Bryston SP1.7 Bypass or Digital In ????

Use 'em both. I have digital out from my CDP and both analog sets of outputs hooked up. This way I have choices. Two different ICs and the inboard DAC if I choose.

I prefer analog bypass using the CDPs DACs. I guess its the tube output..? or maybe its the full analog signal path you get in bypass. Either way, all you have to do is select the input, bypass, or digital from the front of the unit or remote. The Bryston offers a ton of flexibility and sounds fantastic.

There isnt "A" bypassed input, ANY/ALL the analog inputs can be bypassed at the touch of a button. Which is great. You arent bypassed if you choose "digital," then obviously the inboard DAC is doing the decoding, hence no bypass. But the beauty is, you can have 'em all hooked up at once, and select which you want to hear.

RCA only inputs is an issue for some. Most of the time the source is close to the Pre/Pro anyway. Mine are, so its really not an issue for me, I do use XLR to the amp for the front channels.

This is a serious performing Pre/Pro and I bet your going to love it.

I use a Phillips DVD963SA as a digital source and prefer the 2 channel bypass over digital. The digital input has good detail and sounds very clean but sounds a little thin. The analog bypass gives much more "air" around the instruments. Everything seems more like real instruments in a real recording space. Instruments seem to have more "weight" with the bypass. I had just the opposite results with an AVP2 that I previously had. That sounded significantly better through the digital input.

I don't mean this as a knock on the digital input of the Bryston, I just think that the analog input is extraordinarily good. One of the great things about this preamp is you have the option for analog bypass on every input. Overall I agree that the SP1.7 is an excellent preamp, especially if you have quality analog inputs (ie vinyl).

I use the SP1.7 in 2 channel bypass mode. To me the beauty of this it allows use of your sub(s) in bypass mode. The Dac in the SP1.7 is very good compaired to others I have listened to (Arcam AV8, Mac MX132 Anthem AVM 20) to name a few. I use the AA Capitole CDP with excellent results in 2 channel bypass thru the SP1.7

Faziod, this was knew to me. I had been using the Bryston for a while and didnt even know it. Until you corrected me on this. Being the consummate skeptical, I emailed Bryston, I had a response in the typical couple of hours, on a Saturday!!! Unbelievable customer service response time, anywho. When selecting Sub output when bypassed, it is a full range signal, so you need a sub with a built Xover. Which obviously most subs do. Nonetheless I like the way Bryston was committed to the "Analog" part of the Bypass. This unit and company continue to impress me. Thanks again Faziod for the tip.

I am pretty sure the PCM D/A conversion is handled by the Motorola 56367 chip in this unit. It is SOTA for Multi-channel decoding but I think other dedicated DACs may be better at PCM. No problem though, just run Analog ICs and a digital input both. You can setup the input to "default" to the digital input(inboard DAC), Analog with DSP(outboard DAC), or bypassed(outboard DAC), then switch to whichever one you want, whenever you want at the press of a button.

Distortion Agreed 100% on Brystons customer service. I e-mailed them early on a Sunday morning and by 8:30 am I had a responce back from James Tanner. Now that is CS support.
He also sent me some hidden codes on the SP1.7s remote if your interested let me know.