[ed h]

in answer to your question robert, i didn't notice any letters in search. but when i hit the 'next' button to unfreeze 'start,' i did get a lot of gibberish on the screen-letters and numbers mixed together.
in reference to a different matter, i still don't understand why the bcd-1 doesn't allow for programming song selections from a cd.
i don't consider myself an audiophile, but is a unit shunned by the audiophile community if it has programmable tracking? kind of like tone controls on a pre-amp.
but as i've said many times, i bought it for it's amazing ability to play music.i can live with it's other short-comings.

and mag,
i doubt if bryston covers poltergeist in their warranty, but it appears these goblins approve of your taste in music.

[James Tanner]

in answer to your question robert, i didn't notice any letters in search. but when i hit the 'next' button to unfreeze 'start,' i did get a lot of gibberish on the screen-letters and numbers mixed together.
in reference to a different matter, i still don't understand why the bcd-1 doesn't allow for programming song selections from a cd.
i don't consider myself an audiophile, but is a unit shunned by the audiophile community if it has programmable tracking? kind of like tone controls on a pre-amp.
but as i've said many times, i bought it for it's amazing ability to play music.i can live with it's other short-comings.

and mag,
i doubt if bryston covers poltergeist in their warranty, but it appears these goblins approve of your taste in music.

Hi Guys,

I will try to test the fast forward freeze issue at Bryston and see what we find.I think if I recall the speed of the fast forward is a function of the drive and not something we can speed up.

Mag as for the player playing songs on its own I can only assume when it went to standby it was all ready programmed to play?

james

[Mag]

Mag as for the player playing songs on its own I can only assume when it went to standby it was all ready programmed to play?

>> Not to make light of the problem, around here with the strange happenings over the last 10 years I can not rule out an unseen spirit or force. It's a long story.

But if there is an earthly explanation I think it has to do with the error I encountered when trying to play a cd-r. It was unable to read the disc and went into error mode when the unit froze up. Even though it indicated standby mode it was still froze. After a few minutes it resolved the error problem and played the disc. The unit still functions fine, just something about that disc it didn't like.

However with the tray closing occasionally on its own when I have my back turned it is just plain spooky. The only plausible earthly explanation I can think of is that I live on the flight path to the airport runway. Perhaps I am picking up some interference, though I'm skeptical of this explanation. <<

[dubkarma]

 recently i fed the bcd-1 what i consider one of the toughest cd's to sound correct.
this cd is a test for one's complete system, and is often used by 'stereophile' when reviewing high-priced
equipment(do they review any other kind?). the cd is emmylou harris's "wrecking ball." on my previous cd player,the bass laid down by daryl johnson, malcolm burns, and brian blades pretty much masked ms. harris's sweet, angelic voice. with the bryston, the immense bass was more defined and emmylou's voice sounded like only emmylou can sound. it passed the "wrecking ball" test with flying colors. by being a neutral sounding player, it discourages boomy bass more so than a warm sounding unit.at least that's my theory, and i'm sticking to it.

I've not yet discovered another Emmy Lou Harris disc that really grabs me, but if repeated playing can wear out a CD (presumably not), I'd better get another copy of "Wrecking Ball." Certainly the producer and composer of many of the tracks, Daniel Lanois (who lives in Hamilton, perhaps a couple hours' drive from the Bryston factory), made a very "thick" mix and that huge bottom end looms large over the intense, almost breathless vocal style that ELH uses throughout the album.

I agree that the BCD-1's neutrality helps to "unmask" recording, although to me it's the player's extreme resolution and pellucidity at all frequencies that enables one to hear so deeply into what is after all a very, and deliberately, dense mix. But perhaps we're talking about the same thing in different terms... 

Any other ELH recommendations for those of us particularly enamoured of "Wrecking Ball?" I suspect it's unique in her discography because of Lanois' contributions as producer, composer, co-composer and instrumentalist.

Regards,

Joel.

[ed h]

hello joel,

unfortunately, records like 'wrecking ball' don't appear very often and emmylou has no other quite like it.
i was fortunate enough to acquire a dvd by emmylou and 'spyboy'(her band at the time) called 'spyboy live.' it came out in '99 and was performed at nashville's 'exit/in club. it was a live performance of the songs from 'wrecking ball' performed by the same artists who were on the record. sadly, this dvd is no longer available, although i did see it being sold as used for $55.00 at amazon.
however, i would like to recommend an excellent  cd that came out last year; it's called "raising sand" by alison krauss and robert plant. a totally amazing piece of music by any standards. if you liked 'wrecking ball,' i'm almost positive you would enjoy this.

[bummrush]

Jumping in on Emmylou,another amazing cd is the Tuscon Sessions.

[daffy]

Here's http://whathifi.com/Review/Bryston-BCD-1/ another one.

Daffy

[klao]

Test results by JA on BCD-1's (& other players') jitters in the latest Stereophile online article. 

http://www.stereophile.com/features/1208jitter/index3.html

[James Tanner]

MEMO: To all Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: Stereophile Tests Bryston CD Player for Jitter

January 2009

Hi All,

Stereophile Magazine ran a jitter test on a number of players and the Bryston BCD-1 CD Player came through with flying colors.


·   Jitter was essentially at the resolution limit of the Miller analyzer
·   The other top players are 3-10 times the price of the Bryston BCD-1


Please see the link below:

http://www.stereophile.com/features/1208jitter/index3.html

The Stereophile conclusion says it all.


Regards,
James

[rob80b]

Has anyone had a chance to give the BCD-1 a comparative review?

Finally! (my opening line when starting this thread 06,29.07)
http://www.stereophile.com/features/1208jitter/index3.html


Robert
Toronto

[ian.ameline]

MEMO: To all Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: Stereophile Tests Bryston CD Player for Jitter

January 2009

Hi All,

Stereophile Magazine ran a jitter test on a number of players and the Bryston BCD-1 CD Player came through with flying colors.


·   Jitter was essentially at the resolution limit of the Miller analyzer
·   The other top players are 3-10 times the price of the Bryston BCD-1


Please see the link below:

http://www.stereophile.com/features/1208jitter/index3.html

The Stereophile conclusion says it all.


Regards,
James

The only other player in the list even remotely competitive (price wise) with the Bryston is the Ayre C-5xe. And it's twice the price of the Bryston -- and if you look at stereophile's review where they measure and specify the jitter, it came out at 289ps p-p as compared to 150ps p-p for the Bryston.

I find it very suspicious that the Ayre has a switch labeled Measure and Listen -- 2 modes? One for John Atkinson, and one for the rest of us?

[James Tanner]

Also the 150ps was at the limit of the Miller test gear so the number is actually lower.

james

[john1970]

MEMO: To all Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: Stereophile Tests Bryston CD Player for Jitter

January 2009

Hi All,

Stereophile Magazine ran a jitter test on a number of players and the Bryston BCD-1 CD Player came through with flying colors.


·   Jitter was essentially at the resolution limit of the Miller analyzer
·   The other top players are 3-10 times the price of the Bryston BCD-1


Please see the link below:

http://www.stereophile.com/features/1208jitter/index3.html

The Stereophile conclusion says it all.


Regards,
James

James,

Thank you for making an excellent product such as the BCD-1 at a relatively affordable price.  The average price of a CD player in the 'Test Results 3: Good Enough for Hi-Rez Audio Playback' was $12,228.  The Byrston at $2695 was the least expensive of the bunch and had extremely low jitter.  Wishing Bryston the best in the new year.

Cheers,

John

[drummermitchell]

Excellent review,maybe my 52 yr. old ears aren't so bad after all.
When I was auditioning cdps,I had 3 on my mind.
#1 Audio research cd-7
#2 Bryston bcd-1
#3 Arcam,it was there top cdp(can't remember the #
 
I was told that they all had some hours on them,(I only had 2hrs with them)
To make it short,I really wanted the cd-7(8300.00)I really did.
it was very easy to swap out cdp as they were all hooked up to a Audio research pre(press of the button).
The bcd-1 always was INSTANTLY satisfying(to my ears)way closer to the way I hear music.
BUT I still desired the cd-7,trust your ears and you(I picked up the BCD-1)
I play her every morning 7:00-9:00 and after work,a few hours.
maybe my years of playing in bands,studios helped with my decision.

UPDATE,I do not desire the cd-7 anymore .

[Phil A]

Excellent review,maybe my 52 yr. old ears aren't so bad after all.
When I was auditioning cdps,I had 3 on my mind.
#1 Audio research cd-7
#2 Bryston bcd-1
#3 Arcam,it was there top cdp(can't remember the #
 
I was told that they all had some hours on them,(I only had 2hrs with them)
To make it short,I really wanted the cd-7(8300.00)I really did.
it was very easy to swap out cdp as they were all hooked up to a Audio research pre(press of the button).
The bcd-1 always was INSTANTLY satisfying(to my ears)way closer to the way I hear music.
BUT I still desired the cd-7,trust your ears and you(I picked up the BCD-1)
I play her every morning 7:00-9:00 and after work,a few hours.
maybe my years of playing in bands,studios helped with my decision.

UPDATE,I do not desire the cd-7 anymore .

I certainly can relate to the above.  I auditioned a bunch of players when I bought mine, including the $6k Ayre.  I am more of a 2-channel person and if I thought the Ayre was as good to me on CD as the BCD-1, I would have bought it.  The Ayre had some pleasant qualities but to my ears was not as honest to the music.  In some cases it could make a bad recording not sound as bad, almost as it was made to sound more like an analog turntable vs. play what was on the disc. 

[runs10k]

reviews are helpful, but ultimately it is your won ears that count. After a year long process of reading reviews and listening to various integrated amps, I selected a Bryston B-60SST. I placed the order in Aug/2007 and picked it up in early October. The BCD-1 was released in May? I was reading about it while still deciding on which integrated amp. The new B-60 was 1 month old when I opted to get the BCD-1. In my case there was no need to research any longer. I had to get to the "next step" beyond what I had in the past. I was extremely pleased with a 2 year old Bryston I had auditioned and picked new simply because it had to be new. In retrospect the 2 year old B-60 would have been fine but thats another story.
                 OK, to the BCD-1. My dealer had 2 in stock, I chose a silver one to match the B-60. I took it home and hooked it up. I now had 2 essentially ''green'' Bryston products. I played my cd's that I had used while auditioning the B60. Writing is not my forte, but simly put the BCD-1 "had it". 15 months later suffice to say I am in awe. I never get ear fatigue. The B-60 is so sweet sounding. And the BCD-1 has delivered on what others have described. My cd collection has come alive. Now I so eager to read and reread everything writen about this great sounding cd player. Bravo Bryston!

[ed h]

i,too, read the 'stereophile' article and was not surprised, because i've been living with the bcd-1 for months now, and it is a great sounding machine.
one thing that wasn't mentioned in the above posts was mr. atkinson's confusion regarding some spuriae to the left of the central tone that were higher than they should be and spuriae to the right that were a little lower. he didn't seem to know what caused that.

i think one of the benefits of low jitter is better and more transparent highs.(less listening fatigue) aa :
i previously owned an adcom 750 that measured very high in the jitter department and didn't have anywhere near the transparency of the bryston.(much listening fatigue)

i truly believe the bcd-1 will achieve the status of classic, if it hasn't already.

[rydenfan]

Great wripte-up in the new Steroephile! congrats 

[James Tanner]

Great wripte-up in the new Steroephile! congrats 

Thanks.
Haven't seen it yet but I hear we got the front cover.

james

[Ron D]

A buddy of mine has the new BCD-1 and he brought it over to a mutual friend's house to try it up against the resident Esoteric X-01 D2 and my Marantz SA-11S2 which was on loan. I wasn't there for that session but the owner of the Esoteric advised the much less expensive BCD-1 was not embarrassed by either player it ran up against.

I had the same BCD-1 over to the house over Xmas and determined if I had not invested in a large number of SACD discs over the last few years and concentrated solely on redbook software I could be very happy with a BCD-1 and no doubt would have one on the way.

Kudos to Bryston - I think its a great player and much like many of their products a superb value at its price-point!