Bryston Customer Feedback
Email: RE: BP25DA

To: James Tanner, Bryston Ltd.

Mr. Tanner:

The Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte once painted what, at first sight, was a disorienting work. It was a picture of a smoking briar pipe, with the caption, "This is not a pipe".

It was a picture with a moral. Magritte was saying he had painted a picture of a pipe, not a real pipe. As an audiophile, I am constantly reminded of the lesson of Magritte's painting. Those of us who share the sweet madness of pursuing an image of live music, must never forget that all our splendid gear, like the product of Magritte's palette, can give us beauty and joy, but ultimately it cannot give us the real thing. Electronically reproduced music is only an image of live music.

Yet we pursue the dream of getting as close to reality as possible because the quest itself is fun and the result can be thrilling. I have been in that pursuit for about thirty years, with Bryston helping me along the way for over twenty four of those years.

Because I never wanted the pleasure of a hobby to become certifiable madness, a harmful addiction, many years ago I recognized that it was necessary for my mental health, and my bank account, to avoid the Siren's call to spend whatever it takes chasing the dream. I insisted on world class quality and performance as close to real sound as possible, but at a price sane people with limited means can afford. For all these years, Bryston's products have met these standards, and thrown in, as a bonus, the industry's most remarkable warranty. When I bought my first 4B amplifier, I was given a five-year warranty, only to learn fifteen years later that Bryston had decided to give its products a twenty-year warranty, retroactively. I still had five years of coverage on my original purchase!

It's not surprising that I went on to buy a 4BST, and then two 7BSTs, as well as a BP20 preamplifier.

Recently, I decided to purchase a BP20DA, Bryston's preamp with a built-in DAC. I was able to compare it closely with my aging Theta ProBasic IIIa DAC, which had given me good sound and service for many years. The BP20DA, however, is a clear winner over even the highly reputed Theta. I could attempt to fill this note with all the jargon of audio magazine reviews, but I am not a reviewer. I am just an audiophile. The bottom line for me is that the BP20DA is undoubtedly a great preamp made even better by having a superb DAC in it. Most of all, it does precisely what I believe an outstanding high-end audio device must do -- it moves the sound of my system significantly nearer to the real thing.

And that's no pipe dream.

DW
Vancouver BC