Is the Bryston BDP-1 worth $$$ over Apple TV

Mike,

How much money do you want to throw at this to be able to play digital music? Are you playing hi rez files or is all of your stuff just ripped from CD? When you say "Apple lossless" are you actually talking about Apple Lossless or are you talking about AIFF format? If you are going to be playing hi rez files, are they going to be 24/96 or 24/192?

If all you are going to be playing is ripped CDs, I'd be very hard pressed to say that the Bryston unit is worth up to 20Xs the price of the AppleTV.

Although I don't doubt that the Bryston unit is very nice, there are alternatives that do the same thing that the Bryston unit does.

If you can give a more concise assessment of your needs, it might help you to make up your mind.

Alternatives that are available and come immediately to mind are, of course, the AppleTV, Logititech Squeezebox Touch, Logitech Transporter and Sonos.

Heck, if all you're worried about is playing ripped CDs, a Sonos runs $350, new. If you want to improve the sound, have it modified by Wyred4Sound for another $500. Another $300 for a cheap 2TB NAS and you're set. The one thing that I can say about the Sonos is that the hardware and software are bullet proof. A six year old can operate it, and I mean that literally.

Just be aware, before you dive in head first, that if you decide to go the hi rez route (24/192 files, etc.), be aware that downloading from a service is the only way that I am aware of to get hi rez music.

I download most of my stuff from HDTracks (largest selection) and have found that getting a hi rez download that actually sounds appreciably better than a ripped CD is hit and miss. With some albums, the difference is astounding. With most, I'm just left with a feeling that I paid too much for a CD.

There was talk about the Bot-1 in audiocircle, where the Bryston fanboys hang out and it was said that it will be compatible with BDP-1 but that was over a month ago.It was Chris Rice Bryston engineer that said it,maybe they changed course.
George

More of my music played on BDP-1 is downloaded than ripped from CD, so not worth the cost to me. Maybe one day they will make an all-in-one unit!

Neal

Yioryos

The new Bryston disc drive will only interface with the BDP-2, and is not compatible with the older -1.

Got this from Tanner at Bryston the other day, as I am looking at aquiring a BDP (to replace a PSA PWT) myself.

That will save a step, George. I would be a potential customer. Sounds like the Memory Player.

Neal

Nglazer

Yes I agree with you. The Bryston team is working on a new optical drive,called BOT-1 that will rip and store your music and pass it to BDP-1/BDP-2 .

Cheers
George

Another vote for Bryston BDP-1. I was anti-computer audio, but saw this unit and bought it. Never looked back. Once set up, easy to use, sound is outstanding through a respectable DAC, now has NAS capability, and storage is cheap! Control it with my iPad or iPhone. Audio life is good!

Mike
Since you already own the BDA-1 ,getting the BDP-1 is the way to go.There is no comparison.
I played with the Apple TV 1st generation and external DAC last summer,and the sound was horrible to my ears,my Wadia 170/ipod classic 120gb combo easily outperformed the Apple TV playing and comparing the same tunes.
I own the bdp-1/bda-1 now.
George

I think the apple TVs sound pretty great. I don't see the need for the BDA 1
I'd just get a Mac mini instead it away cheaper and a lot more versatile. The
synchro mesh is very interesting too. For 99 bucks though its not to risky to
try an Apple TV and see what you think. I'd put the dough you are willing to
spend towards a better DAC and got with an Apple TV

I am considering Pure Music software - thoughts? Amarra seems a bit overpriced. I have a Bryston BDA-1 DAC and Apple TV 2nd generation. It appears the BDP-1 may still be the way to go??? Would I be better off with reclocking (synchro-mesh) the data between ATV and the DAC vs the BDP?

There seems to be so many successful ways to enjoy digital music. I am currently using an IPad to stream Spotify (premium) to an AppleTV2 to a PSAudio DAC into my stereo. This has been my setup for almost a year and I still have little motivation to go back to my lossless files. Vinyl is still my favorite source for sound quality, but I have to admit that my Spotify listening is very satisfying.

I started with a 160gb apple tv and a used flat screen monitor. Total investment was less than $200.00 . You can't beat that price to get into a digital server. If you are happy with all of your music formatted in apple lossless and are on a tight budget, this may be the way to go.

I moved on to a bdp-1 and use dbpower amp to rip my music. It was an enormous jump in sound quality. I bought a used bdp-1 and early apple iPad as a user interface, a 1tb drive and a couple 30gb ssd thumb drives for an investment of about $2000.00 .

You will be able to take advantage of higher resolution source material with the bdp-1. Is that important to you?

If you are pc/mac savy, you could probably put together your own pc/mac based server that would out perform the bdp-1 for less than the cost of a bdp-1.