Levinson vs Threshold vs Plinius vs Bry

I owned a Bryston 4BST. It is a very good amp and the price coupled with the build quality and the 20 year warranty give it a lot of value. This is not a warm or sweet amp. I hear a little brightness from it (my Maggie 3.5s are very revealing). Bass is very good and mids are right there. The only reason I sold it is because I auditioned a Levinson 332 at my house and it never left. You will always find used Bryston amps for sale and if you decide you want to upgrade you should have no problem selling it.

Rayd, I am auditioning a Bryston 3BST as we speak and I must say I'm amazed at the little guy. My fiancee' and i are really putting it thought it's paces and for our ears there are no weaknesses. Slightly less "magic" than the Premier 11a but FAR less compromise than I expected in the midrange area where the CJ shines. The quickness and authority in the low and mid bass plus a really neutral midrange and great top end (not the lest bit hard but "right there")create the sense of a live performance we both really like. I am going to sleep on it a few days and keep throwing different music at it but at this point, I believe I will soon own a pair of them.

I am in the same predicament - looking for amplification for my new ProAc Response 2.5s. I tried compared the C-J to the Bryston and found (not surprisingly) that the Bryston had much better bass control but was too bright for my tastes. The C-J was absolutely captivating for female vocals and small scale acoustic music but lacked authority in the bass and sounded rolled off at the top. So my search continues. Going to audition a Plinius SA 100 soon. If that doesn't work out i'll probably by an Audio Research VT 100 MkII which works great with the 2.5s. It has a magical combination of good tube harmonics with surprising bass slam and authority _and_ very fine resolution of detail. But I have high hopes for the Plinius.

I am using my Proac 1.5's with a Bryston 4b with good results. You might want to add the VT100 mkII to your list as I heard them paired to 2.5's; they sounded great.

I love the ProAcs. I'm not sure why everyone always forgets about Ayre. I have an Ayre V3 and I believe this amp is better sounding than all of the above and is about as close as a solid state amp can get to being a tube amp. (also with power and detail in the low frequences) They can be had on the used market for 2K and under just make sure that you at least get one with the first upgrade. Mating these with a good tube preamp is a match made in audio heaven. I use an Audible Illusions Modulus 3A. This is a very musical combo and will beat hands down all of the amps mention in this post. Do yourself a favor and go out and hear one, you won't regret it. Best of luck in your quest!