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  #1521  
Old 12-23-2019, 10:31 PM
nicoff nicoff is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kal Rubinson View Post


.

That pic looks like something from the last century. [emoji2960]
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  #1522  
Old 12-23-2019, 10:56 PM
Kal Rubinson Kal Rubinson is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nicoff View Post
That pic looks like something from the last century. [emoji2960]
Nope. 2005.
https://www.stereophile.com/musicint...itr/index.html
Not sure who designed the UI or when.

Last edited by Kal Rubinson; 12-23-2019 at 10:59 PM.
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  #1523  
Old 12-24-2019, 10:50 AM
gbaby gbaby is offline
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Originally Posted by moonhawk View Post
Gbaby--

Thanks! Which pics in which thread? I have made major changes since my early pics in the Bryston picture thread, including making and installing paneling, changing speakers, building new platforms for the components, and adding 7b3 mono blocks.

And, I just changed from 5.1 to 7.1, since I freed up two channels on the 9B2 when I added the monoblocks. I bought the Sopra surround BE surround speakers, which are actually two speakers in one, And can be wired separately as side plus rear, or together as side speakers. Space and wiring restraints made it virtually impossible to run separate rears. The sopranos Yes solved the problem nicely.

BTW, did you read what you said?: "If I had a room like that, it would look just like yours." . Yes, it would.
Dave, the pictures I saw are the ones you currently have posted even on this site. They were blond looking speakers. The room is gorgeous. The reason I asked about the configuration is that I would like for you to try on the SP3 Dolby Pro Logic Iix Music from two channel sources. I thoroughly enjoy two channel music using he BDA3 to through the SP3. But every now and then, I play Dolby Pro Logic Iix Music through the balanced digital input on the SP3 and it is mesmerizing. I get the best results with smooth jazz compositions like Brian Culbertson or Norman Brown. The sound is very clean and immersive. I am assuming you have a sub, too. Please give it a try and let me know, good, bad or indifferent.
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  #1524  
Old 03-20-2020, 12:17 PM
DRC2 DRC2 is offline
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Default Sp3 hdmi

I know this thread is now dated. In Nov 2017 the HDMI board upgrade was the MDS HSR72Q.
I understand the current board is the MDS HSR-8T

Does anyone know when that change happened and why.
I have to compliment Bryston for doing everything possible to keep this product as current as possible. If you look at the 8 years this product has been on the market that is 4 different HDMI boards.
I don't know any other manufacturer that would do that.

Thanks Bryston

Last edited by DRC2; 03-20-2020 at 07:03 PM.
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  #1525  
Old 03-21-2020, 04:38 PM
DRC2 DRC2 is offline
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I know this thread has not been responded to in a long time but I thought I would bring it to life for thoughts from other SP3 owners.
I am one of the original owners of the SP3 with serial number 112. I still think this is one of the only Pre/Pros on the market that caters to the audiophile because it has 2 channel and 5.1 channel analogue bypass through an analogue volume control. Everything else out there takes an analogue signal converts it to digital (because the volume control is digital) and then converts it back to analogue. I have tried many other pre/pros for pure analogue and I have not found anything that sounds as open and non fatiguing other than a dedicated 2 channel pre amp when I listen to 2 channel. That being said, the Bryston is 8 years old. In tech years that is a lifetime. The advancement in DAC's, HDMI, DSP's etc change (improve?) every year.
I am faced with a decision based on the fact I now have more than 2 UHD 4K/HDR sources and my Bryston still has the original HDMI boards which will not pass 4K. In fact I found out that Bryston is now on there 4th HDMI board since the SP3 was introduced 8 years ago. I have been able to get around that limitation because my Oppo had 2 HDMI output so I run the video direct my my JVC projector and the audio to the SP3. The Oppo also has an HDMI input for my Apple 4 TV with HDMI bypass.
I think the fact that technology is changing every couple of years that any Pre/Pro will need to be upgraded every couple of years. This leads me to my question:
It seems to make sense for me that investing in a high quality analogue pre amp with Home Theatre Bypass (that will not be obsolete for many years) and then getting any AVP for handling my 7.1 home theatre might make the most sense. The advancements in AVP's and receivers is primarily around Immersive audio, video processing, room correction, staying current with HDMI standards etc. For the most part they are disposable in 2 or 3 years.
I also have a latest generation Marantz in another room and I have experimented with it in my media room. I have kept everything else the same and just replaced the SP3 with the Marantz. For 7.1 movies the Marantz sounded as good as the SP3, was easier to set up, passed all 4K signals to my projector etc. but for analogue 2 channel was not even close.
For my particular situation:
Immersive sound is not important, my room is set up for 7.1 channels and that will not change.
I don't require room correction because my room has been treated and measures flat from all seating positions.. In fact when I had the Marantz in the room I used the room calibration feature of the Marantz and found that for 7.1 it actually sounded better when I disabled that feature.
I don't need any video up conversion or processing in my pre pro. I will leave that up to my source (Oppo 203, Apple 4K, Marantz Blu ray) or my JVC projector.
In reality if the SP3 had the latest DAC's, and passed 4K, 60Hz, 4:4:4 12 bit signal with all the HDR standards, plus had a DAC that converted a 2 channel or multi channel DSD signal through HDMI that would be perfect. Until 8K comes out in a couple of years

Upgrading the SP3 to the current latest specs for HDMI board and USB DAC would cost about $3,800 which at best would buy me a couple of years until HDMI standards change again.

Or I could sell the SP3 and put that money into any Receiver from Marantz (with pre outs) or any AVP for 7.1 sound and a good quality 2 channel pre amp with home theatre bypass.

If my overall budget is around $10K that seems to make the most sense. If I look at the Bryston SP4, The McIntosh MX170 and MX123 Trinnov, Marantz AV 8805 they are all catering to videophiles that want all the latest immersive sound capabilities and have very elaborate video processing capabilities.
It seems that they new Theta is more catering to what I am looking for but at a very high price
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  #1526  
Old 03-21-2020, 10:32 PM
gbaby gbaby is offline
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I would not sell my SP3. What is the rest of your system?
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  #1527  
Old 03-22-2020, 12:12 PM
DRC2 DRC2 is offline
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I have the following sources hooked up to the SP3:
Clearaudio Ovation TT hooked up to Parasound JC3 Phono into the Bal 1 input default on SP3 is 2 channel bypass.
Marantz UD9004 with multiple hook ups including 7.1 channel output into 7.1 channel input of SP3, 2 channel analogue balanced into Bal 2 on SP3, HDMI, Coax Digital. The Marantz was my primary digital source. I use it to listen to CD, SACD, DVD Audio as well as Blu Ray. I can switch between Analogue out, or digital via Coax or HDMI. That way I can compare whether or not the Marantz has a better DAC and DSP than the SP3.
These are my primary analogue sources.
Other sources include:
Bluesound Node 2 which is hooked up to the SP3 via Coax Digital plus analogue. This is hardwired to the internet and is my player for Tidal streaming as well as my music library on my iMac which contains about 1000 CD's ripped as AIFF. I usually listed via the digital out to take advantage of the DAC in the SP3. If I want to listen to an MQA stream I use the analogue output because the Bluesound has an MQA decoder the SP3 does not.
Oppo UDP203 is hooked up via HDMI only and I use it for 4K HDR movies. Because my SP3 will not pass 4K I have 1 HDMI going directly to my JVC projector and the 2nd going to the SP3 for audio only. I did have it hooked up via analogue but found that both the Marantz and SP3 have much better DAC's.
Apple 4K TV which is for streaming content from Netflix, Amazon and Crave TV. The HDMI output from the Apple is hooked up through the HDMI input of the Oppo UDP203. Again because the SP3 does not pass a 4K signal.
Shaw cable TV hooked up via HDMI.
Thats the set up for me.
If I was to upgrade the SP3 to the latest HDMI board and the new USB DAC the cost would be $3,800.00. If I sold my SP3 as is, I could get roughly $4,000.00 and use those funds to buy a brand new SP3 with a 2 year warranty it would not be much more. Either way I would be spening about $4,00.00. Or I could use those funds to buy a good quality analogue preamp plus any current AVR/AVP strictly used for it 4K video switching and DSP for watching movies.
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  #1528  
Old 03-22-2020, 01:32 PM
Kal Rubinson Kal Rubinson is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gbaby View Post
I would not sell my SP3. What is the rest of your system?
If the 7.1 analog inputs were balanced, I'd feel the same way.
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  #1529  
Old 03-22-2020, 01:36 PM
gbaby gbaby is offline
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Your SP3 is an excellent base to use as a foundation for your entire system. I would not be playing any music through your CD sources, but rather, I would invest in a Bryston BDP-3 and import all my music using wav or aif files with dbpoweramp as the software for importing my music. I have found that importing music to my SP3 sounds better than any other digital source. Don't get fooled with Tidal and MQA. I have found that none of the digital services, including Tidal and Qubuz, sound as good as music I import. Even hi res music does not sound as good as my imported red book sound at 44.1/16. It sounds natural whereas hi res just sound louder. Additionally, have you tried Dolby Pro Logic Iix music through your SP3? While I own the BDA3 which has a state of the art D/A converter, I almost never use it, preferring to play two channel red book music using my BDP3 connected to the SP3 and playing back using the Dolby Pro Logic Iix music codec. Assuming, your 7.1 speakers have the same drivers in them, you should try it. If I had 4K and needed more 4K inputs, I would upgrade the SP3, but I would not upgrade its USB input because you can get 192/24 PCM using the other digital inputs of the SP3. There are other methods to improve sound beside the latest D/A converter. The SP3 is still relevant unless you want an unrealistic object based ATMOS, that I have yet to experience in real life.
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  #1530  
Old 03-22-2020, 01:48 PM
gbaby gbaby is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kal Rubinson View Post
If the 7.1 analog inputs were balanced, I'd feel the same way.
I don't know of any pre/pro that has 7.1 balanced analog pass throughs. Do you?
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