Bryston 7BSST2 User manual

OWNER’S MANUAL
7BSST2

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the presence of un-insulated
“dangerous voltage “ within the product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to
persons.
The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance
(servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the product.
1. Read these instructions.
2. Keep these instructions.
3. Heed all warnings.
4. Follow all instructions.
5. Do not use this apparatus near water.
6. Clean only with dry cloth.
7. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
8. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat.
9. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding-type plug. A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other. A
grounding type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wide blade or the third prong are provided for your safety. If the pro-
vided plug does not fit into your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet.
10. Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the
apparatus.
11. Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer.
12. Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table specified by the manufacturer, or sold with the apparatus. When a cart is
used use caution when moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip-over.
13. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time.
14. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as
power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed to
rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped.
WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPARATUS TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.
DO NOT EXPOSE THIS EQUIPMENT TO DRIPPING OR SPLASHING AND ENSURE THAT NO OBJECTS FILLED WITH LIQUIDS, SUCH AS VASES, ARE
PLACED ON THE EQUIPMENT.
TO COMPLETELY DISCONNECT THIS EQUIPMENT FROM THE AC MAINS, DISCONNECT THE POWER SUPPLY CORD PLUG FROM THE AC
RECEPTACLE.
THE MAINS PLUG OF THE POWER SUPPLY CORD SHALL REMAIN READILY OPERABLE.
Postal address: P.O. BOX 2170, Stn. Main
PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO
CANADA K9J 7Y4
Courier address: 677 NEAL DRIVE
PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO
CANADA K9J 6X7
PHONE: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
79 COVENTRY ST., Suite 5
NEWPORT, VERMONT
U.S.A. 05855-2100
PHONE: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
BRYSTON SERVICE in CANADA:BRYSTON SERVICE in the USA:
contact your local distributor or
CHECK OUR WEB SITE: www.bryston.com
E-MAIL BRYSTON DIRECTLY: [e-mail]
FAX BRYSTON DIRECTLY: 01-705-742-0882
PHONE BRYSTON DIRECTLY: 01-705-742-5325
BRYSTON SERVICE outside Canada and the USA:
BRYSTON LIMITED WARRANTY
Bryston analog audio products are warranted to be free from manufacturing defects for twenty (20) years from the original date of manufacture. The
warranty includes parts and labour.
Bryston Digital products and cables are warranted for five years from the original date of manufacture. The warranty includes parts and labour.
Bryston products having motorized moving parts, excluding motorized volume controls, are warranted for three years from the original date of manu-
facture. The warranty includes parts and labour.
Bryston will remedy the problem by repair or replacement, as we deem necessary, to restore the product to full performance. Bryston will pay ship-
ping costs one way (usually the return portion) during the first three years of warranty coverage.
In the event of a defect or malfunction, contact Bryston’s repair centers for return authorization. Products must be returned using original packaging
material only. Packing material may be purchased from Bryston if necessary. This warranty is considered void if the defect, malfunction or failure of the
product or any component part was caused by damage (not resulting from a defect or malfunction) or abuse while in the possession of the customer.
Tampering by persons other than factory authorized service personnel or failure to fully comply with Bryston operating instructions voids the warranty.
This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which may vary from province to province and country to country.
As of 2006-02-22 Bryston will only warranty Bryston products purchased through authorized Bryston dealers. Bryston products with a date code
of 0608 or higher (date code format is “yyww”, where “yy” is the two least significant digits of the year and “ww” is the week of the year) must be
accompanied by a copy of the bill-of-sale from a Bryston authorized dealer to qualify for warranty service. The warranty is transferable from the original
owner to a subsequent owner as long as a copy of the bill-of-sale from the original authorized Bryston dealer accompanies the re-sale. The copy of the
bill of sale to any subsequent owner need ONLY include the Name of the Bryston Authorized Dealer and the Model and Serial number of the Bryston
product The warranty will only be honored in the country of the original purchase unless otherwise pre-authorized by Bryston.

TABLE of CONTENTS
Safety Instructions, Warranty and Contact Information ...........Opposite
General Information ................................................................. Page 1
Introduction & Description
Installation & Ventilation
 WiringtheAmplier
A/C Power
A/C Power Conditioners
FRONT PANEL
Power Switch
LED Indicator
REAR PANEL ...................................................................... Page 2
Input Selector Switch
Balanced Input Connector (XLR)
Single Ended Input
Gain Select Switch........................................................ Page 3
Level Control (PRO models only)
Outputs (Binding Post Connectors)
Circuit Breaker/Power Switch
A/C Power Inlet............................................................. Page 4
External Turn-On Selector Switch
External Turn-On Connector
 TechnicalSpecications
Exterior Dimensions ...........................................................Back Page
7BSST2POWER AMPLIFIER
Front view of 7BSST2 with 19 inch Silver C-type faceplate & handles

"7BSST2" Power Switch
The front panel label 'SST POWER', is an alternate action push button switch (push ON, push OFF) used to apply or
remove A/C line power to the soft start circuitry. Push in to initiate the power-up sequence. Push again and release to
power down the amplifier. ( Note: the rear circuit breaker must be on for the amplifier to power-up)
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for choosing the 7BSST2mono block Power Amplifier.
Bryston welcomes any suggestions you may have, or comments regarding the operation of your amplifier. We consider
you, our customer, to be Bryston’s most important resource, and your opinion is very much appreciated.
DESCRIPTION
The 7BSST2is a single channel mono 600 Watt audio power amplifier. The 7BSST2selects a balanced or single ended
input and a gain of 29dB or 23dB may be selected. The 7BSST2includes ‘soft start’ power control circuitry to eliminate high
inrush currents when A/C power is applied. The power up or turn-on of the 7BSST2may be activated by a remote control
voltage 4v to 12v A/C or D/C.
SHIPPING BOX & PACKING MATERIAL
Please keep the original shipping box and all packing material. This will ensure the amplifier is protected in future transport.
In the unlikely event you have a problem and must return it for service use the proper packing material. Ship the amplifier
only in the original packing material, as the unit is not insurable by carriers otherwise.
INSTALLATION
Ventilation. The most important installation consideration is ventilation. The 7BSST2amplifier is convection cooled.
Unrestricted air-flow across the 7BSST2heat sinks is a must. For this reason do not install anything directly above it. Allow
3.5" (2u) to 5.25” (3u) inches of space above and to the sides of this amplifier. Do not install directly above other heat gen-
erating equipment. Should your instillation conditions be constricted, then additional forced air-cooling may be necessary.
Bryston can provide an optional fan package if required. Thermal shut down during operation indicates insufficient air flow,
and a remedy must be found for cooling the amplifier. Provide a minimum 6” space to the rear of the amplifier for ventilation
and dressing cables to and from the amplifier.
Never operate the amplifier in a vertical position.
WIRING THE 7BSST2AMPLIFIER (also see rear panel description )
Speaker wires should be as short as practical. Use quality wire, and if runs are more than 3 meters use at least 12 gage
wire. The speaker binding posts will accept wire up to 3 gage in size. Bryston offers speaker cables and amp interconnects
for your application. Check our website under products/cables (www.bryston.com) for more information.
A/C POWER
Before plugging in the power cord be sure your 7BSST2amplifier is specified for the correct A/C voltage for your locality.
The voltage is listed on the label found at the upper right of the rear panel. The circuit feeding the 7BSST2should be suf-
ficient so as not to cause the circuit breaker to trip (15 amp min.). Note: the 7BSST2when delivering maximum power into
a 4 ohm load, will consume all the available power in a normal household circuit, therefore a dedicated electrical circuit
may be necessary with this situation. Never lift the safety ground to the amplifier nor remove the ground pin from the plug.
A/C POWER CONDITIONERS
Bryston urges caution in choosing a power conditioner for your audio/video system. Large power amplifiers can draw very
substantial current from the wall plug, and many so-called power conditioners can in fact hinder the supply of current by
inserting resistances in series with the line cord. However, there are now power conditioners that can reduce or eliminate
RF and 'hash' from the AC supply and may actually improve current delivery to your system. This type of power condi-
tioner (exemplified by 'TORUS' Power Conditioners) uses the energy storage in a large toroidal transformer to provide high
instantaneous power and reduce the substantial AC output resistance of the wall socket and house wiring. This resistance
can be in the range of 0.5 to 1 Ohm and is typically reduced to only a few milli-ohms by the Power Conditioner. That in turn
considerably reduces Voltage drop in the power line on high current surges and quite substantially increases the stability
of the power line improving audio (and video) focus, precision and clarity.
FRONT PANEL

7BSST2POWER AMPLIFIER
LED Indicator
The 7BSST2has a single LED indicator to monitor the following conditions:
Unlit •indicates the amplifier has no power.
Red •indicates the amplifier is muted (power-up)
GReen •indicates the amplifier operation is normal.
FlashinG Red •indicates the amplifier clipping.
ORanGe •indicates channel thermal shutdown.
Power-Up Sequence
After pushing the front panel power switch, the LED will turn from unlit to red (mute). When the power supply has
stabilized the amplifier will come out of mute and the LED will change to green (normal operation).
Unlit LED (No power)
The 7BSST2 LED when unlit indicates no A/C mains power is present and the amplier probably needs only to
powered on. Ensure that the rear panel circuit breaker is switched ON.
Clipping (flashing red)
Clipping occurs when the channel output level no longer can follow the level increase at the input (Over driven
input condition). When the 7BSST2is driven into clipping the LED will change from green to red then back to
green when the level is reduced ( Flashing Red ). Momentary clipping can be tolerated, however it indicates that
maximum un-distorted power has been surpassed and potential speaker damage may result if overload condi-
tions persist. Any amplifier that is constantly operated into clipping indicates a more powerful amplifier is needed
for that application.
Thermal Shutdown (orange)
The 7BSST2has thermal shutdown circuitry to prevent damage due to overheating. Should thermal shutdown
occur, the amplifier will mute, and the LED will turn orange indicating this condition. When the amplifier has
cooled to a safe operating condition the 7BSST2will return to normal operation. Persistent Thermal shutdown
indicates steps need to be taken to increase airflow across the heat sink.
Also see installation section on ventilation.
N.B. In some markets the LED indicators, which are normally red/green, may be red/blue instead. When red/blue LEDs
are supplied green is replaced with blue and orange is replaced with magenta in the above descriptions.
REAR PANEL
INPUT SELECT SWITCH
Gives the user the option of switching between either balanced input or single ended input.
BALANCED INPUT CONNECTOR
This input connector accepts standard ‘XLR’ or 1/4” Tip-Ring-Sleeve phone plugs. Use quality, 100% shielded cables
with gold plated connectors.
SINGLE ENDED INPUT ( Un-balanced input )
This input connector accepts standard ‘RCA’ or ‘Phono’ connectors. Use quality, 100% shielded cables with
gold plated connectors.
Balanced input Vs Single ended input:
The balanced input requires a balanced pre-amp source. Balanced systems provide noise rejection from external
electrical interference, so cable length can be very long ( 50m or longer ). The single ended or unbalanced input is
provided for pre-amps without balanced output. Single-ended cables should be kept to 20’ (7m) or less. In general
never use longer cables than necessary, never coil excess cable length, and keep signal wires away from AC power
or speaker cables.

INPUT GAIN SWITCH
The optimum gain setting will depend upon the source pre-amp operating level and/or personal preference.
The 29dB setting will provide an output of 100 Watts into 8 Ohms (or 28.28Vrms into 8Ω) with an input signal of 1Vrms.
The 23dB setting will provide the same output level with a 2Vrms input signal.
It should be noted that the balanced input, when driven with a balanced signal, will have an inherent 6dB gain increase
relative to the single ended input. Using the lower gain setting of 23dB for balanced inputs and the higher gain setting
of 29dB for single ended inputs thus allows for the same output levels with the same input levels regardless of which
input is used.
LEVEL CONTROL (PRO models only)
The level control will attenuate the input signal level from 0dB through -14dB.
OUTPUT BINDING POSTS
The RED binding post (+) is the in-phase amplifier output. Connect this post to the (+) terminal on the loudspeaker.
The BLUE binding post (-) is the inverted-phase amplifier output. Connect this post to the (-) terminal on the loud-
speaker. NOTE:
At no time should either output be connected to a ground or chassis.
Failure of the amplifier may result.
Never connect either output in parallel with another amplifier.
The minimum recommended loudspeaker load is 4 ohms.
The Output binding posts provide three different interconnect options. Combinations may be used when bi-wiring. See
figure 2 below. Cables should be kept as short as practical and should never be terminated with connectors that may
become confused for AC power connectors. Cables should be dressed away from input and power cables.
[a] Banana plugs offer a quick disconnect option. Before inserting a banana plug into the binding post be sure to
tighten the post nut to avoid rattling and to provide full insertion of the banana plug. Gold plated locking banana
plugs are available from Bryston.
[b] Spade lugs provide high contact area and secure fastening. Lugs should be gold plated. See
diagram for details. Post diameter is 5/16’ ( 8mm ), lug width 5/8” (16 mm). Gold plated spade
lugs are available from Bryston.
[c] Stripped bare wire up to 3 gage can be inserted through the hole in the binding post and held in
place by tightening the post knob. Additional tightening pressure can be achieved using a coin in the slots of the
knob. Do not over tighten or the binding post may become damaged. Note that copper wire is malleable and may
require further tightening after the initial installation.
MAINS BREAKER/POWER SWITCH
Must be ON for the amplifier to operate and for the amplifier to be turned on remotely. This is a combination power
switch and magnetic trip circuit breaker. This switch should be ‘OFF’ during installation. When switched ‘OFF’ all A/C
power is removed from the amplifier, including standby power. Use the front panel push button POWER switch or an
external control voltage to Power-up or Power-down the amplifier. Should the breaker trip, lower or remove the ampli-
S
T
Y
O
R
N
B
5/16" 5/8"

fier input signal. Switch the breaker to the ‘ON’ position. Then power the unit up normally.
IEC-320 C14 POWER INLET
Accepts power cords with IEC-320 C13 connectors. Use only approved power cords.
EXTERNAL TURN-ON SELECTOR (EXTERNAL/LOCAL)
LOCAL operation: To operate only via the front panel push-button power
switch, place the External Turn On selector in the LOCAL position. If a control
voltage is present at the ‘IN’ terminals it will still be available at the ‘OUT’ termi-
nals after the power-up sequence.
EXTERNAL (Remote) operation: To enable remote power ON/OFF control of
the amplifier this switch must be in the EXTERNAL position. Supply a 4v to 12v
A/C or DC control voltage to the ‘IN’ terminals of connector . Use paired wire
of 22 to 18 gage sufficient in length between the source device and the SST
amplifier. Set Selector switch to “External”. The amplifier will now power-up
only when the control voltage is present (on). Immediately following power up,
the control voltage will appear at the ’OUT’ terminals of connector for the
control of other equipment. The removal of the control voltage (0v) causes the
amplifier to turn ‘off’ and the control voltage at the ‘OUT’ terminals is interrupted.
REMOTE POWER ON/OFF CONTROL CONNECTOR
To power-up the 7BSST2amplifier using an external control voltage, connect 4
to 12 volts, AC or DC, to the IN pins of this connector with the External/Local
switch set to EXTERNAL. When this control voltage is removed the ampli-
fier turns off. Use stranded wire between 22 and 18 AWG, with 1/4" of the
insulation stripped off, to connect the control voltage to the interface connec-
tor shown at the right. Do not over tighten the wire-clamps; .5Nm or 4.5Lb-in is the maximum torque recommended.
Then plug the interface connector into the EXTERNAL TURN ON connector.
7BSST2POWER AMPLIFIER
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
PARAMETER MIN TYPICAL MAX UNITS CONDITIONS
POWER OUTPUT 600 Watts 20-20K Hz into 8 Ohms
900 20-20K Hz into 4 Ohms
SENSITIVITY 2.3 Vrms for 600 Watts out into 8Ω, 29dB gain selected
4.6 for 600 Watts out into 8Ω, 23dB gain selected
INPUT IMPEDANCE 15K Ohms balanced input (XLR)
10K single ended input (RCA)
THD+N .005 % 20Hz to 20KHz at 600 Watts into 8Ω
.007 % 20Hz to 20KHz at 900 Watts into 4Ω
NOISE 110 dB Input shorted, 20Hz to 20KHz, gain set to 29dB
113 dB Input shorted, 20Hz to 20KHz, gain set to 23dB
SLEW RATE 60 V/µsec
POWER BANDWIDTH <1 >100K Hz
DAMPING FACTOR 300 at 20Hz, ref 8Ω
WEIGHT 25 (55)
Kg (lbs) including box and packing (i.e. shipping weight)
POWER CONSUMPTION 215 Watts at idle
1284 at 600 Watts output into 8Ω
1980 at 900 Watts output into 8Ω
HEAT DISSIPATION 733 BTU/hr at idle
2333 at 600 Watts output into 8Ω
3684 at 900 Watts output into 4Ω

7BSST2POWER AMPLIFIER
300008-3 BRYSTON LTD., PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO, CANADA 2011-08-18