Bryston A1 Speakers, $5000 Per Pair
{47.5h, 9.25w, 17d, 70 lbs, 88 dB SPL, 4 ohms}
Black Ash, Walnut Expresso, Walnut or Boston Cherry
Bryston’s A1 is a phenomenal and TOUGH loudspeaker at the very popular price point of $5k per pair. Why should you consider A1 vs a thousand other speakers at this price point?
Made In Canada With 20 Year Warranty
The majority of $5k speakers on the market are made in China. Even if the brand name is something you recognize as N American or Euro, there’s a good chance it was contracted to be manufactured by a Chinese job house. That doesn’t mean it’s a terrible product. However there’s no way it was built with the TLC of Bryston.
And yes, I’d rather support owner/operator companies from N America or Europe, rather than job houses in China.
Most speakers in this range will sound “good.” Which pasta sauce you like best is largely subjective. For speakers… let’s consider some things that can be measured.
I’m going to use B&W to compare with. It’s a reputable company and probably the cream of the crop of the Chinese built competitors.
B&W’s 703S3 sells for $6k per pair. They’re made in China. There’s plenty of room to put them “on sale” to feign a discount. Let’s compare 703S3 to A1. These specs come from a review that British hi-fi news did, April 2023.
Deep Bass
A1 delivers seismic level, impactful bass. It measures -3dB at 31Hz.
703S3 advertises to be -3dB at 46Hz. When tested it was -6dB at 55Hz.
A1 has power handling of 400w.
703S3 has power handling of 200w.
There’s no question that A1, running three 6.5” cast frame, Pure Aluminum drivers, goes significantly deeper than 703S3. For less money Bryston gives you deeper, more powerful bass.
The B&W runs two, 6” Aerofoil woofers. Aerofoil is a sales buzzword. The woofers have a Styrofoam core and are sandwiched between paper “skins.”
A1’s woofers are made of a pure, contiguous aluminum. It isn’t a sandwich of this glued to that. The contiguous aluminum is lighter, faster, more rigid and less prone to flexing. Bryston’s design is a linear piston with less distortion.
Bryston isn’t the only company that’s smart enough to employ a pure aluminum woofer. Contiguous aluminum is also used by YG Acoustics of Colorado. Their Summit speaker uses a single 10” woofer and sells for $25k per pair with a 5 year warranty.
Midrange Drivers
A1 runs a pair of 5.25” Pure Aluminum midrange drivers. Bryston runs a pair for several reasons. Two give you a taller image than one. Two have double the power handling than one. Two require half the driver excursion for better definition, than one.
703S3 runs a single 6” Continuum midrange. Continuum is a sales buzzword. The midrange cone consists of woven fiber, like Kevlar. I’m not saying it’s no good. I know it sounds pleasant. Yet A1 is lighter, faster, stronger and runs with less stress than a single woven fiber cone. Let’s give B&W credit for being the first to employ Kevlar in a speaker in the late 70s, when they actually manufactured in England. But this isn’t the late 70s and time has marched on.
Tweeters
A1 runs a pair of one inch Titanium tweeters. Running two gives you a taller image than running a single. Two provides double the power handling compared to one. Two allow half the driver excursion compared to one, to provide better detail.
Titanium has distinct advantages in a tweeter application over aluminum. It starts by being lighter, faster and tougher. It extends higher in frequency so any back splash is still high enough to avoid creating an audible BITE in the high end. And again two… play bigger, louder and more smooth than one aluminum tweet.
703S3 calls its tweeter “decoupled carbon.” When you dig deeper you learn it is an aluminum diaphragm that has some carbon particles glued to it- misted on if you will. I’m not saying it isn’t good. But again, it’s a bonded structure without the advantages of Bryston’s dual Titanium tweets. Bonding carbon particles to an aluminum substrate… invites problems. They’re trying to mass produce a meticulous process. What could go wrong?!
Cabinets
A1 doesn’t run parallel cabinet walls. It angles them to avoid standing waves. It weighs 71 pounds and has a matrix of horizontal and vertical structural supports within.
703S3 weighs 63.5 pounds. Its has a rectangular cabinet which is much easier to mass produce- in China no less.
Warranty
A1 is made in Canada with a 20 year warranty. Bryston will not only have the correct parts on hand for A1 for two plus decades, you’ll be under warranty for two full decades!
703S3 is made in China with a 5 year warranty. The parts will likely be available for ten years and no longer. That.. is their history. The minute you’re out of warranty in 5 years, the service department sees you as a profit opportunity. If you plan on keeping the speakers for a dozen years or more, it’s highly likely you will face a day where a new tweeter (for ex) is simply not available. Or, perhaps it will be available from an enterprising third party who will have you over a barrel.
Weighing The Differences
You will probably like the sound of both of these speakers. They’re both good. Yet Bryston delivers some distinct benefits.
Bryston is a family owned company.
The bass is deeper and stronger with Bryston’s A1.
Power handling is better with Bryston, 400w vs 703S3’s 200w.
The warranty is four times longer with Bryston.
Bryston has been among the best companies for service for over 50 years.
B&W is on its third owner in just over a decade. It is part of the Masimo family. Masimo’s business is medical technology. Nobody thinks it was a sage idea for Masimo to buy B&W and other audio companies in 2022. Masimo’s stock price was approximately $222 per share when it bought B&W. Today it is $141. I smell another sale coming soon.
Let’s say you’ve auditioned both speakers. You like them both. The B&W is “on sale” so the price is the same. Bryston’s A1 is still the smarter purchase for the many reasons elucidated above.
