Review: Bryston B-60r Amplifier


Category: Amplifiers

I have owned my B-60r for 1 year. I bought it used from a listing on audiogon. At the time of purchase, I was using a conrad johnson PV-12 tube preamp. I switched components because i needed to reduce the amound of money invested in my stereo. While the CJ sounded a bit better, given the extra money in my pocket at the end (sold the amp also), I was very happy with the switch.
As an overall impression, the B-60 is a very good piece if you are trying to build a reletively inexpensive system that still sounds good. In addition to great performance for the price, it is also very small. This integrated teamed up with a nice cd player can make an impressive system. The only weakness it has is that it is only 60 w/ch (100 w into 4 ohms). With that said, it has no problem powering my Kestrels.
I like to listen to all kinds of music, but when i sit down to try out a system I love to use music with lots of accoustics. This normally means listening to classical, including operas. I am also a big fan of the accoustic guitar, so Eric Clapton is used frequently as well. The bryston b-60 is a great piece for any of these jobs, and if you can find a used one, it is hard to beat the performance at that price level.

Associated gear
Meadowlark Kestrel speakers
Dunlavy SCIII speakers
Krell CD-DSP
Naim 3.5 cd player
Bryston 3B ST
fredy98
Can you describe the details of the sound - quality of bass, midrange, treble? Harsh or grainy? Lean, rich...?
thanks,
Art
ps: can you compare it to other amps you have heard?
After comparing with different amps over the years -- I only owned the B60 for a year so far, but this is memory of the other amps -- the B60 is very musical. What does it mean, musical? To me, it is very good tonal quality, which means insight into the exact pitch of tones, which helps to make harmonics sound rich. Some other amps have better initial transient: that is, a sax may sound "more like a sax" through these other amps, but tones have a satisfying harmonic complexity through the B60. It does pretty good bass when paired with the right other gear. B60 has good dynamics, quickly going from soft to loud instead of gradually. Treble is fairly sweet and sparkling, but maybe not extremely extended (?). B60 is not lean, if anything rich, especially mids. Hope that helps you. In the end I think you just to have to listen for yourself. It's not easy because each gear has it's own strengths and weaknesses!