[Marius]

Hi everyone,

just to let it not get buried in another topic, please forgive me for posting this again in its own topic:

if I were to use a USB to BNC converter (to connect my USB2 Mac to the BDA-1) would there be advantage with a 24/192 converter over a 24/96  converter. ie the Halide bridge seems to get nice reviews, but only goed up to 24/96. I need the USB-BNC connection to be able to use the other 2 rca's for machines with only RCA output.

I know the Wavelenght at the bottom of http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/HW/USB_SPDIF.htm got nice reviews, and the Lindeman http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/HW/USB_DAC_Adaptive.htm also, anyone got experience with those? Calyx http://www.digitalaudioblog.com/2011/02/review-calyx-dac-24192.html would fit my MAc Mini into a stunning couple....very little information though.

Well, like to hear your thoughts.


thanks,
Marius

[BrysTony]

Marius,
Before I got the BDP-1, I used a Bel Canto 24/96 USB/SPDIF converter with the BDA-1 using its BNC connection.  It worked quite well and there is not much available music beyond 24/96.  I do now have quite a few higher resolution selections (24/176 and 24/192) but most of what I listen to is still from CDs.

Once I got the BDP-1 the sound quality improvement was stunning.  I no longer had any use for the converter so I sold it and I almost never listen to my CD player.  I have SSDs containing my music attached to the BDP-1.  I add music to those attached SSDs over the network from an iMac.  I control the BDP-1 with an iPad2 using the MPad application.  It all works perfectly and is a joy to use.

I suspect that the converters that you mention all work well as did my Bel Canto but I in my opinion the BDP-1 makes them obsolete. 

Tony

[Marius]

Hi Tony,

For streaming purposes and NAS Connection and other computer related musical activities I need a hirez USB-connection to the BDA-1. My Macbook has firewire, usb2 and optical, my Macmini wil have USB2 and optical. Listening to you all, I would have to use the USB2, and therefore need a converter, since the BDA-1 only has Usb1.1 and 16/44.1 .

Reading your remarks I guess I will wait....maybe use the optical input for the time being, knowing it is sub-optimal.

Thanks,
Marius

Marius,
Before I got the BDP-1, I used a Bel Canto 24/96 USB/SPDIF converter with the BDA-1 using its BNC connection.  It worked quite well and there is not much available music beyond 24/96.  I do now have quite a few higher resolution selections (24/176 and 24/192) but most of what I listen to is still from CDs.

Once I got the BDP-1 the sound quality improvement was stunning.  I no longer had any use for the converter so I sold it and I almost never listen to my CD player.  I have SSDs containing my music attached to the BDP-1.  I add music to those attached SSDs over the network from an iMac.  I control the BDP-1 with an iPad2 using the MPad application.  It all works perfectly and is a joy to use.

I suspect that the converters that you mention all work well as did my Bel Canto but I in my opinion the BDP-1 makes them obsolete. 

Tony

[headshrinker2]

Marius,
I'm surprised we don't see more posts like this one.  There have to be tons of us folks who are trying to optimize their Macs as a source into BDA-1. 

I tried a S/H M2tech hiFace USB convertor.  Did not romance me. 

BTW, I am currently using a Wireworld Supernova 6 Toslink interconnect from my MBP into the BDA-1. Very, very nice. 

Let us know where you end up...

[Marius]

to be honest, its been a tough decision to stay with the Bryston... only thing I can see about that is that it's because of this great forum, Brystons very active and valuable contribution to it (James's) and of course the ultimate sound quality, that I did.

And take some peculiarities, not to say annoyances for granted. One of those being the connection with computerized music. Hope to solve it this way, I certainly will look into your suggestion. Thanks for that one!

Boy, would I love a Bryston version of the Naim NDX/HDX....

Marius

Marius,
I'm surprised we don't see more posts like this one.  There have to be tons of us folks who are trying to optimize their Macs as a source into BDA-1. 

I tried a S/H M2tech hiFace USB convertor.  Did not romance me. 

BTW, I am currently using a Wireworld Supernova 6 Toslink interconnect from my MBP into the BDA-1. Very, very nice. 

Let us know where you end up...

[Anonamemouse]

Boy, would I love a Bryston version of the Naim NDX/HDX....

Marius

So VERY seconded...

[James Tanner]

So VERY seconded...

Ain't going to happen.

james

[Marius]

but why?
What's Bryston's idea of the musical future then?
It's really hard to understand Bryston's not incorporating the computer in to its future. Nas, Dlna, streaming..... would be great to have that on Bryston quality.

Ain't going to happen.

james

[James Tanner]

but why?
What's Bryston's idea of the musical future then?
It's really hard to understand Bryston's not incorporating the computer in to its future. Nas, Dlna, streaming..... would be great to have that on Bryston quality.

Hi Marius,

We feel the BDP-1 is the best way to listen to high resolution Digital files and as long as we can build on it by incorporating more features we prefer that approach... as long as it does not compromise quality.  We do not find the Swiss army knife (everything in one box) approach works as well.

That's why I keep saying the BDP-1 is NOT for everyone.

james

[Marius]

just to clarify: I totally agree with you on that one, no swiss army knife, and no compromise on quality. That's why my order is on the way (ie when gapless playback is a certainty...)

But the NDX/HDX is about computer interfacing/ripping and ease of interface. What's the Bryston answer to that.

Now we have to struggle with pc's/mac's and audio-codecs, files and folders, usb-sticks/drives, and no NAS support whatsoever...You can do that the Bryston way, ie much better?!

Marius

Hi Marius,

We feel the BDP-1 is the best way to listen to Digital files and as long as we can build on it by incorporating more features we prefer that approach... as long as it does not compromise quality.  We do not find the Swiss army knife (everything in one box) approach works as well.

That's why I keep saying the BDP-1 is NOT for everyone.

james

[James Tanner]

Hi Marius,

Below is a letter I wrote to a dealer a few months back but I think it indicates where we are going on this.

Hi M,

David is essentially correct in his critique of the BDP-1, within the context of that critique of course. The original idea with the BDP-1 was to provide a state of the art playback system and the BDP-1 currently is essentially a ‘high resolution dedicated digital player’ rather than a ‘server’.

We felt separating the ‘Playback’ side of the equation from the ‘Management’ side of the equation would (and did) reap substantial performance advancements. So your analogy of the BDP-1 being more like a CD Player of the 21st century is spot on. A direct connection is much better than a wireless connection when it comes to transferring and listening to high quality, high-resolution digital files. The wireless network has major issues when you start trying to transfer very high-resolution 176/192K digital files … dropouts etc. Also even wired home networks are shared by many others in the household so there may be concerns there as well. Some manufactures recommend a ‘SUB-Network’ within the local home network to try and overcome these limitations or potential problems. NAS drives also need a MEDIA PLAYER (UPNP) in order to playback music. TWONKY Media or ASSET Media Player are examples.

The BDP-1 has a different philosophy and I do not think it is about being right or wrong necessarily. The BDP-1’s ‘ace in the hole’ is the ability to be used without having to be connected to a Network at all and offer the customer a PLUG and PLAY option. The other way the BDP-1 can be used is what I call the ‘Man-Cave Option’. By this I mean you can implement a separate router directly to the BDP-1 and be totally independent from the other networks in your home. That being said we realized that the door is wide open moving forward as to the types of features we can add. On the current software November 14th 2010 we have implemented the ability of the BDP-1 to act as its own NAS. By that I mean you can transfer files from your main computers hard drive storage over the network to any harddrive or thumb-drive connected PHYSICALLY to the BDP-1. The current version of the software (Nov 14th 2010) will allow the customer to transfer a file to any hard-drive plugged into the BDP-1 as long as the file system is VFAT or MSDOS or EXT (Linux) – (NTSF read-write is not available yet). This feature is available through the Bryston BDP- 1’s homepage under ‘Settings’.

Going forward we want to look at a dedicated NAS drive that the BDP-1 would automatically ‘see’ on the network. Currently though we are concerned that unless the drive is dedicated and plug and play most consumers would have trouble implementing a NAS as there are so many of them available with different setup requirements. So unless you’re an IT Grad you’re stuck! Also we are thinking that given the high-end market segment that the BDP-1 is aimed at the NAS should be using the new solid state drives rather than the rotary drives most use today for long-term reliability. Solid State drives are expensive at this point but that should change quickly moving forward. Also
going forward we have to think about USB-3 as possibly being utilized on the Bryston NAS.

Anyway, hope this helps explain our position a little more clearly.

James Tanner

[alexone]

...it reminds me of the time when Apple's iPad hit the market...lots of people were complaining about its features. comments like "it can't do this" and "it can't do that" were very popular. after a while they realized what it was made for and that this is something special regarding its functions. and it became a best seller...

al.

[Marius]

Hi James, all,

I've stopped thinking about the missing options of the BDA-1/BDP-1. They are clearly there, but Bryston's philosophy is another one. One I can understand, agree to, and make me buy the combo.

Another thing is I would like to have a Bryston version of the Naim NDX/HDX. 

Please spare me the Ipad-theory. Completely off topic, and non relevant. To me it is just the opposite. Are we going to make the Paradigm-shift, or just aiming for perfection, albeit digital, of techniques of the recent past.. (I'll sign for that, for the time being, but am certain of the fact that others are making the shift already).

Greetz,
Marius

Hi Marius,

Below is a letter I wrote to a dealer a few months back but I think it indicates where we are going on this.

Hi M,

David is essentially correct in his critique of the BDP-1, within the context of that critique of course. The original idea with the BDP-1 was to provide a state of the art playback system and the BDP-1 currently is essentially a ‘high resolution dedicated digital player’ rather than a ‘server’.

We felt separating the ‘Playback’ side of the equation from the ‘Management’ side of the equation would (and did) reap substantial performance advancements. So your analogy of the BDP-1 being more like a CD Player of the 21st century is spot on. A direct connection is much better than a wireless connection when it comes to transferring and listening to high quality, high-resolution digital files. The wireless network has major issues when you start trying to transfer very high-resolution 176/192K digital files … dropouts etc. Also even wired home networks are shared by many others in the household so there may be concerns there as well. Some manufactures recommend a ‘SUB-Network’ within the local home network to try and overcome these limitations or potential problems. NAS drives also need a MEDIA PLAYER (UPNP) in order to playback music. TWONKY Media or ASSET Media Player are examples.

The BDP-1 has a different philosophy and I do not think it is about being right or wrong necessarily. The BDP-1’s ‘ace in the hole’ is the ability to be used without having to be connected to a Network at all and offer the customer a PLUG and PLAY option. The other way the BDP-1 can be used is what I call the ‘Man-Cave Option’. By this I mean you can implement a separate router directly to the BDP-1 and be totally independent from the other networks in your home. That being said we realized that the door is wide open moving forward as to the types of features we can add. On the current software November 14th 2010 we have implemented the ability of the BDP-1 to act as its own NAS. By that I mean you can transfer files from your main computers hard drive storage over the network to any harddrive or thumb-drive connected PHYSICALLY to the BDP-1. The current version of the software (Nov 14th 2010) will allow the customer to transfer a file to any hard-drive plugged into the BDP-1 as long as the file system is VFAT or MSDOS or EXT (Linux) – (NTSF read-write is not available yet). This feature is available through the Bryston BDP- 1’s homepage under ‘Settings’.

Going forward we want to look at a dedicated NAS drive that the BDP-1 would automatically ‘see’ on the network. Currently though we are concerned that unless the drive is dedicated and plug and play most consumers would have trouble implementing a NAS as there are so many of them available with different setup requirements. So unless you’re an IT Grad you’re stuck! Also we are thinking that given the high-end market segment that the BDP-1 is aimed at the NAS should be using the new solid state drives rather than the rotary drives most use today for long-term reliability. Solid State drives are expensive at this point but that should change quickly moving forward. Also
going forward we have to think about USB-3 as possibly being utilized on the Bryston NAS.

Anyway, hope this helps explain our position a little more clearly.

James Tanner

[Marius]

Hi JAmes,

Don;t you think that exactly this "dedicated" aspect is making the Bryston way non universal, and because of that too difficult to match with other hardware-options, as in non-universal. universal being the ultimate way to go, because of exchange of hard-and software?

Marius

On the current software November 14th 2010 we have implemented the ability of the BDP-1 to act as its own NAS. By that I mean you can transfer files from your main computers hard drive storage over the network to any harddrive or thumb-drive connected PHYSICALLY to the BDP-1. The current version of the software (Nov 14th 2010) will allow the customer to transfer a file to any hard-drive plugged into the BDP-1 as long as the file system is VFAT or MSDOS or EXT (Linux) – (NTSF read-write is not available yet). This feature is available through the Bryston BDP- 1’s homepage under ‘Settings’.

Going forward we want to look at a dedicated NAS drive that the BDP-1 would automatically ‘see’ on the network. Currently though we are concerned that unless the drive is dedicated and plug and play most consumers would have trouble implementing a NAS as there are so many of them available with different setup requirements. So unless you’re an IT Grad you’re stuck! Also we are thinking that given the high-end market segment that the BDP-1 is aimed at the NAS should be using the new solid state drives rather than the rotary drives most use today for long-term reliability. Solid State drives are expensive at this point but that should change quickly moving forward. Also
going forward we have to think about USB-3 as possibly being utilized on the Bryston NAS.

Anyway, hope this helps explain our position a little more clearly.

James Tanner

[James Tanner]

Hi JAmes,

Don;t you think that exactly this "dedicated" aspect is making the Bryston way non universal, and because of that too difficult to match with other hardware-options, as in non-universal. universal being the ultimate way to go, because of exchange of hard-and software?

Marius

Hi Marius,

You may very well be correct - time will tell I guess - but for me performance precedes all other considerations - call me naïve.

james

[Marius]

James,
I wouldn't dare. Ever. Hope to see more wonderful gear.
Grtz,
Marius

Hi Marius,

You may very well be correct - time will tell I guess - but for me performance precedes all other considerations - call me naïve.

james

[alexone]

Please spare me the Ipad-theory.

...i never meant to offend you, Marius. my apologize.

al.

[Marius]

Reading it again, I believe I was a bit too strong in my words...apologies returned

Thanks.
Marius

Please spare me the Ipad-theory.

...i never meant to offend you, Marius. my apologize.

al.

[Stu Pitt]

If you think about it, the BDP-1 is far simpler than the other types of 'servers' IMO.  All you have to do is rip your files at an external hard drive, then plug that hard drive directly to the BDP-1.  No networks, NAS, etc., etc.

I'm not very tech savy at my old age of 35.  Had to have my cousin who's an IT guy set up my wireless router.  I got it running, but when I tried to password protect it, all he'll broke loose.  Forget about a NAS.

I like the plug and play approach of the BDA-1.  Too bad I can't afford it though.  My Apple TV 1 will have to do.

James -

Was it reall that hard to get the BDP-1 to read hard drives?  I see a few products coming out, and hardly any do this.  Cambridge Audio for example.  That's a different product aimed at a different market, but it's just odd that they didn't add this feature.  There are several others too. Just wondering if it's something they thought unimportant or too difficult. 

[James Tanner]

If you think about it, the BDP-1 is far simpler than the other types of 'servers' IMO.  All you have to do is rip your files at an external hard drive, then plug that hard drive directly to the BDP-1.  No networks, NAS, etc., etc.

I'm not very tech savy at my old age of 35.  Had to have my cousin who's an IT guy set up my wireless router.  I got it running, but when I tried to password protect it, all he'll broke loose.  Forget about a NAS.

I like the plug and play approach of the BDA-1.  Too bad I can't afford it though.  My Apple TV 1 will have to do.

James -

Was it reall that hard to get the BDP-1 to read hard drives?  I see a few products coming out, and hardly any do this.  Cambridge Audio for example.  That's a different product aimed at a different market, but it's just odd that they didn't add this feature.  There are several others too. Just wondering if it's something they thought unimportant or too difficult.

Hi Stu

Do you mean can the BDP read a hard drive other than a USB hard drive?

James