[Gord]

VU meters would be very cool.
I already own a 4BSSt2 and a pair 7B3's and would not trade them.... But I would buy an outboard Bryston VU meter ( if available ) just for the cool look.

[gdbalp]

Thanks for the response James, much appreciated. So it appears then that the relationship hasn't soured it's more related to the climate we find ourselves in at the moment. If the relationship is still considered good would there be any chance to arrange for another purchase agreement in the future, this time using the updated Storm platform, that now being the ISP Elite MK3 which has the much better front panel capable of displaying much more detail. I know you guys wanted to add your own analog section, etc. so you had what seemed like a nice road map planned for the SP4 so it would be nice if that could be carried forward via a future product release at some point.

 

Hi,

Every major player in audio industry has their own AVR processor or integrated processor, so Bryston needs something at the same level as the SP3 to differentiate itself.
The situation with SP4 is not good for Bryston's reputation and the dependency on Storm has not shown any progress after many years.

Therefore, my opinion for Bryston is to build their own updated AVR processor (SP5) with storm software or their own for under $10k.     

Luigi

[Alphonse]

Well, when I win the lottery I will build a dedicated home theatre room with 24+ channels. The super high end seems like a small niche market to me. In the interim my plan is to gradually build on the current 3.0 system I started a year ago with a used SP3 and additional powerpac 300 amp and a center speaker. Sounds great for movies and music. I hardly ever listen to stereo any more. So, gradually move to 3.1 - 5.1 - 5.2 - ???. Maybe Atmos maybe not. I certainly hope Bryston offers new processors at various tiers with or without collaboration. Actually Storm just released the new ISP Core 16 processor at $11,999 US. Or the Lyngdorf MP-40 at $9,999. Not sure sure I would ever use all 16 channels. 

[Arizona Dan]

Hi

How about a 10-12 channel analog preamp?
How about a 10-12 channel A/D converter?

This would allow us to build a 3-way loudspeaker and add 4 subwoofers all with dsp control.  The dsp control is available now.  The multichannel preamp and multichannel A/D converter are kind of rare.  The multichannel A/D would be used to upgrade the dsp units that are available.

Dan

[gdbalp]

Hi

How about a 10-12 channel analog preamp?
How about a 10-12 channel A/D converter?

This would allow us to build a 3-way loudspeaker and add 4 subwoofers all with dsp control.  The dsp control is available now.  The multichannel preamp and multichannel A/D converter are kind of rare.  The multichannel A/D would be used to upgrade the dsp units that are available.

Dan

Dan,

I do like the idea of DSP control for active speakers within an AVR multi-channel processor, probably only the front main speakers.

The manufacturer's like Bryston could add some Ethernet ports for digital outputs to active speakers with external DSP controls or internal DSP controls within the multi-channel AVR processors with balanced/unbalanced outputs.

The challenge is the software within the AVR processor to do all this work, but it has been done on a few brands of AVRs on the market.

Luigi
 

[James Tanner]

Luigi

Do you mean DSP to control the response of the speaker?

james

[gdbalp]

Hi James,

Yes, DSP controls for the speaker responses.  Probably the main front speakers and subwoofers only for cost controls, but more would be nice... 

Luigi

[James Tanner]

We do not believe that DSP should be used above about 150Hz.

We spend countless hours trying to get excellent on and off axis even polar response on our speakers and do not want DSP screwing that up.

james

[GrooveControl]

Hi James, good sound is matter of personal taste.  You may voice a speaker so it sounds perfect to your ears, in your room, but suggesting that people don't fine tune it for their own room and preferences above 150Hz, well...   

A few years ago I bought the very highly regarded KEF LS50.  According to almost everyone in the industry, these things are supposed to be great. Well I hooked them up to a B60 expecting audio bliss, only to be met with serious disappointment. I found the top end dull, and the mids too forward. Those speakers are still in use today, and are still driven by a B60, but only because I use an equalizer in the tape loop to shape the sound to my liking.

I took measurements with and without EQ in my room. Below chart is using the "moving mic" technique, green trace is with EQ and 10db offset. I do not enjoy listening to this system with out the eq. 

You don't need to build DSP functionality into your products, but rather just allow for the integration into your products.  Long live the tape loop. 











 

[James Tanner]

Hi Groove

The problem with that is the mic is not your ears and brain and it does not 'hear' in the way your ears and brain do (my next Newsletter discusses this subject). You are taking a pressure measurement at one point in space BUT when we listen to speakers we are listening to the 'total radiated sound power' into the room including all the 'Direct and Reflected' sound.

I agree you are the one that decided what sounds good to you but in my opinion our job is to use the extensive research that has been done over many years on how real speakers behave in real rooms and how our ear brains interpret that and based on that research my advice is not to use EQ above bass frequencies.

But hey that's my opinion many may tell me I need serious help!

james

[gbaby]

My advice would be to let another manufacturer invent a new product and that Bryston improve upon it to save the expense of research and development.

[GrooveControl]

Hi Groove

The problem with that is the mic is not your ears and brain and it does not 'hear' in the way your ears and brain do (my next Newsletter discusses this subject).

I totally agree with this.  Single point in space measurements are practically useless, moving the mic just 2 inches proves that.

That's why I now use the "moving mic method" . Here's a good video that explains it, for anyone interested...

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=moving+mic+speaker+measurements&&view=detail&mid=1C4EC7FF5E60BCB3EE981C4EC7FF5E60BCB3EE98&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dmoving%2Bmic%2Bspeaker%2Bmeasurements%26FORM%3DHDRSC3

[Arizona Dan]

I would like to replace my loudspeakers analog crossover with a digital crossover. MiniDSP appears to have good software for making a good digital crossover.  I am not sure how good their digital to analog converts are?  Also, not sure how good their volume control is?  My thought is to let MiniDSP (and others) do the software and let Bryston do the D/A and the analog volume control.   

I was not thinking of DSP to improve room acoustics, but only for creating a digital crossover.  Multichannel D/A is hard to find.  Also, multichannel volume control is hard to find.

Dan

[gdbalp]

We do not believe that DSP should be used above about 150Hz.

We spend countless hours trying to get excellent on and off axis even polar response on our speakers and do not want DSP screwing that up.

james

James,

Maybe there is a misunderstanding of the use of the DSP from my statement. 
I was referring to the BAX-1 DSP functions for active speakers being incorporated within the AVR processor capabilities.

Again, a very flexible AVR processor (New SP5) that can be used for both 2 channel and multi-channel listening that gives options for DSP/Dirac/etc. controls or nothing for the end users.

Luigi

[James Tanner]

Hi Luigi

Yes we use DSP in our BAX-1 Digital crossover to control the on and off axis polar response of the speaker so in that context I am fully with you. 

In fact DSP control of polar radiation or sound power of a loudspeaker can be much more precise than with passive systems. We have our own anechoic chamber in the factory and we do over 300 measurement's both Vertically and Horizontally in 360 degrees around the speaker to make sure the Sound Power is as accurate as possible. In fact there are 3 different curves for the 3 different active speakers (Model T, Middle T and Mini T)  showing how precise we are in tailoring the polar response specifically to each speaker. You can not be that accurate with the marinade of 'generic' electronic crossovers available.

Its the use of DSP - room EQ across the whole frequency spectrum that I am advising against.

james

[Arizona Dan]

Hi James

I did not know that Bryston has the BAX-1 Active DSP Crossover.  Now I feel kind of stupid.

Guess I will ask another question.  Can the BAX-1 Active DSP Crossover be used on non Bryston loudspeakers?

Dan

[James Tanner]

Hi James

I did not know that Bryston has the BAX-1 Active DSP Crossover.  Now I feel kind of stupid.

Guess I will ask another question.  Can the BAX-1 Active DSP Crossover be used on non Bryston loudspeakers?

Dan

Hi Dan - no sorry for the reasons above you can not really fine tune your speaker to the degree we can if you devote the DSP software to one specific speaker.

james

[Arizona Dan]

James

Thank you.

Dan

[Ilkatze]

Might Bryston consider reintroducing a microphone preamplier into its product line?

Something like the BMP-2 (or is it BMP2 ?) could be nice, but with a wee bit more gain (something more than 60dB, even if modestly so), and also with ADAT input/output connectivity for connection to audio interfaces or other recording equipment.

Just something I imagine from time to time.

[Testsystems]

Hi James,

In todays reality perhaps a new product is too ambitious.  Perhaps a series of paid options / upgrades such as ( You have a large installed base of existing power amps and the BR20 has a modular approach):

3B3, 4B3, 7B3 Digital input
BAX / BR-20 Digital Tone Controls like Tilt, Base & Treble.  Even Sub Out. ( as always modest user control)
BR-20 Tape Loop
BR-20 Digital Out
BR-20 MC Input
BAX Digital Input
Model T Tweeter driver upgrade to extend upper range to well beyond 20 KHz
etc.

Great products deserve a few more options, fully funded.

Cheers
Drew