BRYSTON BP16 Preamplifier Owner’s Manual

BRYSTON BP16 Preamplifier

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

The lightning flash with an arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage “ within the product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.
The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance
(servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the product.

1. Read these instructions.

2. Keep these instructions.

3. Heed all warnings.

4. Follow all instructions.

5. Do not use this apparatus near water.

6. Clean only with dry cloth.

7. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

8. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat.

9. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding-type plug. A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other. A grounding-type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wide blade or the third prong are provided for your safety. If the provided plug does not fit into your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet.

10. Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the apparatus.

11. Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer.

12. Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table specified by the manufacturer, or sold with the apparatus. When a cart is
    used use caution when moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip-over.

13. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time.

14. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped.

WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPARATUS TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.
DO NOT EXPOSE THIS EQUIPMENT TO DRIPPING OR SPLASHING AND ENSURE THAT NO OBJECTS FILLED WITH LIQUIDS, SUCH AS VASES, ARE PLACED ON THE EQUIPMENT.
TO COMPLETELY DISCONNECT THIS EQUIPMENT FROM THE AC MAINS, DISCONNECT THE POWER SUPPLY CORD PLUG FROM THE AC RECEPTACLE.
THE MAINS PLUG OF THE POWER SUPPLY CORD SHALL REMAIN READILY OPERABLE.

BRYSTON LIMITED WARRANTY
Bryston analog audio circuits are warranted to be free from manufacturing defects for twenty (20) years from the original date of manufacture. The warranty includes parts and labour.
Bryston Digital circuits and cables are warranted for five years from the original date of manufacture. The warranty includes parts and labour. Bryston products having motorized moving parts, excluding motorized volume controls, are warranted for three years from the original date of manu-facture. The warranty includes parts and labour.
Bryston will remedy the problem by repair or replacement, as we deem necessary, to restore the product to full performance. Bryston will pay ship- ping costs one way (usually the return portion) during the first three years of warranty coverage.

In the event of a defect or malfunction, contact Bryston’s repair centers for return authorization. Products must be returned using original packaging material only. Packing material may be purchased from Bryston if necessary. This warranty is considered void if the defect, malfunction or failure of the product or any component part was caused by damage (not resulting from a defect or malfunction) or abuse while in the possession of the customer. Tampering by persons other than factory authorized service personnel or failure to fully comply with Bryston operating instructions voids the warranty. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which may vary from province to province and country to country. As of 2006-02-22 Bryston will only warranty Bryston products purchased through authorized Bryston dealers. Bryston products with a date code of 0608 or higher (date code format is “yyww”, where “yy” is the two least significant digits of the year and “ww” is the week of the year) must be accompanied by a copy of the bill-of-sale from a Bryston authorized dealer to qualify for warranty service. The warranty is transferable from the original owner to a subsequent owner as long as a copy of the bill-of-sale from the original authorized Bryston dealer accompanies the re-sale. The copy of the bill of sale to any subsequent owner need ONLY include the Name of the Bryston Authorized Dealer and the Model and Serial number of the Bryston product The warranty will only be honored in the country of the original purchase unless otherwise pre-authorized by Bryston.

BRYSTON SERVICE in CANADA:

• Postal address: P.O. BOX 2170, Stn. Main
  PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO CANADA K9J 7Y4

• Courier address: 677 NEAL DRIVE
  PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO CANADA K9J 6X7

• PHONE:  705-742-5325

• FAX: 705-742-0882

• E-mail: [email protected]

BRYSTON SERVICE in the USA:
79 COVENTRY ST., Suite 5 NEWPORT, VERMONT
U.S.A. 05855-2100

• PHONE: 802-334-1201
• FAX: 802-334-6658
• E-mail: [email protected]

BRYSTON SERVICE outside Canada and the USA: contact your local distributor or

• CHECK OUR WEB SITE: www.bryston.ca 
• E-MAIL BRYSTON DIRECTLY: [email protected]
• FAX BRYSTON DIRECTLY: 01-705-742-0882
• PHONE BRYSTON DIRECTLY: 01-705-742-5325

INTRODUCTION:

Thank you for purchasing a Bryston BP16 Preamplifier. We are confident it will provide you with many years of musical enjoyment. We would welcome any suggestions or comments you may have regarding the operation of your Bryston amplifier.
In the unlikely event that your amplifier may require service Bryston recommends that you retain the origi-nal shipping box and packaging material for future use if required.

SETUP RECOMMENDATIONS:

You may place your BP16 Preamplifier in any convenient location. Make sure you position the amplifier to maintain a direct line-of-sight between the hand- held remote and the remote sensor eye located on the front panel. If plugged in the BP16 will remain in standby indicated by the RED power LED on the front panel.
The amplifier is powered up by engaging the power button located on the front panel of the BP16 or by depressing the POWER button on the hand held remote control unit.. The BP16 will power-up momentarily with mute engaged, indicated by the mute LED turning red on the front panel; it will then turn off within a few seconds. The POWER LED will
stay lit green indicating normal operation.

CONNECTIONS:

WIRED (SERIAL DATA) REMOTE CONTROL:
There is one RS-232, one AUX IR input and two 12 volt trigger output connections as well. The RS-232 is bi-directional and allows for future software downloads from the Bryston website. It also interfaces with control systems such as Crestron and AMX.
CHASSIS GROUND:
A chassis ground thumbscrew terminal is provided on the rear panel.
12 VOLT TRIGGER CONNECTOR:
These 12Vdc control outputs allow the BP16 to exert on/off control over compatible equipment. See “REMOTE POWER CONTROL” for more information..
LINE-LEVEL ANALOG AUDIO INPUTS :
The Bryston BP16 Preamplifier comes equipped with 8 pairs of gold plated analog RCA input connectors:
TV, CD, AUX-1/PHONO, AUX-2/SPDIF, VIDEO, TUNER, RECORD IN, and POWER AMP IN. All have an input impedance of 50K ohms

• POWER AMP IN is normally connected, internally, to PRE AMP OUT via the CONNECTED/SEPARATE
  slide switch located on the rear panel. When this switch is in the SEPARATE position, however, any line-level audio input can be used at the POWER AMP INPUT jacks to drive the amplifier.

• In BP16-DA models the AUX2 (D1/D2) input jacks accept only SPDIF PCM bitstreams. They do NOT accept analog audio input signals.

• In BP16-P models, which are equipped with a moving-magnet phono equalization module, the inputs labeled AUX1/PHONO accept moving mag-net phono cartridge inputs. These inputs are NOT line-level inputs in the BP16-P and cannot be used as such.

LINE-LEVEL ANALOG AUDIO OUTPUTS :
The Bryston BP16 Preamplifier comes equipped with 3 pairs of gold plated analog RCA jacks for outputs: 2 pairs of PREAMP OUT jacks and 1 pair of RECORD OUT jacks.

• PREAMP OUT is normally connected, internally, via the CONNECTED/SEPARATE switch, to POWER AMP IN
• RECORD OUT output is not affected by volume, balance or mute controls.

DIGITAL AUDIO INPUTS:
In the BP16-DA model, which contains a stereo D/A converter module, there are 4 digital audio inputs available.
Two TOSLINK optical inputs are selected by pressing the D3 (TOSLINK-1) or D4 (TOSLINK-2) buttons on the front panel (when in digital mode) or on the handheld remote.
Two SPDIF coaxial inputs can be connected to the BP16-DA using the RCA input jacks labeled D1 and D2. To select these inputs first place the unit in digital mode by pressing the DIGITAL4 Select button on the front panel (or the A/D button on the handheld remote) and then press the D1 or D2 button on the front panel or on the remote). When the green LED above the font panel DIGITAL4SELECT switch button in ON concurrently with either the D1 (CD), D2 (TUNER), D3 (TV) or D4 (VIDEO) LEDs , then digital mode is engaged.

Note: Whatever digital input was previously selected in Digital Mode will be automatically reselected upon re-entering Digital Mode (from Analog Mode). Similarly, when re-entering Analog Mode from Digital Mode the previously selected analog input will be automatically re-selected.
See also the DIGITAL-to-ANALOG CONVERTER OPTION section for more information.

HEADPHONE JACK:
There is a quarter-inch headphone output jack available on the front panel of the Bryston BP16 Preamplifier. Inserting the headphone jack mutes PREAMP OUT automatically. You can adjust the volume setting of the headphones by using the volume control on the front of the BP16 Preamplifier. You may also utilize the remote control unit to adjust head-phone volume. The headphones cannot be muted with the remote control unit or the front panel muted. Only headphones with impedances of greater than 50 ohms should be used.

AUXILIARY IR INPUT:
This mono 1/8” (3mm) phone jack allows a direct connection to equipment whose remote control sys-tem provides an output from their infra-red LED drive circuit. The signal connected to this jack, which is expected to be a 5-volt logic level, should be ≥2.5Vdc and ≤10Vdc. The tip of the phone jack is positive (+) and the ring is negative (-).

LED STATUS INDICATORS:

• CLIPPING: This LED (light emitting diode) will flash
  RED when the output waveform is clipped
  thus indicating an overload condition.

• MUTE: Lights RED to indicate the outputs are
  muted..

• POWER: GREEN indicates normal operation RED indicates Standby
  Blinking RED/GREEN a fault or thermal overload problem in the unit.

• ANALOG4Aux2 / DIGITAL4Select:
  In BP16-DA models: when this LED is illuminated green concurrently with either D1, D2, D3 or D4 LEDs, it indicates that the digital inputs D1 (SPDIF), D2 (SPDIF), D3 (TOSLINK) or D4 (TOSLINK) have been selected.
  In BP16 & BP16-P models: when illumi-nated green this LED indicates that the line level analog audio input AUX-2 has been  selected.

• AUX1, CD, TUNER, TV/SAT VIDEO & RECORD:
  One of these input source LEDs will light green to Indicate the active input. In digital mode these LEDs will light RED if the bit stream is either absent or unacceptable.

• BALANCE When the left/right signal balance is being shifted one of these LEDs will light to indi-cate which channel is being attenuated. Balance can be adjusted in 1dB incre-ments to up to -6dB in either direction. Stepping past -6dB in either direction will mute that channel fully and the LED for that channel will turn red.
  When both LEDs are on (red), PASS THROUGH mode is indicated. (See “Pass Through Mode” on page 4)

REMOTE POWER CONTROL ~ 12 VOLT TRIGGER CONNECTOR

Two trigger outputs are provided. A 12Vdc signal is placed across the T1 and C pins (either “C” pin can be used) of the 12V TRIGGERS connector whenever the unit is fully powered up. When the unit goes into standby this voltage is removed.

A 12Vdc signal will be placed across the other pair of 12V TRIGGER out-put pins (T2 and either “C” pin) whenever a cer-tain user programmed input is selected as the source input (see below for programming instructions). When any other input source is selected the 12Vdc control voltage will be removed from these pins. Please note that C means “com-mon” here and both C pins are electrically con-nected and identical.

PROGRAMMING the “T2” 12v TRIGGER OUTPUT

By default the T2 triggered output is inactive. To pro-gram this output to become active , whereupon a control voltage of 12Vdc will appear across T2 & C terminals whenever a specific source is selected, use the handheld remote control as follows:

• Select the source that you want to coincide with T2 going active.
• While pointing the remote control at the BP16, press the CODE button, followed by the three digit code “247” using the keys numbered 1 through 0 in the illustration at the left. On your remote con-trol these keys, or buttons, are labeled AUX/PH (2), TUNER (4), D1 (7).
• The three digit code should be entered within a few seconds of pressing CODE button or the unit will automatically return to normal operation.
• To clear the T2 trigger output, press the CODE but-ton followed by the 3 digit code “248”: AUX/PH (2), TUNER (4), D2 (8).

HAND-HELD INFRA-RED REMOTE CONTROL

The Bryston Model BP16 comes standard with a full-function hand-held remote control unit. The handheld remote unit is powered by two “AAA” batteries. To change the battery remove the bottom cover plate by removing the four Philips screws on the rear of the remote unit. Ensure that the batteries are correctly oriented and properly seated in the battery holder.
The BP16 remote is a full-function remote. It allows selection of all sources, volume up or down (the volume control is a motor-driven design), mute,left/right balance, power on/off and discrete code entry.
We recommend maintaining a direct line of sight between the handheld remote unit and the front of the BP16 to ensure the most efficient operation of the remote features.

PROGRAMMING the HANDHELD REMOTE CONTROL

The automatic motion-sensing backlight function in the handheld infra-red remote control unit can be disabled by entering the 3 digit code “792” as follows:

1. Press and hold the CODE button for 5 seconds. Release when the LED flashes red.
2. After the LED stops flashing, enter the 3 digit code “792” by pressing the buttons D1, D3 then AUX/PH (see illustration on page 3)
3. To re-enable the motion-sensing backlight function, repeat steps 1 and 2 above

To completely disable the backlight, enter the 3 digit code “797” as follows:

1. Press and hold the CODE button for 5 seconds. Release when the LED flashes red.
2. After the LED stops flashing, enter the 3 digit code “797” by pressing the buttons D1, D3 then D1 (see illustration on page 3)
3. To re-enable the backlight repeat steps 1 and 2 above

SENDING CODES to the BP16 via the IR HANDHELD REMOTE CONTROL:

Press the CODE button on the remote control (the red LED will light) and then enter the 3 digt code, as listed in the “Wired RS-232 Remote Control” section” below. The LED will flash to confirm transmission and then extin-guish.

WIRED RS-232 REMOTE CONTROL:

Using the DB9 female connector at the rear of the unit, the BP16 can receive commands via a null modem cable at 9600 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, and 1 stop bit (9600,8,N,1). Valid commands will return the “>” character indicating that the unit is ready to receive a new command. An invalid command will return the “!” character.
These serial data commands are as follows:

• 000 – power off
• 001 – select analog source 1 (A/D)
• 002 – select analog source 2 (AUX/PH)
• 003 – select analog source 3 (CD)
• 004 – select analog source 4 (TUNER)
• 005 – select analog source 5 (TV)
• 006 – select analog source 6 (VIDEO)
• 007 – volume up
• 008 – volume down
• 015 – power on/off toggle
• 019 – balance left
• 020 – balance right
• 029 – power on
• 058 – mute on
• 059 – mute off
• 061 – record monitor toggle
• 062 – record monitor on
• 063 – record monitor off
• 081 – select digital source 1 (D1)
• 082 – select digital source 2 (D2)
• 083 – select digital source 3 (D3)
• 084 – select digital source 4 (D4)
• 245 – set/reset Pass-Through mode
• 247 – Set Trigger 2 for the current source
• 248 – Clear Trigger 2 for the current source
• 255 – System reset; restore defaults

PASS-THROUGH MODE:

PASS-THROUGH mode sets the pre-amp gain to 1 (unity gain) and locks out the volume & balance controls for any single analog audio source. For example, if the Front Left and Front Right outputs of a home theater surround sound processer were connected to the TV input of the BP16, and then PASS-THROUGH was engaged then wherever TV input is selected the volume and balance controls would be locked at unity gain. If other inputs were subsequently selected, volume and balance controls return to normal operation for those other input sources. Only the TV inputs would be locked at unity gain. PASS-THROUGH mode, therefore, can only be assigned to one input at a time, but that input can be any one of the analog audio inputs. The power amplifier stage is not affected by the PASS THROUGH mode. PASS-THROUGH mode can only be set (or reset) by sending the 3-digit code “245” to the BP16 either from the handheld IR remote control or via the RS-232 serial data input. See “Sending Codes to the BP16 via the IR Handheld Remote Control” & “Wired RS-232 Remote Control”. To reassign PASS THROUGH mode to a different input source simply select the desired input and re-send the “245” code to the BP16. To turn the deactivate PASS THROUGH mode, select the cur-rent Pass-Through input and then send the “245” code to the BP16. The “245” toggles PASS THROUGH mode on and off.

DIGITAL-to-ANALOG CONVERTER OPTION:

The BP16-DA comes equipped with a stereo Digital-to-Analog converter (D/A or DAC) module. This module is also retrofittable to standard BP16 units. A unique feature of the BP16-DA is its ability to utilize up to four independent digital sources (two SPDIF and two TOSLINK). These four digital inputs can be accessed by selecting D1, D2, D3 and D4 sources with the DAC feature enabled (by pressing the DIGITAL4Select button on the left end of the front panel). Activate the DAC feature by pressing the DIGITAL4Select (AUX 2) button on the left side of the front panel (or A/D on the remote). The LED below the DIGITAL4Select button will turn Green. Pressing any of the following four buttons will cause their LEDs to light green, as well, to indicate a PCM digital source is present and connected properly.

• SPDIF 1 is accessed by selecting D1 on the front panel or the remote.
• SPDIF 2 is accessed by selecting D2 on the front panel or the remote.
• Optical 1 is accessed by selecting D3 on the front panel or the remote.
• Optical 2 is accessed by selecting D4 on the front panel or the remote.

The source LED’s will turn GREEN when a PCM digital bitstream is present. If there is no bit stream available or an incorrect bit stream (non-PCM) the LED will turn RED.
You may re-select Analog by simply depressing the DIGITAL4Select (AUX 2) button once more and the LED will extinguish.
All of the above functions are available from the handheld remote control as well .

MOVING-MAGNET PHONO STAGE OPTION:

The BP16-P contains a moving magnet phono stage. The Phono Stage is modular and can be added to the standard BP16 model later if required by your Bryston dealer.
Bryston’s MM Phono section features state-of-the-art accuracy in equalization, extremely low noise and distortion, and provides headroom margins sufficient to prevent overload from any known phono source. To access the Phono section simply plug your left/right turntable interconnect leads into the left/right AUX-1/PHONO inputs on the rear panel of the BP16 and press the AUX-1/PHONO button on the front panel. The AUX-1/PHONO LED will turn green. If your turntable provides a separate ground lead, system noise may be minimized by connecting it to the ground lug in the center of the rear panel.

BP16 SPECIFICATIONS:

• Frequency response: 20Hz to 20KHz, ±.05dB
• IMD or THD: <.007%
• High Level Sensitivity: 500mV
• Noise: 100dB @ 20Hz to 20KHz (ref: 1V input)

GENERAL:

• Dimensions: 17” or 19” wide X 4.55” high x 14” deep (433mm or 483mm X 116mm X 353mm)
• Weight: with packaging approx. 16 lbs (7.3kg.) without packaging approx. 11 lbs (5kg)

BP16 PREAMP
EXTERNAL DIMENSIONS & CLEARANCE ENVELOPE

References

• Bryston – Music for a Generation

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