Price Paid:  $2000.00 from CanadianSound Brampt

Summary:
I was initially sceptical about driving my Canton Ergo 122 with only 110Watt per channel.Soon came to the conclusion that these mono blocks drive those huge speakers extremely well. Great sound combination.Mono blocks hide behind speakers which wife loves..Only the very simplistic "user manual " disapointed me, as it were only a few photocopied pages. I use unit with Rotel preamplifier which in turn produced a hum. Had to buy a Monster power conditioner in order to get rid of hum.Otherwise the BRYSTONS and Canton combination sound as good as some 40.000 combinations I have heard.

Strengths:
great Sound, small size

Weaknesses:
instruction manual is below basics

Similar Products Used:
NAD/Denon/Onkyo

Price Paid:  $1400.00 from Local Dealer

Summary:
I've been using the Bryston PowerPac 120 amps for about three years, which means I've got 17 years left on my warranty. While they may not have the esoteric appeal of some other tube or solid state brands, they also don't have the price tag.

Based on Bryston's extremely popular 3B ST, each PP120 is rated at 120 watts into 8 ohms. Along with being extremely quiet and neutral sounding, they offer advantages like XLR and RCA inputs, a ground break toggle switch, and compact size. These attributes have allowed me to use balanced cable with my BAT VK30 preamp, ensure that my system has no noise-producing ground loops, and position the units right behind my Meadowlark Heron speakers, bi-wired with just one meter of DH Labs T14 speaker wire. In my opinion, very short speaker runs can improve the performance of any amp, enabling a direct drive interface. In addition, each PP120 is plugged directly into its own 120v/15a commercial grade outlet, which itself has yielded surprising musical rewards.

So if you've got the bucks for Krell, or Cary, or Pass go for it. But if you're still paying for your kid's college tuition, the PP120 is a great value that offers superior performance and flexibility.

Strengths:
Has excellent power and specs. for the money.

Weaknesses:
Needs easier to use and more rugged output binding posts.

Summary:
The Powerpac 120s are what you get when you apply the best engineering principles and listen with critical ears: these are simply the best neutral sounding amplifiers I've heard so far.

Mine are the PP 120 Pros which are identical to the PP120 except that they have an additional trimpot to adjust input level. In my setup I use a PP120 bolted to the back of each of my Newform Research R645 ribbon-hybrid loudspeakers (www.newformresearch.com) which is a terrific combination! As I am moving towards bi-amping I will using two PP120 per channel.

A lttle known fact for those of you who may care: the PP120 amplifier module is EXACTLY the same single channel module used (5 times) in the Bryston 9B THX which is a Stereophile Class A product. This info was confirmed by Bryston. Each PP120 is also half of a 3B-ST stereo amp.

I don't think an amplifier can be too critical (sic) or too analytical (!); it's its job. The rest is personal preferences which have nothing to do with accurate reproduction of the musical program. These amps are very precise and neutral. Connect them to quality speakers, correct anomalies in your room and feed them good stuff and you will be in audio heaven.

A few final notes: these do not require fancy power supplies/cables or surge protection (already built-in). They can be left ON all the time or if you prefer not to they will come to specs a *few* minutes after power on. They even be turned on remotely (useful in HT or multiple tri-amps setups) by applying a 12Volts (DC or AC) supply to special connectors on the back.

As they can be placed near (on) the speaker there is no need to use special speaker cables. Mine are regular quality and are less than 1 foot :-) If your preamp is very far (more than 12 feet) you can take advantage of the balanced XLR input connectors on the PP120s.

Nemo

Strengths:
Mono (can be placed near the speakers -> very short cables). Sound is excellent: tight powerful bass and beautiful highs (not harsh). Very versatile; can be used in hi-fi, HT setups, bi/tri-amp, etc. Very good engineering. Balanced and unbal. inputs. Discrete and small footprint. Bryston's excellent reputation and service/support. 20-year transferable warranty.

Weaknesses:
Ackward position of connectors for my application.

Similar Products Used:
Classé, YBA, SimAudio, Pass Labs and others.