DOOD.CA: Guy Stuff

Got a listen to the new Bryston BP26 preamplifier this weekend… very nice unit. This one had the DAC option, not a bad peice of kit for $5000. Coupled with the Bryston 4BSST power amplifier it really sang. Speakers were a pair of Monitor Audio’s top of the line Gold speakers.

Strength – This combination with the DAC has more detail than i’ve heard with just about anything I’ve heard recently, the breathing and detail when cymbals crashed was just mind-boggling. I have to say that as far as detail goes, this Preamp and DAC are at the top of the game, at any price. Amazing precision, and with the DAC portion turned off and fed by a Rega Saturn, it actually sounded extremely musical!

I preferred the sound of the Rega over the internal DAC, however, I can appreciate the sheer detail that was pulled out of the CDs with the Bryston’s internal DAC. Mid-bass was tamed, however, and low bass as well, though not to the degree.

Weakness – The DAC portion of the unit is very good, however it is not to my taste. It is very clinical and sterile sounding in it’s presentation.. I suppose it is a trade-off for all the detail that it fleshes out. I have noticed this is a prevailing trend in the hi-fidelity world. The highs are fatiguing and grating… it isn’t a system that I can listen to for very long, but the detail it presents is phenomenal.

Overall – I really liked the BP26 Preamp section as with the Rega Apollo feeding the analog inputs it sounded fantastic, with just the right amount of detail. Switching between that unit and a B&K Home Theatre setup did show some huge differences… much less mid and low-bass was present in the Bryston set-up. This is odd since Bryston typically has loads of bass. Perhaps more break-in?

The BP26 remote is fantastic, but I wish it would allow input switching. Overall, its an amazing sounding peice of machinery for the amount of money, but I would have liked a few more bells and whistles, such as a digital display, and input switching from the remote. I also did not like the way the DAC sounded, though I can see a lot of people liking it.