been manufacturing amplifiers for professional studios, and
since the beginning of the seventies also HiFi equipment, can
afford to do this. And since professional studios appreciate reliability
in every variation above all, Bryston power amplifiers for example
drive B&W loudspeakers in the well-known Abbey Road Studios.
An importer from another country - not in connection with this
report - told us that in a span of seven years he only had to
repair two pieces Bryston equipment. In one amplifier the customer
had dropped a coin through an air vent. An appropriate comparison:
Bryston Amplifiers are as enduring as a Mercedes Diesel. From
the outside one does not discern the ruggedness of the B-60, in
fact it's flat metal cabinet conveys true elegance. All colors
are available as long as they are black. No less unpretentious
than the amplifier itself is the metal remote control. It only
has buttons for "volume up", "volume down"<
and "mute",but no system integration, no remote turn-on
via computer, no circuit connection with a microprocessor brain
of the wasing machine, just simply "HiFi".
As "playing partners" the Bryston
(amplifier) accepts four high level inputs and one tape deck.
Unfortuneately it does not have a phono input, but a "speaker
disconnect" headpone jack. On the back one can seperate the
pre-amplifier and power amplifier sections of the B-60 by means
of two sets of RCA jacks. And with the shielded and "phase"
marked AC cable the subject of styling is complete.
The inside of the flat "Canadian"
displays a beautifully detailed layout in whose signal path not
even one op-amp will be found. A long metal rod extends all the
way to the rear panel, so that the input selection can take place
right at the input, and even for the balance control, Bryston
uses an encapsulated Noble potentiometer. On the right hand side
are two toroidal transformers (each 120 VA), and two 6,000 mfd.
filter capacitors per channel are part of the power supply as
well. For each channel there are two bipolar Motorola output transistors
mounted on a sheet metal heat sink, which in turn transmits the
heat to the amplifier top plate by use of heat sinking paste.
What does not quite fit into the picture with this "closed
construction format" are the power supply fuses, because
if one "blows" the instrument must go in for service.
The laboratory noted that Bryston has equipped the B-60 with considerable
power handling capacity, after all 85 watts into 4 ohms and peak
power up to 140 watts are nothing to sneer at. The price for this
are minimal reserves, when the Canadian (amplifier) reaches its
limits, it distorts immediately. However the B-60 would hardly
be purchased to drive power hungry loudspeakers to high volume
levels, but rather in order to just hear music at normal volumes.
And this job the Bryston (amplifier) does superlatively
and in a much superior fashion than is suggested by its outer
appearance. This amplifier one can also embrace whole heartedly
for audible reasons, it has something tremendously sympathetic
about itself. Even our photographer who does his "own testing"
in his hall-like photo studio attested that the Bryston (amplifier)
"swings well - that there's something to it."
Indeed the Bryston (amplifier) somehow always
sounded nice, yes pleasing. It is not an amplifier in order to
eavesdrop into the farthest corner of a recording, and it does
not sound as open and multifaceted as the top of the class. However
this does not matter because the B-60 is vocally balanced, and
it conveys a musical totality. Moreover it has style, because
it does not let one down. This sounds similar to the description
of a good old NAD amplifier, and indeed the Bryston (amp1ifier)
could pass as its "big brother." A "musical"
amplifier, which despite its graceful appearance, sounds astonishingly
powerful. Ideal in order to simply listen well to music, and otherwise
to place the topic HiFi behind the music.
Conclusion
This is not an amplifier for people
who already wish for an update two weeks after their purchase.
The Bryston (amplifier) one can set up, turn it on, forget it,
listen to music- subject closed, presumably for many years. The
B-60 performs its amplifying duties in an engaging fashion, competently
but not obtrusively, very pleasingly, and not seductively false.
One must not be deceived by its unpretentious outside appearance.
We invite you to experience the Bryston SST2 Series amplifiers
20 Year Warranty - A Generation of Music
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