Bryston SP4

James Tanner · « **Reply #60 on:** 26 Jun 2018, 04:12 pm »

Hi Folks,

The Bryston SP-4 Processor is now on our website.

http://www.bryston.com/products/digital_audio/SP4.html

james

James Tanner · « **Reply #61 on:** 3 Jul 2018, 06:21 pm »

HI Folks,

Gary tells us all about the new Bryston SP-4 Processor and why our dealer is over the ‘MOON’ !

James

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAHdXC9Q6E4

Rod_S · « **Reply #62 on:** 4 Jul 2018, 01:32 am »

Nice video.

Aside from being able to setup via iPad, etc., if it can't be controlled by a standard IR based remote, such as a Harmony universal for example that would be one of my suggestions for being able to control on/off, volume, input selection, etc.

For module expansion one with USB, AES/EBU and stereo XLR inputs for connecting digital music players such as the BDP series would be be great. So AES/EBU and stereo XLR would take care of 2.0 content and equally important if one has multi-channel it could be input via the USB so one isn't entirely reliant on HDMI because unlike the BPD3 not a lot of players have HDMI outputs.

Also another great feature which not all HDMI receivers and SSP's support is the ability to mix and match the audio and video signals from differing HDMI streams. So audio from HDMI 1 (say a BDP3) but video from HDMI 2 (say cable/satellite box) allowing one to listen to music while watching tv.

witchdoctor · « **Reply #63 on:** 4 Jul 2018, 04:41 pm »

Quote from: James Tanner on 26 Jun 2018, 04:12 pm

Hi Folks,

The Bryston SP-4 Processor is now on our website.

http://www.bryston.com/products/digital_audio/SP4.html

james

Congratulations James! How do you like immersive upmixed music compared to stereo? Have you tried Auromatic yet? I think an all TOW speaker system with a couple of subs would be ideal for immersive experience.

http://www.bryston.com/products/speakers/Model_TOW_On-Wall/brochure.html

Grit · « **Reply #64 on:** 5 Jul 2018, 02:05 am »

James,

If I followed the video correctly, one of the 'add-on modules' could be an analog bypass? Is that as an input, or an output?

I guess more specifically what I'm wondering is, can the existing XLR outputs be used for an analog bypass at some point?

Any idea when the manual will be available? I'd love to have a read through it.

James Tanner · « **Reply #65 on:** 5 Jul 2018, 09:34 am »

Quote from: Grit on 5 Jul 2018, 02:05 am

James,

If I followed the video correctly, one of the 'add-on modules' could be an analog bypass? Is that as an input, or an output?

I guess more specifically what I'm wondering is, can the existing XLR outputs be used for an analog bypass at some point?

Any idea when the manual will be available? I'd love to have a read through it.

Hi

The analog would be an input - stereo bypass.

I have an installers guide so email me if you want a look. jamestanner@bryston.com

james

James Tanner · « **Reply #66 on:** 5 Jul 2018, 09:51 am »

Quote from: witchdoctor on 4 Jul 2018, 04:41 pm

Congratulations James! How do you like immersive upmixed music compared to stereo? Have you tried Auromatic yet? I think an all TOW speaker system with a couple of subs would be ideal for immersive experience.

http://www.bryston.com/products/speakers/Model_TOW_On-Wall/brochure.html

Hi

I have not had a chance to play around with a unit yet as we sold out the first run immediately.

james

Rod_S · « **Reply #67 on:** 5 Jul 2018, 11:03 am »

Now that it's officially launched can you post the pricing for all of the currently available options? From the video and the description on the website it seems like Dirac is not part of the base price as it's only mentioned as an option.

Thanks

Rod_S · « **Reply #68 on:** 5 Jul 2018, 01:16 pm »

Hi James, from what I can gather the unit appears to run at 192kHz internally. Is that the case or is it that it can accept inputs of up to 192kHz but internally it runs at a lower resolution either 96kHz or 48kHz while the DACs may also be 192kHz?. With the Dirac option what resolution does Dirac run at, 48kHz, 96kHz or 192kHz? It would be good to get clarification because to my knowledge I haven't come across a Dirac product running higher than 96kHz but that may just be because the units it's in do not run naively above 96kHz.

James Tanner · « **Reply #69 on:** 5 Jul 2018, 02:46 pm »

MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: Bryston SP-4 Processor – Customer Feedback

HI Folks,

Starting to get some feedback on the new Bryston SP-4 Processor

Hi James,

Hope you had a great 4th of July!

Thought I would share with you my thoughts on the new Bryston SP4 Processor.

My early impression of the Bryston SP4 is that it’s awesome!

I love the design as it looks extremely sleek, very minimalistic in a great way, and looks killer in my rack. The endless ability to basically route your outputs anywhere is extremely impressive and easy to do. I’m getting the hang of the software and it’s quite fun to play with. I wish I was a bit more tech savvy because I want to use it to its full potential.

Like I mentioned above I am beyond happy with the purchase. I love the unit and I know it’s going to be at the head of my system for a long time to come. I am eventually going to hook it up to my control4 system.

This Bryston SP-4 Processor blows my McIntosh out of the water.

In closing I want to say thank you for making such an amazing unit. I am really happy with my purchase and I hope this email was even just a little helpful.

Joshua Baggett
President/Sound Supervisor
Mic'd Up Productions, Inc.

Rod_S · « **Reply #70 on:** 5 Jul 2018, 03:15 pm »

Quote from: Rod_S on 5 Jul 2018, 01:16 pm

Hi James, from what I can gather the unit appears to run at 192kHz internally. Is that the case or is it that it can accept inputs of up to 192kHz but internally it runs at a lower resolution either 96kHz or 48kHz while the DACs may also be 192kHz?. With the Dirac option what resolution does Dirac run at, 48kHz, 96kHz or 192kHz? It would be good to get clarification because to my knowledge I haven't come across a Dirac product running higher than 96kHz but that may just be because the units it's in do not run naively above 96kHz.

I wanted to quote myself to keep my questions together

After reading the brochure I had a couple things for clarification. It does sound like you are allowing for support right out of the gate for optionally up to 32 channels via the 16 channel RCA expansion module and it's not simply just a copy of the built in XLR outputs by offering users who do no have amps with XLR inputs the option of RCA outs instead, correct? So if that's the case, is the actual 16 channel XLR option offered by Storm themselves something you'll have access to going forward if one preferred to have all XLR outs for channels above 16?

So once a unit is configured for more than 16 channels can Dirac EQ the extra channels or is it limited to 16 channels?

I see in the brochure that HDR10 and HLG are supported, what about Dolby Vision and HDR10+?

Finally in the brochure I see no mention of the intermediate option Storm has for their version of adding just 4 more XLR output channels to go from 16 channels to 20 channels, was the thought process that there isn't much point in doing this if you'll be allowing expansion from 16 to 32 channels anyways so going from 16 to 20, with it being just a middle step so to speak not worth offering?

This is looking very, very promising as my next SSP. It's just a matter of knowing the finer details from above so I can accurately compare it to Trinnov's offerings. Right out the gate it's less expensive than the Altitude16 but I need to find out how much the price jumps when the options are applied.

Thanks

James Tanner · « **Reply #71 on:** 6 Jul 2018, 10:51 am »

Hi Folks,

Here's a link to some more info on the SP-4

http://support.bryston.com/downloads/SP4/

james

gdayton · « **Reply #72 on:** 6 Jul 2018, 01:25 pm »

Quote from: Rod_S on 4 Jul 2018, 01:32 am

Nice video.

Aside from being able to setup via iPad, etc., if it can't be controlled by a standard IR based remote, such as a Harmony universal for example that would be one of my suggestions for being able to control on/off, volume, input selection, etc.

For module expansion one with USB, AES/EBU and stereo XLR inputs for connecting digital music players such as the BDP series would be be great. So AES/EBU and stereo XLR would take care of 2.0 content and equally important if one has multi-channel it could be input via the USB so one isn't entirely reliant on HDMI because unlike the BPD3 not a lot of players have HDMI outputs.

Also another great feature which not all HDMI receivers and SSP's support is the ability to mix and match the audio and video signals from differing HDMI streams. So audio from HDMI 1 (say a BDP3) but video from HDMI 2 (say cable/satellite box) allowing one to listen to music while watching tv.

IR is working in the lab, just not in production firmware yet. We initially assumed most of the SP4 interest would be by custom integrators so we didn't push for a front panel IR receiver. We have IR codes that can be used with the rear panel IR input that should be rolled out in the next firmware update.

You can watch an HDMI source and listen to a non-HDMI source at once. Like the SP3, we only have the ability to lock a single HDMI source at a time, so you can't watch one HDMI and listen to another. This is as much a licensing issue as a hardware limitation and isn't likely to change.

-G

gdayton · « **Reply #73 on:** 6 Jul 2018, 01:32 pm »

Quote from: Rod_S on 5 Jul 2018, 03:15 pm

I wanted to quote myself to keep my questions together

After reading the brochure I had a couple things for clarification. It does sound like you are allowing for support right out of the gate for optionally up to 32 channels via the 16 channel RCA expansion module and it's not simply just a copy of the built in XLR outputs by offering users who do no have amps with XLR inputs the option of RCA outs instead, correct? So if that's the case, is the actual 16 channel XLR option offered by Storm themselves something you'll have access to going forward if one preferred to have all XLR outs for channels above 16?

So once a unit is configured for more than 16 channels can Dirac EQ the extra channels or is it limited to 16 channels?

I see in the brochure that HDR10 and HLG are supported, what about Dolby Vision and HDR10+?

Finally in the brochure I see no mention of the intermediate option Storm has for their version of adding just 4 more XLR output channels to go from 16 channels to 20 channels, was the thought process that there isn't much point in doing this if you'll be allowing expansion from 16 to 32 channels anyways so going from 16 to 20, with it being just a middle step so to speak not worth offering?

This is looking very, very promising as my next SSP. It's just a matter of knowing the finer details from above so I can accurately compare it to Trinnov's offerings. Right out the gate it's less expensive than the Altitude16 but I need to find out how much the price jumps when the options are applied.

Thanks

To be clear (not clear in the brochure) the SP4 can do up to 16 channel discrete decoding. Adding the RCA output card gets you the ability to add a 2nd theater and not expansion to 32 channels in 1 theater. This may change via firmware update one day but no immediate plans.

Dolby Vision is not yet supported. There is some uncertainty about whether the chipset in the HDMI card is compatible. We're trying to figure it out with the company we buy the HDMI card from. Even if it's not, it's not out of the question that the HDMI card could be updated later. Remember the SP3 has received 2 HDMI card upgrades over its lifetime.

Rod_S · « **Reply #74 on:** 6 Jul 2018, 01:54 pm »

Thanks for the responses Gary, much appreciated.

Regarding the internal resolution, after some digging over on the Storm website I came across a spec sheet which lists post processing at only 48kHz? Could you elaborate on that, I don't understand how that aligns with the SSP's ability to accept up to 192kHz and then of course it's DAC's. For example if I feed the SSP4 a 192/24 file from by BDP-2 does that mean the SSP will accept it however it would be downgraded to a 48kHz signal in order to apply Dirac then say Auro Upmixer (or Dolby/dts matrixing) then possibly back to 192 if the DAC's are 192/24.

If so that's alarming as my Lexicon MC-12 from the early 2000's runs at 96kHz even with EQ so I don't get what the limitation in today's technological climate would be to limit a SSP to 48kHz processing. Granted movies predominately are only 48kHz with some concerts being the exception but still. I know the Trinnov Altitude16 operates at 96kHz while the Altitude32 operates at 192kHz.

gdayton · « **Reply #75 on:** 6 Jul 2018, 04:24 pm »

Quote from: Rod_S on 6 Jul 2018, 01:54 pm

Thanks for the responses Gary, much appreciated.

Regarding the internal resolution, after some digging over on the Storm website I came across a spec sheet which lists post processing at only 48kHz? Could you elaborate on that, I don't understand how that aligns with the SSP's ability to accept up to 192kHz and then of course it's DAC's. For example if I feed the SSP4 a 192/24 file from by BDP-2 does that mean the SSP will accept it however it would be downgraded to a 48kHz signal in order to apply Dirac then say Auro Upmixer (or Dolby/dts matrixing) then possibly back to 192 if the DAC's are 192/24.

If so that's alarming as my Lexicon MC-12 from the early 2000's runs at 96kHz even with EQ so I don't get what the limitation in today's technological climate would be to limit a SSP to 48kHz processing. Granted movies predominately are only 48kHz with some concerts being the exception but still. I know the Trinnov Altitude16 operates at 96kHz while the Altitude32 operates at 192kHz.

Yes, we internally run at 48kHz. We offer a lot of EQ options so that helps leave room for processor overhead even if you have activated all possible EQs on all possible channels. There is no real sonic penalty to running at 48kHz vs. 96kHz. As you said, most material is sampled at 48kHz anyway. By not trying to totally max out the DSP, we also contribute to a much more stable device.

Grit · « **Reply #76 on:** 7 Jul 2018, 06:47 am »

Quote from: James Tanner on 5 Jul 2018, 09:34 am

Hi

The analog would be an input - stereo bypass.

I have an installers guide so email me if you want a look. jamestanner@bryston.com

james

I guess what I'm wondering is with an analog input module, can you bypass all the digital processing, so the signal is never converted from analog to digital and back to analog? As configurable as the SP4 seems to be, it's (I presume) all done while the audio signal is digital, before runs through the DACs.

If I had an analog input, I'd want to have an option to bypass converting it to a digital signal, and only control the volume. And perhaps, have the SP4 be able to copy the signal and ALSO run a copy to a different zone or to the subwoofers.

witchdoctor · « **Reply #77 on:** 7 Jul 2018, 07:01 pm »

Quote from: Grit on 7 Jul 2018, 06:47 am

I guess what I'm wondering is with an analog input module, can you bypass all the digital processing, so the signal is never converted from analog to digital and back to analog? As configurable as the SP4 seems to be, it's (I presume) all done while the audio signal is digital, before runs through the DACs.

If I had an analog input, I'd want to have an option to bypass converting it to a digital signal, and only control the volume. And perhaps, have the SP4 be able to copy the signal and ALSO run a copy to a different zone or to the subwoofers.

Running the SP4 in analog bypass would be like hooking a team of horses to a Ferrari. If you get this unit you want to unleash the beast via digital processing. If you want to use a turntable and go analog there are much less expensive alternatives available for a two channel purist setup. This is a SOA fully immersive music and movie beast.

drummermitchell · « **Reply #78 on:** 7 Jul 2018, 11:26 pm »

As Rod Stewart said-just gimme some of your old Motown records
Analog has a glorious sound quality all its own
I still use my 2006 Arcam AV-8 analog out to the Oppo -203 and she’s great
When she dies I will do the Bryston Sp-4 or go with the Storm processor
Spinning LPs on the Clearaudio TT is great- besides there is a lot of music you cannot get on cd or stream that you could get on vinyl years ago
They both have their place and I have em both with ma 28s holding the fort with 7s for back up surrounds
Like em both analog and diiiigital when it works LOL

Rod_S · « **Reply #79 on:** 8 Jul 2018, 12:41 am »

Quote from: gdayton on 6 Jul 2018, 04:24 pm

Yes, we internally run at 48kHz. We offer a lot of EQ options so that helps leave room for processor overhead even if you have activated all possible EQs on all possible channels. There is no real sonic penalty to running at 48kHz vs. 96kHz. As you said, most material is sampled at 48kHz anyway. By not trying to totally max out the DSP, we also contribute to a much more stable device.

Thanks for the continued responses.

Certainly no sonic penalty when watching movies as the resolution remains wonderfully consistent from start to finish however where high res music is concerned there would definitely be a penalty so in the case of 96kHz and for sure 192kHz content I would wager a noticeable penalty as there would be for multi-channel DVD-A discs running at 88.2kHz or 96kHz and even for SACD's both stereo and multi-channel.