Ayre CX-7e vs. Bryston BCD-1

Hgeifman,

While I've never directly compared the two.. I too prefer the CX7. I will say there is definitely a system synergy with Ayre as well and it would be a better match for your AX7e than the bryston.

I demoed the Cambridge 840c and the Bryston. To me the Cambridge had much better resolution and correct presentation of timbre. Plus it will save you $

The Bryson Rep called me today and confirmed that Bryson has no retailers in the San Francisco Bay Area. He offered to loan me the Bryston BCD-1 and I will contact him around mid September.

All the reviews I saw on the Bryson BCD-1 were very positive but I need to determine how it sounds with my Ayre AX-7e amplifier in my home. I should be able to do this with I get the unit. If anyone has heard the Bryson BCD-1 vs. Ayre CX-7eMP, I would be interested in hearing your opinion. Thanks again for all your information above.

Funny about system synergy,as when I auditioned arcam cd-36,
Audio Research CD-7,Bryston Bcd-1.For over a year I wanted the CD-7.I went to my Audio dealer who sells all three.
He had them all hooked up to a AudioRsearch pre.
i was there with my own cds amd a good 2-3 hrs of clicking the remote fo the pre to switch cdps.To my ears I thought the cd-7 would definately blow the others away.I liked it better than the arcam.So between the Cd-7 and Bryston,the Bryston to me, brought the instruments closer to authenticity of how each
instrument should sound and drew me in totally.I kept going
going back to the cd-7 as that's the one I wanted,but I had to trust MY ears as the Bryston got my emotions going.
I find she's an honest player no bullshit just music,real music.So I bought her and no regrets.I don't know how someone can say that a component has better synergy than
another component,without even trying it out.they definetely
made a closed mind desisionlet alone their ears,which I guess doesn't matter.If you can try them all,don't let somebody tell you just because both components are made by the same manufacturer thatthey have better synergy,especially since they didn't even listen to the other piece.I think we all hear,listen different,just as musicians do and people that don't listen 24/7.I'd take it all in,but do yourself a favor if you can try them all out,
especially with your own music,then YOU WILL KNOW and musically,you'll be alot happier,I am.

I'll assume that response was meant for me. Don't get me wrong.... I'm not saying there aren't players out there that sound better than Ayre's own when used with other Ayre components. I just haven't had the pleasure of listening to one yet. I didn't go out and blindly buy all Ayre gear because I believe in system synergy. I've demoed quite a mix of things over the years, including bryston, in single manufacture systems and mixed. I still go hang out at dealers and listen to different systems just because. It's fun.

All the times I've heard Ayre systems though I always come back to the Ayre players as the ones that sound best to me. Thus my comment. And thus I have an all Ayre system.

And yes I've listened to the Bryston, both in a Bryston system and with other mixed gear. I've listened to a lot of Bryston components over the years.

I bought what sounded best to me... although that was before the C5x came out :)