I also stumbled upon a new disc by Irish singer and songwriter Luka Bloom called Dreams in America. The album features re-recordings of tunes from his earlier, excellent back catalog, but featuring just his voice and guitar, minimally miked; a true test for any system, especially a digital source component. The Bryston passed with flying colors.  Bloom's voice was rich, dark and passionate. His very underrated guitar playing was also rendered beautifully, with a bell like clarity to the strummed chords and picked notes.  It was a real breath of fresh air in today’s world of overly compressed, artificial sounding pop recordings.

Of note, I was able to compare the BCD-1 to the Naim CD5x ($2950), without the external power supply I usually employ. The BCD-1 has a slightly higher output, so I made sure to match levels. In general, I felt the Naim set the presentation a row or two back from the Bryston. They were very similar in over all tonal balance, but the Naim was a bit darker. I found myself preferring the Bryston about 70%, if not more, of the time.  The Naim is not an upsampling player, by the way.

• CD Player: Naim CD5 XS with Flatcap 2X,
• Preamp: Audio Research SP16, Marantz SC-11S1
• Amplifier: Audio Research VS55
• Speaker: Harbeth Compact 7ES3, THIEL CS2.4
• Cables: DH Labs, RS Cables, Kimber/QED/Acoustic Zen (AC)/Transparent (AC)/Element Cable, Shunyata, Pangea
• Accessories: Symposium Rollerblocks, Shakti Stone, Sound Anchors stands, Timbernation platform, CablePro Noisetrapper
  

Reviewers Associated Equipment 2:

• CD Player: Marantz 5003
• Music Server: Squeezebox 3
• DAC:CIA VDA-2 with XPS
• Tape Deck: Revox A77, HHB CD Recorder
• Preamp: Belles Soloist 3
• Amplifier: Revox A722, Belles Soloist 5
• Speaker: Spendor S5e
• Cables: Kimber/QED/Transparant/Shunyata(AC)/PS Audio(AC), Pangea Audio, RS Cables, Element Cables.
  

Comments

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ohrbrcko  - Nice Looking Player But....   |2010-07-18 06:02:40 I will save myself $2,200 and go with the Emotiva ERC-1. 7   4

Athlete  - LOL. Emotiva? Hilliarious   |2010-07-18 08:14:49 Good luck with that. Emotiva is mail order MADE IN CHINA. Pzzt. So have fun "saving" $2200. 6   5

ohrbrcko  - A Fool and His Money...   |2010-07-19 14:54:38 On serious note, CD technology is mature. There are no truly new innovatons with regard to players and how they are built and sound. My endorsement of Emotiva is a recognition of that fact. They are a company known for producing great amps. Yet they have developed a very good CD player. I don't think they have a huge R&D lab. I have yet to find, either a professionally or an amateur, critical review of their CD player. It is an old argument with mixed evidence that says that the purchase price can be equated to superior performance. 5   2

Athlete   |2010-07-19 15:29:50 I hear you brother. There is nothing radically new, but there is certainly advancement in transport quality, signal paths, and filters. But for the other poster to call it snake oil is ludicrous. Also, speaking for my self, Made In China does not cut it for me unless I am spending $300 or less. 3   4

KAW  - Quality   |2010-07-23 13:17:51 ohbrcko, We don't chastise you for buying CCS (cheap chinese stuff), so don't deride those of us who can hear and are willing to pay for superior sound. The 4 cylinder engine is old technology, but improvements are continually being made. Do you drive the cheapest car made or do you pay more for comfort, accelleration, safety and overall performance? 3   4

Stillwaiting   |2010-07-23 15:49:08 I am still waiting for you to explain why the bryston is better even thoe it does not use the new 32 bit DAC's in much cheaper players. 4   2

ohrbrcko  - Hearing and Believing   |2010-07-24 07:08:21 All that I have read seems indicate the the Emotiva is a match for even the most expensive CD players. Let's rip open the Bryston and determine what componets where manufactured in China. I think there would be little to be surprised about. I read some time ago (maybe on AVS forum -but not sure), where someone compared the first generation CD players to today's offerings and found little if any difference in sound. mmmmmmmm. The fact is, one's ears are not as precise as clock used time a 100m race (comparatively speaking). Blind listening tests generally prove this out. The price differeces between the Emotiva an a Bryston has less to do wth the quality of the parts and more to do with markup. They could have easily priced thei cd player for many hundreds of dollars less but they don't expect to sell many so they have recoup their costs - direct, indirect, overhead and etc.). Emotiva has a very efficient at producing and selling their proucts. As I mentioned in an earlier posting, cd technology is old hat. Don't get me wrong. like the finner things in fe. If I had lots of extra cash, I would buy all sorts of hi-end componets. Not necessarily because of the preception that they offer superior performance but more on the lines of having something unique and different from what everyone else has in their system. 3   3

The Real Athlete  - ohrbrcko..YOU BLEW IT   |2010-07-24 07:25:37 Sorry bro, you just BLEW your credibility out of the water. Let us count the ways. 1) So all that you have "read" indicates the Emotiva is equal to the Bryston. So you have not HEARD the Emotiva. Oh, wait, they have NO DEALERS...ahah too bad. Bryston has a national dealer network that allow for auditions. 2) No difference between todays players and the early generation of cd decks? Are you out of your mind? I have owned 7 or 8 cd players since the 80's, there is absolutely and utterly no comparison. Not even close. Whom ever says there is no difference obviously has a shitty system that cannot even resolve the biggest differences. 3)You obviously are blowing smoke and know absolutely nothing about component design and cd player design in particular. The Brystons face place alone costs the manufacturer around 75 to 100 dollars. How about balanced circuitry? How about the metal system remote? How about a Class A analog out put stage? If you don't what you are talking about don't sound like fool trying to pretend. 4)If your ears are not sophisticated enough to hear the differences, don't think that ours are too. And if you can't afford the Bryston, and you are happy with your Chinese plastic crap, that is fine. But I CAN afford nicer things and I can hear the differences. Happy Listening. 4   3

ohrbrcko  - Nothing Blown   |2010-07-26 16:54:03 Great! You can wow everyone with your deep knowledge of hi fi. In the end, you are basing your buying decision on price. If it costs more than it has to be good. I too am basing my buying decision on cost - higher cost does not equate to better performance. The Bryston must sound 5X to 6X better than the Emotiva because that is what your will be paying. Explain to me what it costs to manufacture the Bryston and then add on the dreaded mark up. I bet you they build the their player for something that equals the price of the Emotiva and than slap on the 500% markup. Unless they pay their employees well thus adding to the cost of the player. But that does not improve the quality. But go for it, spend your disposable income as you see fit. The economy can use it. 3   2

Athlete   |2010-07-26 17:33:36 Higher cost does not indeed indicate a higher level of performance. However, it does not also mean that all cheaper products are would be giant killers. I can honestly say there is no way the Brytson is 5x or 6x better than the Emotiva. But I did not go on here attacking one player and praising another..wit outer EITHER of them. Certainly not side by side. You did. A reviewer on this site did compare them and you can dig up this review on this site. He praised the Emotiva, but said the Byrston was more neutral. Another thing is that slot loading is far more prone to failure, and is far cheaper to produce. All I ask is know what you are talking about or at least get admit up front you have listened to the components you are discussing instead of saying you "heard" it was better. Lastly, just like you don't like being taken to task for being happy with a two buck chuck player, don't get on those of us who prefer our products be made in North America and are willing to pay for it. Peace Out. 6   1

Stillwaiting   |2010-07-26 21:19:42 Athlete, please explain how the bryston is better in any way, they do not use better DAC's so what makes the bryston 1) worth that much and 2) sound better then anyother CD player? 4   3

Keep Waiting Fool  - Yet again you know nothing...   |2010-07-27 07:28:23 Prove to me it does NOT sound better. You obviously know nothing about component design. It is not about the DAC or any other single aspect..it is about implementation. Learn that word....IMPLEMENTATION. 3   2

KAW  - CHEAP   |2010-07-28 12:56:33 People who who want to buy cheap will not bother to investigate differences in products - whatever they may be and will puchase the lowest price/cheap item. As a friend once told me LISTEN TO THE MUSIC!!!! Buy what you want and want to spend and enjoy! 2   2

dave   |2010-07-31 14:48:53 I give up,I try Eso UX-3 ,X-03SE,Marantz SA-11S1,Poneer BDP-09FD.Onkyo DV-SP1000.I don't know but high $,just seemed more powerful,did'nt REALLY sound better. 1   1

ohrbrcko  - Endorsement for Implementation   |2010-08-01 06:02:21 The following is an extract from a forum on Emotiva's web site. It speaks to the implementation point made by Keep Waiting Fool. "BTW, the Berkeley Alpha DAC and Emotiva (ERC and XDA) both use a chip from Analogue Devices. If I am not mistaken, it's the 1955 in both cases. Now, implementation is everything (XDA is superior over ERC), but this goes to show how much potential the XDA-1 has. If you want the Alpha: it's 5,000$ " The other point to the above authors comments is that you don't need to spend great sums of money to get great sound. When cheap is as good as the high end, why pay for hi-end. Oppo is an example of that. Inexpensive DVD and Blue Ray players which destroy everything else in terms of performance. It is all well documented via reviews - lots and lots of them. Implementaton aside, the noticable sound improvement of a $5,000 DAC over a $400 DAC - both using the same chip will be minimal and not worth the extra $,4,600. All sorts of psychological tests have been done that show you hear what you want to hear. Hence all the interest in blind listening tests. 1   0

richluvsound  - Warranty ?   |2010-09-27 12:44:19 I have a Bryston 4 pre amp (circa 1987) I love it . I have diy amps, Albs, pass labs on the bench :) JBL K2 clones ( same parts as the original ) and .... wait for it ....a pioneer DVD 717 player . I got for 16 bucks of flea bay... I wont talk about the sound LOL it pisses all over many systems ..... BTW I build and design speakers for a living. Anyway , I believe I have established my background enough to open my mouth with some authority... Bryston offers a 20 year warranty ! That works out at around 230 bucks a year to own real quality both sonic and physical . My Bryston dealer will pick up my gear and leave me a loner of equal or better standard should my Bryston need repair. Btw , when I do hifi shows I use the same gear on my speakers .... sometimes I borrow gear from dealers ... It wont be a humm from Emotiva either . I can pretty much choose whatever they have instock ... 2   0

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