A 20 year unconditional warranty. Is that a printing error ?
Bryston Audio Products
The perfect blend of highly advanced technology and devotion
to old-world craftsmanship
In a world of commodity purchases - where most things seem to need
frequent upgrading, repair or replacement - have you ever wondered
how Bryston can offer a 20-year warranty on every product we make?
What is it about the way we design and manufacture our equipment
that enables us to back your purchase with such a comprehensive,
unconditional and fully transferable warranty?
The answer would quickly become apparent if you were to tour Bryston's
manufacturing facility in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada (one hour
northeast of Toronto). No automated mass production here no robotics,
no moving assembly lines. Every Bryston audio component is handcrafted
by people who take tremendous pride in building the very best.
This focus on quality goes much deeper than our assembly processes;
it literally represents the driving force behind our entire approach
to business.
It starts with exceptional design.
The extremely talented engineers in our design department begin
working on each new product with a clean slate. Nothing is taken
for granted. Just because we've employed a given design solution
for several years doesn't mean it's the only way to do it. We're
always questioning our assumptions. We believe it's the fastest
way to improvement.
Our engineers are never constrained by design costs for functionality.
On the contrary, we challenge them to create the finest products
they can; to source and use the best components; to move Bryston
equipment ever-closer to perfection, while maximizing performance
and reliability.
At Bryston, we take a holistic approach to our overall designs.
Our significant investment in highly sophisticated CAD software
allows our engineers to study 3-D renderings of every component
part. Learning is shared among our whole team. Circuit-simulating
programs show us how components are actually performing before we
build the first prototype. Our engineers use this software to 'pre-assemble'
entire amplifiers in real-time install each nut, each bolt, each
capacitor on screen - testing for flaws, seeking even better solutions.
As part of our design discussions, we ask ourselves what we can
learn from each new project and how we can apply it to our existing
line of components. In fact, research and development are key to
our ongoing success. We're constantly challenging ourselves - and
our suppliers - to develop new materials, new processes and new
circuitry... new ways to reproduce superb sound.
Excellence in manufacturing.
The Bryston emphasis on quality - not quantity - is equally evident
at every step in our production cycle.
Starting with a bare circuit board, for example, each component
is hand selected and installed, every wire is cut and bent by hand,
every connection is hand soldered. Sure, we could do the job much
faster by employing wave-soldering machines typically used in large
assembly operations. But that would mean exposing the entire board
to a molten-metal bath, which is a source of extreme heat shock
that could result in long-term reliability problems. Bryston's focus
on excellence just doesn't allow for these kinds of short-cuts.
The skilled technicians that build Bryston products are not pressured
by schedules or quotas. On average, it takes 30-35 person hours
to assemble a single Bryston amplifier or preamplifier. Quality,
not quantity.
We firmly believe that employees who feel valued are much more
inclined to produce great products for our customers. That's why,
for example, we strive to make our manufacturing facility an exceptionally
clean, friendly and comfortable place in which to work. Full-spectrum
fluorescent lights wash the work area in a replication of sunlight
to create a more natural, human environment, and the entire plant
is air conditioned to enhance this level of comfort. Other progressive
human-resource initiatives, such as flexible work hours and the
opportunity to share in the company's financial success, reflect
our respect for everyone who works at Bryston.
Testing, and more testing.
Frequent inspection and testing are a critically important part
of the Bryston assembly process. Individual components, completed
circuit-boards, sub-assemblies and final assemblies are all put
through rigorous inspection and testing procedures. Are the soldering
joints all clean? Is every component aligned properly? Is the internal
wiring laid-out symmetrically and neatly? During every stage of
production, quality and performance are checked - and rechecked
- against exacting tolerances and specifications.
At the point of final assembly, many manufactures immediately pack
their amplifiers into boxes for shipment. However, at Bryston, there
is still much more to do. Each of our fully assembled products is
connected to what we call a "burn-in table." For example, during
100 hours of continuous testing, our amplifiers are monitored through
a range of input cycles and thermal stress levels to duplicate a
broad spectrum of operational loads. If any failures occur, we want
to catch them here, before you begin using our product.
Then, and only then, are Bryston products sent to the final quality
inspection area for a comprehensive and carefully documented test
of all their functions. The printed results of this computer-aided
analysis are actually shipped with each unit. During this intensive
procedure, we reject any product that falls outside of our advertised
specifications, or an even narrower band of specifications that
we use for internal testing. As a result, you can expect each Bryston
product to perform as least twice as well as the advertised specifications.
Protecting your investment.
All of this testing - this almost obsessive attention to the smallest
design and manufacturing details - has resulted in an exceptionally
low rate of product return. It's not about how many products we
build; it's about how few come back.
In fact, our 20-year warranty drives us in a different direction
from the typical commodity manufacturer. We consider your purchase
of a Bryston product to be an investment. To protect that investment,
we use only the very best component parts and the very finest manufacturing
processes. We've learned that it costs us less in the long run if
our products last longer. If a capacitor fails 19 years down the
road, it's going to cost us the same to replace it - and probably
more - than if it failed one minute after the customer bought our
equipment. So our ongoing objective is to deliver complete and lasting
reliability.
Moreover,
we understand the power of word-of-mouth advertising. Many people
consider Bryston their final purchase. They've found the best and
now they can stop looking. They know their Bryston component will
provide outstanding listening enjoyment for decades to come. And
they'll probably tell their friends and colleagues about their purchase.
Therefore, it simply makes good economic sense to produce the very
best products we can, resulting in extremely satisfied customers
who will become life-long advocates for our company.
Catering to the discerning buyer.
We firmly believe there is a growing demand for the level of quality
that Bryston products deliver. More and more consumers are actively
seeking manufacturers that strive for lasting quality and perfection.
Consider the beautiful mechanical watches for which the Swiss are
world famous. With modern quartz technology, it's relatively easy
to produce an inexpensive and highly accurate time piece. In fact,
97% of watches made in Switzerland today are quartz-driven. Yet,
Swiss mechanical watches still represent more than 50% of that country's
watch market in terms of dollar volume.
Clearly,
people are drawn to the exceptional, hand-crafted quality of a Swiss
mechanical watch. Why? Because they understand and appreciate the
care and skill that went into making it. To these buyers, it's almost
as if the watch has a 'soul' - a part of the craftsperson's
life force inside. Buyers want to own and hold onto something like
that.
In a very real way, Bryston combines this old-world devotion to
craft with highly advanced technology to create products with which
people can form a similar affinity. Everyone at Bryston puts a little
bit of their heart and soul into their work, always trying to do
the very best they can.
It's this collective sense of caring that produces audio components
discerning customers desire to own. It is Bryston's continual focus
on excellence that enables us to back our products with the finest
warranty in the industry.