Very satisfied. I bought the Bryston 4B-SST2 new, this past Spring, and it is all I could want at the price.
The only other amps I considered were the J.Curl Parasound at twice the price for the amps. I considered Pass as way beyond my price range. I thought about Classe. but could not audition one locally.
As for sound, the Bryston beats my old amp Forte' 4a in quality. by a respectible margin. Mostly i am a big nut for high frequency purity, clarity throughout the audio range and smoothness. The Bryston via a Furman REF20i power conditioner is all I think I will ever need. (the Furman adds a bit of all I desire to the Brystons already good sound.)
If you want clarity, a good conditioner is a great help. Most power conditioners tend to 'thin' the sound a little bit/tiny bit, and tighten the bass, so if you can be happy with the tradeoffs, get a good one. I found the Furman here on the goN for $1,400 and close enough to drive there for pickup.
As for Bryston gossip, most of the 'old' gossip is about Bryston sounding hard or not musical, but that changed with the SST version, and Bryston got even better with the SSt squared version. I can tell you I am really fussy and the Bryston is all i wanted. I started to think about Bryston as worthwhile when I saw some folks who do reviews had them it thier own reference system. The BP-26 preamp is a hidden gem. So yes i am really satisfied with Bryston. And I listen to music all day every day now that i am retired..
