Manufacturers are famous for bringing out the "top of the line" killer product to get attention in the magazines. Their plan is to get the great review and then let as much technology as possible "trickle down" to where those of us who work for a living can afford it!

The problem is that as the monster is scaled down, sometimes the sparkle and power are lost. You can only gild the lily so much before there’s not much left.

For example, back in the early 80s we sold Mark Levinson for a couple of years until they went out of business. Their big gun power amps were huge money, but justified the price. Clean, powerful, robust- too bad they didn’t know how to run a company! Anyway, at one point Levinson announced it was coming out with a 50 w/ch amp for $1200. We were excited it was coming because its 100 w/ch amp was $3000! When the 50 watter arrived, it had the detail we expected, but NO warmth, no power, no robustitude! We all preferred the Rotel 200 w/ch amp that sold for about $800. The MLAS was too clinical and showed that if you take too much out of the broth, there’s not enough flavor left.

Bryston has made among the best amps in our biz for many years. The mighty 7B-SST mono block ($4000, 600watts) sits atop the family. The 14B-SST ($7600 600w/ch stereo) is next. The classic 4B-SST runs $4100 for 300w/ch and is one of our best selling amps. The 3B-SST at $3450 for 150 w/ch is also a classic that has been retuned several times.

When Bryston told us a 2B-SST was coming at $2650 for 100 w/ch, I truly wondered how many times they could go to the well. But, this is Bryston. I had great hopes! We’ve been delighted with the B-60 integrated amp which is a mere 60 w/ch, but some of the cleanest power you’ll ever hear.

The 2B-SST arrived the other day. It has the new C-Series Bryston cosmetics. It’s a pretty neat look, a bit flashier than Bryston’s traditional look. But, I’m a guy who liked the looks of the Ampzilla 25 years ago, so I’m probably not one to judge! I am one to judge the sound though. The 2B-SST does NOT disappoint!

My first decision was, which speakers to check it out through? What level of speaker is most likely to be in the sights of a guy who purchases the 2B? I decided on the B&W 703. At $3300 per pair it is among the best values in a truly high end speaker. It is about 90dB efficient, has solid bass, B&W’s surroundless midrange driver and open air Nautilus tweeter. The cabinet isn’t a rectangle. It’s a great speaker.

Now, which music? Alfred Brendel’s version of Beethoven’s Tempest piano sonata has been stuck in my head lately. I fired up old Alfred. (He uses B&W 804s himself!) Brendel’s recordings have what the Gramophone types call a "pearly" sound. And there it was in spades! It wasn’t lean or bright. It was warm and round. That’s a pretty good test. If you hear a nice Steinway live, you’ll notice the power and richness about it. It doesn’t have that "hifi" lean, unromantic character.

Since most of our clientele likes pop music I decided to let it rip with some Dave Mathews, always among the most requested musicians from the rock genre around here. Firing up "Satellite" the opening guitar licks were squeaky clean and controlled. It sounded just as impressive as the 3B which is saying quite a bit. As the muscle kicks in the 2B held control of the drum skins with a vice grip. It was deep and authoritative- very impressive indeed. With Stacy Kent’s vocals the clarity and imaging was precisely what we’ve come to expect from Bryston- locked in and spot on with nice room ambiance.

To really hear how nice the 2B is, I compared to the Rotel RB-1080, a classic "value" amp of $1k, 200 w/ch. The Rotel is often written up by the snobbish magazines out there as within a hair of the big boys, Bryston, Krell and Levinson.

By comparison the Rotel was soft. It just doesn’t have the control and transparency of the Bryston. I respect Rotel tremendously and heartily encourage it to the customer buying an amp for $1k or less. But if you can swing the 2B, the clarity, bass control and depth of image are clearly enough better to justify the money!

What I was hoping for is… that the 2B would be enough better than the Rotels/Adcoms/NADs to inspire us to tell you, absolutely, positively, spend the extra money- it’s worth it. Well, I can readily do that! The 2B sounds exactly like you would expect from Bryston. With many speakers you simply don’t need more power! But if you do, Bryston has the bigger brothers too.