There's really no point in offering a USB SPDIF/DAC since you have the BDP. You've really done all the work with customizing the OS, motherboard, power supply, sound card, etc. Anyone wanting to go down the PC/USB SPDIF/DAC route won't even come close in matching the customizations the BDP provides even if they through more $$ at it. The processor found in the BDP is mostly used for embedded or very custom solutions and will consume significantly less power than any computer out there today which lets Bryston focus on providing a better power supply to it's consumers. It will be very hard for any consumer to achieve these results without this type of customization.
USB SPDIF is not an advancement in technology... just another spin of a "USB Audio Device" which has all the same issues as USB DACs with half the parts but now you add more jitter with the digital interconnect and not necessarily for half the price.
As I agree that it is possible for an audio manufacture to build a complete system around a USB SPDIC/DAC that can sound as good as the BDP+BDA, I also see audio dealers struggle with the demo and users still not satisfied with their USB DACs. The longstanding issue with USB Audio devices has been the setup. You have to select the driver, the application and USB port and even minimizing USB devices (i.e. use FW/eSATA HDD avoiding USB). There's just so much chatter about this I feel folks forget that this is actually a more complicated solution over a sound card. Yes a sound card can have it's own driver issues, but you avoid any potential issues with USB.
If the goal is to reach an additional market for folks that don't understand the BDP, then sure offer them but charge more than the BDP to cover support issues. I'm sure the BDP has been costly in that field, but that also could have been avoided/reduced with a user application to help synchronize files between one's computer and the BDP.
I think there are a couple of very good reasons for offering USB/SPDIF converter (or adding good asynchronous receiver in future iterations of BDA), one is market driven and Bryston will have to follow up, the other is potential for superior performance.
BDP-1 does not fall into the same product category as USB/SPDIF converters or anything related to usage of USB for that matter.
Bryston would be foolish to position BDP-1 as an alternative to those who seek well performing options for sending audio from their existing or prospect PCs/notebooks to a DAC, this is where USB comes in.
So by offering USB/SPDIF converter or USB interface on future BDA, Bryston would cater to this crowd and open up entirely new market to itself, where once again BDP-1 is not positioned to compete as it is a different product.
It is really simple, there are hundreds of thousands of PC/notebook owners who are / will be looking for well designed and executed as well as simplistic and relatively inexpensive way to play music, and BDP-1 costs more than the best USB/SPDIF converters presently available on the market, simply because BDP-1 belongs to a different product niche.
If Bryston wants to be a player in this segment of the market then Bryston has to develop such product.
The other reason is that a standalone USB/SPDIF converter can be designed and built as superior option for sending SPDIF to DAC than BDP-1 simply because of inherent disadvantage of solutions based on PC/sound card.
I do not think the statement that /USB SPDIF/DAC route won't even come close in matching the customizations the BDP provides even if they throw more $$ at it is disconnected from reality, you in fact can get superior product for less $ in form of USB/SPDIF converter that will send SPDIF to BDA with less jitter than BDP-1 can.
Of course USB/SPDIF is not advancement in technology, nor is BDP-1, I had purposely built PC based transport with Lynx card years before Bryston even started thinking about releasing such product. At that time USB usage for audio was in its infancy and it was terrible underperformer, but advancements in performance do occur.
The point is to stay competitive with advancements in performance, and Bryston would make mistake if they try to position BDP-1 as an option to the world of USB/SPDIF converters or DACs with proper USB interface implementation.
