My previous resident amplifier was a Meridian 556, quite an accomplished machine but, once the Brystons were inserted in the system, it took only one hour of listening to understand ( and appreciate) the importance of real power when driving large and demanding speakers.

As sweet and musical as the Meridian is, it didn't stand a chance against the large Canadians. The sheer sense of power, control over the speaker cones, the way music harmonics were presented and the amazing speed of the notes, brought the level of enjoyment into another level.

The 7B ST combine grunt with finesse, the amount of detail is amazing and there's never a sense of strain, clipping or compression in the music. One may think, this is valid only when you listen at high SPL but, not so. At very low listening levels the musical enjoyment remains the same, with tuneful bass and low level slam and presence that less powerful devices are not capable of.

Perhaps, Mr Michaelson of Musical Fidelity was right when he stated that most amplifiers out there, are seriously underpowered to drive speakers properly.

I think for me, these amps. represent the end of the journey, at least when it comes to amplification,

When you 'spoil' your ears with this level of musical presentation, it would be almost impossible to go back to the "normal" 100 watter.. Audition at your own risk, your hearing will be spoiled to the point of no return.

My system is made of:

Linn LP 12 / Origin Live power supply and DC motor/ RB 300 arm/ BenzMicro Glider cart.
Thule Spirit 150 a CD player
Audio Research LS 2 preamp.
Bryston 7B ST
KEF Reference 3.2 speakers
Symo biwiring speaker cables
Audioquest King Cobra, Cardas Golden Cross, Madrigal Reference interconnects.
Room is 7 x 5 x 2.8 mtrs

Ability To Drive Very Low Impedance Speakers With Ease, Very Smooth And Dynamic

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My System Consists Of: Cal Icon MKII HDCD Bryston BP-20 Bryston 7B-ST Martin Logan SL-3's Audio Truth Emerald Audio Truth Clear+ I Had Used A Bryston 3B-ST On This System And Didnt Like The Way The Smaller Amp Drove My Martin Logans, I Found The 7B-ST Amplifier To Be The Perfect Match To My Martin Logan SL-3's

Similar Products Used:

Bryston 3B-ST Bryston 4B-ST Acoustic Research VT-100

Fantastic power at very good price if they're compared in the high-end league.

Bit weak in finish.

I would like to tell all you guys that the 7B STs are awsome power amps. FOund them dry, but very true to the source. Great overall performers, and not drifted towards any of the special genres of music. But we have no right to abuse Lester. If you feel the pinch go and educate him, and stop him from misusing a public domain. But this is a free world, he can express himself freely. The world is a fun place because people like Lester add spice to the life...anyway.

Similar Products Used:

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Reasonably Powerful.
Monobloc Design.
20 Year Warranty.

Very Poor Rear Panel.
Small Plastic 'Chinese' Speaker Connectors. My vdH Spades do not go in [SB-4 'The Revelation'].
Very Poor Switches for Balanced & Unbalanced option.
Very Poor Switches for Parallel & Series Mode.

Purchased the amplifier from a Bryston Representative in New Delhi, India. [Without an Audition].

Amplifier Serial Number :- 773775 & 773793.

Strange but true, in India most of the gear we are forced into purchasing without an audition since most of the products are not represented in India, and which ever are, the dealers do not keep / have stock to offer an audition.

I purchased these amplifiers entirely on the recommendations of 'STEREOPHILE' Magazine [Class A], most reasonable Power Amplifier in the Class 'A' recommended list of components. I might have prefered the Classe' CAM-350 or the McCormack DNA-2 or even the Plinius SA-250 MK IV [My Favourite], but then to import them into India is a different story all togather.

In any case about the 7B ST's. They are a good set of amplifiers. Enough power in them to drive my inefficient Dynaudio Confidence 5's well. The bass drivers in my speakers are 'isobaric' and the Brystons are able to 'control' them rather well. It is only in the higher octaves that the pedigree of the Brystons actually falls through; The 'Esotar' Tweeter & 'Esotar' Dome Mid-range are rather demanding dynamic drive units, and the Bryston's are just a little too shy in their finesse. I guess the difference is more comparable to a fine Single Malt like 'Talisker' or 'Lagualin' viz a viz a fine Scotch like Chivas Regal or Ballentines. It is just a matter of personal taste; I personally prefer the smoothness of a Single Malt.

The greatest advantage the Bryston's have over any of its competitors is the 20 years warranty. Makes them 'maintainance free'.

The new Silver Face Plate gives the Amplifier a good appearance, but the rear of the amplifier is equally disappointing. Very poor choice of components here. Bryston must make an effort to improve the quality of the switches on the rear panel of its amplifier, besides the heat-syncs are very loosely fitted and they make an irratating sound ['click'] when touched. Even the feet of the amplifier are made of rubber [Chinese], and could be vastly improved.

Overall a good power amplifier, but does not get a 5 star since the attention to detail is missing. Bryston must make an effort to finish its products like Mark Levinson does if it 'wishes to swim in the same pond' !

List of other Components :-

Simaudio Moon Eclipse CD Player
Simaudio Moon Eclipse P-5 Pre Amplifier
Bryston 7B ST Power Amplifier
Dynaudio Confidence 5 Speakers
Van Den Hul 'The Second' Balanced Interconnects
Van Den Hul 'The Revelation' Speaker Cable

Mazher Bashir JAFFAR.

Mumbai [Bombay] INDIA.

04th October, 2000.

Similar Products Used:

Simaudio W-5.
McCormack DNA-2 Limited Edition.
Classe' CAM-350 [Wonderful Amplifier].
Mark Levinson # 333, 334, 335 [Good ! but at a price].
Plinius SA-250 MK IV.

Dynamics, rythm, delineation of instruments, 20 year TRANSFERABLE warranty.

They don't come with the necessary 100 arces of land you're going to need put between you and your neighbours.

SYSTEM:
Modified Basis 1400 turntable / RB300 arm / Benz Micro Glider Sitting on Bright Star Big Rock & Air mass
CJ-PV8 phono pre-amp sitting on Black Diamond racing cones
Bryston 7B st + BD racing cones
B&W Matrix 801 series II on tip-toes
Cables are high quality home made jobs.
Target equipment racks & amp stands.

I listen to lots of different music Alt. rock (Sonic Youth/Nirvana etc) -> Moby / Chemical Brothers -> Jazz -> Folk -> Chamber and Orchestral music. So I wanted a versatile system. Something that can play music at realistic sound pressure levels and perserve the beauty of acoustic music.

Primarly I wanted to state for reference that these amps "work" in the context of my system. That is to say its a great choice for the Matrix 801's with a tube pre amp. The individual tonality of each instrument within the recording is easly heard. So is the rythm and the dynamics. The FLOW of individual instruments is preserved and this is what I find to be the most critical part of music (live or recored). You're not just hearing the sum total of the music, you're hearing the way the instruments diverge and converge. The interaction between the instruments. The GRACE of music is preserved. It's the lack of bluring in the time and frequency domains that allow this to come though.

This, coupled with all the other good stuff this amp does, results in music which sounds alive, each instrument having its own distinct energy. Yeah, if you listen you can pick the diffence btwn this system and live music easy, but the stuff that makes music, muisc, is preserved.

BTW if you're lucky enough to have good gear like this, and you listen at mid to high volume then you really should get some sort of isolation for you components. Black Diamond Racing Cones are great. They help to get rid of the blur and give you a better idea of the attack and decay of instruments.

One last thing, the amps sounded dry and solid-state ish until they burned in for week or so. Now I think they have just disapeared and I'm hearing the rest of the system. The tubey sound of the pre-amp. Sweet as a peach.

Similar Products Used:

I've auditioned lots of different amps over two years, but I don't feel I was hearing the equipment at its best due to the ad-hoc setup you get in busy NYC hi-fi stores.

Dynamics and fatigue free listening at all volumes.

Well into the range of ridiculously expensive.

The system recently got three changes: from Denon DCD-1560 to Proceed CDP, from single ended Monster/ Straightwire/ RatShack to balanced Straightwire interconnects, and from three Apt 1 power amps (100 w/channel) in triamp configuration to two Bryston 7B-ST monoblocks. Each occurred separately so it is not too hard to know how each affected sound quality. Of the three by far the most significant was the switch to the Brystons. A move several years ago to triamplification provided enhanced resolution of detail in complex passages and stability of imaging at all volumes. These benefits are provided in spades by the Brystons plus absolutely rock solid bass and incredible dynamics. They sound great at any volume level but the louder they're played the more you appreciate truly unrestrained dynamics. Driving the Alon's into the red the Bryston's still have pace galore, are crystal clear and free of fatigue ( oh, and very loud).

I compared the 7B's to a 4B and to a Mark Levinson 336. The newest 4B is a very good amp but does not have the dynamics ( which are apparent at most volume levels) or the sense of space around instruments present in the 7B. At moderate plus volumes the 7B is more dynamic and actually sounds less colored ( like a veil is lifted) than the ML 336.

Expensive, fun, satisfying, recommended.

The system:
Denon DP-60/Denon DL-160
Apt Holman phono preamp
Proceed CDP
Proceed PRE
Bryston 7B-ST
Alon 4
Straightwire Maestro II cd-pre & pre-power
Straightwire Rhapsody triwire speaker cables
dedicated 30 amp AC power

Moved up from the Bryston 4B-ST, and the 7B-ST excelled even more in transmitting musicality and transparency. So far they have exceeded my expectations -- they sound more open, effortless and they have the best speed, slam and control of the mid and upper bass for my ears. I have listened to the ML 331 and my friend's Krell KSA-250 --- most excelent amps, but I went for the Brystons not only for its sound but for overall value as well. Five stars well deserved...
My system:

Theta Miles CD Player
Bryston 7B-ST (2)
Totem Forest Speakers
Kimber Kable KCAG Interconnects
AQ Sterling Cables with WBT Terminations
Monster Power HTS3500 Power Conditioner

Power, Dynamics, Bass, awesome soundstage

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I have over the period of about 12 months completely overhauled my system. My current system consists of

Bryston 7B ST Monoblocks
Bryston BP-25 Pre-amp
Sony SCD-777ES SACD Player
Joseph Audio RM25si Signature speakers
Pure Silver Sound interconnects
Kimber 8TC speaker cable

These amps have it all. The have clarity, speed, rhythm, dynamics, bass punch and incredible sound-staging. They are monsters, and never seem to run out of power. What really sold me on them was the wide and deep soundstage. The sound appears from outside my speaker’s edge and seems to go back deeper than my listening room. The bass is perfect, strong and tight, not boomy or muddy. They are a great bargain if you can find them used and you can’t beat a 20 year warranty. They match perfectly with the BP-25 pre amp. Rating 5

Similar Products Used:

NAD 214

Power, base and capable of driving difficult loads

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I like these monoblocks a lot. they drive my Martin Logans
very well and they combine with the VTL 5.5 preamplifier in a very smooth way. I am pleased with the warranty and excellent service provided by Bryston Canada. About the comments of individuals in this site that cause the ratings to go down we should forgive them but not take in consideration their opinion. just think: most of them cannot afford these kind of high-end equipment, then also they are not happy with their poor lives, they probably do not own a good house, a nice car and do not have a professional job. All combined they must be very frustaded and therefore it is much better that they let some of that anger out here then gou out and be violent. We should consider ourselves lucky to be able to own these wonderfull pieces of equipment. I am giving 5 stars for performance, as well as build quality.

Similar Products Used:

VTL, Krell, Mcintosh

Powerfull,punchy,endless dynamics

People like Lester down below!!!!!!

I have had these amps for over 4 years of usage and had no problems whatsoever.I use them to drive my bass section only.Very tight controlled (Quality) bass and liquid mids and highs depending on what kind of speakers you are using.Not good with speakers having ribbon tweeters, it may sound harsh.But of course Lester is deaf he can not hear that!

Similar Products Used:

Ml,Krell,Aragon,Mc Intosh