I received my Bryston BDP-1 on Friday. Any concerns I might have had regarding installation of this product were quickly put to rest. It took me all of about 30 minutes to get the player up and running.
The first thing you notice when unpacking the player is the included Bryston flash drive (loaded with some Chesky hi rez audio files) and the unBryston like Owner’s Manual.
Very nice touches!
I have been listening to digital audio files for some time now having purchased an Olive 04HD Music Server about a year ago. I was anxious to see (or hear) how the Bryston BDP-1 stacked up against the Olive player. Since inception I have used the Olive player with my Bryston BDA-1, so if the players sound different, it’s not due to the digital-to-analog conversion. However, I have always used the Olive player to rip FLAC files from my CDs. For the Bryston, I used the dBpoweramp CD Ripper. For those not familiar with the dBpoweramp CD Ripper, I highly recommend it. Very impressive software.
I don’t really understand Music Player Daemon (MPD) and its related applications. Sounds overly complicated to me. However, the Bryston web apps are easy to understand and use. I installed the Bryston-MINI app on my iPhone and the Bryston-MAX app on my iPad.
I doubt anyone will have any problems understanding how to use these apps.
So how did the Bryston BDP-1 compare to the Olive 04HD? Although I have never been completely satisfied with the Olive player, I have always felt it sounded better than any CD player I had heard, including unfortunately my Bryston BCD-1.
It was obvious to me after listening to just one track that the Bryston BDP-1 had a much richer and more full-bodied sound. Heightened detail and resolution give the Bryston player a more transparent and focused sound. I can honestly say that I am very pleased with this purchase and I highly recommend it to others.
Associated equipment used to make comparisons: Bryston BDA-1 DAC, Bryston SP-2 preamp, Bryston 28B-SSTr2 amps, Revel Ultima Studio2 speakers, Shunyata Hydra V-Ray II & Model 2 power conditioners, Shunyata Python CX power cables, Kimber Select KS 2120 AES-EBU digital cable, Kimber Select KS 1016 & 1116 interconnects, Kimber BiFocal XL speaker cables, Finite Elemente Pagode Master Reference rack and amp stands.
