The BCD-3 joins the highly successful family of digital products in the Bryston lineup, including the award-winning BDA-3 DAC (Digital to Analog Converter). The BCD-3 serves a community of consumers loyal to the CD format seeking superior sound and build quality. The BCD-3 is expected to begin shipping to authorized Bryston dealers in December, 2016 with an MSRP of $3495.
The BCD-3 has been engineered to playback Redbook CD and CDR disc formats using a premium transport/laser pickup assembly mated to two AKM 4490 384/32Bit DAC’s. Bryston designed the player to utilize a single master clock that syncs the transport to the DAC, eliminating one of the primary sources of an unwanted artifact called jitter. The DAC in the BCD-3 is based upon the BDA-3 platform and includes a fully discrete Bryston class A analog output stage and independent analog and digital power supplies.
Users will have the choice of balanced XLR or unbalanced RCA Stereo outputs as well as transformer-coupled SPDIF/AES digital outputs. The BCD-3 is network connectable, enabling software upgrades via an Ethernet jack and there is a remote 12-volt trigger input as well. The front panel, available in black or silver aluminum, has been designed to aesthetically match Bryston’s Cubed Series amplifiers.
“We are aware that the music industry has written off the CD format, however we have a significant number of customers who have substantial CD collections they’d like to enjoy,” explained Bryston VP James Tanner. “We had the ability to leverage our BDA-3 DAC platform—one of the most popular digital products from Bryston—combined with a very good quality transport and deliver an audiophile CD player with astonishing levels of clarity and detail.” Initial orders for the BCD-3 have been brisk after the prototype player was seen by media and enthusiasts at recent Montreal and Toronto high-performance audio events.
All Bryston digital products are covered by a 5-year warranty.