2. amps-preamps
  3. 188624-23267

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.

kevemaher

Showing 4 responses by soix

soix
9,976 posts
 

At that price level I’d take a hard look at the Linear Tube Audio MicroZOTL preamp that uses tubes but they last forever in this design so very low cost/maintenance.  And you can swap tubes to get exactly what you want and they offer a home trial period.  Just another option FWIW.

soix
9,976 posts
 

Given what you’re looking for sonically you’ve identified two excellent candidates IMHO.  I can’t speak to the Benchmark, but I owned a Bryston BP6 (very similar to the BP26 minus the balanced connections and separate power supply) for years and it is the quintessential “straight wire with gain” type component.  It simply passes on what it’s fed without editorializing, and it’s very quiet that leads to a large 3D soundstage due to what I perceived was a complete lack of background noise so individual images just pop to life.  I’d guess the BP17 sounds more alike than different from the BP6, but that’s just an uninformed guess that it maintains much of the Bryston house sound.  Just my experience FWIW, and best of luck.

soix
9,976 posts
 

What improvements/sound characteristics are you looking for?

soix
9,976 posts
 

What’s your budget, and are you looking for new or used?

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