Audio_ELF Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 A new Bryston digital player has been announced ... Bryston announces BDP-1USB digital music player | What Hi-Fi? The brief details indicate it is basically the BDP-2 with the sound card removed so relying on USB to connect to a DAC rather than offering AES or SPDIF. Eloise --- ...in my opinion / experience... While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing. And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism. keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out. Link to comment
cclay Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 I'm psyched for this product. Audiostream reviewed their other players so favorably. But I've invested a lot of money and effort to find a USB DAC solution that works and sounds great, which makes so many portions of the other Bryston players redundant. Are there other products like this? Right now my Mac Mini has a Firewire connection to an external drive. I'll have to think about setting up a Synology NAS or something... Link to comment
Ned Kelly Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 Thanks for the heads up on this, Eloise. Just one more headphone and I know I can kick this nasty little habit ! Link to comment
Norton Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Thanks for the heads up on this, Eloise. Anyone know when it goes on sale and likely price in UK? Link to comment
Audio_ELF Posted November 10, 2014 Author Share Posted November 10, 2014 Anyone know when it goes on sale and likely price in UK? I don't know ... but can I suggest you try giving Bryston a ring. Eloise For the record I have no commercial links with HiFi Lounge only know them by reputation. Eloise --- ...in my opinion / experience... While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing. And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism. keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out. Link to comment
Norton Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Thanks. I managed to find an ex-Dem BDP2 in the end. SQ a big improvement over the fanless PC running JRiver I had been using, particularly over USB. Link to comment
JJJ Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 And given your understanding of the contents of the BDP1-USB, what do you think makes the difference? Speakers: Egglestonworks Andra III front left/right and centre; Egglestonworks Rosa as surround; Rel Stentor II subwoofer. Synergistic Research Element Copper speaker cable. Cardas Clear Light interconnect. Amps: Krel FPB-200 and 2 x Krell KAV 150a. Theta Casablanca IV with multichannel Dirac Live. Oppo 103. Isotek GII Titan power conditioning. Acoustic treatments: 2 x RPG Modex Plates; RPG 100mm BAD panels; RPG Skylines. Link to comment
Norton Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 And given your understanding of the contents of the BDP1-USB, what do you think makes the difference? I can't comment on the BDP1 USB as I don't own one. Of course when it boils down to it the BDP2 is also a fanless PC running Linux just like my like my previous source, but one that a hi fi company has invested R&D in to dedicate to music replay. It's actually a surprisingly heavy piece of kit and I would hazard a guess that the large toroidal transformer plays a big part in the sound. Link to comment
JJJ Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I doubt it Speakers: Egglestonworks Andra III front left/right and centre; Egglestonworks Rosa as surround; Rel Stentor II subwoofer. Synergistic Research Element Copper speaker cable. Cardas Clear Light interconnect. Amps: Krel FPB-200 and 2 x Krell KAV 150a. Theta Casablanca IV with multichannel Dirac Live. Oppo 103. Isotek GII Titan power conditioning. Acoustic treatments: 2 x RPG Modex Plates; RPG 100mm BAD panels; RPG Skylines. Link to comment
Audio_ELF Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 I doubt it Are you saying you doubt the power supply is the key to an improvement in sound quality? Eloise --- ...in my opinion / experience... While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing. And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism. keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out. Link to comment
JJJ Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Are you saying you doubt the power supply is the key to an improvement in sound quality? Maybe it does. Electrical engineering would suggest otherwise. I'm working on a very extensive linear power supply for my setup. The fact that it is linear is neither here nor there. More importantly this supply will have state-of-the-art PSRR. We'll see if it makes any difference at all. Even if it doesn't it will have constituted an enormous learning exercise in discrete regulated power supply design. The Bryston servers have a very basic power supply - single voltage to a budget mobo. It almost couldn't be simpler. It's linear because "linear sells" and the current demands are low making it easy and cheap to design/build. The voltages used by the components of the mobo are produced on the board. I just find it a bit ironic that they produce a basic "CAPS" (BDP-1) that meets acclaim and then strip it back even further for their latest product. I also think there's enormous perception bias when someone tries a product like this. It has a nice enclosure, looks professional, backed by a good brand, feels "weighty", must be better ... right? Speakers: Egglestonworks Andra III front left/right and centre; Egglestonworks Rosa as surround; Rel Stentor II subwoofer. Synergistic Research Element Copper speaker cable. Cardas Clear Light interconnect. Amps: Krel FPB-200 and 2 x Krell KAV 150a. Theta Casablanca IV with multichannel Dirac Live. Oppo 103. Isotek GII Titan power conditioning. Acoustic treatments: 2 x RPG Modex Plates; RPG 100mm BAD panels; RPG Skylines. Link to comment
Norton Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Maybe it does. Electrical engineering would suggest otherwise. I'm working on a very extensive linear power supply for my setup. The fact that it is linear is neither here nor there. More importantly this supply will have state-of-the-art PSRR. We'll see if it makes any difference at all. Even if it doesn't it will have constituted an enormous learning exercise in discrete regulated power supply design. The Bryston servers have a very basic power supply - single voltage to a budget mobo. It almost couldn't be simpler. It's linear because "linear sells" and the current demands are low making it easy and cheap to design/build. The voltages used by the components of the mobo are produced on the board. I just find it a bit ironic that they produce a basic "CAPS" (BDP-1) that meets acclaim and then strip it back even further for their latest product. I also think there's enormous perception bias when someone tries a product like this. It has a nice enclosure, looks professional, backed by a good brand, feels "weighty", must be better ... right? I must say I find your response rather patronising, not least as I suspect I am the only recent contributor to this thread who has actually heard the product in question at all, let alone for any extended period. It's immediately obvious to me that the BDP provides a huge improvement in SQ compared to the off the shelf PC I was using previously. If it didn't, it would be a indictment not only of the BDP, but also any other attempt to optimise a PC for audio replay, including the CAPS server you mention. I appreciate it may be tantamount to heresy to some on this site, but I prefer to evaluate equipment not on it's constituent parts, but on the satisfaction it provides when replaying music. By those measures, the BDP gets top marks from this satisfied customer. Link to comment
zachhahn Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Just received a BDP-1USB a couple of days ago. I already have a Bryston BDA-2 dac and this combination sounds great. Sq has improved in every aspect from my music-server-only 2013 Macbook Air (8gb memory) with the latest Audirvana+. I just plugged in my wd 2tb usb drive and the improvement in sq was not small. Considering the price difference between mba/a+ (appx. $1300) and bdp1usb ($1800), my vote goes to the bryston any time. Plus customer service from James Tanner and the folks at Bryston is top notch. I am a happy customer. Link to comment
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