BCD-1 CD Player Reviews?

Phil A · « **Reply #120 on:** 10 Dec 2007, 01:06 am »

When I borrowed the 1st Bryston CD player in the US from my dealer right before July 1, I provided feedback to James about the noisy drawer. However, I can tell you that I owned a 4BST many moons back and had acquired a couple of Power Pac 120s when I had them for eventual use in a HT. As Bryston was slow getting into HT, I sold the stuff and moved to a different brand. I had it for a bit and I can relay it was beautifully made, the DVD transport was like a work of art and also made a superb CD transport too with my outboard DAC. I won't bore anyone with the details but I long since got rid of that stuff while there was some still value in it. Customer service and support was quite horrible. If I still had that transport it would be a door stop literally. So I moved back to Bryston stuff due to the quality and support I get. Many years ago I owned the initial model of a cassette deck with DBX noise reduction. It was built great. A coworker at the time was interested in a cassette deck and I pointed him to a place that had a close-out of that model and he liked the looks of the new model better with LEDs for the recording levels vs. VU meters and the cosmetics. To me it obviously wasn't built as well nor lasted as long. I sold mine long (and it was still working great and used tons more) after his ceased to work. While I appreciate things that are built well and look great, the bottom line from me is how it sounds and how it will be backed.

I've bought and sold so many things over the years (and some I even regret selling) when I buy at this point it is something I can live with for a long while. In my opinion too many audiophiles get overly wowed by looks, Stereophile's ratings (which basically means they've reviewed it recently - often a manufacturer may have a whole line of a product - e.g. subwoofers and you'll see only one or two of them rated and if you look at the whole line and what has not been rated it makes no real sense), what costs more, etc., without even taking care of the most overlooked component, the room itself. When my friend worked at the high end shop and I did virtually all the deliveries/set-ups over a 5 yr. period you'd be amazed how different the same equipment and speakers sound in different rooms. On one delivery of amps and a pre-amp (which retailed for around $35k and sounded great in most instances) the person had purchased used speakers (of a still current model) that were $85k list and they sounded awful in his room which was way too small. We moved measly $12k list speakers out of the room which sounded tons better. The person was happy owned a pair of $85k list speakers and to each their own.

Mag · « **Reply #121 on:** 23 Dec 2007, 12:49 am »

I purchased a BCD-1, will be picking it up in a few days. aa
My biggest concern right now is, can Made in Japan-DP get any better than from what I'm hearing right now, from my Sony NS9100ES?
Will give you my unprofessional review after I put it through the paces.

Mag

James Tanner · « **Reply #122 on:** 23 Dec 2007, 02:33 am »

Quote from: Mag on 23 Dec 2007, 12:49 am

I purchased a BCD-1, will be picking it up in a few days. aa
My biggest concern right now is, can Made in Japan-DP get any better than from what I'm hearing right now, from my Sony NS9100ES?
Will give you my unprofessional review after I put it through the paces.

Mag

Hi Mag,

Look forward to you input.
Where are you located?

james

Mag · « **Reply #123 on:** 23 Dec 2007, 02:57 am »

Saskatoon.SK. pick it up in Edmonton.
Tell you what if I'm disappointed, I won't say anything.

Phil A · « **Reply #124 on:** 23 Dec 2007, 05:19 am »

Quote from: Mag on 23 Dec 2007, 02:57 am

Saskatoon.SK. pick it up in Edmonton.
Tell you what if I'm disappointed, I won't say anything.

I don't think you'll be disappointed. I've had the BCD-1 in a friend's system (Bryston 9BSST, SP1.7 and Thiel 2.4s) with a Sony XA-9000ES and I've owned a Sony XA-777ES in the past and even had a Modwright Absolute Truth mod to it. On a decent to well recorded SACD, the SACD layer certainly should sound better but I currently have a Marantz DV9600 and there are some SACDs that I actually prefer the CD layer on the BCD-1. I also owned the DVP-S9000ES (? that was the 2-channel DVD/SACD player that Sony had that weighed about 35-40 lbs. I doubt you will find the Sony better on CD.

Mag · « **Reply #125 on:** 23 Dec 2007, 06:26 am »

Where the 9100 excels is in concert dvds (dts, dolby) and sacd. I prefer dts to sacd on the two albums I have in both formats. I have several sacd's, although smoother than cd's, (which is more apparent at high volume) and more dynamic, some multi-channel mixes are unbalanced.
Based on the signal to noise ratio 115 db for the BCD-1 which is the same spec for the 9100 sacd. I'm expecting the BCD-1 to elevate cd playback to the sacd/dvd level of the 9100. Which should be a more detailed, realistic live like quality.
With dts and sacd apparently not being supported. And having a large cd collection. It makes sense to go with the BCD-1.

Phil A · « **Reply #126 on:** 23 Dec 2007, 01:11 pm »

The drying up of hi-rez releases for the most part (other than classical - I buy some but not tons) led me to sell my Modwright player a couple of yrs. back and start moving back towards something that will play the software I have and can buy. I still buy SACDs, including expensive imports but still probably not more than a dozen or so a yr.

James Tanner · « **Reply #127 on:** 24 Dec 2007, 08:43 pm »

Hi All,

Good news - just got word the the Stereophile review on the BCD-1 CD Player will be exceptional.

james

Burke · « **Reply #128 on:** 29 Dec 2007, 01:11 pm »

Quote

...just got word the the Stereophile review on the BCD-1 CD Player will be exceptional.

James,

Any update on when they plan to make the review available for us to read?

Thanks,

Burke

James Tanner · « **Reply #129 on:** 29 Dec 2007, 01:27 pm »

Quote from: Burke on 29 Dec 2007, 01:11 pm

Quote
...just got word the the Stereophile review on the BCD-1 CD Player will be exceptional.
James,

Any update on when they plan to make the review available for us to read?

Thanks,

Burke

They tell me review will not be available till April issue.

james

James Tanner · « **Reply #130 on:** 29 Dec 2007, 01:32 pm »

Hi All,

Please see below comments regarding the new Bryston CD Player from one of our Bryston dealers in the USA.

December 28, 2007

Hi James,

I just got back into town and wanted to give you some feedback on your new Bryston CD player.

First of all, I think it is awesome! The instruments are more clear, focused and intelligible. The voices are more natural and real sounding. Overall, the soundstage is much larger. You can hear deeper into the music picking up subtle information you never knew was previously present. The bass is warmer.

Simply put, the BCD-1 is very musical and enjoyable to listen to. I would not hesitate to
recommend this to anyone.

Thanks James and have a Happy New Year!

John

carlvdh · « **Reply #131 on:** 8 Jan 2008, 09:05 pm »

Hi James,

In response to your request some posts ago about RCA versus XLR connections. I did have a BCD-1 for review for approx two months some time ago and did use both connection types on a BP26. Both sounded good only issue with the balanced connection was that it was playing much louder (as is almost always the case with balanced connections) this made it almost impossible to set the volume the way I wanted on lower listening levels.

Regards,
Carl

James Tanner · « **Reply #132 on:** 14 Jan 2008, 08:00 pm »

Hi All,

Just received another OUTSTANDING review on our Bryston BCD-1 CD player in the latest issue of hi-fi+ Magazine in England by Alan Sircom.

Please see below the conclusion of the review.

“Ultimately if this (Bryston) CD Player doesn’t stir your blood, you should get checked over for anemia. The Bryston BCD-1 is never going to appeal to those who like their music slightly softened and beautifully presented, but if you love music for the experience and use the words ‘soul’, ‘feel’ or ‘passion’ when talking about music ….oh boy!”

James

James Tanner · « **Reply #133 on:** 18 Jan 2008, 12:58 pm »

Quote from: James Tanner on 14 Jan 2008, 08:00 pm

Hi All,

Just received another OUTSTANDING review on our Bryston BCD-1 CD player in the latest issue of hi-fi+ Magazine in England by Alan Sircom.

Please see below the conclusion of the review.

“Ultimately if this (Bryston) CD Player doesn’t stir your blood, you should get checked over for anemia. The Bryston BCD-1 is never going to appeal to those who like their music slightly softened and beautifully presented, but if you love music for the experience and use the words ‘soul’, ‘feel’ or ‘passion’ when talking about music ….oh boy!”

James

Hi All,

Have a PDF of the complete review from above-send me an email at jamestanner@bryston.ca and I will forward-it is 2M

james

James Tanner · « **Reply #134 on:** 19 Jan 2008, 12:57 am »

Hi Mr Tanner,
please, send me PDF review of BCD1 from HIFI +.

Thanks.
Best Regards,
Vladimir Maliuk(owner Bryston 4B-ST - BP-25 - PMC FB1)
Ukhta,
Russia.

Hi Vladimir,

It keeps bouncing back.

james

James Tanner · « **Reply #135 on:** 20 Jan 2008, 02:09 pm »

Quote from: James Tanner on 19 Jan 2008, 12:57 am

Hi Mr Tanner,
please, send me PDF review of BCD1 from HIFI +.

Thanks.
Best Regards,
Vladimir Maliuk(owner Bryston 4B-ST - BP-25 - PMC FB1)
Ukhta,
Russia.

Hi Vladimir,

It keeps bouncing back.

james

Hi Vladimir,

Here's the link to the review for you on our website.

http://www.bryston.ca/pdfs/08/Hi-Fi+Review_BDC1_08.pdf

james

James Tanner · « **Reply #136 on:** 15 Feb 2008, 01:34 am »

Hi All,

Just received a review on the CD Player from a French magazine called Quebec Audio. Please see below the English translation of some of the highlights. I will post the PDF of the complete French review soon.

It is really interesting that given all the reviews so far how the CD Players 'NEUTRALITY and TRANSPARENCY' continually stands out.

Title of the Review :
Neutrality, softness and transparency at a winner’s price!

Quotes
•From the first notes I take to the BCD-1, it is a very neutral, a very soft system; the contrabass is profound and very present, the brooms of the side drum are well defined and well heard and when Jacintha starts to sing, she appears well detached, at the front of the sonic scene.

•Once again the BCD-1 surprises me with its speed and its dynamics, the feet are taping, the hands are clapping and the guitars are literally burning up under the fiery play of the musicians. They are well defined in space and one can clearly hear the four guitars, the BCD 1 is very transparent.

Touch Down!
On its first try, Bryston wins the jackpot and can honestly say: ‘Mission accomplished’. Its first CD player is a success. Adhering to the Bryston’s philosophy, it is built robustly and without any compromise. Its sonority is typically Bryston, solid and very present in the bass but without exaggeration; the high-pitch notes are very limpid and crystal-clear. A very large and well-balanced sonic scene in the full width of the spectre. It is very analytical with an excellent rendering of the tones and a remarkable transparency. I am not very surprised with all these qualities, an excellent D/A converter and an amplification section with discreet components typically Bryston, the margin of error is low. What more can I say? I personally find that this player with all the qualities that it offers is relatively low priced.

MARIO POIRIER

I have a PDF of the complete review in French - just email me and I will forward a copy.

KeithA · « **Reply #137 on:** 15 Feb 2008, 04:16 am »

It's great to see these types of reviews on the player. I would have bought one in a heartbeat, but my latest love is the little Squeezebox. So the BDA-1 with it's digital inputs is just the ticket. But it's really the same as the BCD-1.

I'm looking forward to the release of that little puppy (pre-ordered already

) I'll also pick up the new drive as soon as it comes out. My buddy pokes fun at me for my system being virtually all Bryston! What can an amp company know about digital

Now I'm just waiting to see if any of the 28B SST design tweaks filters into the 7B SSt's before I pull the trigger there. Nothng better than cracking the factory seal on fresh Bryston stuff

Plug it in, grab a beer and just enjoy.

Congrats James on another great product. So when are the equipment racks that are machined out of a single block of aluminum coming

Keith

James Tanner · « **Reply #138 on:** 22 Feb 2008, 06:18 pm »

Hi All,

Just received word of a very flattering review from a very prestigious German magazine called: ‘hifi&records magazine’. I would like to thank 'ALEX' - one of the Audiocircle members for the english translation below of the conclusion of the review.

BRYSTON BCD-1

“When you want a no-nonsense player the Bryston BCD-1 CD Player should be on top of your list. This digital debut of the Canadians - due to their quest to not counterfeit the accuracy of the music- achieved a perfect score!

You shouldn't get this player to impress anyone else- you will get the BCD-1 to enjoy the CD medium faithfully throughout the years.”

james

James Tanner · « **Reply #139 on:** 28 Mar 2008, 05:57 pm »

MEMO: To all Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: ‘MAGNIFIQUE’ Review on BCD-1 CD Player From Italy

March 28th 2008

For those of you who speak Italian I have PDF of a review on the Bryston BCD-1 CD Player from Fedelta del Suono Magazine in Italy

Conclusion of the review:

“C’EST MAGNIFIQUE”

James Tanner,
V/P Bryston