Bryston 4B Cubed

Transparentico! With a lot of power. But more relaxed than its predecessor, with a more flourishing midrange despite the high resolution. Used in many studios worldwide.

The Bryston 4B Cubed is an amplifier that has been in production since 1978 and is now in its sixth generation. Capable of 300 watts per channel at 8 ohms and up to 500 watts at 4 ohms, this dual-mono amplifier is suitable for virtually any speaker. The 4B Cubed features both balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA inputs, and has completely independent power supplies per channel with their own transformers. The patented Salomie circuit, present in all Cubed Series amplifiers, ensures clear and accurate sound reproduction. With a switchable gain of 23dB or 29dB and a fully convection-cooled design with no fans, this amplifier offers flexibility and quiet operation. The enclosure is made of machined and anodized aluminum, contributing to its rugged build quality. With standby power consumption of less than 500mW and a SoftStart microprocessor that prevents fuses from blowing on power-up, the 4B Cubed is both energy-efficient and user-friendly. A DC trigger enables automatic on/off, and the amplifier comes with Bryston’s legendary 20-year warranty.

The Bryston 4B³ was designed as a reference amplifier by the in-house team of engineers in Canada. The focus was on maximum transparency and low distortion. The Cubed series uses Bryston’s own patented Salomie circuit, named after designer Dan F. Salomie, for superior clarity and speed. Both the chassis and internal components are manufactured with high-quality materials; the transistors are custom selected for perfect matching.

Bryston is there for those genes who demand pure and sterile sound. Grant Avenue Studio, founded in 1976 by the Lanois brothers (including Grammy award winner Daniel Lanois) and Bob Doidge, is a recording and mixing facility based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, that also offers mastering and tape transfer services. The hallowed rooms in the stately, remodeled early 1900s Edwardian house on Grant Avenue have hosted countless recording legends such as Gordon Lightfoot, Bruce Cockburn, Ian Thomas, U2, Johnny Cash, Los Lobos and countless others. Bob Doidge became the sole owner of the studio in 1985 and calls Hamilton a cultural gem, just southwest of Toronto on the shores of Lake Ontario. Above the mixing desk in the main Grant Avenue room hangs a pair of JBL 4350 studio reference monitors, a 4-way speaker capable of tremendous detail and output levels. The main monitors are powered by a pair of Bryston 4B amplifiers, including the 41st 4B ever produced by Bryston. IMAGE AMP HERE Built and installed in the late 1970s, this 4B amplifier has been running almost nonstop since it was manufactured 40 years ago, illustrating Bryston’s commitment to superior engineering and production quality. Grant Avenue also uses three of the model 2B amplifiers: one powers nearfield monitors, while the other two 2Bs power the studio’s extensive headphone queues that can effortlessly drive ten or more headphones simultaneously. In the more than 40 years that Grant Avenue has been home to so many iconic artists and sessions, their stable of Bryston electronics, running almost nonstop, has needed one repair. For a recording studio, an amplifier must provide excellent performance and be inherently reliable, says director Bob Doidge. “When we bought the first 4B in the late 1970s, our research showed that these amplifiers would give us the purity of sound we wanted for our studio. After four decades with Bryston, I can’t imagine anything better. The special thing about this manufacturer is that they offer a 20-year warranty on their amplifiers!