Hi James!
I was wondering which of the following options would offer the best price/performance ratio when adding an external MM/MC phono stage to a Bryston Pre/Pro:
1. Add Brystons BP 1.5 MM/MC phono stage
2. Add Brystons BP 25 (for exclusive use as a phono stage)
3. Wait for an improved Bryston C-Series BP 1.x
4. Add Brystons BP 26 (for exclusive use as a phono stage)
From my point of view, each option has its pros and cons, or raises certain questions:
Option one is pretty straight forward, however, the phono stage is not actively distributed in Germany (where I live) and used ones a hard to get the hand at, even in the US. The BP 1.5 seems to be a niche product.
Option two seems the most realistic to me, since they are offered used from time to time and I expect the phono part of a BP 25 to be the same quality as the BP 1.5. BTW, which output of a BP 25 would you expect to sound better when connecting to a Bryston Pre/Pro: the Tape out (which actually would be the appropriate output, I suppose) or the Preamp out?
Option three is actually hard to speculate on... Assuming that there is a C-Series version of the BP 1.5 in the pipeline, the question is in what respect would such a new product differ from the current BP 1.5. Would it be only the C-Series optics and the use of the new central power supply or would there be changes in phono stage itself and improvements comparable to the overall improvements from a BP 25 to a BP 26?
Which brings us to the fourth option and imposes the question: Does a BP 26 when used a phono stage exclusively actually outperform a BP 25 used the same way? Are there any changes in the phono stage comparing the BP 25 and te BP 26?
I would appreciate to hear your opinion on these options!
Thanks!
Markus
aka mv038856
