Bryston Customer Feedback
Email: RE: RE: BP25DA and PMC IB1S Speakers

I'm sure you've heard about many systems, and the only reason I'm adding my experience to that long list is that you seem genuinely and enthusiastically interested in what these experiences are.

Audio has been a hobby of mine for over thirty years, but I've never been technically up to speed, nor have I had the opportunity to listen to super high-end systems given the places I've lived, and the modest means I've had at my disposal. My only claim to fame is that I've been a careful consumer, researching each component as well as I could before buying it. I've changed my systems a number of times, with the concomitant drain on my financial reserves, and now that I'm retired, those reserves must be husbanded very carefully.

Nevertheless, I have made a major upgrade that has given me what I've been seeking for these past 30 years plus.

My most recent system, until now, had consisted of the following:

• Hales Revelation III speakers
• 7BST mono-blocks
• A Z-Systems RDQ1 used as a preamp
• A Theta Jade CD transport system
• A Sony ES five CD player
• A Theta ProBasic IIIa DAC

I do not, however, engage in debate since I learned from the early days of my hobby that thousands of different speakers, for example, are manufactured, not to mention all the other gear, because people have different tastes, as they do in music itself. It is pointless, not to say impolite, for anyone to challenge another person's taste. So my recent upgrade was focussed, not only because of my preconceived "philosophy," but also for the practical reality that one cannot audition everything within a lifetime.

My focus was narrowed even more by the fact that I've owned Bryston components for over 24 years, and have been pleased with what they produce as well as their well-earned reputation for quality. In short, my search started on the basis of trust in a company I knew well. I learned that Bryston brought out a new preamp, the Bryston BP20DA, with a DAC built-in. Reading about it, I talked to the Bryston folks who told me about the experience they had with it. They were confident, not surprisingly, that the DAC in the unit would sound a lot better that the Theta ProBasic. As a matter of faith in Bryston, I ordered one, and, if anything, found they had, in my opinion, undersold the merits of that DAC. I simply took the Theta DAC out of the system because the difference, in terms, of the life-like sound was like night and day.

I was so impressed, that I wanted to explore the key component in my system: the speakers. I have loved the sound of my Hales for many years. You will recall that it was the subject of a rave Stereophile review, which I think was right on the money. But, again, Bryston had never failed me and they thought if I liked the sound they were striving for, I might like to try a PMC speaker, which they distribute in North America. Again I researched a specific model, the PMC IB1S, only to discover that Stereophile gave the speaker one of its patented "killing-with-faint-praise" reviews. I also have had good experience with Stereophile, so I was caught a bit between it and Bryston as the historical recipients of my trust. The reviewer's criticism was that he felt the IB1s were light in the bottom end, but in a communication with me conceded to me, quite objectively and honestly I thought, that they might sound better in my listening room.

Armed with the review which helped my zero in on potential problem areas, I auditioned the speakers at home. In this case, again, I had to give Bryston the thumbs up. The speakers sound spectacular in my listening room, particularly in combination with the Bryston BP20DA, so I bought the speakers. This combination brings out everything on the disc; that means if the source material is great, the sound is great, but if it's not good, the sound can be pretty ugly. That's why they're studio monitors. It also means that if listeners are looking for a certain kind of coloration in their sound reproduction, they should look elsewhere. But I'm finding that many discs, particularly ones re-mastered from older recordings (pre 1970s) sound better than ever. The bottom end, which troubled Stereophile, I find not only to be just extended, powerful and accurate, but downright awesome.

The other part of my "philosophy" is that in reproduced sound, if one is seeking "reality," the only available reality is what the crew who record the music decide to release. The producers, artists, engineers, mixers, end up after mixing, eq, etc., etc., with an end product (something like a book after drafts, revisions, and editing), that is the reality for the consumer who reproduces it on a audio system. What I've been looking for, and now feel I have, to the degree that the state-of-the-art provides, and within the reach of the modestly endowed financially, is just that kind of reproduction.

Thirty years is a long time to be looking for this sound, and many thousands of dollars have been spent along the way. I would not be so bold as to claim that I've found the Holy Grail of audio (especially since so many folks are looking for different grails) but to these ears, this is as close as it gets.

D.W
Coquitlam, B.C. Canada

All I can say is that it has been worth the time, money and travel.