Schu Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I might pull the trigger on a pair of monoblock brystons... have any of you tried them with heritage speakers? no doubt about it, I am more of a solid state guy for the time being. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brac Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I own a 4b for a while, vary large and very heavy. Musical speaking, I thought it was as neutral as an amp could be. Many amps seem to give a "flavor", the bryston let me listen to what I wanted without adding anything of it's own. Highly recommend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudeJ1 Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 My good friend and fellow audiphile has 3 or four of them. I have heard them so many times over his Open Baffle speakers. He has a Nelson Pass designed pre amp to drive them. First class electronics at a reasonable price. Also, the service for upgrades is impeccable and reasonable...about as obsolete proof of an amp as you can get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 ty ty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltie dave Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Well worth buying and experiencing if you like them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 well built and neutral sounding as everyone else has confirmed. With heritage speakers one MAY find big SS mono-blocks over powered for their needs. Some SS units operate below their output "sweet spot" with heritage speakers. try them before you buy them I always say. warm regards, Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudeJ1 Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 well built and neutral sounding as everyone else has confirmed. With heritage speakers one MAY find big SS mono-blocks over powered for their needs. Some SS units operate below their output "sweet spot" with heritage speakers. try them before you buy them I always say. warm regards, Tony Since Signal to Noise ratio ratings on power amps are referenced to full output, driven by the input sensitivity (1 volt or 2?, like sugar cubes), all other things being equal, the lower powered amplifiers...............6-50 watts are a better match for all-horn systems rather than 50-500 Watts. I would like to see ALL power amps rated in DB Watts, but it won' happen. 0 dbW=1 Watt, 10 dbW=10W, 20 dbW=100W, 30 dbW=1000W. Each one allows you to play progressively twice as loud. Since power compression in loudspeakers occurs at 10 % of voice coil power ratings, you can see where a 100 Watt woofer will go into power compression starting at 10 Watts of amplifier output, which makes the ALL HORN guys like us laugh at the other speaker types, since we always have full linear dynamics in our rooms. ALL speakers, including the highest efficiency horns, are less than 50% efficient..........so that makes ALL speakers more SPACE HEATERS rather than SOUND PRODUCERS. Another easy argument for horns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hifi jim Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 well built and neutral sounding as everyone else has confirmed. With heritage speakers one MAY find big SS mono-blocks over powered for their needs. Some SS units operate below their output "sweet spot" with heritage speakers. try them before you buy them I always say. warm regards, Tony I've found this to be true as well. The larger the SS amp, the less I liked it with Heritage, unless it was a modern McIntosh which is push/pull with output transformers so not a comparable design. The large direct coupled SS amps that I've tried with Klipsch sounded bad compared to smaller amps. I really can't imagine what one would do with 300 watts and a 97db+ efficient speaker. Hear much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalogWave Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 The earliest versions had a higher noise floor than later models, so I would start with the 7B-ST. I've recently acquired a 3B-ST and SP2. Capt. Kirk has never been so deep into space - total silence through my Forte II. If I didn't know any better (and maybe I don't) I'd say they are sucking noise from the room. I've no experience with K-horns, so the efficiency difference must be factored. I'd still be surprised if you heard anything. The ST models have a ground-lift switch, the later SST & SST2 models don't need one - something different about their circuitry. As for power overkill, you certainly don't need what they offer, but I personally thought you could never have too much power. Again, I step aside to others who own K-horns. If the K-horn is the last speaker you think you'll ever buy, maybe the money could be better spent. With some nice used Paradigm or B&W etc., I think you'll be all smiles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 It seems that those happiest with Bryston long term are those who have their preamp too. There is a special synergy enjoyed when the amp and pre match up right, and the same manufactured amp and pre can potentially end up a place you come to "rest" for a number of years. I have heard that from Bryston owners a lot over the years. Bryston does definitely have that rep for "neutral", and it's a presentation you either like or don't. If I were persuing a solid state 2 channel rig for Khorns I would look at Mac amp/pre (and lots of vintages to choose), Classe,, Accuphase is good, maybe some Nelson Pass designed options, maybe B&K even for a good value. All of these are more on the warmer/more liquid side. It's a matter of what matches your preference here. I wouldn't exclude Bryston - in the right application they might work well for some. But if it's too dry you'll know which way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalogWave Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 This treads on the fringe of a thread I’ve been meaning to start, but… I understand that from a Recording Engineer’s perspective you’d want to use gear as neutral as possible… likely why Bryston is so popular with that crowd. Thus, if reproduced music is “lean”, frequencies are being attenuated. On the other side, this “bloom” or “warmth” I see mentioned often on this forum I must admit leaves me puzzled. How is adding something that wasn’t in the recording better than taking something away? Is this generally accepted as a leash for the brightness that horns naturally exhibit? I’m not being argumentative as I own a full Juicy Music tube setup, I’m just trying to grasp what I’m unable to discuss in person, music playing, with other enthusiasts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 I to am puzzled slightly. I am still fairly new to all this even though I have owned many many klipsch hornloadeds in my lifetime. I want to step up form an integrated amp to monoblocks, and I know bryston is a good choice for the price. sure I will never be able to use 200-300 watts, but I want a black floor and CLEAN signal. currently, my emotiva pre amp is just not matched with my Pioneer SC35, the input signal is just to powerful and I feel the signal is being degraded when turned up to higher levels of listening. I have scouted ebay and other places for tube amps, but I dont much about them and I am trying to learn as I go. there seems to be some good choices for about the same price as the brystons... or for less money. I would consider the VRD's for sale currently in the garage section, but I am concerned about biasing... there is also a nice conrad johnson for sale that has on the fly biasing, but on both I would need to spend a little bit more money than the brystons. currently I have a verbal agreement for two 7b monoblocks for about 2500 shipped... if I would find a tube amp for about that price shipped I might consider it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNRET Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 VRD's for sale currently in the garage section, but I am concerned about biasing.don't be concerned; I find with mine that it doesn't drift enough to worry about. About every 6 months or so take a digital volt meter, the supplied tiny screwdriver and about 2 minutes of your time to adjust it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 VRD's for sale currently in the garage section, but I am concerned about biasing. don't be concerned; I find with mine that it doesn't drift enough to worry about. About every 6 months or so take a digital volt meter, the supplied tiny screwdriver and about 2 minutes of your time to adjust it. Agreed. I don't see the manual biasing of the VRDs to be a detriment - it's an advantage. Biasing is not difficult at all. It's much like Caretaker said in "The Longest Yard": "Well it's just like makin' love - once you've done it you never forget how". [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltie dave Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Schu, a friend, Rex Everything, lives in Vegas near you, and he can fill you in about a lot of the tube/ss questions with Klipsch. It would be worth your time hunting him down, he has heard most of what I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I had Bryston 7b ST's, Classe CAm 350's and QSC PLX amps with B&W S800 speakers. The B&W's were power hungry pigs and worked well with each of these amps. Each of these amps were very similar and the price differences were huge. I have a QSC PLX on a shelf that I will be using in the future. May be able to arrange a demo, but my schedule is crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 Schu, a friend, Rex Everything, lives in Vegas near you, and he can fill you in about a lot of the tube/ss questions with Klipsch. It would be worth your time hunting him down, he has heard most of what I have. I think he has a set of home made La Scalas for sale right now does he not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltie dave Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 The last I knew, he did not have La Scalas. He has Chorus IIs, Altecs, Dynacos, JBLs etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Ever consider Yamaha amps? I have a Yamaha M 70 paired with an SC 35 and find it to be a good combination. The speakers are dead silent between songs, no hiss or ground loop problems. The amp also performs well in the first few watts. I had my amps refurbished back to original factory specs and the bias reset. Yamaha legendary amps are know for their natural sound and dynamic performance across the entire frequency band. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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