They are the same amps. Whether THX or not, a 3B ST is a 3B ST from all I have known. They meet the standard easily in stock form. Try the Bryston owners circle at Audiocircles.com for more clarity. In fact James Tanner (VP at Bryston)may have already answered this question.
Bryston: THX for 2 ch - a good thing or not?
Several Bryston amps are available with THX certification and badging at extra cost. Is this a good thing for 2 ch setups?
I recently had an email exchange with an Audiogon seller of a Bryston 8B ST amp. I told him I was also looking at two Bryston 8B ST THXs on eBay. He related to me an opinion he had heard that the ST THX versions were somehow inferior to the ST versions. Was he just hyping his amp or is there something to this allegation?
I googled this issue every which way without much satisfaction. One source mentioned that the THX stardard required expanded dynamic headroom, which sounds like a good thing, but doesn't the ST version also meet this requirement?
I spoke to a Bryston designer at the factory in Peterborough some months ago, before the current question became an issue for me. I got the impression from him that the THX versions were just the ST/SST versions with THX certification and badging, for which Bryston had to pay Lucas for the priviledge. Therefore, amps were certificed as THX compliant more for marketing reasons than due to any design modifications, except perhaps for some features (like a different input gain for the THXs).
Bottom line, is there any reason I should avoid THX versions for 2 ch listening? Are they better, worse, or just about the same?
I recently had an email exchange with an Audiogon seller of a Bryston 8B ST amp. I told him I was also looking at two Bryston 8B ST THXs on eBay. He related to me an opinion he had heard that the ST THX versions were somehow inferior to the ST versions. Was he just hyping his amp or is there something to this allegation?
I googled this issue every which way without much satisfaction. One source mentioned that the THX stardard required expanded dynamic headroom, which sounds like a good thing, but doesn't the ST version also meet this requirement?
I spoke to a Bryston designer at the factory in Peterborough some months ago, before the current question became an issue for me. I got the impression from him that the THX versions were just the ST/SST versions with THX certification and badging, for which Bryston had to pay Lucas for the priviledge. Therefore, amps were certificed as THX compliant more for marketing reasons than due to any design modifications, except perhaps for some features (like a different input gain for the THXs).
Bottom line, is there any reason I should avoid THX versions for 2 ch listening? Are they better, worse, or just about the same?