Bryston 14 B SST with Martin Logan SL3 speakers?

Joe-

I agree that Bryston's are great amps. I never would have bought 2 of them had I not believed that. My disappointment came when using the Brystons WITH MARTIN LOGANS. The Pass amps do not have the same character in my system - they just sound better, smoother with more dynamics and detail.

You are associating B&W and Wilson speakers with these amps, which are not reactive loads like Martins or have the same needs & characters. Certain speakers just do not mate as well with certain amps, which may be the reason for my negativity after having owned the Brystons.

Now I hear the SST series is reportedly less harsh then the ST series, which may fix this 'issue'. My experience is with a 4B-ST (NOT an SST). And if Bob were to move away from the Martin speaker line altogether, everything I said here would be pointless. He might-as-well just start over now, toss the SL3's and match a new amp with a new set of speakers all at once.

Bhouser,

I have had the same experience listening to the combination of Bryston and MLs- they simply do not mix. Bryston has incredible power, built like a tank but at times a little dry and brittle- a bit more warmth is needed. Every time I heard the Bryston and ML combination, the sound is slightly flat and dull (some listening fatigue settles in after a short period). Yet when Bryston is paired with other speakers such as B&W etc, the dynamics and presentation is there. Classe amps with their warmer sound goes a lot better. Most tube amps go well with MLs. I do not have the Pass Labs power amp but their pre-amp and can say that Pass will be a good choice in providing the power and finesse. I also believe a lot of independent recording studios do use Bryston but it is important to keep in mind that they are using active monitors (eg Mackie) which produce a very flat response and the engineers are not concerned with the "hi-fi" listening aspects that we are.

MLs need a little of that liquid quality from an amp to bring out all the harmonic richness that they are capable of.

Happy Listening.

Jason Liu

President, Martin Logan Club

www.martinloganowners.com

Thanks for all your sugestions and comments folks on the amplifier recommendations. At the end of the day, I'd really like to have an amp that would do justice to most types of music through most types of high end speakers but I think that may be asking just a little bit too much don't you think?