2. amps-preamps
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Bryston BP-17 cubed or Benchmrk LA4 Preamp

My old Levinson No. 38s preamp is getting a bit long in the tooth. Oh, it is working fine; I've got the itch.

I have recently used a Cary CAD-120s in my system and found it less musical than my Bryston 2.5b cubed power amp, so tube preamps are out. Seems I just can't "appreciate" the tube sound.

I've been researching preamps. The Benchmark and the Bryston BP-17cubed (or other Bryston preamps) are the two that seem to meet my price and feature desires. But sound....don't know how these units differ. How different is the sound compared to my old Levinson? Which one(s) would you recommend?

My speakers are Usher V-604, a 2-way MTM floorstander, and a HSU sub.

 

Thanks for your help.

128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xkevemaher

Showing 2 responses by jimmy2615

jimmy2615
411 posts
 

@kevemaher sorry, but I’ve got zero experience with Levinson.  If you’re looking for  warmth, I’m not sure either of these will give it to you.  I think the Bryston is even cooler sounding than the Benchmark.

jimmy2615
411 posts
 

I’ve owned both as well as the 2.5B, and while I often extol the virtues of the Benchmark, I would recommend the Bryston in this case.  The Benchmark is quieter and very transparent, but the Bryston is more musical especially with the 2.5B amplifier.  The  amp has a bottom up voicing and the preamp a top down voicing IME, and therefore they are very synergistic.  The preamp is very fast also, very immediate.  But ultimately you probably couldn’t go wrong with either.  The Benchmark holds their value well.  The BP17 can be had used for just over $2k.  My only problem with the Bryston was it was slightly noisy in my system (I.e., a hiss coming from the speakers, whereas the Benchmark is dead quiet).  

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