Bryston B60 or old 3B + .5B

Your speaker choice would weigh heavily on which path to take. I owned the .5B/3B combo back in 1989 and it worked very well together (you're right, no remote with the .5B) but the B60 preamp section is the same as the current BP-20 which is a damn site better than the .5B. I owned a BP-25/4B-ST combo as well so I speak from experience. The age of the amp dictates a lot - there have been a number of variations or versions since the Bryston amps of 20 years ago and while they have always been a great buy you may be getting into quite aged technology at that vintage.

If it were me I would probably go for the B-60R - super integrated that could be used later on as a preamp if you were to require a more powerful amp down the line. You could even use in a bi-amp mode - the B60 powering the highs and say a more recent 3B powering the bass.

Matt:
Bryston makes superb equipment. However, I seem to recall that the original 3B occasionally had a problem. I had one and sent it back. I do have a 3B ST which is a real gem.
Play safe and turn down the older 3B.

Jeff

I was not impressed from the B60's performance: Extra-bright and coloured. It's far away from music. Creek 5330 is the tru-way to get music for the same buck. Now I want(just for the sake of the hobby) to give a try to listen to Unison Research Unico integrated 80W/ch amp with MC phono section that is new $1.3k. I read a bunch of reviews from impressed listeners on this unit. Won't ya give it a try for thirty days with small obligation(maybe 1% of a retail per week at most + shipping)?

Buy the older Bryston 1st and try it, at those prices you will always be able to get almost all if not all of your money back out of it. Those are the best kind of experiments. I would also rather have those two pieces verus the 60

I've owned lots of Bryston over the past 25 years. The B60 is the one that I'll never part with. A classic!

For what ever it's worth I think Bryston's 3BST is the best product value they ever made.

For whatever it's worth, I personally would go for the B60. You get your remote that you want, it is supposed to have basically the same preamp section from the BP-20, if you decide to bi-amp depending upon your speakers you can add a 3B for the bass later.

The next advantage is to use it for a while and upgrade to an outboard amp for the mains and use its built in amp for surrounds on HT.

I went into a store at one point where a friend work to audition the ML SL3's when they first came out. After listening for a bit I went over the the stack of gear. I thought I was listening to separates. My friend Joe came along and told me it was the B60. What's that? It's a new integrated amp Bryston launched a while ago. I was in awe. When I first looked at this unit I actually thought it was a preamp until seeing the air vents in the sides. Great way to go with lots of room for expansion. I was very impressed.

Jas