[michelmassot]

Hello, I am new here, and I have two small questions about the BP17/3 options:

1- Is the MM phono card the same in a BP17 and in a BP17/3?

2- Is the DAC card 96/24 or 192/24?
a. In the BP17/3 owner’s manual, page 5, we read: “The DAC can receive PCM digital audio at 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, or 96kHz sampling rates and 16 or 24 bit resolution”
b. But on the page https://bryston.com/preamps/bp-17-3/ it says: “Internal DAC - PCM 192kHz / 24 bit”

Thanks for the answers about this preamp which is already out of date, and thanks for this forum full of information.

[Mag]

Several years ago I visited my local Bryston Dealer to listen to their setup as compared to mine (audio memory). My recollection the pre was B17/3, Model T Actives. However I had brought my doctored recordings on a Jump drive. To my ears what I heard was the music just seem to float in space, have a 3D holographic quality to it. I gave the nod to my setup because I have the BCD-3, but there was no denying the holographic presentation that I had been listening too.

[veloceleste]

Re the dac card: When the BP173 first came out the dac card option was 96/24. It was upgraded at some point and is now 192/24. Contact Bryston to confirm. I’ve been thinking about adding the dac card to my BP173 but wonder if it worth it considering, as you said, that the BP173 is discontinued. It is however, still a great preamp.

[michelmassot]

Hello, thanks for these answers. I just bought a BP17/3 from 2020, not too expensive. And I just tried to read 192 on Qobuz: it doesn't work... So mine is 96/24. Too bad! But it sounds very good though!

[Stefan_DR3]

Did you ever get an answer re the phono card?  I had one of the first 17B3 Phono and it was an excellent phono stage, which I used for 5 years in a high-end analog system.  They said it was the latest phono board at the time, same board as in the BP2 phono stage minus the separate chassis, which was supposed to be an improvement on the old BP17 phono card.  Years later when the BR20 came out with new SMT circuit boards, they said THAT was equal to the stand-alone BP2 phono stage, and now my phono card could not be used in a BR20 so I sold the whole unit.

[michelmassot]

Hello, no I had not received any information regarding the phono card. If I understand what you are telling me, the MM phono card is the same in the BP17/3 and in the BP2, but is different from that of a BP17?
I am asking this question because I may have the opportunity to buy a phono card from a BP17, and I am trying to find out if I could use it in my BP17/3.

[Stefan_DR3]

Sorry, what I was trying to say was I received conflicting information.  The only way to get a definitive answer is to email mike@bryston.com

[michelmassot]

Oh, thank you! I will do that...

[michelmassot]

I sent an email, but I didn't get a response... Oh well. My more specific question is: If I find a phono board removed from a BP17, will I be able to use this old board in a BP17cubed?

[michelmassot]

Finally, I received these precise informations, which may perhaps interest someone else:
PHONO CARD:
The phono boards used in the BP17 and the BP17 Cubed were the same board, but were built differently, with different multipin connectors. 
These connectors are almost impossible to remove without damaging the circuit board, so unfortunately this means that they are not interchangeable in practice.

DAC CARD:
For early BP17 Cubed preamps, the DAC module supported only 96/24, but around 2018 we switched to a new DAC board that supported 192/24.  This means there are BP173's with both versions in existence, and the only reliable way to tell which board is installed in the preamp is to test it with a 192k signal.