Bryston BP2-MM/MC Owner's Manual

BP2-MM/MC Phono Preamplifier

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 un-insulated “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 Any terminals marked with the preceding symbol are HAZARDOUS
LIVE and any wiring connected to these terminals must be installed
by an INSTRUCTED PERSON or with ready-made leads or cords.

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

time.

15. 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 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

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

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

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

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

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

Installation and Usage ........................................................4

Placement......................................................................4

Connecting to Power Supply ........................................4

Connecting to Audio System ........................................4

Cartridge Loading ..........................................................5

Front and Rear Panels ......................................................... 6

Specifications ...................................................................... 7

Dimensions .......................................................................... 7

General

Welcome

Thank you for your purchase of a Bryston BP2-MM/
MC moving magnet phono preamplifier. Powered by
a Bryston PS-3, the BP2-MM/MC is an extremely high
performance, yet compact and practical active gain
stage for your vinyl playback system with moving
magnet cartridge. Our customers are a valuable
resource to whom we turn for a measure of success.
We welcome your comments on the Bryston BP2­MM/MC.

Description

The Bryston BP2-MM/MC is a phono preamplifier
designed to amplify signals from a moving magnet
or moving coil phono cartridge to line-level voltage.
The BP-2 MM/MC includes high quality step-up
transformers factory configured for either 20 or
30dB of gain.

Features

Bryston BP2-MM/MC includes the following features:

• High quality / low distortion active gain stage

• Factory option for 20 or 31dB step-up
transformer.
MC-20 - 1:10 step-up for mc cartridges up to 45Ω

- optimum 25 ohms with >3mV output
MC-30 - 1:37 step-up for mc cartridges up TO 5Ω

- optimum 3 ohms with ≤ 3mV output

• Selectable loading between 100pF and 400pF
when used for MM cartridge gain

• Switchable between MC and MM mode.

• Powered by external Bryston PS-3 power supply

• Superb RIAA accuracy

• All steel chassis and top cover.

Shipping Box and Packing Material

Please keep the original shipping box and all
packing material. This will ensure the BP2-MM/MC 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
unit 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 and Usage

Placement

The BP2-MM/MC is a cool-running gain stage and
can be placed in the position most convenient to
your circumstance. The nature of the product is
to amplify very low level signals, so some care in
placement is worth while to maximize performance.
Do not place the unit next to electronics known to
radiate a high amount of noise. Do not stack upon
the Bryston power supply.

Connecting to Power Supply

The BP2-MM/MC must be used with a Bryston
power supply model PS-3 or MPS-2. Only the XLR-6
terminated interconnect included with the BP2­MM/MC should be used to connect the BP2-MM/
MC to the power supply. Insert the female end of
the cable into the BP2-MM/MC and the male end to
the approved power supply. A secure connection
is established when you hear the cable click into
place.

Cartridge Loading

Moving magnet cartridges perform best when
presented with a capacitive load. The BP2-MM/
MC oers four settings for capacitive loading which
can be set internally with jumpers. The desired
loading for your cartridge may be found in the
documentation included with the cartridge. Note
that the attached interconnects also present
some capacitive load. Consult the documentation
included with your interconnect for specifics of your
model.

To set additional loading, disconnect the BP2-MM/
MC from the power supply. Remove the top by
unscrewing each of 4 screws (2 on each side) using a
T-8 Torx screwdriver. Li the top straight o. Locate
the jumpers for each channel highlighted in green
below and labeled JC1 and JC2 respectively.

4

BP2-MM/MC Moving Magnet / Moving Coil Phono Preamplifier

The minimum value is 100pF and maximum is
400pF. No jumpers should be connected for 100pF
value. Adding jumpers will increase capacitance in
100pF increments. Capacitance is set per channel.
Each channel should be set identically to ensure
no dierence in tonal balance between le and
right channels. No loading options are available or

necessary for moving coil cartridges.

One channel shown. One jumper connected adding
capacitance to form total of 200pF capacitance.

Connecting to Audio System

The input of the BP2-MM/MC accepts a le/right
pair of RCA cables from your turntable’s cartridge
output.

One channel shown. No jumpers connected. Loading
capacitance is 100pF.

To preamplifier
line level input

If your turntable has a ground screw, connect a wire
from this to the ground screw of the BP2-MM/MC to
eliminate humming due to ground loops.

Output from the BP2-MM/MC can then be sent to a
line-level analog preamplifier using RCA cables.

Set the MM/MC switch on the back of the unit
according to how much output voltage your
cartridge provides. Set the switch to the MM position
if your cartridge has more than 2mV out. Set the
switch to MC if your cartridge has less than 2mV
output.

TT GND

IN OUT OUT IN

RIGHT

RIGHT

POWER IN

BMM MOVING MAGNET PHONO PRE

LEFT

LEFT

PS-3 DC POWER SUPPLY

12V TRIGGERS

1

5

2

6

3

4

POWER OUT

IEC 320-C14

POWER INLET

PS3 ONUNMUTE

5

BP2-MM / MC PHONO PREAMPLIFIER

Serial No: BP2-MM-00000

MUTE

1 3 4 5 8762

TT GND

IN OUT OUT IN

RIGHT

RIGHT

POWER IN

BP2-MM / MC PHONO PREAMPLIFIER

MM MC

LEFT

LEFT

Front and Rear Panels

1. Mute Switch

Push button switch to mute audio signal from
the BP2-MM/MC. Press again to unmute. The
mute switch also controls the attached power
supply’s trigger circuit. When in mute, no voltage
is present on the trigger out. When unmuted, the
trigger output voltage is present.

2. Power LED

The LED lights green (optionally blue) when
the BP2-MM/MC is operating normally and
unmuted. When in mute, the LED is red.

3. Ground Screw

Establish a secure connection to the ground
screw on your turntable when available to
reduce the possibility of hum due to ground
voltage dierential between the turntable and
the phono preamplifier. This is usually done
with a cable featuring a small spade connector
on each end. The connector will accept stripped
bare wire, or with spade lug or banana plug
connector

4. Audio Input

Connect audio to your BP2-MM/MC from your
turntable output through the le/right input
jacks.

to apply power to the BP2-MM/MC.

6. Audio Output

Connect the BP2-MM/MC to your analog line­level preamplifier input using the le/right
output jacks.

7. Data Plate

The data plate is located underneath the
unit and lists the model number, voltage
requirements, serial number, and date code.
Ensure that the voltage and line frequency
conform to your locality before powering the
unit on.

BP2-MM-SIL-120

Date: 1530 REV: 1234

8. MM / MC Switch

Set this switch according to the type of cartridge
used on the turntable. Setting the switch to
MM bypasses the internal step-up transformers
and only applies the active gain stage for a gain
of 41dB. Moving the switch to the MC position
engages the internal transformers and applies
an extra 20 or 31dB of gain depending on
whether you have the BP2-MM/MC-20 or BP2­MM/MC-30 model.

5. DC Power Inlet

Connect the BP2-MM/MC to your Bryston PS-3
DC Power Supply using only the included cable

6

BP2-MM/MC Moving Magnet / Moving Coil Phono Preamplifier

5.7 in. 14.5 cm

2.25 in. 5.7 cm

8.25 in. 21 cm

Specifications

Frequency Response

(using RIAA Inverse
EQ)

Gain (dB) @ 1kHz BP2-20 MC Mode: 61

Distortion

Noise

A Weighted

Weight 3.8 lbs

20 Hz - 20kHz ± 0.1 dB

BP2-30 MC Mode: 72
BP2 20 or 30 MM Mode: 41

MM Mode: ≤0.005% THD+N
or IMD @ 20Hz-20kHz

MC Mode: ≤0.005% THD+N
or IMD @ 1kHz-20kHz,
≤0.01% @ 20Hz

-80dB ref. 5 mV input

1.75 kg

Dimensions

7

Bryston Limited | 677 Neal Drive | Peterborough, Ontario K9J 6X7

Canada | Phone: [phone] | www.bryston.com

300050-1 2016-06-30