Ideal Pre Amp for Bryston 3B ST or 4B SST 2

12-07-10: Rrog
The ideal preamp for your Bryston amp is a Bryston preamp.

there is not particular reason why this statement should be true: to the amplifier, a signal is a signal. there is no technical reason why a bryston amplifier will work better with a bryston preamplifier. i don't believe this "synergy" business in anything other than a subjective context. but as with all subjective concepts, different people will have different opinions.

Lots of choices but mostly around AR...no surprise as they seem to have one of the best reputation in the business. Thank you. The opinions are appreciated, wish I could simply experiment with a new AR Pre and test my curiousity...perhaps if the lottery numbers are those on my weekly ticket.

The Bryston Pre is not bad I only was enquiring since I got a chance to hear the Maggies 1.6 played through a Tube preamp and SS Amp and the sound was truly enjoyable. To explain the effects, it was as if the music enveloped you versus punching you in the face.

Once again thank you for your input. Very much appreciated

12-07-10: Bob_reynolds
Paperw8, I agree with your comment regarding synergy in general, but proper impedance matching between a preamp and amp is a very real concern when mixing products from different manufacturers. It typically involves mixing different technologies - solid state and tubes.

you raise a good point about the need to be concerned with matching between tube devices and solid state devices. i don't follow the tube scene but i am aware that there can be issues with interfaces the two technologies. as i understand it, signals from tube preamplifiers can have dc components that can be a problem with some solid state amplifier inputs that don't have dc-blocking capacitors in the input path. i don't know that sticking with the same brand provides any specific advantage, but in any event, if someone intends to mix technologies it's always a good idea to check for potential compatibility problems. the main problem that i would expect is that you might be limited to using single ended amplifier inputs if you use a tube preamplifier.

as to the idea of impedance matching between preamplifiers and amplifiers, that is not done to my knowledge (i am taking "impedance matching" to mean the output impedance of the preamplifier is equal to the input impedance of the amplifier - and my comments refer to solid state only). preamplifiers and amplifiers typically have high input impedances because what you want to do is to transfer a voltage (you're not really trying to maximize power transfer between the preamplifier and the amplifier).

one notable exception is krell cast inputs, which tend to be low impedance. but the point of the krell cast system is that you are transferring a current from one device to another, so you don't want amplitude of the transferred current to be limited by a high input impedance. according to krell, the idea of waiting as long as possible before converting the current into a voltage results in superior sound reproduction. i have never heard a krell cast setup so i can't comment on how well the system achieves its stated objectives.

Paperw8, Since you don't follow the tube scene try mating a Quad preamp with your favorite solid state amplifier and tell me how you like the sound.

Besides preamps and amplifiers matching electrically they must also match sonically. You can mix and match to your heart's content and come up with all kinds of sounds which I have done countless times, but whenever I mate like brands of preamps and amplifiers there is a rightness to the sound that is never achieved with the mixing and matching.

This is why I say a Bryston preamp is idea with a Bryston amp. Unless you don't know the difference. Then it really wouldn't matter.