I've been the proud owner of an SP3 for two weeks now.
During that time I've checked it out using the HDMI, SPIDF, balanced and 7.1 inputs as well as sampling the various output modes. My conclusion is that there is no way to make the SP3 sound bad. Material that wasn't engineered very well sounds good and well engineering material sounds fabulous.
The sound stage is wide and has depth. The detail the SP3 pulls out of a recording is eerie. I'm hearing detail and nuance in music I've never heard before regardless of the format. But the biggest revelation is the fact the SP3 can produce a clean, clear sound at levels beyond live. During my testing I decided to see how high I could run the volume before the sound became harsh or muddy. I never got there. I turned up the volume and all the SP3 did was pump out more and more clean, clear and detailed sound. I ended stopping because I knew the volume was too high to be safe not because the sound became harsh and unbearable to hear. I had absolutely no idea my 9BSST could muster up that much output if fed a truly clean signal. The next time I try this I'm going to get out my sound level meter and measure the output level to see how high it was at.
One thing I did uncover in my testing not directly related to the SP3 is that you can't always trust the specs that manufacturers publish. I have some digital material recorded at 24/192 and I was anxious to try it out with the SP3. However, I still don't know what it sounds like played at the full rate and converted by the SP3. It turns out that my disc player while capable of reading and playing the discs won't pass it through digitally at full rate. It down converts the output to 24/96 on both HDMI and SPDIF. The manual claims 24/192 capability but buried in the pages is the chart showing what happens to the digital output. That got me riled up because it isn't an inexpensive piece and yet they cut corners. Basically, I didn't get what I thought I was paying for. So, caveat emptor when buying some equipment. Just because they charge a bundle doesn't mean you get good value for the money.
Fortunately, that isn't the case with Bryston. Yes, the SP3 is up there, but you very definitely get what you've paid for and then some. Stellar job on SP3, James and company.
Ted