Authorized Reprint from

Product Review I Home Theater

Bryston SP-1 Surround preamplifier/processor
By Eric Lavoie

The best of both worlds

The advent of DVD video and of the Dolby digital 5.1 format has already revolutionized the world of audio/video in many ways. In provoking the passage of home theater to the digital era, these technologies have favored the emergence of a category of surround sound systems wanting to be considered high-end a label reserved until recent!).' to the two channel audio domain. From the simple entertaining recreation essentially required by the amateurs of high sensations and deafening special effects, home theater thereby won, like stereo audio, its letters of nobility and its own purist clientele, demanding for precision and absolute. Besides the analogphilus (a variant of the audiophilus), an enthusiast of analog stereophony and cathode ray tube maniac, a new species has in effect developed: the digitmaniacus (a variant of the domocinephilus) a fan of the 48 kHx/24 bits sampling rate, an addict of surround sound micro details and numeric decoding. The first surround sound preamp-processor by the Canadian manufacturer Bryston foreshadows however the sudden emerging of a hybrid species which will explode this polarization of the purist clientele.

One must first know that the analogphilus and the digitmaniacus have many characteristics in common, Both species are dominated by an irresistible impulse towards perfection. Both also have a budget beyond the comprehension of the common specie (non-maniacus of any kind) because this impulse is summed up in tens of thousands of dollars. Besides, both agree to say that while listening to a film, on DVD, the best way to reach an acoustical high is to have the signal treated by an excellent numeric preamp-processor.

Their likeness however stops here. Since the analogphilus leans towards musical listening and supports that a digital preamplifier is not capable of treating the analog signal from a CD reader with the respect and the virtue of an analog preamplifier. The other, more interested by home theater, thinks that this difference of quality in the music treatment is insignificant and considers that a digital processor amply does the job. Hence, most of the time, the first sacrifices a part of his pleasure and stays attached to his analog preamplifier and his two-channel system. As for the second, he accepts to go without the best musical reproduction in order to live to the maximum a home theater experience stemming from his surround sound system.

The arrival, in the summer of 2000, of the Bryston preamp-processor however put in place together the conditions, which created a genetic mutation of these two species. It is that the audacious SP1 combines, in one system, the best of the analog preamplifier of the company and a digital preamp-processor amongst the most performant. Since both function in a totally independent manner, the SP1 thereby allows exploiting to their extreme limits the possibilities offered by the best analog and digital technologies available. The new purists specie, which will be born, will therefore be one who will, from the same audio system, enjoy the best of both worlds, without any compromise. The independence of the analog and digital sections

The autonomy of the analog and digital sections of the SP1 represents without a doubt the most fundamental characteristic of this ultra sophisticated system destined to occupy the function of the center core of the best surround sound systems. It is the result of a technological choice, which the designers of the SP1 made after a very lengthy experimentation period: it took no less than three years to develop.

You may be saying to yourself that the best preamp-processors presently on the market yet allow the optimal integration of the musical experience and home theater. The designers of the SP1 also believed it until just recently. In fact, the original design of the SP1, had been thought according to the same principle as of those of its competing rivals, which is to entrust to the digital section a portion, however minimal, of the analog signals preamplification tasks. The listening sessions of the prototype which the designers were working on brought them to conclude that any junction between the analog and the digital sections was an audible degradation source of the analog signal. Therefore, for them, the only means to obtain the same musical quality of an analog preamplifier was to separate entirely the analog section and the digital section. It was also the only way to allow the consumer to benefit from the best analog and digital performances without having to purchase two systems.

Topology-wise, the two sections are first spatially isolated and each possesses its own transformer. There is only one volume control however it leads to two distinct parts: the automatic detection of a digital signal allows the signal to be directed towards the digital circuit whereas, by default, it is directed towards the analog section. This way, a signal from an analog source (a CD reader, for example) follows a discrete analog path (without passing through a digital circuit or an integrated circuit) from input to output. This configuration is innovative in the measure where even the preamp-processors having a bypass function use the converters to increase or lower the volume.

In stereo listening, this total separation between the analog and the digital ensures from the SP1 musical performances identical to those of a high-end preamplifier. In fact, the analog circuit of the SP1 is the same as that which is found in the best Bryston preamplifier: the BP25. "It's what pleased us right away from the SP1, indicates Mr. Nicola, manager of Audioville, it treats the music entirely in an analog way. It's really, really a preamplifier.

Like many informed audiophiles, Mr. Nicola maintains that an analog preamplification produced from an analog source, has a softer sound, purer and more natural than a digital preamplifier. "To those who are critical in terms of audio and who know high-end preamplifiers, we cannot give them a digital processor the musical listening. It does not have the same sound, I made a comparative test with systems twice as expensive and the SP1 has an analog sound more fluid, more rapid, more dynamic and less hard. The tone is more right, more respectful musically."

Now on the digital side, the PCM signal from a DVD reader is directed towards the digital section where it is treated before being converted to analog and moved towards the outputs. The Finnish company, Sample Rate System, who is specialized in the domain, has designed this digital circuit.

One finds no less than three Motorola 56009 chips that share the tasks of decoding, of digital management and composition. As for the conversion, it has been assigned to the most recent Crystal 24 bits semiconductors, one by channel, in order to ensure an optimal separation.

According to Steve Nicola, the quality of this digital management gives in home theater listening sessions results which once again distinguish themselves from the competition: "Bryston has paid more attention than others to the center channel, that of dialogues, where the majority of the acoustical information stems from. The voices are more open and more natural."

Beyond being tied to the complete analog-digital separation, the quality of these performances would be due, according to Bryston, to another technical choice: that of not putting into the SP1 an internal video selector. During the experimentation process, the designers concluded that such a selector, with very high RF frequencies, could only negatively affect the audio signal.

Complete and ergonomic

The SP1 however combines most of the high-end functionalities allowing the best digital entertainment: Dolby Digital decoding, Dolby Pro Logic, DTS, as well as the digital THX treatment, dynamic range control, etc. I will spare you all of the secondary functionalities, clearly described in the excellent user manual, unfortunately in English only, which is available on the Web page of the company. Externally, the SP1 offers the same mug and craftsmanship as that of its counterparts: a professional studio face which will not necessarily bowl over the chrome and futuristic enthusiasts, on a solid metallic frame with a thick black brush aluminum front plate. Despite the large number of available functions, the configuration of these controls is not disconcerting. The display panel is perhaps a little small to be consulted at a distance, but it does supply the most useful information: the source as well as the number and type of channels. This way, you will not be mislead by a digital two channel signal instead of a 5.1 Dolby Digital signal.

The SP1 also, of course, includes an infrared remote control. Rather than going for impressive and esthetic, Bryston chose it solid, very simple and easy to use. It is therefore made of metal, displays the main controls, lights up in the dark as soon as one touches it and displays information in large characters.

We must emphasize that even though the SP1 is complex, the configuration and the setting of the different listening parameters do not require a three-credit university course. Steve Nicola considers that this is another excellent point of comparison to other models: "The SP1 is much simpler to configure than other competing systems: all the initial settings take approximately 30 minutes, which is a minimum of three times less than others." A Memento mori to forget

Knowing the frequency of technological innovations, should one worry about the lifetime of such a system? "Memento mori" ("Remember that one must die ") is not necessarily inscribed at the entrance of old European churches. But, to calm our anxiety in front of such a fatal eventuality, one must first tell himself that the SP1 has computer components allowing it to treat the format which is becoming more and more a home theater industry standard: the 48 kHz / 24 bits. Most of the experts consider that these standards will last for quite a while yet. It is that, for reasons of storage capacity, the DVD, which contains the sound and the image, cannot be exploited at a higher sampling rate.

Now concerning audio, the audio DVD and SACD formats, which are emerging, are in the sampling rates going towards 192 kHz and the standards are far from being established. But most of the audio DVD and SACD readers offer but one analog output: the SP1 obsolescence problem is therefore not one.

Whatever the future of digital formats might be, just know that the SP1 has been designed in order to allow simple reception, as with your computer, of software updates and in a way, which easily permits the digital board to be adapted to new formats by the insertion of a new chip. "And what if we go to the 7.1 channel format?" are you then asking yourself?" There again, the SP1 can be easily adapted. Its connectivity also includes balanced and non-balanced outputs when, evidently, only one type is used. All one needs to do is to convert two of the unused inputs and dedicate them for the two supplementary channels that will then be necessary.

In the same frame of mind (that of the SP1 immortality), one must also remember the unequaled length of the Bryston warranty. As for all of its products, the company offers a transferable 20-year warranty. A promise of almost-eternity!

And, as to the subject of our very mortal purchase capacity, allow us to remind you that the SP1 is a Canadian product arid that it is therefore less expensive than other comparable systems from Europe or the U.S. Listening session

If you already know of the commercial agreement existing between Bryston and, the British speaker manufacturer, PMC you will have guessed as to which type of speaker system the SP1 was teamed up with in Audioville's audio/video room, where I spent a couple of listening hours. Two MB1 speakers to the right and left, one center MB1 speaker and two FB1 speakers to the back, sustained by a Velodyne HGS15 active subwoofer was the speaker system in place. The digital audio signal had for a source a Toshiba SB9100 progressive, scan DVD reader (it accomplishes a task similar to that of a line doubler) whereas the analog audio signal task was given to the Conrad Johnson DF2 CD reader. For the amplification, Audioville chose five independent amplifiers: the 7BST (500 watts each). The listening room dimensions are comparable to that of any domestic living room and, during the length of the listening session, the sound level was fixed to the minimum recommended by DTS, which represents a level of reasonable and comfortable acoustical pressure even after many listening hours.

First in home theater session, at the reading of the DVD, it did not take long to recognize from the SP1 performances the signature of the best processors. These high-end digital performances can be appreciated in terms of: acoustical and audio image correspondence, smoothness in the passage of the acoustical message between speakers, in the precision of the objects spatial location, in the dynamic differences between scenes arid the credibility of the surround sound impression.

Notice that, in this range of products, it is not so much with the spectacular sonic effects that one can discover the sharpness of a processor (as any system can reproduce in a convincing manner gun shots, explosions and motor sounds), but it is with the ordinary scenes, those where living goes on in front of our eyes. Few systems can in effect correctly process the harmonic complexity that is found in the sound of a fall or in the sound of a human voice. This realism, this acoustical message integrity were remarkable during the listening of The Haunting, where I couldn't help but salute the grand virtuosity of the SP1. This one distinguishes itself from its high-end competitors most probably in its capacity to reproduce dialogues naturally, without ever giving the impression of "canned " or high-pitched voices. So in the realm of digital surround sound, the SP1 has everything to make us leave our living room and to transport us in a virtual world.

In pure stereophonic listening, the musical performances of the SP1 were also totally convincing. Its analytical capabilities can only be appreciated in all its fullness however when teamed up with a high-end CD reader. What appeared to me as being obvious is that the SP1 surpasses in capability of resolution that of the best DVD readers. Above all the SP1, like very few systems of that kind, has really what it takes to bring out this difference. This was particularly striking while listening to a Doug Macleod disc (Unmarked Road).

According to all criteria by which one appreciates the best analog preamplifiers, I cannot do otherwise but to give the SP1 an A+. The acoustical message is of an exemplary suaveness, smoothness, and clarity; the stereophonic image becomes wide, articulate and steady in all circumstances. The SP1 never seems to be overwhelmed by the difficulties and possesses the quality of making itself unnoticed, of becoming completely transparent, to the profit of the music.

This too brief listening session has evidently been insufficient to allow the exploration of the entire musical and surround sound qualities of the SP1. However, it allowed me to realize the extreme care towards perfection of the very serious Bryston firm in matters of acoustical reproduction, as much in digital as in analog modes. In combining, in this high-end system, its best preamplifier and a surround sound processor. Bryston thereby brings the integration of musical reproduction and home theater to heights probably never attained before and makes liars out of those who believed that this integration would be done only for the non-purist. As it pushes back almost indefinitely the moment of its outdateness. The evolutionary design of the SP1 has rendered it a sure value. This is why this makes me believe that if the SP1 had been in Sydney, it would probably have won Canada its fourth gold medal.

Manufacturer' specifications: Digital listening modes: Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic, DTS, PCM, TUX and 4 DSP modes. Inputs: 6 inputs. which 4 have digital possibilities. Digital connector types: 4 coaxial and 2 TOSLINK (optical) Price: 5,495.00 Warranty: 20 years, transferable parts and labour. Distributor: Bryston Ltd. Discography: DVD: The Haunting, Dreamworks, no 84820. The Matrix. Warner Bros., no 17737. CD: Samedi soir sur la Terre, Francis Cabrel. Chandelle, no CHANDC8OI. Also sprach Zarathoustra. Richard Strauss, Decca, no 466 3882. Unmarked Road, Doug Macleod, AudioQuest Musics, no AQCD 1046. Thanks: Quebec Audio would like to thank the team of Audioville on Saint- Lawrence Boulevard in Montreal, who has kindly put to our use one of its audio/video rooms and all the necessary equipment allowing us to carry out our product review.

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20 Year Warranty - A Generation of Music