Bryston BDP-1 Own one? What DAC are you using?

Using Wyred4Sound DAC-2. The BDP-1 sounds better than using J. River version 16 with the DAC-2's USB drive, which sounded pretty good to begin with. Even on MP3 files, the Bryston player is terrific, with great dynamic range and sound emanating from a really black background. Can sound harsh on heavily compressed music, but this has occurred very rarely.

W4S DAC2.

Took me a while to get operation sorted -- having more to do with locating and copying my iTune files to a HDD than anything to do with the BDP-1 -- but once I got it working it is quite an amazing device. And this from someone extremely skeptical of anything to do with computer audio.

Only weaknesses are in the stock software to select music and play it on BDP-1. I used MAX for starters and it is fairly rudimentary, clunky and non-intuitive, but it works. So now I use Gnome player on a netbook, which is free to download and does not even require an Internet connection. The interface is much better, more intuitive and more versatile. When I get my iPhone next month, I will use that.

The other weakness is when you detach HDD to add more music to it,and then reattach to BDP-1, the BDP-1 takes a while to update itself. The more music on the HDD, the longer it takes to update; therefore, I only update the HDD every few weeks or when I have added a lot of new music.

Aside from the foregoing, this is sonically and operationally a breakthrough product, with great customer support from Bryston.And you don't need USB/SPDIFconverters, USB cables, special software, etc.

Neal

Having demo'ed the BDP-1 for a week, i agree with your software assessment. It's sound is head-and-shoulders above the Squeezebox touch, but software wise, far below. The included browser software is very rudimentary and frustrating.

I use a 500GB Seagate USB drive connected to the back. Once you connect the drive and turn off the BDP-1, the drive will appear as a share on your local network. You can then add files via your network and updates are much faster.

I'm looking for a installable Windows MPD server so I can use the iPad app to control it

Just a follow up on my experience with the Bryston BDP-1 and BDA-1 combo... I have now run the pair for approximately 100 hours overall.
They are very satisfying components. The sound is simply perfect in my opinion as far as digital sources go (at least without mortgaging your home). There is zero noise and a jet black background. I very much prefer to listen to files in their native resolution. It is nice to have the upsampling option, though I rarely prefer or engage it. Hi res material is simply stunning - check out the material from the 2L label at HDTRACKS.
The Bryston Max proprietary software is a bit slow and ackward at times, but Bryston service and support is absolutely second to none and they are consistently offering updates and working with customers for feedback. Contrary to many reviewers, I've virtually always preferred the sound of the AES connection as opposed to the SPDIF connection. I have both cables from Bryston so am able to toggle between the two and compare.
I couldn't be more pleased with them and highly recommend both.

If you use Windows 7 on PC, you should download the free Gnome MPD player to control music selection and play on the BDP-1. Excellent GUI and you do not need a Wi-Fi connection for it to operate.

Neal