Covid Intervened
Covid hit harder in Canada than it did here. Bryston didn’t make any A Series speakers for about two years. Covid literally stopped the flow of some of the best speakers on the market at fair pricing for two solid years.
Now that Covid is mostly behind us, Bryston is ramping up production and most models are finally finding their way to us. Man, how we missed them! They sound GREAT and the warranty is 20 years!
We have most models in stock in the popular Black Ash finish. We have a smattering of other finishes in stock as they’re available. We invite you to visit to audition the A Series. If we don’t have the color you want on hand, at least now, they’re only 30-60 days away.
Bryston Is All Canadian
Almost all other competitors in the A Series price range are built one of two ways:
1) Most brands are contracted to job houses in China. The product is cookie cutter. One day the house makes brand X, the next day brand Y, etc. They’re literally making widgets, shipping dozens of brands from the same factory- with whatever label the company paid for on the box.
2) The majority of the rest are comprised of drivers purchased from Parts Express or Madisound, screwed into a box of their choice. Those too are typically vendored out.
Bryston is neither of the above. They are conceived from the ground up in terms of driver construction and finished speakers in their own facilities. They’re made in their own house in Canada. They’re built to a more rigid, consistent, durable standard, which is why they come with a 20 year warranty.
Musical Timbre
The first characteristic to separate Bryston from the other guys is its Steinway Smooth top end. There is no bite or sizzle to Bryston’s sound. Whether you go tall or small, all Brystons have the same congenial timbre.
The imports tune their speakers as they do their TVs, to be very BRIGHT to grab your attention. Speakers that are tuned BRIGHT will give your ears a sunburn and become fatiguing fast.
As a piano and female singer lover, the smooth top end is number one for me. I want my speakers to be authentically transparent instead of coarse. Bryston checks that box.
Prodigious Bass Performance
Bass weight and transient attack are imperative to making music fun to listen to. Bass is the foundation of the beat of music. When you hear Bryston A towers move your floor boards without sounding muddy, you’ll smile.
Brystons go exceptionally deep and yet stay tuneful. They don’t boom. There is tactile texture in the bass to let you hear the nuances of a great drum kit, or better yet, a grand piano.
A perfect example of where Bryston excels vs the other guys is on Nils Lofgren Band Live, “Bass & Drum Intro.” Not only does Bryston play the deep bass, but it gets the GRITTY flavor of the various instruments, most notably Nils’ guitar riffs. The track leads into some heavy drumming that delivers sheer bedrock to the music. It’s massive fun with Bryston!
When you listen to this track on something else after hearing Bryston, it doesn’t even sound like the same recording.
Bryston Built Its Own Resources
We have to ask, how does Bryston attain this core energy in the music, while the vast majority of the market doesn’t?
Ultimately, it’s due to the substantial HARDWARE of Bryston’s build. From drivers, to crossovers to cabinetry, each detail contributes to the sum.
The major part of the equation is that Bryston has unique tools to work with. Bryston can determine exactly how its nuts and bolts are behaving.
Bryston has its own anechoic chamber for research. They don’t have to rent time at a facility several hours away. This chamber is available as they need it. The anechoic chamber is a valuable tool down to about 85Hz. To get an accurate picture of what’s going on in the deep bass…
Bryston built its own 100’ tall tower. By running each model up the tower, Bryston can get a thoroughly accurate bass measurement of performance down to 12Hz. This allows Bryston to realize exactly what it’s doing down to the lowest levels of what we can hear.
The other guys are “predicting” what they think will happen.
The result is, Brystons go very low and yet stay taut. Most of the competition simply doesn’t go nearly as deep as Bryston. Those that do, invariably do so with sludge in the road.
It’s a difficult task to build speakers with deep bass- that don’t sound murky. If your bass obscures the character of the lower register of the piano or a drum kit with fireworks, no thanks. I’d rather not have the EXTRA bass if if obfuscates transient articulation in the process.
Bryston has tools the other guys DON’T. Bryston uses more robust hardware and cabinetry than its competitors. Bryston employs a myriad of nuanced construction schemes that allow it to provide superior sound and to provide you with a 20 year warranty.
