Bryston VS Musical Fidelity

Thanks for the response. The warranty angle is something to consider. Also Musical Fidelity seems to change their
product line alot, while Bryston seems to make smaller
changes, as apposed to dumping an entire line and starting
a new one.

I guess the bottom line would be sound though. I currently
have all Rotel gear driving B&W CDM7SE speakers. I know
I need better amps.. but where to turn. I looking at the
two in question for one main reason, "dual mono" I'm using
two amps now, and it's great. I would like to just have one.

Geesh guys, I started out saying that "this is something no one can argue with" and you guys start (sorta) arguing.
My point - Bryston has a superb warranty, virtually unmatched in the industry. No argument right?
I don't believe your analogy is useful S7horton - Bryston's are extremely well made pieces of kit. If they weren't we'd all know about it. And - Mr. Greg Lett's question was regarding a comparison - the Bryston warranty wins hands down. No argument - right?
BTW, this also has some implications for the value of the amp later on - check what 10-15 year old Brystons sell for. If you don't like it, no biggee getting your money back.
I own a 4B ST. Is it the last word in refinement? - nope, but it's damn good at it's price point, and I could sell it to you in 15 years and it would still be under 5 years of warranty (yes, yes, assuming they're in business HBarrell - but they have a pretty good track record), whereas if I sold you a 10 minute old MF amp they have already said too bad. Even if it were a demo piece - who else does that?
I also do not like MF's strategy of changing the model line constantly, with (for instance), the new $999 DAC allegedly whipping the living wee out of the old $2500 DAC according to Stereophile.

The bottom line of my (requested) comparison - Bryston's warranty is orders of magnitude better (20 times to be exact, unless you're buying a demo where it's sorta infinitely better).

We can't really say too much regarding a performance comparison without knowing your speakers. I have Martin Logan SL-3's and the control the amp puts on the woofer, combined with it's rather neutral rendering of the treble works great with the 'stat - your mileage may vary!

Don't know how a MF would sound - I'd bet real good, maybe the Bryston has that elusive synergy with the ML's, maybe the ML would be better - don't know - can only provide my experience to date.

Listen to the two pieces and buy the one you like the best.As I said before - trust your ears!

Here's my take on warranties.. Craftsmen hand tools offer a life time warranty. And they get a lot of warranty claims, all the time. They can afford to offer lifetime warranty because the tools are not real expensive to build. Mac, or Snap-On, don't offer lifetime warranties, but their tools are less likely to break. They don't need to offer lifetime warranties to sell their products.

At any rate, I don't believe the poster's question was about warranty, but about comparing sound quality of the two. I can't offer any advice, except this: I had a Bryston 3B for a while, and promptly traded it in. I currently have a Musical Fidelity A3, and think the build quality is excellent, and I'm very happy with the sound as well. The best option is to demo both in your room if the chance arises.

Thanks for the response. The warranty angle is something to consider. Also Musical Fidelity seems to change their
product line alot, while Bryston seems to make smaller
changes, as apposed to dumping an entire line and starting
a new one.

I guess the bottom line would be sound though. I currently
have all Rotel gear driving B&W CDM7SE speakers. I know
I need better amps.. but where to turn. I looking at the
two in question for one main reason, "dual mono" I'm using
two amps now, and it's great. I would like to just have one.

I own and like my Musical Fidelity amp.
However had I know about the warranty in advance I'd not have purchased it.

That said, bought a amp based on ears and warranty a few years ago. Ten year warranty from a company with a long history in audio.
If the company goes out of business (Threshold) the warranty is as good as the piece of paper on which it's written.

Id say it depends on what you want to power with it, ive heard Totem mani-2's set up in an all bryston system (4bsst and bp25 pre) and in an all musical fidelity system (a3cr pre and power) and no contest the musical fidelity was more enjoyable, despite being obviously underpowered for those speakers (the bass was far lighter than i know there capable of)musical fidelity was smoother, easier to listen to, more musical in general, trebel was sweeter. the bryston had way better bass.

that said my father uses bryston 7bst and they've workes flawlessly for years, they sound very good, but to my ears not particularily engaging

I own the Bryston 4BSST and love it. It is neutral and excels lin letting you hear exactly what is there. It has the power to control your speakers and allow them to sing

I trust you'll hear various opinions for various reasons. Here's one comparison no one can argue with - I'd think about who has more confidence in their product, and fewer caveats - why doesn't Musical Fidelity cover ex-demo pieces anyway?
As always, trust your own ears.

Musical Fidelity - Musical Fidelity Limited warrants this product to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of purchase, subject to the limitations set forth below:
This warranty is in favour of the original purchaser only and is not given to any person deriving title to the product through him or her.
This warranty will not apply to any ex-demonstration product as evidenced by invoice price, condition and date of manufacture.

Bryston - Bryston has a major commitment to produce the most accurate and reliable product available. We offer a full 20 Year transferable warranty, parts and labour, on all our products.