This is an interesting memo from Parasound, perhaps some insight into the SP3 delay .........
http://www.parasound.com/new.php
It's interesting that Parasound refers to Bryston using a Finnish design house.
For the SP-2 and, based on the preliminary feature list, for the SP-3, Bryston has been using the Digital Audio Engine from Momentum Data Systems, a California based design house. My guess is the 'digital heart' of the SP-3 will be based on the DAE-6D
http://www.mds.com/products/product.asp?prod=DAE-6D, just as the SP-2 used one of the previous DAEs.
Anyway, as discussed on this forum, the development of a HDMI based unit appears to be very difficult for a small company that can't rely on economies of scale like mass producers can.
Has there been any mention whether the SP-3 will be HDMI V 1.4? The topology of the Digital Audio Engine appears to be somewhat future proof as the HDMI board is an add-on to the DAE-board itself. So it could be swapped for HDMI 1.5+...
I am looking forward to finally seeing the SP-3 in its 'final' form.
Now, a few questions for James:
- Has there been a decision what upgrade route will be offered by Bryston to owners of a SP1/1.7/2? The ideas ranged from swapping the old SP1/1.7/2 for the new SP-3 at a discounted price to a separate box that would basically do the decoding and send the 5.1-analog signal to the old SP-1.7/2. Now, if my assumption about the analog connection of the external box is correct, this upgrade would be limited to 5.1 (as the SP1.7/2 only have an 5.1 analog in). I am not sure whether there could be a digital connection on the 'chip level' via I²S to the digital heart of a SP-1/1.7/2.
- Will the SP-3 support HDMI 1.4 right from the start and if not, will there be an upgrade path?
- What will the suggested retail price for the audio-only version of the SP-3 be?
Thanks and cheers!
Markus