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Reprint from
Bryston PowerPac 60
$600.00 USD Tested sample on loan from manufacturer.
What we have here is one power amplifier channel (i.e., mono) from
the Bryston B-60 integrated stereo amplifier, packaged as a pancake
module with mounting flanges. Who needs it? Among others, I do;
I use it as a lab bench amplifier for testing speakers. It can also
be mounted on the back of a loudspeaker enclosure to save space
and eliminate speaker cables (all you need is a pair of jumpers
a few inches long). There is also a PowerPac 120 version ($960.00),
which is twice as powerful and equivalent to one channel of a 3B/9B
ST series amplifier. I tested the 60 because it is compact, cute,
cuddly, and convenient-and far from underpowered for a good many
applications.
A switch on the chassis selects unbalanced or balanced input, and
the inputs will accept RCA, XLR, or standard phone plugs. A ground
lift switch to counteract ground loops, a Bryston specialty, is
also provided. The spacing of the speaker terminals will fit a good
old-fashioned double banana plug, thank goodness.
As for the measurements, I'll make a sweeping statement, since
I hate to repeat myself. Take all the wattages I reported for the
Bryston 9B ST (in my review of the 9B, click here), reduce them
by 40% to 50%, leave the distortion and frequency dB's alone-and
you have the whole picture. At its lower power rating, the PowerPac
60 is every bit as perfect, maybe even a hair better. The only exception
to that statement is the dynamic power into 1 Ohm, which does not
track the other figures but sags a little bit as the power supply
reaches its limit. (You still get 180 W or better into all 1 Ohm
reactive loads.) This is one hell of a little amplifier.
Bryston has given ample proof to the world that good engineering,
meaning science without excuses, results in good amplifiers. The
ultra highend voodooists with their cockamamie theories and shamelessly
inflated prices have absolutely nothing to offer by comparison,
and the lower-priced brands have something to measure themselves
against.
-Peter Aczel
We invite you to experience the Bryston SST2 Series amplifiers
20 Year Warranty - A Generation of Music
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