Ideal Pre Amp for Bryston 3B ST or 4B SST 2

I own the Bryston 4B-SST2 with the Bryston BP-26 preamp. I also have owned in the past:
Hafler Dh110 (made from a kit for $250 with phono)
Sony Digital 1000 pre (the first one, a chunk of embarassing crap)
Counterpoint 2000 hybrid (bought used, loved, then it broke, twice)
Adcom ??750 SS (bought new) the 'audiophile one with a blue board)
Audio Research SP-10 all tube (, used, with crummy tubes, so it was not at it's best)
Audio Research SP-15 SS with tube phono stage (bought used, still use it for the phono section)
VAC Standard tubes (bought used to use as 'high class' tube buffer, still use it just as a tube buffer for my DAC to Bryston BP-26)
And the Bryston BP-26 with the big power supply is really the most transparent of them all.
Second to it is the Audio Research SP-15, (which I found to be MUCH better than the SP-10 Heresy!, I know! but the SP-10 did have cheap tubes in it)
Then the Counterpoint, which made the most beautiful sound, though unreliable, and veiled compared to the Bryston and SP-15.
The VAC Standard is around the same 'tube' sound as the Counterpoint, and it 'fixes' my digital really well, though it has that veil....
So.. If you have really good front end stuff.. the Bryston BP-26 is really a great product. If you have ANY problems in your front end, the BP-26 is gonna show them fully.
So choose your poison. Clarity showing any warts before it,
OR, a tube or hybrid with a bit of veiling, but a smoother sound to 'hide' the faults of the front end.
That it the choice.
But when you get to the Audio Research LS-26, or the REF-3.. then you get the best of both at $4,000 to $5,500 used.. it is still pretty expensive to have your cake and eat it too.
(and all those folks who are going to post thier favorite cheaper ($2,000 new ) pre claiming it is the cat's meow.. I will be smirking at you.)

I am using the Cary SLP 05 with my 28BSSTs which is a very nice combination.Several years ago I had the 3BST's with the BP-20 and thought that it was also an excellent match. I think Bryston pre-amps are over shadowed by their amp more then the Pre-amps are "lacking"...

In the end, I think tube pre-amps are a wonderful compliment to the robust Bryston energy..

asking someone else what equipment sounds good is like asking someone what painting looks good: you end up with someone else's perspective with no idea of whether you would think the same. i've had a bryston 4bst and bryston bp-20 for a dozen years and to my ears there is nothing wrong with this equipment. but that doesn't mean that someone else will think that it sounds good. it's all about individual preferences and little more.

some people like tubes because they presumably produce a "warm" sound. the problem is, that "warmth" is signal distortion. but if a distorted signal sounds good to you, then that's the way that you should go.

so the real question you should be asking yourself is whether you like the sound of your equipment, not whether someone else says whether or not "the best" (whatever "the best" means). but if you are going to ask the opinions of others the operative phrase to always keep in mind is "caveat emptor" because you have no idea as to whether the speaker acutally knows what he is talking about. i frequently read authoritative-sounding comments on this forum that are factually ridiculous. so be forewarned.

The ideal preamp for your Bryston amp is a Bryston preamp. They were designed to work together by brilliant engineers.

12-07-10: Rrog
The ideal preamp for your Bryston amp is a Bryston preamp.

there is not particular reason why this statement should be true: to the amplifier, a signal is a signal. there is no technical reason why a bryston amplifier will work better with a bryston preamplifier. i don't believe this "synergy" business in anything other than a subjective context. but as with all subjective concepts, different people will have different opinions.