I used to bi-amp the 3B-ST and 4B-ST for years with my NHT 2.9's. I sold all of that equipment on A'gon and now have the following system (which I really love).
Current System :)
- Sony SCD-1 SACD
- Bryston BP25 preamp
- 2 Bryston 7B-SST monoblocks
- 2 Virtual Dynamic Nite and 2 Signiture power chords
- 2 Shunyata Taipan power chords connected to 2 Audio Magic power line conditioners (everything is cryoed)
- Bi-wired with 2 single ended 3 foot AudioQuest Volcano speaker wire
- Bryston balanced interconnects throughout
The bi-amped 3B-ST and 4B-ST amps sounded a little bright and was very fatiguing with my Revel Salons. I actually preferred listening to these speakers with only the 4B-ST. The soundstage was much smaller but the music sounded a little more cohesive.
Unfortunatley, I have recently developed rheumatoid arthritis. The listening fatigue issue has become a very prominent issue for me nowadays with the arthritis (go figure). My body would be in pain after extensive listening sessions with the ST amps (several hours of listening).
I also auditioned the Mark Levinson 436 amp hooked up to the Salons at a dealer. I listened to my CD's (for 3 hours) which were mostly great rock and roll tracks. My impressions of the ML 436 was that that sound was more detailed and warmer than my bi-amped 3B and 4B (no big surprise). The 436 sounded amazing. It also had a exciting forward presentation of the sound. However, it was also a very fatiguing amp for my body. My head liked the sound but my body was hurting after the listening session. The system I listened to at the dealer cost about 75,000 and was all ML gear.
I ened up buying the Bryston 7B-SST monoblocks for the Salons. The reasons I ended up buying the 7B-SST was that the sound was so much clearer and detailed with this amp. The brightness I noticed with the 3B-ST and 4B-ST were not present at all with the 7B-SST. The sound was not as forward sounding as the ML 436 but I felt it was certainly more detailed. Which I valued more. The 7B-SST and ML 436 both had huge soundstage, great imaging, great low end and made my feet move.
However, the biggest benefit for me was that the amp was not fatiguing at all. In the past month I have listened about 3-4 hours every weekday with longer listening intervals in the weekends. My head and body feel great listening to this amp. I do not know what causes one to feel fatigue from an amp but the 7B-SST does not force me to limit my listening sessions.
There is a review in the latest Stereophile about the 7B-SST. I would agree with everything that reviewer said except for the statements sbout 7B-ST, since I have not heard that amp. I also thought that reviewer was quite negative towards the 7B-SST. That reviewers negative observations were percieved as positive aspects by me.
My system is now complete except for the future 5.1 Home Theatre additions. Likely Bryston 6B-SST 3 channel amp, Revel speakers, ??? HT processor.
Current System :)
- Sony SCD-1 SACD
- Bryston BP25 preamp
- 2 Bryston 7B-SST monoblocks
- 2 Virtual Dynamic Nite and 2 Signiture power chords
- 2 Shunyata Taipan power chords connected to 2 Audio Magic power line conditioners (everything is cryoed)
- Bi-wired with 2 single ended 3 foot AudioQuest Volcano speaker wire
- Bryston balanced interconnects throughout
The bi-amped 3B-ST and 4B-ST amps sounded a little bright and was very fatiguing with my Revel Salons. I actually preferred listening to these speakers with only the 4B-ST. The soundstage was much smaller but the music sounded a little more cohesive.
Unfortunatley, I have recently developed rheumatoid arthritis. The listening fatigue issue has become a very prominent issue for me nowadays with the arthritis (go figure). My body would be in pain after extensive listening sessions with the ST amps (several hours of listening).
I also auditioned the Mark Levinson 436 amp hooked up to the Salons at a dealer. I listened to my CD's (for 3 hours) which were mostly great rock and roll tracks. My impressions of the ML 436 was that that sound was more detailed and warmer than my bi-amped 3B and 4B (no big surprise). The 436 sounded amazing. It also had a exciting forward presentation of the sound. However, it was also a very fatiguing amp for my body. My head liked the sound but my body was hurting after the listening session. The system I listened to at the dealer cost about 75,000 and was all ML gear.
I ened up buying the Bryston 7B-SST monoblocks for the Salons. The reasons I ended up buying the 7B-SST was that the sound was so much clearer and detailed with this amp. The brightness I noticed with the 3B-ST and 4B-ST were not present at all with the 7B-SST. The sound was not as forward sounding as the ML 436 but I felt it was certainly more detailed. Which I valued more. The 7B-SST and ML 436 both had huge soundstage, great imaging, great low end and made my feet move.
However, the biggest benefit for me was that the amp was not fatiguing at all. In the past month I have listened about 3-4 hours every weekday with longer listening intervals in the weekends. My head and body feel great listening to this amp. I do not know what causes one to feel fatigue from an amp but the 7B-SST does not force me to limit my listening sessions.
There is a review in the latest Stereophile about the 7B-SST. I would agree with everything that reviewer said except for the statements sbout 7B-ST, since I have not heard that amp. I also thought that reviewer was quite negative towards the 7B-SST. That reviewers negative observations were percieved as positive aspects by me.
My system is now complete except for the future 5.1 Home Theatre additions. Likely Bryston 6B-SST 3 channel amp, Revel speakers, ??? HT processor.