Bryston A1s vs Kef Reference 5 Meta Kef brags on its site, “The flagship model that all other high performance loudspeakers compare themselves against.” OK. Let’s compare. Kef Reference 5 Meta $22k Per Pair Built in UK, 5 year warranty 55.2h, 12.7w, 18.4d, 133 lbs, 4 ohms 1” Aluminum tweet, 5” Aluminum mid, Four 6.5” Aluminum woofs 40-35k +/- 3dB, SPL 88d…

Stereophile is the ugliest audio mag out there. But I still enjoy reading it for CONTENT. There are things to learn every month if you fight through the fine print. By ugly I mean, it always has tiny pictures and even tinier captions. I don’t need glasses to read. But with Stereophile, it’s GETTING CLOSE! Sometimes it’s hard to even be sure…

Bryston Active Impresses!

Perhaps the toughest task when producing an affordable loudspeaker is to achieve great BALANCE. Achieving warm, full bass at a reasonable price point ain’t easy! High Frequency Response It’s easy to get the high freq balance you want by using any number of tweeter designs- along with employing a plethora of crossover tools. Attaining great speed and transparency is challenging. But choosing…

Mains Conditioner: A Vital Component! (7-20-23) I’ve been in the audio hobby since 1970. I’ve had my own audio store since 1975. It’s only been in the last decade that Mains Conditioners have not only gotten better, but become indispensable components in a highly resolving music system. If you don’t clean up the line hash coming from your wall, the resolution of…

I stared reading The Absolute Sound with issue #1 in 1973. It was a wonderful addition to the hi-fi rags of the day as HP and his helpers introduced us to the sound of products well beyond the range of our local stores. Our locals were either poorly capitalized efforts by well meaning hobbyists or chains just interested in “shifting boxes.” In…

(13.5h, 8.5w, 8.25d, 90dB SPL, 8 ohms) To get more background on Bryston speakers please take a minute to read “Bryston Speakers”. The background story and speaker technology is described there. This entry is specific to the Tiny A. The warranty on all Bryston speakers is 20 years! Tiny A: Hot Off The Presses! Up until now, Bryston has only made 3-way…

More Bryston Speakers!

(3.325h, 17 or 19w, 11.53d, 10 lbs, Available in Black or Silver) I’m a huge CD fan. It’s still my favorite way to listen to music. You put the CD in the tray, hit play, and listen to music. It’s simple. It sounds great. No clicks and pops. There’s no time wasted with maintenance. I play albums all the way through. I’m…

Bryston 4B Cubed Still A Superstar

If anyone writes into hi-fi rags saying that advertising buys reviews, the mags refute that with anger. Yet what are we to deduce from reality? We see the same companies not only getting reviews, but garnering fawning reviews. Some of these reviews are accompanied by test measurements that show the product under review does not perform as presented by the company. The…

A Sight For Sore Eyes … Bryston speakers at Audio Emporium!

Bryston A1 Speakers $4990 Per Pair Walnut, Black, Boston Cherry, Walnut Expresso (47.5h, 9.25w, 17d, 71 lbs, 88dB, 4 ohms) Bryston’s A1 is my favorite tower on the market for the popular $5k per pair price point! There are hundreds of competitors at $5k. But none do everything that the Bryston A1 does. Before reading about A1 here, please take a minute…

B&W 703 $6000 Per Pair Made In China Efficiency B&W 703 Specs Claimed Vs Tests by British HiFi News (3/23 issue) B&W specs efficiency of 90 dB- It tested at 89, so pretty close. Impedance B&W specs impedance of 8 ohms- Nope, not even close. The 703’s Impedance tests – 2.9 ohms at 111Hz It is under 6 ohms 70-1.2k The EPDR…

Reviewer Buys Bryston BR-20 Preamp

Bryston Mini A $1665 Per Pair (15.5h, 8.5w, 8.25d, 87 dB, 4 ohms, Black, Walnut or Boston Cherry) Why does Bryston’s small (not tiny) speaker sound so large and powerful? After all, there are plenty of speakers about this size and price that sound respectable- but have little bass. What separates Bryston musically from its price class is its substantial bass and…