Bryston BAX-1 Owner's Manual

BAX-1 Active DSP Crossover

Owner’s Manual

Important Safety Instructions

The lightning flash with 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.

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 manufactur-

8. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or

9. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding-type plug. A polar-

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.

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.

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

er’s instructions.

time.

14. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required

other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat.

when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as pow­er-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects

ized 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

have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture,
does not operate normally, or has been dropped.

15. Do not open. NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE

an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet.

BRYSTON LIMITED WARRANTY

Bryston analog audio products 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 products 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 manufacture. 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 return shipping only for the full length of
the specific product's warranty.
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: BRYSTON SERVICE in the USA:

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

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

PHONE: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

79 COVENTRY ST., Suite 5
NEWPORT, VERMONT
U.S.A. 05855-2100

PHONE: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

BRYSTON SERVICE outside Canada and the USA:

contact your local distributor or

CHECK OUR WEB SITE: www.bryston.com
E-MAIL BRYSTON DIRECTLY: [e-mail]
FAX BRYSTON DIRECTLY: 01-705-742-0882
PHONE BRYSTON DIRECTLY: 01-705-742-5325

Table of Contents

Important Safety Instructions ....................................2

General.........................................................................4

Welcome ................................................................4

Description ............................................................4

Features ................................................................. 4

Shipping Box and Packing Material ...................... 4

Installation ...................................................................4

Ventilation .............................................................4

Connecting to A/C Power ...................................... 5

Connecting to an Audio System ...........................5

Connection Diagram .............................................5

Choosing Amplication.........................................5

Bass Adjustment ..........................................................6

A Word About Room Tuning ..................................6

Measuring In Room Response ..............................6

DSP Filter Setup ....................................................7

Front Panel ..................................................................8

Rear Panel .................................................................... 8

Specications and Dimensions ..................................9

Network Connection .................................................10

Firmware Update.......................................................10

Remote Control .........................................................11

Serial Protocol ..................................................... 11

Command Format ............................................... 11

General

Welcome

Thank you for your purchase of a Bryston
Active Loudspeaker System! Our class leading
loudspeakers and ultra high performance DSP
crossover platform combine with your choice

of Bryston amplication to form a unique high

performance playback system through which you
can hear details you never thought possible. We
welcome your feedback and hope you enjoy your
new Bryston Active Loudspeakers for many years to
come.

Description

Fully active loudspeakers dispense with passive
crossovers that are built into conventional
loudspeakers in favor of crossovers inserted before

amplication is applied. The benets are many
including increased exibility with lter shapes,
the ability to make ne-grained adjustments
which result in improved on and o axis response
(these are oen competing objectives in passive
loudspeakers), direct coupling of the loudspeaker

to the driver which avoids losses inherent in passive
crossovers and more. Bryston Active Loudspeakers

combine decades of research into acoustics,
electronics, amplication as well as state of the

art components to recreate your recordings with

stunning realism. The BAX-1 Active DSP Crossover is

a core component of this system.

The BAX-1 is a state of the art DSP crossover that

has been specially programmed at the factory

for compatibility with your specic model of

Bryston Active Loudspeakers. It is comprised of
two channels of analog to digital conversion which
convert incoming full range analog audio from your

preamplier to an equivalent digital audio signal

sampled at 96kHz and decimated to 24 bits. This
signal passes to a high powered DSP core which

performs the 3-way crossover function for each
channel and any user selected lters desired for

altering the bass response of the loudspeakers
in the room. Three bands of audio per channel
are then passed to 6 digital to analog converters

followed by fully discrete balanced analog outputs

which in turn feed 3 amplier channels per
loudspeaker. The BAX-1 only accepts balanced input

and provides balanced output. No single ended

audio connections are available. If you require
single ended connections, XLR to RCA adapters can

be used.

The system can be user controlled through a simple

and intuitive web-application for setup. Network
connection is required for those who desire to

tailor the bass response of the loudspeaker to the

room and for rmware updates but is not otherwise

necessary.

Features

Bryston BAX-1 includes the following features:

• 6 DACs and 2 ADCs by AKM

• Audio sensing auto-power on

• Network connectivity for control and rmware

updates

• Balanced XLR input and output

• Three position gain switch

• Available in either 17 inch or 19 inch wide

C-Series dress panel in silver-toned (clear

anodized) or black anodized aluminum.

Shipping Box and Packing Material

Please keep the original shipping box and all
packing material. This will ensure the BAX-1 is

protected in future transport. In the unlikely event

you have a problem and must return it for service,

you must use the proper packing material. Ship

the BAX-1 only in the original packing material

as the unit is not insurable by carriers otherwise.

Replacement packing materials consisting of a

shipping carton with plastic foam inserts is available
from Bryston for a small fee.

Installation

Ventilation

The BAX-1 is a cool-running line level component.
It generates far less heat than ampliers and many

other components. It can be safely placed inside

furniture or an equipment rack. However, it should

4