Amp upgrade from Bryston 4B

Hi Hasse,

As a matter of fact I have, not side by side though.

Anyway, the Pass Labs Class A amps are arguably better built, are more musical, and are more dynamic. I believe they can drive lower impedances better too.

If you have a Pass Labs dealer in your area, have a listen and see.

If you like the sonic characteristics of the 4B, the 14B SST Squared is magical in its combination of power and staging, detail and depth. I have heard them both sound quite excellent with THIEL.

Thanks Dave
"If you have a Pass Labs dealer in your area, have a listen and see."
Unfortunately I do not have a dealer locally for auditioning. I am interested in either the 7/14B SST2 or the XA100.5 for my Magnepan 3.7´s.

Can you get to one out of your area? Pass Labs is a nice friendly company that'll steer you in the right direction if need be.

Imo, the XA100.5 will blow away the 7/14B SST2.

Thanks for the responses. The pre amp is currently a weak point in the system. After spending the wk end using the Outlaw Audio processor in bypass mode for 2.1 listening I switched back to my passive preamp which is a big improvement in clarity and much more pleasing sound. I will eventually replace the Outlaw Audio processor, but 5.1 surround listening is not a priority. Therefore, I am concentrating on upgrading the stereo components first.

My current Bryston 4B amp with the passive pre amp has been a good match for the Thiel 3.6 speakers, but would like to upgrade. A bryston pre amp with a bryston amp has had good synergy reviews. The bryston pre amps have a stereo selection that is not a true bypass for fully using a surround sound processor.

Some of the fd back on this thread has indicated that a bryston 14b amp would be a good match with the Thiels. My understanding is the 14b amp is essentially two 7bs combined in the 2 ch amp. Any reason not to lean towards the 7b mono amps vs the 14b? Some of the other recommended amps with are also worth considering with a pre amp upgrade.