I have owned the Bryston B60 and the sound was excellent. My good friend has the Cambridge 840 and it is good, but not in the same league. My guess is that you would miss your amp....
Bryston VS Cambridge Audio
I know, it sounds like an odd topic. Hear me out. I current use a Bryston 3BST of unknown history and a similarly unknown Musical Design SP-2 preamp (upgraded to -2B status). Both units are in terrific shape, and I have no reason to believe they are operating at less than optimal performance. I have a Marantz SA8004 CD player, and listen through either Von Schweikert VR-1 monitors with a Martin Logan Abyss subwoofer or Eminent Technology LFT-8B hybrid planar loudspeakers. Everything sounds great.
However, I am a bit of a bargain hunter, and I'm also dealing with a situation in which my listening room is also our media room, so my 2-channel rig has to pull double duty as an HT system. Rest assured, I make no sonic compromise for the latter. Still, I have become intrigued by the Cambridge Audio 840 (or V2) integrated amp, which would allow a high degree of component integration and system flexibility. I am a big fan of the brand, too. I could have both speaker sets hooked up along with the subwoofer, and maybe even move to the (non SACD) Cambridge Audio 840C CD player with its balanced outputs.
So, am I a fool for considering this? Do any of you have any thoughts about the power amp section of the 840A versus the Bryston, or even the preamp section versus the Musical Design unit? Thanks for all thoughts (and mild mockery, if deserved).
However, I am a bit of a bargain hunter, and I'm also dealing with a situation in which my listening room is also our media room, so my 2-channel rig has to pull double duty as an HT system. Rest assured, I make no sonic compromise for the latter. Still, I have become intrigued by the Cambridge Audio 840 (or V2) integrated amp, which would allow a high degree of component integration and system flexibility. I am a big fan of the brand, too. I could have both speaker sets hooked up along with the subwoofer, and maybe even move to the (non SACD) Cambridge Audio 840C CD player with its balanced outputs.
So, am I a fool for considering this? Do any of you have any thoughts about the power amp section of the 840A versus the Bryston, or even the preamp section versus the Musical Design unit? Thanks for all thoughts (and mild mockery, if deserved).