What should I choose??


I have the old B&W 802d's.  I also have the older, first generation, Bryston 14bsst amp (now 15 years old). Both of them are performing well and are in mint shape.  My question is this:  I am interested in the new Bryston 14cubed amp...and I am also interested in the new B&W 802D'3.  But I can't afford to do both.  Should I focus on getting the amp first or the speakers?  Please, I don't need to be told to buy amps or speakers other then the ones I am asking about as I am a big fan of my system.  I just know that B&W has reworked their D series and that Bryston has done the same with their amps.  thanks, Jim
pfeiffer

Showing 2 responses by soix

If you don’t think your system is somewhat bright or thin sounding I’d side with upgrading the speakers. I could never warm up to B&W’s yellow midrange drivers, and having spent significant time with the D3 series I find their new silver Continuum drivers to be a substantial improvement. And the tweeter also sounds fantastic and melds great with the new mids such that the speakers very much speak with one coherent voice. If, on the other hand, you’d like more body and warmth and tame the treble a bit I’d consider changing the amp instead. Hope this helps, and best of luck.
Just another thought — I think we’ve all been big fans of our systems at one point are another until we hear the next big “oh” piece of equipment.  If you haven’t already, it might be a great time to go out and listen to some other speakers and amps just for reference if nothing else (and as someone else mentioned, if you can audition an amp at home so much the better), plus it’s just plain fun!  I worked for Magnolia and spent significant time listening to the D3 models, and I’ll just say it wouldn’t be a waste of time to at least hear the latest competition that’s out there — especially at the price point you’re looking at.  FWIW...