The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the presence of un-insulated
“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 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
10. Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the
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
13. Unplug this apparatus when moving it & 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
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.
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.
apparatus.
used use caution when moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip-over.
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.
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 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 shipping
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:BRYSTON SERVICE in the USA:
er. We are condent 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 amplier.
In the unlikely event that your amplier may require service Bryston recommends that you retain the
original shipping box and packaging material for future
use if required.
SETUP RECOMMENDATIONS
You may place your BP17 Preamplier in any convenient location. Make sure you position the amplier
to maintain a direct line-of-sight between the handheld remote and the remote sensor eye located on
the front panel. If plugged in the BP17 will remain
in standby indicated by the RED power LED on the
front panel.
The preamplier is powered up by engaging the
power button located on the front panel of the BP17
or by depressing the POWER button on the hand
held remote control unit.. The BP17 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
ANALOG AUDIO INPUTS :
The BP17 preamp comes equipped with 7 pairs of
gold plated RCA (phono) analog audio input connectors labelled: TV, CD, AUX-1/PHONO, AUX-2/SPDIF,
VIDEO, TUNER & RECORD IN. All have and input imped-
ance of 50K ohms
• In BP17-DA models the AUX2 (D1/D2) input jacks
accept only SPDIF PCM bit streams. They do
NOT accept analog audio input signals.
• In BP17-P models, which are equipped with a
moving-magnet phono equalization module, the
inputs labeled AUX1/PHONO accept moving magnet phono cartridge inputs. These inputs are NOT
line level inputs in the BP17-P and cannot be
used as such.
ANALOG AUDIO OUTPUTS :
The Bryston BP17 Preamplier comes equipped with
BP17PREAMPLIFIER
3 pairs of gold plated analog RCA jacks for outputs
& 1 pair of XLR balanced outputs: 2 pairs of PREAMP
OUT jacks and 1 pair of RECORD OUT jacks.
RCA (phono) jack outputs:
• PREAMP OUT
• RECORD OUT not affected by volume, balance or mute controls.
XLR (3 pin male) outputs:
• BALANCED OUTPUT
(pin 1 gnd, pin2 positive, pin 3 negative(+)
HEADPHONE JACK:
There is a quarter inch headphone output jack available on the front panel of the Bryston BP17 Preampli-
er. 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 BP17 Preamplier. You may also utilize
the remote control unit to adjust headphone volume.
The headphones cannot be muted with the remote
control unit or the front panel Mute. Only headphones
with impedances of greater than 50 ohms should be
used.
DIGITAL AUDIO INPUTS:
In the BP17-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
BP17-DA using the RCA input jacks labeled D1 and
D2. To select these inputs rst place the unit in digital
mode by pressing the DIGITAL4Select 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 reselected.
See also the DIGITAL-to-ANALOG CONVERTER OPTION section for more information.
Page 4
CONNECTIONS contd.
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 down-
loads from the Bryston website. It also interfaces with
control systems such as Crestron and AMX.
CHASSIS GROUND:
A chassis ground thumb screw terminal is provided on
the rear panel.
12 VOLT TRIGGER CONNECTOR:
These 12Vdc control outputs allow the BP17 to exert
on/off control over compatible equipment. See “RE-
MOTE ON/OFF CONTROL” for more information.
AUXILIARY IR INPUT:
This mono 1/8” (3mm) phone jack allows a direct connection to equipment whose remote control system
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
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 indicate which channel is being attenuated.
Balance can be adjusted in 1dB increments 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.
REMOTE ON/OFF 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 output pins (T2 and either “C” pin)
Normally the bi-colour status indicators are RED & GREEN,
but RED & BLUE status indicator LEDs are also available
BYPASS: Normally OFF; will light GREEN (or BLUE)
to indicate that the currently selected input
is in Bypass mode wherein the balance
and mute controls are inactive and gain is
unity.
MUTE: Lights RED to indicate the outputs are mut-
ed.
POWER: GREEN (
tion
RED indicates Standby
Blinking RED/GREEN(BLUE) a fault con-
dition.
ANALOG4Aux2 / DIGITAL4Select:
In BP17-DA models: when this LED is il-
luminated 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 BP17 & BP17-P models: when illumi-
or BLUE
) indicates normal opera-
whenever a certain
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
Page 5
removed from these pins. Please note that C means
“common” here and both C pins are electrically con-
nected and identical.
PROGRAMMING the 12v TRIGGER
By default the T2 triggered output is inactive. To
program 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 BP17,
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
control 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).
OPTIONAL IR REMOTE CONTROL
The Bryston model BR2 hand-helf
infra-red remote control is avialable
for use with the BP17. The BR2 can
also control many other Bryston pre-
amps and power amps. It features a
solid machined aluminum enclusure
and push-buttons and a back-lit button panel that will turn both ON (motion triggered) and OFF (inactivivity
timeout) automatically.
When used with the BP17 the BR2
remote 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 hand held
remote unit and the front of the BP17
to ensure the most efcient operation
of the remote features.
BP17PREAMPLIFIER
PROGRAMMING the BR2 REMOTE
The automatic motion-sensing backlight function in
the optional BR2 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. Re-
lease when the LED ashes red.
2) After the LED stops ashing, enter the 3 digit code
“792” by pressing the buttons D1, D3 then AUX/PH
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 ashes red.
2) After the LED stops ashing, enter the 3 digit code
“797” by pressing the buttons D1, D3 then D1
3) To re-enable the backlight repeat steps 1 and 2
above
SENDING CODES to the BP17 via the
BR2 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 ash to conrm transmission and then ex-
tinguish.
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
015: power on/off toggle
008: volume down
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 BYPASS mode
247: Set Trigger 2 for current source
248: Clear Trigger 2 for current source
255: System reset; restore defaults
Page 6
WIRED RS-232 REMOTE CONTROL
Using the DB9 female connector at the rear of the unit,
the BP17 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:
BYPASS MODE
BYPASS mode (also referred to as 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 BP17, and then BYPASS
was engaged then wherever TV input is selected the vol-
ume and balance controls would be locked at unity gain. If
other inputs were subsequently selected, volume and bal-
ance controls return to normal operation for those other
input sources. Only the TV inputs would be locked at unity
gain. BYPASS mode, therefore, can only be assigned to
one input at a time, but that input can be any one of the
analog audio inputs. BYPASS mode can only be set (or
reset) by sending the 3 digit code “245” to the BP17 either
from the handheld IR remote control or via the RS-232
serial data input. See “Sending Codes to the BP17 via the
IR Handheld Remote Control” & “Wired RS-232 Remote
Control”. To reassign BYPASS mode to a different input
source simply select the desired input and re-send the
“245” code to the BP17. To turn the deactivate BYPASS
mode, select the current BYPASS input and then send
the “245” code to the BP17. The “245” toggles BYPASS
mode on and off.
D/A CONVERTER OPTION
The BP17-DA comes equipped with stereo Digital-toAnalog converter (D/A or DAC) module. This module is
also retrofittable to standard BP17 units.
A unique feature of the BP17-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 DIGITAL4Sel-ect button on the left end of the front panel).
Activate the DAC feature by pressing the DIGI-TAL4Select (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
bit stream 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 hand
held remote control as well .
MOVING-MAGNET PHONO OPTION:
The BP17-P contains a moving magnet phono stage.
The Phono Stage is modular and can be added to the
standard BP17 model later if required by your Bryston
dealer.
Bryston’s MM Phono section features state-of-theart accuracy in equalization, extremely low noise and
distortion, and provides headroom margins sufcient
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 BP17 and
press the AUX-1/PHONO button on the front panel.
The AUX-1/PHONO LED will turn green. If your turn-
table provides a separate ground lead, system noise
may be minimized by connecting it to the ground lug in
the center of the rear panel.
BP17 SPECIFICATIONS:
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20KHz, ±.05dB
IMD or THD: <.005%
High Level Sensitivity: 500mV
Noise: -95dB @ 20Hz to 20KHz (ref: 1V input)
Weight: 16 lbs (7.3Kg) with packaging, 11 lbs w/o
Dimensions: 17” or 19” wide X 4.55” high x 14” deep
433mm or 483mm X 116mm X 353mm)