Good day, picture food fans:
Here are a few rough photos of our latest acquisitions: an SP3, BDP-2, BDA-2 (all with blue lights/displays), and Oppo BDP-105 (along with lots of lovely Bryston XLR cables and an AES/EBU cable between the BDP and BDA). We ran CAT6 from the apt gear to an eight-port Cisco enterprise switch hidden in a utility box behind the Paradigm Reference Signature ADP surround speaker mounted on the cabinet (alas, our room has one open wall, so this was the only viable place to mount a surround speaker); the cable goes through the attic to a network port in my office, then to a five-port Cisco enterprise switch, and to our Airport Extreme. This gigabit connection should be suitable for streaming. Thanks to the illustrious Chris Rice, we have a 500gb Samsung SSD purring along happily in the BDP-2.
FWIW, the cherry cabinet is getting ready to be buttoned up. There are smoked glass doors that cover the equipment area. Right now, there are discs and manuals cluttering things up while I'm setting up the gear. We're in the middle of a front yard makeover, so dust finds its way everywhere, despite polishing things every few days.
Here's the tour, from top to bottom:
1. Top shelf: 200 pound full-entension sliders holding a beefy 6BSST(C); the sliding shelf is handy when making connections and dusting/cleaning gear.
2. Next shelf down: same sliders holding a not-so-beefy, but still quite hefty 4BSST(C).
3. This stationary shelf holds the media controller (tuner and switching/processing) for our Pioneer Elite PRO-1130 TV. It will be good to reclaim the space when we replace the TV.
4. The sliding shelf holds our SP3 and above it the (ugh!) Comcast DVR (soon to be relocated when I can figure out where).
5. On this sliding shelf rests another substantial 4BSST(C).
6 Below the centerline of the cabinet is a utility drawer for remotes and other goodies.
7. On this stationary shelf, the Oppo BDP-105 holds forth. (We'll reorganize the shelving when the BOT-1 is released.)
8. The incredible BDP-2 sits on this stationary shelf.
9. This stationary shelf holds the smooth-as-silk BDA-2.
10. The very heavy APC S20 battery backup/power conditioner sits on this sliding shelf.
All shelves, save the one with the magnetic catch for the glass doors (under the Pioneer box) are adjustable in small increments. I would have liked to locate the power amps differently but, wouldn't you know it, we didn't have enough cable lengths to do so. I may put Niles speaker plates with five-way binding posts on the back wall, but I hate to break and remake the connections on the speaker cables. What are your thoughts on this?
The top part of the cabinet has three storage compartments with interior shelving and push-to-open doors flanking the gear. The bottom portion holds ten deep drawers (sounds like a nasty movie) that hold Blu-ray and DVD discs; these also have hefty (but not so hefty as those above) full-extension sliders. In the cubby holes (cluttered for now), there are power outlets (there are two 20-amp dedicated circuits for the system), halogen lighting for the cubbies, light switches/dimmers for the room, and a timer for a whisper exhaust fan at the top of the cabinet. You'll notice holes in the middle of the shelves to allow for convection cooling as well. So far, things run quite cool (and did when the doors were on the cabinet).
You'll see a Paradigm Reference Signature S4 rear speaker with a rather sloppy cable running to a wall socket; I just got Niles Audio 5W4D switch plates with four five-way binding posts and will be able to dress the speaker cable through the stand and connect it with banana plugs. FWIW, since I had some long cable runs, I used substantial Ultralink in-wall OFC cables: CL-412 (four 12-gauge strands, which I twisted together to make two strands for LF) and CL-414 (four 14 gauge strands, twisted to a pair for mids and HF); these terminate at the Bryston amps with industrial-strength Ultralink locking banana plugs and pro-spades to make tight biwired connections.
There's lots of work left to do, but this weekend we will finally get to sit and enjoy the system. In the short time we've had with the new gear, we've been delighted with the accuracy, power, and smoothness of the audio. I've never heard better sound from the system. It's been revelatory and engaging, and should sound even better when I have a chance to tweak the SP3's settings and calibrate our speakers and subs.
Best to all, Bryston fans, and happy listening,
Rich
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Whiney Napa Valley
The means — Bryston SP3 | Bryston 6B-SST(C) - L/C/R; 4B-SST(C) - surrounds; 4B-SST(C) - rears | Bryston BDP-2 Digital Player; BDA-2 D/A Converter; Oppo BDP-105 | Paradigm Reference Signature S8 fronts; C5 center; ADP surrounds; S4 rears; two Velodyne DD15 subs | APC S20 | Pioneer Elite PRO-1130
