BRYSTON BP 25 line stage preamplifier


Since I made the move from the Meridian 556 power amplifier to the Bryston 7B ST monoblock amps, I've used a number of preamplifiers in an effort to get the best out of these two behemoths.
PS Audio PCA 2 was the first one, followed by my trusted Audio Research LS2 and, finally, the Conrad Johnson PV 14 L hybrid. Each one had it's own strengths and weaknesses but, overall, the C J stood out for the finer detail it brought out of the system.

This kept me content for quite a while but, in the back of my mind, I was always wondering what a preamplifier from the same stable could do to the system. In other words, I wanted to hear the 'Bryston sonic signature' as intended by the Bryston engineers.

.. and so, the BP25 found it's way to my home.

Out of the box, first impression was how small(ish) this preamp. is! Perhaps sleek is a better word to describe it, just 432 mm wide, 44.4 mm tall and 280 mm deep.
Despite that, it's a hefty 7.5 kg ( about 10 kg including the power supply).

Speaking of 'power supply', Bryston has chosen to have an external one so, the sensitive low signal circuits in the preamp. remain unaffected by electromagnetic interference.

The overall look and feel of the BP 25 is one of exceptional quality, solid build and minimalism.
Functional, practical and with a balance control ( .. I am sure, JSB will be agreeable to this..).
The remote control is build of a solid metal block that gives the user a feeling of authority, put in other words, it is substantial. Having said this, it is also of a minimalist design, controlling only, the volume, the absolute phase and the pausing of music ... and that's it!








Looking at the BP25 from left to right, a toggle switch for 'tape' or 'source', the remote sensor, another toggle for 'mono' or 'stereo' operation ( very handy when setting up speakers) and then, the source selector switch, the balance control, followed by the high quality Alps potentiometer serving as volume control. Further right, a spring loaded switch that reverses phase polarity, a 4,5 mm headphone socket and another spring loaded switch for 'mute' or 'normal' operation. In between the two switches a 'LED' light that: When green indicates normal operating status, when orange, reverse phase polarity and, when red, stand by or mute. Simple, uncluttered and very purposeful design.



The rear, as can be seen, has two pairs of XLR balanced inputs plus another five RCA unbalanced line inputs as well as a tape loop for recording purposes. There's two pairs or RCA outputs to make bi amping easier and an additional pair or XLR output sockets for a complete balanced connection to power amplifiers.

The substantial outboard power supply and remote control complete the picture.

On the far left end or the rear, you can see the DIN type socket that serves to connect the power supply to the preamplifier.

THE SOUND

The very first impression when I inserted the BP25 in the system, was that of a noticeable smoother presentation when compared to the Conrad Johnson.

While the CJ extracts every minute detail out of the recording in a ruthless sort of way, this is only good when the the CD has been mastered to perfection and, many aren't..

The BP 25 on the other hand, adopts a more 'accepting' attitude allowing some room to less than perfect recordings, but only just. It lets you know this recording leaves a bit to be desired but, it does so without being offensive to the ear. This results to longer listening periods without listener fatigue.

One other difference in the sonic presentation of the Bryston, is it's ability to allow the (music) notes to flow and decay in a more natural way, the listener can hear the harmonics of instruments such as piano or strings while, the C J has a more controlling, unforgiving nature that suits some recordings but not others.

The BP25 offers a spacious soundstage, both in terms of width and depth, the latter in particular has performers at different distances from the listener, in contrast to the CJ presentation of immediacy, 'on your lap' kind of thing approach, which, after listening for a while can be almost intimidating, (perhaps, too much of a good thing..?).


This of course, is an unfair comparison ( in a way), since the BP25 is the natural partner of the Bryston 7B ST power amplifiers while, the Conrad Johnson device - I have no doubt - would excel in the company of a power amplifier from the same stable. It is though a very clear indication of component synergy, a theory that I have always been a supporter off.

To conclude, I think my expectation of allowing a Bryston preamplifier extract the very best out of the Bryston power amplifiers was justified, these 'voicing tests' have been done ( at Bryston's headquarters) by ears much better than mine, and the results speak for themselves.

So, in the context of my system, the BP 25 is a welcomed addition / upgrade, one that will stay as the 'Master of Ceremonies' as long as the 7B ST amps stay with me.

For those interested in technical specs:

Maximum output 15V unbalanced, 30V balanced

Distortion: <0.0025% at 3V output, IM or THD.

Sensitivity: 500mV.

S/N ratio: 100dB ref. 500mV unbalanced input, 20Hz-20kHz; 103dB ref. 11V balanced input, 20Hz-20kHz.

Dimensions: 17" (432mm) W by 1.75" (44.4mm) H by 11" (280mm) D.

Weight: 17 lbs (7.5kg).

Brilliant stuff arthur, thanks for going to the trouble of writing that, a great effort, that's what we want to see

I tell you what those controls are exactly the same ones used on the Sonneteer Campion and Alabaster, they must be made in the same factory.

I hope that is a sign of the standard of things to come, I really enjoyed that.

Heralded as one of the future ways of listening to music I was ken to get my hands on the new Sonneteer Morpheus Music Server, the perfect compliment to the Sonneteer Morpheus music centre.

This was to be my first ever experience in using this new form of listening to music, and really I didn't know what to expect or how it worked. I even thought it has analouge outputs that allowed you to connect it directly to your stereo amplifier, how wrong I was, I was further incorrect when I though you actually connect the server to your screen to allow you to see the menu of what was actually being played, on both accounts I was wrong.

Firstly lets take a look at the Sonneteer Morpheus server itself. First thing you notice is that it is built like a tank, construction is very solid and you know by the weight your getting a very solid well constructed high quality product. it's constructed using a solid 6mm all round piece of aluminium. Its simple and plain to look at and it comes in a variety of very attractive colours. On the top is engraved the Sonneteer logo and name, though I'm a bit confused whether it's called Morpheus serve or server. On the front panel you'll find two tiny buttons, one for on/off and the other for eject plus of course the CD slot. Looking around the back we find all we need to get us connected, 7 USB ports, RJ45, line out, and the 12V psu connection.

Set up is really dead simple, you just connect the offboard 12V PSU and the lan cable to your router and that's it, job done.

Next you just install the disc that comes with the Sonneteer server, Windows home server, install the disc and your just about ready to go. This programme allows you to access your music, back it up and edit it. It also allows you to change from Wave which is how the Sonneteer comes from the factory, or you can change it to FLAC.

Once you've powered the Morpheus server up your ready to go, just pop your disc in and that's all there is to it, simple. Further good news is that the Sonneteer server has twin 1.5TB hard drive space giving a total of 3TB to play with, in other words that's about 8500 discs, not bad eh.

The server will work with any other UPnP player, as I have the Sonneteer Morpheus music centre I was already to go, for speakers I was using the very cute JohnBlue JB3. The server itself, well you just wont notice it, it's not like a normal piece of hifi that you want on display to show off, the server is just what it says, a server, Sonneteer have paid special attention to make to unit dead silent, and dead silent it is, you wont notice it as it doesn't make a whisper, the unit is fan less making the cooling of the server passive. Sonneteer also paid special attention to the vibration control of the server making sure no vibrations effect the performance.

It really is that simple, installation is a breeze, but even though it's all so simple there are a few minus points the go with the pluses.

Firstly, and correct me if wrong, but you need your PC on.

You need to be connected to a router, a bit of a pain if your router is not near you HiFi, though I believe Sonneteer will make the server wireless which will be a huge plus point.

Finally you need another UPnP product to make it sound, in other words if you don't have one a server is no good to you.

Apart from those small minus points, it's a real pleasure, all your music stored in one place.

The thing I don't quite understand is what part is responsible for the sound? The server just stores the files, the Sonneteer Morpheus music centre amplifies it and neither are connected to the PC, so what is the source of the sound, what determines the final sound quality then?

I find the sound slightly lacking in dynamics, openness and detail compared to say a more traditional HiFi sound, even though it's lossless it's not as open. I do agree with Colin, it's not a solution for everyone, like he said you do still need a CD player if you ask me, hang on to them for a while, you can't beat the simplicity on turn on and play.

Interesting write up, Adam.

When my previous CD player bit the dust I did consider the "server" route. In the end I got fed up reading about all the faffing it seemed to involve to get things organised (at the time). This approach seems a bit more thought through although still not quite there in all areas.

It's not the simple solution I thought it was, there are a few downsides, and one of those it the final cost, PC, Router, Server, UPnP player which all mounts up. Then you have to set it all up which for a novice could be a bit of a challenge, the server is plug in and go, the music centre needs a distributor or dealer to help a first timer set it up, once done it really is lovely well designed and thought end kit, but as you say its not something for everyone hence I can see the CD player still be around for a while longer.

Thanks Adam, this is a very informative review.

I am experimenting at the moment with computer based music (FLAC files played with Foobar 2000) and, so far, I am also not convinced that my CD players are 'history', at least not yet!

What's the cost of the Sonneteer in Euros Adam?

Bushy tip was correct, you do not need your computer to be on, my mistake.

They both have the same price arthur of about 2900Euros (2500pounds), so it's a neat but not exactly cheap solution.

Foobar used sirect will not be great, for a cheaper nicer solution that will compete with ur cd player try a sonos with a good dac

Actual sonos unit to be plugged into dac:
http://www.sonos.com/products/zoneplayers/zp90/default.aspx?rdr=true&LangType=1033

Sonos touchscreen controller:
http://www.sonos.com/products/controllers/cr200/default.aspx?rdr=true&LangType=1033

You can also use an iphone or an ipod touch for the controller.

Basic setup is:

Store Flacs on pc or server
Connect Sonos to the same router as pc or server, wired or wireless
Plug coax to dac

Its that simple u press one button on sonos and one on control and they sync, then tell the software what folder ur music is stored in and its done u have full control through ur control and out ur hifi.

The sound is as good as the dac u choose!

That Sonus gear is really nice kit, a friend in Gibralter uses it and it's really impressive.

Sonneteer have the bard generation 4 out soon and me has a little feelin that it will all tie in with the server and music centre to make it able to do multi room just like the Sonus.

Ive had a look at the Soneteer gear and it looks good its a shame u need to have a seperate screen running and use a standard remote instead of where the sonos its a screen and controller in the palm of ur hand and also if they have hdmi connection why dont they stream movies?

Its probably so they can make some more money off another new unit which offerd this feature.

For £2500 u could have an amazing dac with the sonos and some good cabling which would probably sound better but is more boxes mind

No you don't need a separate screen, there is a small screen on the Morpheus music centre, it lists all the songs, artists etc. You can actually use the apple iPhone I think and then you just need to download another application for it to work so you can control if from the palm of your hand, I haven't got that far yet as it's all money at the end of the day.

Do the 2 channel guys put HDMI outputs on their kit, didn't I read some where it costs huge mega bucks to put a HDMI socket on your product? Does the Naim server have HDMI??

I know there is a screen on the front front of the unit but without a seperate screen or an ipod it is essentially a cd again cos u have to keep getting up to choose ur next album so therefore a chunk of the overall convenience is gone!

I dont think it is expensive to put HDMI on a unit, maybe in the past but not now

I dont think the Naim has HDMI

I mean the license for HDMI, didn't Fnuckle the other day mention how much it cost for just the license to put a HDMI connector on your kit was really expensive? I know the part itself is cheap but I was referring to the cost of the licenses.

I think your a bit confused if I've read you correctly, the server doesn't have a screen, it's just a case with a slot, the screen is on the music centre you just add tracks and late it play, it will play for hours on end one album after another or you can play it in shuffle mode, it is very easy to use and convenient, nothing like a CD player really.

This is the Morpheus server



and this is the music centre with the screen



and finally here it is on the apple iphone?