A nice amp, especially for home theater. I have three of them in my downstairs home theater and they work out great. However, for audio only, I am not that big a fan of the 3B-ST. Perhaps I am spoiled by my CJ Premier 8 monoblocks, but these don't sound quite right for music in my system. They definitely sound nothing like "live music," which is what I am judging them by. I have season tickets to the orchestra and I can tell you that CJ components capture the essence of live music perfectly. The Bryston, while great for home theater and less revealing applications, is overrated. It has a very detailed and clean sound, but is ultimately lacking the harmonic complexity of the best.

I got the 3B-ST and like it very much. Just don't understand some people can compare a $1,200 3B-ST with a $16,000 CJ Premier 8 and base on the comparison and rate it 2 star.
Definitely 5 star from me.

I have had the 3B-ST for 6 months. Great sounding amp. Had compared with a lot of amps (some a lot more expensive) and the 3B won hands down. I agree with the comments of JW and comparaisons should be made within certain price categories.

After three weeks of research and listening, I have ordered a Bryston 3B-ST amp and BP-20 pre-amp. Other manufacturers that I considered included Krell, Classe, McCormack, Acurus, Aragon, Anthem and Conrad Johnson. The reviews at this web site, as well as the high end audio rags, were of great benefit to me. There were, however, two other factors that made this an easy decision.
One is the SOUND. The Bryston equipment's ability to resolve detail and project a soundstage that is deep and wide is unmatched at its price point. The high end is open, the midrange is very detailed and the bass is strong and tight. The second factor is the 20 year warranty. Not many companies have this level of confidence in their products, let alone this level of willingness to stand behind them.

I will be using my Brystons to drive a pair of Acarian System Alon IIs via a Sony ES CD Player. I will post my in-home experiences/thoughts after they burn-in. Receipt of the gear is expected within a week.

sound stage

very poor binding posts

I hooked this up to my NAD preamp and screeech!!! My JBL speakers never sounded this bad. When I replaced the Kimber PBJ interconnects the dealer swore I would love with my own monster cables it did sound a little better. I thought a $1500 125 watt amp should play a little louder too. I took this amp back to the dealer and guess what? He tried telling me that I had bought the amp and could not return it. What a joke! My NAD dealer always lets me audition the goods at home. I be buying an NAD amp and rocking big time!!

A truly wonderful budget amp. Kickin bass, nice resolution, and adequate power make up for the somewhat thin character. Five stars for the price and Three stars when compared to the very best, so I would conservatively rate them a four.

Respectfully I submit, that although the Bryston is an excellent amplifier in terms of dynamics, frequency extension, and *bass response (*perenially in this regard),it does have a sonic signiture of its own at the musical textures level, in fact I feel that all of the best amplifiers reveal themselves in this way. Whereas a great tube amp will reveal a euphonic coloration at this level the Bryston exibits the slightest electronic sounding grainy texture of its own. Consider, however, that if this becomes your point of focus it's only because the amp is probably doing everything else so right. The Bryston 3b-st offers such an excellent value that I strongly recommend its purchase and propose 4 stars.

Excellent bass, dynamics and value. Bomb-proof 20 year warranty.

No sonic weaknesses. Who cares if it is pedestrian looking?

I owned a 3B-NRB until it was stolen. I sought far and wide for a different replacement even though I was in love with the Bryston. At the time there were no Bryston dealers in my location. I own a pair of vintage MC-30 6L6 tube amps so was in no hurry to buy anything new. I tried numerous amps, and have listed ONLY the ones in the 'Similar Products Used' column that sounded good. I recognize that in this day in age, there are a number of great sounding amps, many of which represent a good value. There are also plenty of amps which although they sound good, are really a bit of a rip-off. Unfortunately here are also some very bad sounding amps at all price-points.

First, I think that the Bryston is the best value on the market. I tried to accept the Sunfire, but it was simply too bright. It had the best dynamics of all, and clearly played the loudest, but it tended to be a bit harsh. Piano isn't supposed to be painful. Still it was magnificent at replaying dynamics. The Aragon 4004 is a sweet sounding amp, but doesn't have the bass tightness or dynamics of the old Bryston 3B-NRB, and is a bit more expensive. I tried to overlook the shape of the thing, but Aragon spent some superfluous money on the silly V-shaped notch in the chassis. Maybe a bigger power supply will make the bass more taut. Filter caps and transformers are expensive, but the chassis is also. Bryston has a very utilitarian chassis which doubles as the heat sink. The Krell KAV-250a did not really do anything wrong, but I recalled Krell's top-shelf gear having the best bass in the world. The KAV-250a did not compare well to the old Bryston's bass delivery, but had good dynamics without being overly bright like the Sunfire or soft like the Aragon. So I tried the Krell 200c just for fun. It is way out of the range I wanted to spend, but it had all of the great classic traits that I have noticed about Krells (and Levinsons) over the years. Dynamics on par with the Sunfire, but sweet and well balanced tone and great bass extension and slam. Better than my old Bryston in all areas. I also have been fond of Mark Levinson gear so I tried a Proceed HPA 2. Pretty similar to the low-line Krell KAV-250a, but with less well pronounced dynamics and soft bass.

So my friend had just purchased a 3B-ST out of state and brought it over to listen to. It had better bass than all but the high-zuit Krell 200c. It had better dynamics than all but the Sunfire and the Krell 200c. It had (by far) sweeter more accurate tone than all but the Krell 200c. Well, I guess that my old MC-30 amps, which have been gutted and upgraded to modern RTX poly capacitors and Vishay resistors, sound really sweet. But then what did you expect? And the new 3B-ST has got it all over the old 3B-NRB. Lots more power, more dynamics, better bass (which is hard to believe possible, unless you can afford a high-end Krell or Levinson), better tonal balance. It really does everything effortlessly. So I bought one a year ago and have been happy with it ever since.

So I purchased the cheapest amp of the group, although in terms of dollar/watt it is on par with the Aragon, Proceed and low-line Krell offerings listed above. The Sunfire is the leader in offering arc-welding power at a budget price. But the Sunfire requires a pair of real laid back speakers and a not-very-bright room. The Bryston just sounds the best among these other decent amps. I'm sure there is something else out there that sounds better for less, but I am sure it doesn't have a twenty year transferable warranty that the Bryston has.

Similar Products Used:

Bryston 3B-NRB, McIntosh MC-30 (Vintage), Sunfire, Aragon 4004, Krell KAV-250a and 200c, Proceed HPA2.

Linearity, control, smoothness

None, unless you have a poor front end

This is a magnificent product. I have it hooked up to the Bryston B-60 being used as a pre-amp (the pre-amp section of the B60 is the same as the Bryston BP-20). When I get bored and feel like buying more cable I will bi-amp. Naturally, the two pieces go perfectly together. I tried an Anthem Amp 2 with the B60 as a pre-amp, and though I believe the Anthem is also a great product in the same price range as the 3BST, in my system, it just didn't sound quite right. The presentation, especially the highs, came shooting forward way too much. It made me a restless listener. I blame compatibility problems, not the amp, which I'm sure sounds best with the Anthem pre-amp. The all-Bryston set-up keeps me in my seat, and/or dancing. Although the Bryston gear is known for being a bit euphonic (i.e. it makes things sound "too good"), it won't save a system from a harsh recording or sub-par CD player or turntable. As one reviewer suggests, there may be a slight lift under the highs, but they are by no means bright or forward; and I'm somebody who often wishes tweeters didn't exist. And there's always Cardas cables if you need to make things mellower. Anyway, the 3BST is a great product that does what it is supposed to do. The 4BST and 7BST are probably even better, but I had to draw the line somewhere.

Similar Products Used:

Anthem Amp 2(just experimentally); Parasound HCA-750 (owned one for a few weeks back before I went completely insane in regards to stereophonic sound reproduction)

Superclean sound, great bass

A little bit bright

This is a great little amp for anyone looking for great sound in a reasonable package. If 120 watts is enough for your speakers, room and lifestyle this is tought amp to beat. The overall sound is very clean with smooth midrange and punchy bass. Voice reproduction is terriffic. The 3B is a bit "bright" and might be considerd too bright or harsh in comparison with say, a Krell amp. But, if you like accuracy - this amp does it. And, its a great buy and is built to last forever. Very high quality fabrication.