Bryston or Classe

I have a friend that has Classe and has had nothing but trouble with Classe. He has sent his integrated back 5 yes five times in the last two years. He has had no problems with any of his other components. They claimed to have rebuilt it each time. His name is being withheld since he wants to dump the amp and buy Bryston.

I owned a Bryston BP-25 mated with my 4B-ST amp and there was synergy with this match up. However I did swap out the BP-25 for a tube preamp (Rogue 66) and in doing so gave up some of the detail but realized the warmth I was looking for. As a SS preamp the BP-25 is hard to beat and ya gotta love that they hold their value and offer the best warranty in the biz!

My whole system is Classe and because I never heard Bryston I cant comment on what sounds better but Classe has a great reputation for quality. They completely covered two repairs including shipping that were completly my fault and not covered by warrenty. One was even a piece I bought used. I have delt with many manufactures and in my opinion Classe offers the best customer service I have seen in any product. Audio or not.

I've often wondered over the years why there always seems to be so much Classe equipment in the used market, but beyond that observation can make no other comment, since the only piece I've ever owned was their Model 3B (I think that's it, but it's been a while.) pure class A amp that was rated at just 25 w/ch, generated tremendous heat, weighed a ton, drew enough current to dim the lights, and fried some of the wiring in our turn-of-the-century house. God, how I loved that amp on my Quad 63s!! This was back in the mid '80's, but shortly thereafter they went to an entirely different, i.e., much broader based, marketing approach with an all new, less esoteric product line.

Oops, sorry for the digression, but I'd recommend the Bryston BP 25, or, if you don't need a remote, the 20 for even less money. Or, since Bryston offers a 20 yr. transferable warranty, why not get really cheap and buy one used? What Bryston gives you is what a component should: Accuracy. The music should come from the software, not the electronics.

Hey Andrew,

Maybe I can chime in as well as I've had 2 Bryston 3B amp (100 Watt)/0.5 preamps for the last 15 years and in just the last 3 months have switched over to a Classe SSP-25 pre/pro and CAV-75 6 channel amp. Soundwise I'd have to say that the Classe is the clear winner - much smoother, more detailed, and yes "quicker". Keep in mind that the Brystons are 15-year-old models and I'm sure (hope) the newer ones have improved. Nobody can beat the Bryston service however.