Bryston is a solid, dependable company that offers a 20-year guarantee with all its amplifiers, even though they rarely seem to require any attention during that time, if long-term owners are to be believed.

It's this overarching desire to make reliable products that has, perhaps, prevented Bryston from making a CD player until now - 25 years since the format was first introduced. One theory is that Bryston was waiting for components that could match the rock-solid reputation of its amplifiers.

If that's the case, then the three-year parts and labour warranty on the BCD-1 would suggest that Bryston's long wait for failsafe componentry was ultimately in vain.

The BCD-1 is a pretty sensible-looking player: it's clearly hardcore and makes few, if any, concessions to audiophile fashion, although it does have a nice bit of laser-cut branding on the front of the disc drawer that's keeps it looking cool.

It's a little disappointing that the drawer behind is a regular, plastic variety of the Philips kind, but given that the drawer has little if any effect upon the sound, this shouldn't come as a surprise. Bryston doesn't do things for the sake of showroom appeal, it does them for the right reasons - a lesson learned from years of providing amplifiers for the pro-audio fraternity.

The BCD-1's display is not an off-the-shelf unit, not in the audio world at least, and while it's a little on the small side, you can use it to do unusual things, like turning the 12-volt trigger on and off, as well as the more popular time, repeat and scan displays.

If you select a new track while it's playing another, it will display both for the two seconds or thereabouts that it takes to make the change, which, while hardly essential, is quite nice.

The remote handset feels reassuringly solid and features a plethora of small buttons like those on the player, albeit with volume control for a Bryston integrated or preamp such as the BP-26, plus a code facility that allows you to select which component will respond to volume changes and muting.