Classe or Bryston?

I auditioned a Classe CA-100, CA-200, CAV-150 (own), Bryston 4BST, Krell, Audio Research, Krell, etc...with Aerial Acoustics 10ts + Lexicon. My opinions: The Classe CA-200 was, by far, the most musical amplifier. The midrange was as good as the Audio Research and very smooth and realistic. The highs were great. However, the bass was weak and the soundstage wasn't as crisp as the Bryston. So, if you want to do HT, get the Bryston. If you want to do music, get the Clasee -- but, whatever you do, do NOT underpower the Aerials. The CA-100 sounded horrible -- very compressed -- running on my 10Ts. You will notice that the caps on a CAV-75 are much smaller than those found on even a 100/150 watt CA amplifier. So, I could recommend CAV-150 bridged to 300 for center and surrounds and a CA-200,300,400 for fronts (8's) Best Regards, Happy Listening, Mark

If you like romantic... go Classe... Honest, detailed(but not bright or forward) go Bryston. Classe a little to syruppy for me...

Actually, the biggest problem I had with Bryston was the brightness in the highs...Classe had none of this... BTW, my system is almost flat and this "brightness" wasn't imagined. (Aerial Acoustics 10Ts)

First in response to Ramstl.... Hey .... I already contributed to this thread... and voiced my opinion... then I added the opinion of stereophile... You note that you read stereophile... and since 1989 you state that it is informative. But to reference stereophile is ignorant....hmmmm sounds a bit bewildering to me. To read what a pro writes about a product is for the individual to absorb and place whatever value they feel justified in. Same as some clown on a thread that adds absolute feckless commentary. The fact that it adds absolute zero is the measure of one's absolute ignorance. You also note that they did review the Classe... (and it not in the recommended components), but start with they don't recommend amps they don't review. I get a splitting headache just trying to follow your logic. The logic displays an intellect two points greater than a stick. One more suggestion .... get a dictionary. I demo'd the classe and quickly dismissed it as an option. The dynamic range of the music was lacking. All the Bryston product line utilize the exact same crossovers. I would still recommend based on the financial considerations, (which appear to be important in your decision) sell the classe and 9b... get the Bryston powerpac ...... I use it for the front channel. The resale for Bryston is the best... why? ... Why can Bryston put a 20yr warranty? Why do they stay in business with one of the lowest budgets in advertising? The answer to the original thread is too obvious.

When Stereophile recommends a product it is a great product. When a product does not make their short recommended list it does not mean it is not a great product. I tried both with my NHT 2.9's, and the Classe CA200 sounds much better. The Bryston 4Bst was too bright for these speakers.