BSC Audio has gone to great lengths to minimize the perceived drawbacks to owning a Class A amplifier, without compromising any of the core principles that govern the art of high performance audio playback. BSC, unlike the majority of current Audio component manufacturers, has a long and direct knowledge pertaining to audio circuit design and how it relates to the creation of sound. Our founder Bret D’Agostino has spent the better part of his lifetime immersed in the design and culture surrounding the successful creation, playback, design and manufacture of high performance audio products.
During his elementary school days in the mid-seventies, Bret was introduced to the concept of tuning an audio product. Before the foundation of KRELL, Bret’s father Dan D’Agostino was hard at work designing loudspeakers for an early speaker company he founded named Great White Whale. During this time Bret had begun to develop critical listening skills. Each time his father would change something in the loudspeaker whether it be a component or box modification it would alter the way it sounded, and from that point onward every listening experience would be unique and important. At the tender age of 6 Bret worked in the shop building speaker crossovers and winding crossover inductor coils. At play, Bret would build his own speakers out of card board boxes with parts rejected from the speaker production line, and tuned them by ear.
Fast forward to the mid-eighties, Dan D’Agostino has consequently formed the now legendary KRELL Industries and Bret is in high school. Building circuit boards at home in the basement for spending money, the education process continued and expanded from loudspeakers to include amplifiers, preamplifiers, phono stages and many other audio electronic devices. In the summer time, Bret worked on the KRELL production floor manufacturing the various products they sold. Having an excellent aptitude for electronics, Bret quickly moved into the service department, onto service manager and later to be technical service and sales. During these formative years, Bret spent the better part of his time as an apprentice working with the many design engineers’ employed at KRELL Industries as well as his father. Because of his keen technical ability and association with KRELL, Bret was fortunate and selected to work with and learn from many audio industry luminaries. The ability to look at a circuit and then listen to how it presents itself in a real world application became the foundation of Bret’s further education. Over the course of over 25 years observing first-hand how each circuit and product succeeded or failed based on its implementation served as a masters course in audio design and engineering.
A music lover to the broadest definition, Bret’s formative years were not only focused on the technical side but on the artistic side of the music business as well. Originally a self-taught electric bass player, Bret spent much of his late teens learning to play the bass guitar and sing, performing in local bands. As a budding musician his natural curiosity for different styles of music as well as the recording process became prominent themes in his daily life. Eager to contribute in way possible to local recording studios and live sound venues alike, the proximity brought a much different audience into Bret’s life. Later as Bret became a more competent musician he was able to play professionally in several live bands and work with many other talented musicians. Bret continued to explore designing products, often using or sharing his creations with other musicians in an effort to gain field knowledge and user/ listener feedback. He later opened a small self-owned recording studio named “The Bully Sound Company” to explore recording the abundance of young talent Bret came across in the Connecticut music scene. His time working with young musicians and veterans alike creating vivid recordings, along with heavy exposure and experience in live music, recording/ production, and music playback, has greatly enhanced his ability’s and designer vision.
Having taken a leave from KRELL in 1994, and in an effort to support his musical pursuits Bret spent the next 8 years in the electronic contract manufacturing industry, as well as working a short stint as sales manager for another audio legend, Dick Sequerra, at his company RSA. During this time early on, Bret attended the University of New Haven to enhance his skills with courses in electrical engineering and physics as well.
In 2004 Bret returned to KRELL nearly 10 years later to help streamline the manufacturing process on the forthcoming Evolution product series. After a successful release Bret traveled across the United States in an effort to re-establish a personal connection with the KRELL dealers and customer base. Along the way he was able to re-connect and re-kindle many important friendships, contacts, and relationships as well as build new ones.
In summer 2009, Bret and Dan D'Agostino along with his partner/ ex-wife Rondi D'Agostino were no longer an acting part of KRELL Industries.
In fall 2009, Bret went on tour with the legendary progressive rock band Renaissance on the first leg of their 40th Anniversary reunion tour. Working as the bands stage manager proved to be a perfect fit and reconnection with the people, venues and most importantly the live music experience.
Several months after the departure from KRELL Industries and Brets return from the road with Renaissance, it was clear that being part of the KRELL company was not going to resume in a timely manner and to this actuality, Bret, Dan and his wife Petra, formed D’Agostino LLC. The initial stages of development at the new company began re-evaluating the current status of products on the market and getting in touch with our roots so to speak in respect to design and sound reproduction. Dan had many new ideas that wouldn’t fit into the traditional KRELL model formulating whereas Bret was also eager to express his design ideas in the development process. Exploring many different design avenues as well as Dan creating his finest circuitry to date, the Momentum amplifier was created. After the initial foundation and early development for D'Agostino LLC, Bret D'Agostino ventured on to establish the Bully Sound Company LLC (BSC Audio) and D’Agostino LLC became Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems creating some of the very finest audio products available on the market today.
Bret D’Agostino’s vision was to utilize all of his unique yet varied experiences to develop powerful yet graceful Class A products that would excel in audio performance, and to that end carry on a legacy his father started over 30 years before. Today, working closely with his son Brandon (3rd generation of the D’Agostino audio legacy), Bret D'Agostino’s Bully Sound Company designs, engineers, and manufactures premium audio components, as well as offering OEM design, engineering, and specialized contract manufacturing services.
The Bully Sound Company first formed in December 1995. The company evolved and restructured to offer three specialized divisions incorporated as the Bully Sound Company, LLC (BSC) in November 2010. BSC includes BSC Audio, BSC Design, and BSC Manufacturing.
Right from the offset, BSC Audio began its quest to develop a potent yet gracefully articulate electronics brand that would epitomize performance and champion industrial design. Creating analog audio electronics in the ‘digital age’ presents a unique set of challenges for even the most accomplished of electronic engineers. Fidelity to the source attained through low noise analog circuitry in both pre & power amplifiers driven by enormous power reserves are prerequisites to decoding today’s high resolution audio recordings. Bret D’Agostino founded BSC Audio on the principal that time proven Class A architecture with discrete complimentary circuitry coupled to over-specified power supplies realized through meticulous execution define the benchmarks that ensure superior performance.
Outstanding performance is not the only base criteria of a well-conceived audio component. The visual design, tactile impression and the ability to easily integrate into a listening environment are critical elements to the ownership experience as well. Build integrity is essential to BSC Audio’s brand identity. Our products are designed not only to elicit acclaim for striking industrial design, but also to deliver years of exceptional service. All of our products are hand crafted by skilled tradesmen in the USA and always incorporate only the finest parts obtainable primarily through American suppliers.
As the BSC name grows in popularity almost all of the new people we meet have one burning question, "What's with the name?" At first one might think we are some rogue bullies out to pummel some helpless audiophiles… however that couldn’t be any further from the truth. The word "Bully" is used in reference to my beloved white English Bull Terrier "Kiko" who passed in 2007 at almost 14 years old. Named after a popular song crafted by the band Los Lobos, Kiko was the inspiration for the original dog logo and consequently the name. We would often refer to Kiko as our "CEO" and or "technical advisor". Stay tuned for an announcement regarding a new CEO...or maybe two?