OT Gloat

[Andrew Barss]

:> I shared some manufacturing space with the Russell brothers (Bryston) :> for a while and got to know them well. Bryston builds one the finest :> transistor amps in the business and they're just a great bunch of :> people who are a role model for anybody who wants to build an :> electronic equipment business. Value for money and superb service. :> :>

:> From Abbey Road Studios to Lucasfilm and everyone in between... :> Yep. I've alwayas liked the fact that they're one of the very very : few audiophile gear manufacturers who don't rely on unstable electronics, : secret parts, fairy dust, or outright magic to create their mystique. : Instead, they massively over-design, over-engineer, build precisely, and : then publish their schematics! Gotta love it.

But since all amps these days sound the same (when properly matched for output level), why would one want to spend $2650 for their entry-level amp? Why not get a $250 Onkyo, and spend the rest on a killer set of speakers?

-- Andy Barss

[RicodJour]

He'd get $150 or so for it on eBay...not bad for trash! I bet some kid advised grandma to get rid of the junk that doesn't even play MP3s or get satellite.

R

[Colin B.]

Well, Robatoy summed it up in one sentence: "Properly designed amplifiers all sound the same when operating in their envelope."

Those two conditions aren't trivial to achieve. (But neither are they impossible, as some would have you believe.)

The nice thing about Bryston et al is that they are SO well designed (and implemented) that they are going to be operating within their envelope no matter what you throw at them. Reactive loads, impedance mismatches or capacitive loading on the input, Brystons just don't care. Signal in, bigger signal out. That's what they do. Onkyo makes (or at least, used to make) decent gear, but I'm not sure I'd count on it to drive electrostatics. In fact, my B&W would probably have a hard time with them.

Colin

[Robatoy]

output level),

And the Brystons do it with minimal internal feedback. A simple Zobel network on a cross-over won't alter the linearity of the frequency response, but yet it is audible mostly because it makes the load to the amplifier a lot friendlier (resistive at low impedance.)

Onkyo, for a short while, was an upscale product with some of the right ideas. It became a 'brand' and like so many others, the 'brand' was slapped on anything being spewed forth by the chiwainese electronics monster. There are very few brands that stayed the course in terms of integrity. Harman Kardon, Denon come to mind. In fact all things handled by Harman International.

That's my opinion about consumer electronics, loudspeakers are a whole different kettle of fish. A pair of Muons would look nice at my house. As soon as I gather up an unused $ 140,000

[charlie]

And the Brystons do it with minimal internal feedback. A simple Zobel network on a cross-over won't alter the linearity of the frequency response, but yet it is audible mostly because it makes the load to the amplifier a lot friendlier (resistive at low impedance.)

Onkyo, for a short while, was an upscale product with some of the right ideas. It became a 'brand' and like so many others, the 'brand' was slapped on anything being spewed forth by the chiwainese electronics monster. There are very few brands that stayed the course in terms of integrity. Harman Kardon, Denon come to mind. In fact all things handled by Harman International.

That's my opinion about consumer electronics, loudspeakers are a whole different kettle of fish. A pair of Muons would look nice at my house. As soon as I gather up an unused $ 140,000

[Colin B.]

[Upscale]

[Robatoy]

I have listened to the zero feed-back tube stuff from others (Stax) on a pair of Lamda headphones (Earspeakers) and it is enough to kaka your drawers. Scary as ol' hell.

The most realistic reproduction of a recorded piece I ever heard, was a Kunstkopf (Sennheiser) recording of a harpsichord (built by a friend) on a Nagra and then played back through a pair of Stax Earspeakers, whilst sitting on a M&K subwoofer.

I refuse to admit that the Thai-Stick smoke coming from the musicians' quarters had anything to do with my experience.

[Robatoy]

interrupted line-sources.