I have a confession: I was never a big Bryston fan during the days of the Bryston 2B, 3B and 4B. Thought that they were a "stepping stone", until one decides on his ultimate amplifier. Until I have heard the Bryston 14B SST. Came from A Joule-Electra VZN-80 tube OTL, for crying out loud. So how is the Bryston 14B SST? In a sentence: "A wire with a gain". I know its a cliche but not in this case. I have heard too many high end amplifiers to count, at any price point, including tube push pull, SET's and OTL's, MOSFET, Bi-Polar, Tube/Solid State Hybrids and Digital ones. I have yet to hear such colourless amplifier as the Bryston 14B SST. How does it sound? It sounds like what you feed it. It is essentially a copier machine with enlargement option. Exactly what an amplifier needs to do. If you want colour, feed it colour (at the source, preamp, phono-stage level, etc). Other pluses? Effortless, relaxed and ultra dynamic, all at the same time. Extended highs but never edgy, bright or hard. Like an iron fist in a velvet glove. It is very neutral and natural sounding. Very matter-of-fact in a good way. I have not heard all the amplifiers in the world but I have never heard anything better, yet. Its the epitome of substance as opposed to appearances.

Its heavy and big. With hard enough speakers to drive (low impedance, current hogs), it will warm up quote a bit (55-60C) and will consume some power but that is true to any design other than digital amps or ones with switching power supplies.

Fabulous tube like soundstage. This is as uncoloured as it gets. Price

None

If you are considering purchasing a high powered amplifier, try this one out next to the three, or even four, times more expensive, big named. Even though some of them might be easthetically droolworthy, you will be surprised at the sound this amplifier will produce. This truly is a great amplifier. Try it with 'Muse Electronics's Polyhymnia and you will be amazed at the sound.

Similar Products Used:

Krell FBP 700 CX

I must post this correction to the review i wrote regarding the Bryston 14B SST, Nov. 5, 2005. In that review, I failed to proof-read it and made an error. I wrote that I own B&W 800C's. That is incorrect. I own B&W 801c's! Big difference. But I was correct when I said that the speaker has a 15 inch woofer. The 800's have two (2) 10 inch woofers, and are considered a better speaker. The Nautilus 800 is B&W's "top-of-the-line" Nautilus Speaker, next to the ground-breaking "Nautilus" Loudspeaker, which I have not seen except in a magazine. finally, I am not employed by either Bryston or B&W (Bowers & Wilkins) and I do not sell them.

POWERFUL. WILL DRIVE ALMOST ANY SPEAKER OUT THERE, EXCEPT,AND I REPEAT, EXCEPT, SPEAKERS WITH NOMINAL IMPEDANCE RATINGS BELOW 4 OHMS. THE 14B SST IS A BRIDGED AMP. WHICH MEANS IT HAS 2 AMPS PER CHANNEL. THIS AMP IS HIGH VOLTAGE, BUT NOT HIGH CURRENT, COMPARED TO AMPS THAT "DOUBLE DOWN" - 600 WPC @ 8 OHMS, 1200 WPC @ 4 OHMS, AND 2400 WPC @ 2 OHMS. IT IS RATED: 600 WPC @ 8 OHMS AND 900 OHMS @ 4 OHMS. THE FACTORY WON'T COME CLEAN, BUT I SUSPECT ITS 2 OHM RATING IS NOT MUCH HIGHER THAN ITS 4 OHM RATING. THE SST SERIES IS SLIGHTLY LESS "BRIGHT" THAN THE ST SERIES. VERY LOW DISTORTION (IM OR THD). 20 YEAR WARRANTY. CANNOT BEAT THAT, ALTHOUGH A FEW COMPANIES, SUCH AS "THOR", HAVE "LIFETIME" WARRANTIES. BUT, PRICE IS MUCH, MUCH HIGHER. TRI-COLOR LIGHTS ON FRONT PANEL WILL TURN RED WHEN DROVE INTO CLIPPING.

WISH IT WAS VERY HIGH CURRENT AMP, IE, 600 WPC @ 8 OHMS; 1200 WPC @ 4 OHMS. BUT, IT IS A BRIDGED AMP. NOT AS "COOL" AESTHETICALLY, AS A BIG LEVINSON, PASS LABS, EDGE, HALCRO - ALL BIG BUCK AMPS, BY THE WAY. SIMPLE, SOLID CONSTRUCTION. NO GIMMICKS OR FLASHY HEAT SINKS, LIGHTS, METERS, ETC. WILL RUN HOT WHEN PLAYED AT LOUD LEVELS AND SHUT DOWN. BUT, YOU CAN HAVE A FAN INSTALLED. I JUST HAVE A SMALL FAN ON THE FLOOR BLOWING AIR TOWARDS THE AMP. FAN IS ON SEPARATE CIRCUIT OF COURSE! 20 AMP CIRCUIT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I HAVE OWNED THE 14B SST FOR OVER 2 YEARS NOW. I ALSO HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO AUDITION SOME OTHER AMPS LIKE LEVINSON, ROTEL, BAT, AND OTHERS. SO FAR, I AM VERY HAPPY WITH THE 14 B. IT HAS ENOUGH POWER TO DRIVE MY PAIR OF B&W 800C SPEAKERS. THE 800's HAVE A 15" WOOFER AND CAN HANDLE UP TO 1000 WATTS! THEY NEED LOTS OF POWER. THE BRYSTON IS SUPERB. GOOD SOLID BASS. MIDRANGE IS GREAT AND THE HIGHS ARE CRISP. OF COURSE, B&W NOW PRODUCES THE D SERIES (DIAMOND TWEETERS) WHICH ARE MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE THAN C SERIES. CANNOT GO WRONG WITH THIS AMP. STEREOPHILE MAGAZINE RATES IT CLASS A AND THE ABSOLUTE SOUND MAG GAVE IT A "GOLDEN EAR" AWARD A COUPLE YEARS AGO. THAT IS IMPRESSIVE, WHEN YOU READ THE OTHER AMPS THAT RECEIVE THESE AWARDS/RATINGS. SOME OF THE OTHER AMPS ARE PRICED OVER $20,000! I AM NOT GOING TO NAME THEM B/C LIST TOO LONG. I WILL ADMIT, I HAVE BEEN TEMPTED TO PURCHASE A BAT AMP, HALCRO, LEVINSON, ETC, BUT CANNOT AFFORD THEM. FOR THE PRICE, THE 14B SST IS A STEAL. NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. I WILL NOT ATTEMPT TO DESCRIBE WHAT I HEAR. THERE ARE SO MANY VARIABLES INVOLVED WITH HIGH-END AUDIO - INTERCONNECTS, POWER CORDS/CONDITIONERS, POWER SUPPLY FROM YOUR OUTLET, SPEAKER CABLES, CONES, SPIKES, ON AND ON AND ON. AND, I ALMOST FORGOT, YOUR ROOM! VERY IMPORTANT. WILL MAKE OR BREAK YOUR SYSTEM. ALWAYS AND I MEAN ALWAYS, TAKE THE UNIT HOME AND AUDITION IN YOUR LISTENING ROOM BEFORE BUYING. FOR EXAMPLE, SPEAKERS WILL SOUND DIFFERENT WHEN THE ROOM IS FILLED WITH OTHER SPEAKERS. THE SOUND, AT MID TO HIGH LEVELS WILL CAUSE THE OTHER SPEAKERS TO ACT AS PASSIVE SPEAKERS (CONES WILL VIBRATE AND SOUND WILL BE DIFFERENT IF THE OTHER SPEAKERS WERE NOT IN THE ROOM). NOT TO MENTION IF THERE ARE SUBS IN THE ROOM TOO, EVEN IF THEY ARE TURNED OFF. RETAIL PRICE IS ABOUT $6000 OR SO, BUT I PURCHASED A "BRAND NEW", ACCORDING TO SELLER, 14B ON EBAY, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE TRANSFERABLE 20 YEAR WARRANTY (UNIT IS WARRANTED FOR 20 YRS FROM DATE OF MANUFACTURE REGARDLESS HOW MANY TIMES IT IS SOLD, NOT STOLEN). THEREFORE, I CAN SHIP THE UNIT TO BRYSTON AND THEY WILL FIX IT IF NEED BE. MINE DID NOT NEED TO BE "FIXED." NOTE: YOU MUST PAY FOR SHIPPING TO THE FACTORY IN ITS ORIGINAL BOX AND BRYSTON PAYS TO RETURN IT TO YOU. BESIDES, IT DOES NOT HURT TO HAVE THE AMP THROWN AROUND A LITTLE TO ENSURE IT WAS SOLIDLY BUILT! I CANNOT ARGUE WITH THE EDITORS OF STEREOPHILE AND THE ABSOLUTE SOUND. I WILL SAY THAT I DID PURCHASE THE AMP WITHOUT LISTENING TO IT FIRST, AT HOME! HOWEVER, I ALREADY HAD A 4B ST AT HOME AND I HAD A GOOD IDEA OF WHAT IT WOULD SOUND LIKE. THE 4B ST IS SUFFICIENT TO DRIVE THE B&W's, BUT AT LOUDER LISTENING LEVELS (>100 dBA) IT WOULD CLIP. MY ROOM IS FAIRLY LARGE. IT IS 28 FT LONG BY 16 FT WIDE, BY ABOUT 7.5 FT HIGH. MY ROOM IS IN MY BASEMENT AND ALL EQUIPMENT IS SET ON THE FLOOR (CARPETED CONCRETE, WITH ALL UNITS SITTING ON SPARE WOOD PIECES WHICH I SCROUNGED). YOU CAN SPEND ALOT OF DOUGH ON AMP RACKS, PLATFORMS, WITH SPIKES, PUCKS, CONES, AND OTHER "VIBRATION CONTROL" ITEMS, BUT I FIGURED IT WAS UNNECESSARY B/C I HAD A CONCRETE FLOOR AND I ALREADY SPENT TOO MUCH MONEY! HIGHLY RECOMENDED.