Lexicon is not the only co. to do that and not all of the trade-ins are confined only to items purchased from dealers. Magnepan offers a trade-in I believe within a year if you purchase the MMGs factory direct. Linn has offered trade-ins too as have others. Usually the trade-ins on electronics are large enough to give the customer something vs. being stuck with a door stop and still mean a hefty amount of cash to get a new item.
Perhaps the lesson to be learned on future products is have a case and digital power supply big enough to accomodate changes to the digital section. No matter how you slice it whether it is more slanted towards dealers or manuf. holding things out in the catagory of future proof when that turns out to not be the case in a short period of time it leads to less than happy customers. It raises a question when a manuf. comes out with a new unit as to whether it is really that cos. thing to make that type of product. That's one reason why I asked about HT bypass on the BP26 (which James answered). That's also why a couple of high end cos. make multi-channel analog (vs. HT) pre-amps. The rapid changing nature of processor technology leaves a distinct advantage to the mass market cos. to the have them quicker. A HT enthusiast wants to have the latest and greatest features as soon as they are available.
James, we're not picking on Bryston. Rotel has taken a bunch of heat for their last announced pre-amp that I believe is just HDMI 1.1 vs. HDMI 1.3. Even Yamaha took criciticism several mos. back for having rec'rs with only HDMI 1.2a. I guess it's a balancing act to some degree. I understand why a co. would want a piece of the high end HT market as it is a big segment. When one starts getting customers not pleased with the available co. resources (e.g. changes happen to technology but the customers have nothing to do with the design and development to accomodate such changes) to satisfy their HT needs, it will lead some to perhaps the conclusion for those wanting an all-in-one high quality music and movies that perhaps it is not the right choice. I had an interesting discussion with a friend who has a SP1.7 as I do. His wife needs to use the system for the kids and for herself. While having a BP26 and moving the volume control to a certain point for movies is not a big deal for me being the only user, it is a big factor in his case. While I might sell mine and get a BP26 and a rec'r, he might move away from Bryston all together. He wants to have the latest and greatest technology in one box and from the state of things he is reaching the conclusion that perhaps it is not Bryston's thing. That's not to say that Bryston does not make a quality component and also tries to take into account the concerns of its customers. It's just a fact about the current state of technology and Bryston's resources. I'd love to have a single component for movies and music but am rapidly reaching the conclusion that it is easier for me to have a rec'r for that (who knows the next generation may even have HD Radio Tuners too and other features that allow integration of home networks, music servers, MP3 players) and I have secondary bedroom and basement systems that can always use that rec'r when I am ready for a new one. Yes, I'll probably sacrifice some quality on something like multi-channel music but that is not a huge priority for me personally. Obviously for Thunder who posted earlier, multi-channel music is much more important. So you can't please everyone and I understand that.
