B&W 801N and Bryston match

The main problem of your speaker is the N tweeter. I owned the 802N as well. It can become harsh sometimes. You need a warm en controlled amp. New tweeters are superior to the N tweeter. More authority, less harsh much more open en more resolution. The thing I do not like about B&W is the fact they make poor filters. I owned and sold them for many years, now I would not want them even for free.

Agree the tweeters can potentially sound harsh, and not sure Bryston would help there. That's probably why you see B&W speakers frequently paired with Classe amps, and I think you might have a good idea looking at McIntosh as well. Best of luck.

I'm in the same boat as most people here. I owned the 802N's and tried pairing them up with mcintosh and pass labs. Congested and boring speakers. As Bo1972 says, the image is very flat behind the speakers with no depth.

@ Chadeffect" Yeah, that's been the complaint about Bryston for years now. I'm not saying you're wrong, however. I will say that Bryston is more on the analytical side of things, but I don't mind that too much. Depending on the recording, I actually get rolled off highs instead of bright and what have you. It's definitely garbage in, garbage out equipment. And I will say at high volumes, it can get too bright. But, again, it will depend on the recording, imo.

Pass labs makes still one of the best amps in the world. Wenn I hear other brands I easily can say the flaws. In 10 seconds I can write them on paper. Pass labs does everything right. It is 3d holographic sound. You need speakers which can play 3d. B&W can't. In the world of Highend depth is a pre. This means: B&W is out of the game. Game over. And yesssssss it is as it is. Wenn you compare Pass Labs to bryston. Is the same as comparing the best italian coffee beans with cheap coffee. It is all about the real sound. And yes this is a big difference. For me this is the time people havge to learn about realism in sound. What is possible these days and how music should be played on systems.