Finally took the Bryston 4B Cubed plunge

Thank you all so much for the responses so far.  They are all very helpful.   I will try to read up on Bryston a little more and maybe give it try.

Hi @professorsvsu sorry to chime in on this 2 year old thread. I have a few questions on your Bryston 4B3.

I’m in the middle of an upgrade cycle. Almost 3 months ago, I purchased a pair of B&W 804 D3. I have since added Parasound JC-2 BP preamp. For power amps, I have Parasound A31. I only run a 3 channel HT system with a Marantz 8802A preprocessor.

I’m now looking into upgrading my music with a new stereo amp. I just purchased the Parasound JC-5 due to very good reviews and the fact that I love my JC-2. I’m only a few days into it, and I have to say I’m not very impressed with the JC-5. I find it not much better than my A31 if at all. I do think I hear some lower frequency bass that I didn’t with the A31, but the overall bass department seems a little calm and less prominent to me. Bass is one of the area that I like to see improvement. I understand I probably should let the JC-5 burn in a little longer before doing critical listening.

However, there is another issue that might be a show stopper for me. The JC-5 runs really HOT. I’m housing it in the same cabinet as my JC-2, and now the JC-2 is extremely hot also. Due to the size of the JC-5, this is my only option right now.

So the question I have is 1) how hot does the Bryston run? 2) Do you find a good improvement of bass in the Bryston than your A21? 3) Does the Bryston sound bright in the high frequency in any way? I have tinnitus and I really don’t like bright sounding amps.

Bryston also is much smaller in size and gives me more flexibility of housing it away from my JC-2. So I’m eager to give that a try if I can find a sound improvement over the A31.

Thanks @phcollie looking forward to your impression of the Bryston.   

As with the JC-5,  after another week of burning in, it started to open up a little.  I can definitely hear more low bass that I couldn't from my A31, but mid and upper bass still lack the slam that I had wished for.   Occasionally, I find the treble might be just a tad too bright.  I have tinnitus on both ears and they are very sensitive to high frequency.   I was hoping it could be just a tiny bit warmer.  

Overall JC-5 is not a bad amp.  I have no doubt that it sounds great to many people.  I'm just looking for the perfect match to my ears.    I'm still considering keeping, but might try to listen to the Bryston before making the decision.

Thanks @phcollie for the great update. It sounds pretty good to me! I think I’m going to try to audition it at home. Will post an update if I do. Thanks again!

Hi @phcollie I finally managed to audition the Bryston 4B3 and compared it to the Parasound JC5, but at the end I decided I will keep the JC5.   Here's my impression of the 2 amps.

When I first hooked up the Bryston, right away I noticed the improvement in the bass.  It's got nice slam and punchiness.   The amp also seems very quiet.   The high end does seem to have a little more details than the JC-5.   My first impression was pretty good, and I thought it was going to be a keeper.

After about 3 weeks, the Parasound JC-5 started to open up.  The bass has improved.   The sound stage is wide open.  There is a lot of space between instruments.   Overall there is this sense of transparency to the amp, it feels like it is just quietly sitting there and delivering the music without getting in the way.   It's very quiet and probably a little more so than the Bryston.   The bass doesn't have the slam of the Bryston, but it goes a little lower.   The highs doesn't seem to be as detailed as the Bryston, but it is still very good.   Overall I find the JC-5 to have a smoother sound and much easier to listen to.

Bryston 4B3 is a great amp,  I can see myself being happy with it.  Really love the bass.   But at the end, the JC-5 is a little more suitable to my taste.

Cheers!