Only trying to be half funny, but have you cleaned your ears? 
|
There was a large volume drop also.
|
Bryston amps are balanced and can be bridged. Are you sure everything was set correctly on the back of your amp?
|
All checked. The bp6 was fine for 4 hrs. No settings were ever changed, though I did still check. I know it sounds crazy.
Im gonna try a qutest dac while I still have bp6 ( not sent in yet).
|
The bp6 was fine for 4 YEARS. Sorry
|
You keep ordering things thinking it will fix this supposed loss of dynamics and you clearly are failing at getting results so why still waste money? @crossfreeee
How about do some practical work. Get a calibrated mic, this will do - UMIK-2 and download this - https://www.roomeqwizard.com/ and do some Room RTA checks from your seated position. So you know how the speaker and room are coupling. Unaddressed nulls can lead to loss in slam, tactility and sense of dynamics and you're not investigating that and just trying to buy your way to a solution.
This video Is a great guide - https://youtu.be/F-T_lZ3KJjU?si=0wxv841zRIchfrOd
|
|
GPT... suggestions
1. Source
-
What is the source device? Laptop, streamer, CD player?
-
Are you using USB, optical, coax?
-
Did you try a different source device entirely?
-
Is any kind of DSP, resampling, or EQ turned on in the OS or player (e.g., Windows mixer, macOS Audio MIDI setup, Roon, JRiver)?
-
Are you using any USB filters, hubs, or reclockers?
⚡ 2. Power
-
Has your power situation changed? New appliances? HVAC system? Solar panels?
-
Dedicated power line for audio? Power conditioning?
-
Ground loops or noise could cause dull, flat sound. Any hum or hash?
🔁 3. Interconnects / Signal Chain
-
Tried different interconnects between DAC → preamp → amp?
-
Any adapters, splitters, or cables with loose RCA/XLR connections?
🔈 4. Listening Room
-
Any change in speaker placement, room acoustics, or listening position?
-
Try nearfield monitoring temporarily.
-
Did you test with headphones directly from DAC or amp? Same result?
🧠 5. Psychological / Perceptual Factors
Not to second-guess your ears — you clearly know what you're listening for — but:
-
Did your hearing change? (Temporary congestion, earwax, fatigue?)
-
Were there any external stressors or changes to your typical environment?
-
Was the initial “wow” of the Bifrost possibly accentuated by contrast bias vs a former setup?
🧪 Next Steps / Experiments
-
Try headphones directly out of the Bifrost or a simple amp to eliminate room + speaker variables.
-
Test one setup in a friend’s space, or bring your gear somewhere else.
-
Use a known-good test track you’re deeply familiar with (like a Chesky recording, or Patricia Barber, etc).
-
Try a different DAC brand entirely (e.g., Topping, RME, or iFi) just to rule out house sound or synergy issue.
🧰 Possible Silent Culprits
-
USB power issue or grounding problem with your source computer.
-
Incorrect sample rate / bit depth setting in your source (e.g., 44.1 kHz music getting upsampled poorly).
-
Streaming app defaults (like YouTube Music or Spotify compressing the signal) — always test with local FLAC files too.
You've done all the “obvious” stuff. At this point, I'd say the clue lies in:
-
something system-wide, like power or source,
-
or a subtle configuration error (like OS-level DSP or volume attenuation).
|
Sorry to hear all the trouble you have had with your system. I haven't heard of a DAC compromising a preamp.
It would be great to see your system and see all its components. It is much easier for us to make an informed estimate of possible problems. There is a place under your user ID to create a virtual system. This would be really helpful.
|
Based on what you have shared, one can deduce the Bryston BP6 preamp is assumably the most likely culprit, as you’ve systematically swapped DACs, amps, speakers, and cables with no improvement.
A subtle or intermittent fault (e.g., degrading component, connection issue) might have been missed by Bryston’s initial tests. Their “nothing wrong” conclusion suggests basic functionality (power, signal pass-through, no gross distortion) was intact. But, they might not have tested for nuanced issues like dynamic range loss or subtle frequency response changes under your specific setup (e.g., load, input voltage, duration). Specifically XLR/RCA voltage changes.
However, power issues or system interactions can’t be ruled out. I'd start by removing the BP6 completely to confirm, re-test with a clean power source, and push Bryston for a more thorough evaluation. That would be step 1, and then move to whatever the outcome of that would be.
If you can share more details—exact amp model, speakers, connection types (RCA/XLR), or if bypassing the BP6 helped, it would be helpful.
Best of Luck!
|
Just a long shot, but check the drivers, especially the tweeters in your speakers. Perhaps one or more are blown or there is an issue with the crossover. Good luck.
|
I second having your ears looked at. It may not be all of it but can be some of it.depending on your age hearing can change.an audiogram if there is minimal wax in the ear. I have cleaned alot of wax out of ears and patients were very greatful they could hear much better. I also like sounding out the room with a mic .enjoy the search.hope you find a solution soon cuz it can be frustrating.you probably changed rca xlr as well.
|
The volume drop along with drop in detail and dynamics was overnight.
But, it couldn’t hurt. Thx
|
If a component failed somehow after five days, it would be under warranty. If the same type of component but new sounded the same as the previous one, that component isn't the problem.
|
Thinking there is an issue with your speakers, if everything else is checked ok.
Bad driver, or something bad in the crossover.
To really troubleshoot, you would unplug everything, clean all cables, connectors, etc...
Plug it all back up, go down each component testing as you go. If that doesn't point you in any direction, you start to swap out components one at a time, including cables.
|
+1 @mswale - swap out 1 component at a time after making sure cables+terminations are cleaned. I suspect preamp or speaker, but also check your ears/hearing
Another maybe harder/costlier method is find a good audio chain then swap your components in one at a time to find problem component.
|
Perhaps, I missed your main system transducers. When was last time you tightened all screws and cleaned terminals?
|
See above, I bought new integrated and speakers to troubleshoot. Cables were swapped out also. Speakers were taken to local repairman. He hooked them up to his system and then called me to come pick them up. He said they sounded very competent. No issues. Aerial says crossovers on model 6 don’t blow, but check tweeter (they sound normal on integrated to me). Checked ohms on both connectors on each speakers, across each binding post 4 ohm if I remember correctly, complete circuit. I took a year to go through all permutations of possible problems ( that I could think of). Whatever is left, no matter how unlikely, is the problem.
Thanks everyone for your response.
|
Does this occur when cold or after the gear has been run for some time? Perhaps a faulty component exposes itself when the gear is heated up.
|
