Hi Ned
How did you make out with the card change over - chris tells me he connected remotely.
James
The new audio card installation process is rather simple and the instructions are excellent. When doing this, pay very careful attention to the connectors. The whole process was done in 30 minutes as I took my time and double checked all connections. The wires that run under the prior card I found needed to be moved to a position above the new card for the new card to seat perfectly. If you have no issues with changing out or adding an additional hard drive to a computer, I feel you will find the process rather straight forward (as long as you have the right tools on hand and are not under the influence of 6 double espressos).
Now, onto the performance of the new card. This is an essential upgrade to the BDP-2, especially for systems having high resolution. The new card simply seems to stay out of the way of the music. I was jotting down a few notes while listening and the first noticeable improvement is how much quite the back ground is, the noise floor has really been lowered (which I did not think possible after listening the first card). The sound stage is huge, both in width and depth. There is greater delineation of fine musical details. Notes seem suspended on a cushion of air with the space between notes better delineated. Micro and macro dynamics are improved and impressive (likely due to the lowered noise floor). Very subtile fine details in music are clearly delineated with this card (no need to lean into the music, just sit back and lots of detail will unfold naturally). Pitch definition is improved, especially in the lower frequencies. There is improved extension, delineation, and definition of low frequencies. All in all this new audio card is a spectacular achievement and elevates the already fine performance of the BDP-2 to a new level. Highly recommended upgrade!
(System notes: DynAudio Evidence Temptation speakers, REL Studio III sub bass system, Classe SSP-800 controller, Classe CA-M600 monoblock amplifiers, Bryston BDP-2 with a 4 TB Western Digital Green hard drive (these drives are wicked quiet) and MPoD controller software, Nordost Valhalla digital & analog interconnects and speaker wire, EquiTech balanced wall power unit for all audio associated 20 amp outlets)
To make this mini-review honest, I must report as a side note that I made a post on the Manic Moose thread regarding a problem that seems to have occurred with the firmware upgrade needed for the new audio card. My BDP-2 will erratically suddenly stop playing while rendering the BDP-2 totally unresponsive to any input (front panel or otherwise). Multiple reboots are now required to get the BDP-2 up and running, but the sudden erratic bricking of the unit minutes to hours into listening persists.
But when the unit is operational, the new sound card renders music gloriously.
