Bryston BP1 Phono Preamplifier

For some reason, the Canadian company, Bryston, seems to have a lot of catching up to do with the darlings of the Audiophile world. Most people, and I was to some extent one of them, seem to think that Bryston gear is nothing special, and can easily be bettered…after all their price points certainly are low enough to allow for far more expenditure. Having listened in the past to the Bryston amps, I could easily see why most of their stuff is overlooked.

Since I am in the mode of trying to identify a new cartridge, and since many of the candidates are ultra low to low output MC’s, a friend offered me the opportunity of listening to what he described as “ a super phono stage “ at a more than fair price.
The model that I am currently listening to is the new Bryston BP-2 MM/MC 20 along with the PS-3 DC power supply. Essentially,a SUT with enough gain for my moderate output Benz Ruby 2. The price of this combo is $2700- about the same as a lot of power cables or other tweaks.
Don’t let the price fool you, this combo, at least in my system, easily competes with other phono stages in the $10-$20K range!
In the past, I have auditioned the Allnic 3000, the BAT Rex phono, the ARC Ref 2 and the Sutherland phono stages…all of them are IMHO no better than the little Bryston….but at a much higher price point.
Last night, I pulled out the little known Opus 3 recording of Therese Juel..’Levande’to listen to the well known demo track…Tiden Bara Gar. To those of you who don’t know this track, it features some very impressive dynamics and some precise depth and imaging of the instruments. The little Bryston sailed through it with great ease…showing not only the immense depth that this track allows, but also the big swing dynamics and the heft and punch in the mid range. Then I listened to the new Reissue of The Royal Ballet Gala…on Chad Chassems label. ( great LP, BTW).Extremely impressive staging and as much resolution as my much more expensive tube phono stage. The opening bars of ‘Sugar Plumb fairy’ were as realistic as I have ever heard them. Next to some jazz…this time on the Blue Note Music Matters LP.. Horace Parlan’s ‘Us Three’, which features some excellent stand up bass playing in various spots. The Bryston nailed the up right bass…and had no problem with making sure that the imaging and placement on the stage was spot on.
Sometimes, we get to hear a giant killer,imho this Bryston combo fits the bill. Couple of small caveats, the unit does NOT allow for impedance loading for MC cartridges, which Bryston states in their manual is unnecessary! That is not what I believe, but maybe they know something I don’t. Also, the unit comes in a model that can accommodate ultra low output MC’s. This model is called the BP-2MM/MC 30 and can supply enough gain to amplify flea output cartridges…if it sounds as great as the 20 model, and I have no reason to believe that it wouldn’t …it’s more than a thinker for anyone with a ultra low output MC and not wanting to spend the big $$.
Anyone else hear any of the latest Bryston gear and come away as impressed as I am?