[john1970]

Dear Bryston Owners,

I currently own the 4B SST and BP25 with MPS-1 power supply.  I am considering an upgrade of my Bryston equipment this fall.  My short list of considerations are

1) Upgrade the BP25 to BP26
2) Upgrade the BP25 to BP25DA
3) Purchase the BDA-1 (as an alternative to #2)

Of these upgrade which makes the most sense? 

Thank you in advance for the advice,

John

[denjo]

John
How about a 4th option - BP25 to BP26DA? Just a thought!

Best Regards
Dennis

[john1970]

Dennis,

I've considered the BP25 to BP26DA, but I'm quite sure it will go over my budget of $2K or less. I believe that the cost of going from the BP25 to BP26DA would be ~$1200 (DA) + $600 (BP25 to BP26 conversion) + $1200 (MPS-2 power supply). 

[smerlas]

Upgrade your BP25 to the BP26.  This can be done by acquiring the new power supply MPS2 and then getting the cosmetic upgrades to the BP25 to match the power supply.  Bryston has a "package" for upgrading the BP25 if you purchase a MPS2.

http://www.bryston.ca/pdfs/07/BP25toBP26.pdf

This way you get the latest Bryston has to offer in sonics with the preamp.

The preamp improvements will be seen in all inputs.

Then buy the BDA1. 

This will give you the most flexability.  The DA upgrade to the preamp is about half the cost of the external DA converter but you are limited in the types of inputs.  BDA1 is intended to be upgradable and has six input selections, switchable up-sampling and separate power transformers. 

I assume you already have CD with its own D/A so unless you need to add a D/A to allow you to connect a new source which does not have one you could probably wait on the BDA1 upgrade.

Budgets for equipment upgrades are basically minimum values which you expect to exceed by at least a factor of 2  and besides can anyone put a pricetag on sonic bliss?! 

[vegasdave]

Or...how about getting a BP6...it's the same as the BP26 except the power supply is internal.

Then there's the BP16...

[alexone]

Upgrade your BP25 to the BP26.  This can be done by acquiring the new power supply MPS2 and then getting the cosmetic upgrades to the BP25 to match the power supply.  Bryston has a "package" for upgrading the BP25 if you purchase a MPS2.

http://www.bryston.ca/pdfs/07/BP25toBP26.pdf

This way you get the latest Bryston has to offer in sonics with the preamp.

The preamp improvements will be seen in all inputs.

Then buy the BDA1. 

This will give you the most flexability.  The DA upgrade to the preamp is about half the cost of the external DA converter but you are limited in the types of inputs.  BDA1 is intended to be upgradable and has six input selections, switchable up-sampling and separate power transformers. 

I assume you already have CD with its own D/A so unless you need to add a D/A to allow you to connect a new source which does not have one you could probably wait on the BDA1 upgrade.

Budgets for equipment upgrades are basically minimum values which you expect to exceed by at least a factor of 2  and besides can anyone put a pricetag on sonic bliss?! 

 hi, john,

 i agree with smerlas here. the upgrade with the mps-2 will be satisfiying. and think about all the digital ins you will have with the bda-1...

 the bad thing about it is that Bryston has so much to offer that your decision might not be an easy one. but don't hesitate- you are not the only one
 who has to choose between all these beauties that sound soooo good!!!

al.

[jethro]

John:

What are your current input sources  ?

[john1970]

My current input source in a Marantz CD player.  Nothing fancy, but decent sounding for its price of $300.  I don't like the idea of putting four figures into a CD player because equipment with moving parts always seems to fail first.

Cheers,

John

[mcullinan]

Keep your cd player and get the dac. No moving parts! PLus upgradeable for the future.
Mike

[jethro]

My current input source in a Marantz CD player.  Nothing fancy, but decent sounding for its price of $300.  I don't like the idea of putting four figures into a CD player because equipment with moving parts always seems to fail first.

Cheers,

John

I haven't heard the BDA-1 but I'm still going to say that the best bang for your buck will be to buy the BDA-1 and feed it with the digital out from the Marantz if it has one. If not get the BDA-1 and a $100 DVD player to feed it. I forgot to ask about your speakers but the quality of your current source doesn't match your amp or pre-amp, so you will definitely see immediate improvement with the BDA-1.

[john1970]

The speakers are VMPS RM40s. 

[Stu Pitt]

I think the weakest link in your system is the source.  Nothing personal, but I've never been a fan of Marantz.  I find them too warm, laid back, and slow.  To my ears, their top end is a little too soft, and their bass is a bit flabby.  Everyone has their opinions though.

Why do I mention my preceived Marantz downfalls?  Because I believe a BDA-1 will bring the music closer, be more transparent, and become quicker and tighter.  If these are the changes you're looking for, the BDA-1 is definitely it.

I've also come to the conclusion that pre-amps are probably the most over looked and underappreciated components in most systems.  In auditioning a bunch of different systems before getting what I presently own, I was very surprised by the differences pre-amps made, especially ones with outboard power supplies.  In pre-amps, power supply is vital.  With a better power supply, music becomes cleaner.  The system has better resolution and detail.  Its amazing how much grunge gets into a pre-amp.  Adding a DAC to a pre-amp is very convenient, but potentially adds to the noise in the system.  All just my very unscientific opinions gathered by listening.  I'm sure someone will disagree.

So to sum it all up, IMO the BDA-1 will bring the most immediate difference, followed by a BP26 down the road.  There's a very good difference between the BP25 and BP26, but nearly as much of a difference as between your Marantz CDP and the BDA-1.

[vegasdave]

I say get the BP6 and the BDA-1.

[alexone]

I think the weakest link in your system is the source.  Nothing personal, but I've never been a fan of Marantz.  I find them too warm, laid back, and slow.  To my ears, their top end is a little too soft, and their bass is a bit flabby.  Everyone has their opinions though.

Why do I mention my preceived Marantz downfalls?  Because I believe a BDA-1 will bring the music closer, be more transparent, and become quicker and tighter.  If these are the changes you're looking for, the BDA-1 is definitely it.

I've also come to the conclusion that pre-amps are probably the most over looked and underappreciated components in most systems.  In auditioning a bunch of different systems before getting what I presently own, I was very surprised by the differences pre-amps made, especially ones with outboard power supplies.  In pre-amps, power supply is vital.  With a better power supply, music becomes cleaner.  The system has better resolution and detail.  Its amazing how much grunge gets into a pre-amp.  Adding a DAC to a pre-amp is very convenient, but potentially adds to the noise in the system.  All just my very unscientific opinions gathered by listening.  I'm sure someone will disagree.

So to sum it all up, IMO the BDA-1 will bring the most immediate difference, followed by a BP26 down the road.  There's a very good difference between the BP25 and BP26, but nearly as much of a difference as between your Marantz CDP and the BDA-1.

hi, stu!

i like your statement about the preamps and those ones who have an outboard power supply. i know that i already said this but as an owner of the sp2
and the 26 bps i can say that the 26 betters the sp2 even if they have the same gain stage. that's why i wouldn't mind if the new sp3 would have an
outboard power supply...

al

[muski]

I would buy either a BCD-1 or a Slimdevices Transporter.  The Transporter a) has no moving parts, and b) its digital inputs allow it to also be used as a DAC if you need to (e.g. use your Marantz CD as a source while you digitized your CD collection).  Both the BCD-1 & Transporter have balanced XLR outputs.

See what that sounds like, then maybe upgrade the BP25 to a BP26.

Just my two cents.

[Stu Pitt]

Alex,

I haven't heard the SP2 and therefore can't comment on that comparison, but I'll definitely take your word on it.  The difference between the MPS1 and MPS2 is pretty substantial IMO.

Ever hear Naim separates with different outboard power supplies?  Not to get off track, but Naim's pre-amps are powered by either their power amps or an outboard power supply.  They have a few different power supplies at different price points.  The differences aren't subtle at all.

I believe Simaudio's lowest two pre-amps are the same except one has an internal power supply, and one is external.  There's a big difference in performance there too.  I've heard a few others with the same results.

But I strongly feel the weakest link in john1970's system is the CD player.  I'm not a fan of Marantz, but I understand what they're trying to achieve and why some people like their gear.  But a $300 anything CD player just doesn't belong in any Bryston system.  Furthermore, Bryston and Marantz have zero synergy IMO.  System synergy may well be the single most important thing.

[john1970]

To everyone thank you for the advice.  I'll save up for the purchase of a BDA-1 towards the end of the year.  I'll probably wait until my local Bryston dealer has one that I can demo at home in my system so I can demo it before my purchase.  Earlier this year I test a Benchmark DAC-1 in my system for three days and the differences between it and the Marantz were relatively subtle. 

Cheers,

John

[niels]

You are not the first one to not notice much difference with a dac, but by all means, try out the Bryston dac with digital out from your Marantz. A demo is everything.

[nobel]

 On the question of synergy does anyone know whether Audio Research CD Players work well with Bryston amps.I would have thought that the top of the range Marantz SA751 would work well.



Nobel