[Rod_S]

Still working on it but it will exist.

james

hmmm...  a new CD player and no mention of a new SSP with ATMOS, etc. with a high res USB input supporting PCM and DSD. Seems like an interesting choice in today's market where CD player sales would have dropped off the cliff.

[terrycym]

A new CD player would be simpler

[Rod_S]

A new CD player would be simpler

Yeah, good point and very true.

[Rod_S]

I often wonder how many SSP's Bryston actually sells because they are one of the very few out there, and I'll even thow in receivers here that do not offer EQ. I would suspect in relation to their competitors this puts them at an extreme disadvantage sales wise as sooo many people want the kitchen sink thrown in when they buy. The quality of the Bryston SSP's is never in question but as a player in that market I wonder if it's hard for them.

[Phil A]

I often wonder how many SSP's Bryston actually sells because they are one of the very few out there, and I'll even thow in receivers here that do not offer EQ. I would suspect in relation to their competitors this puts them at an extreme disadvantage sales wise as sooo many people want the kitchen sink thrown in when they buy. The quality of the Bryston SSP's is never in question but as a player in that market I wonder if it's hard for them.

It's got to be hard for all manufacturers who make excellent 2-channel products as mass market brands get them out to market quickly to have the latest and greatest.  Not knocking either.  Just got a refurb Marantz SR5010 (watched one Atmos movie the other day) for a secondary system.  The secondary system as well as my main system are integrated AV system with 2-channel preamps with HT Bypass (I've owned a couple of expensive processors in the past).  For me personally (but I understand not for everyone) it makes sense to get the 2-channel the way I want it.  At some point I'll get a new receiver for the main system (had Axiom in-ceilings installed several months back) with the new formats.

I rotated the receiver (Marantz SR 6003 which is built much better than the newer one) in that secondary system to basically the guest room (where I have an old Marantz DV9600 and an pair of GR Research N3s) and took the receiver (few year old Denon) in the guest room and moved it to the office (rotated out a 12-14 year old Sony ES receiver).  Digital products like receivers change much more often and for me with multiple systems it is easy to rotate things.  I view receivers with surround sound formats much like PCs.  If you get 5 solid years out of them or more one is doing well.  I'm giving the old Sony ES receiver (which many moons ago in the old house was in the bedroom system and then on a back-up computer) to a friend.

[Grit]

I agree with Phil... unfortunately, the home theater market IS like PCs... there's newer, faster, more features every few years.

To Bryston's credit though, they're keeping the SP3 up to date. It was originally produced with HDMI 1.4 pass-through. Then they offered HDMI 2.0 as an upgrade and on newer units. Soon they'll have HDMI 2.0 with HDCP 2.2. Aside from Atmos decoding, this is allowing me to keep my SP3 and not feel like I'm missing out on anything.

Is DTS:X (and Qualcomm's version) out yet? If you're getting a new receiver and Atmos is important for you, I'd make sure it's up-gradable.

I suspect Bryston will wait to see if Atmos, DTS:X, and any other formats catch on and become relevant before investing in a SP4.

- Garrett

[Phil A]

I agree with Phil... unfortunately, the home theater market IS like PCs... there's newer, faster, more features every few years.

To Bryston's credit though, they're keeping the SP3 up to date. It was originally produced with HDMI 1.4 pass-through. Then they offered HDMI 2.0 as an upgrade and on newer units. Soon they'll have HDMI 2.0 with HDCP 2.2. Aside from Atmos decoding, this is allowing me to keep my SP3 and not feel like I'm missing out on anything.

Is DTS:X (and Qualcomm's version) out yet? If you're getting a new receiver and Atmos is important for you, I'd make sure it's up-gradable.

I suspect Bryston will wait to see if Atmos, DTS:X, and any other formats catch on and become relevant before investing in a SP4.

- Garrett

Garrett - the DSP on the SR5010 is upgradable via a network connection (and it upgraded the DSP as soon as I plugged it in).  I watched 'Ex Machina' last night in DTS: X and 'San Andreas' the night before in Atmos.  I believe you can pay to get Auro 3D if one would want to as well.  Will wait on the main system until more units are available (and I'll be doing 11.2).  That's why I buy factory refurbs as I consider them like PCs that will be technologically obsolete to some extent down the road.  The extra dimension of overhead channels adds something.  I wouldn't term it a night and day difference (at least so far with my limited experience of two movies in the spare system) and certainly if one has space limitations and one system then an expensive processor may make more sense.

[mav52]

Garrett - the DSP on the SR5010 is upgradable via a network connection (and it upgraded the DSP as soon as I plugged it in).  I watched 'Ex Machina' last night in DTS: X and 'San Andreas' the night before in Atmos.  I believe you can pay to get Auro 3D if one would want to as well.  Will wait on the main system until more units are available (and I'll be doing 11.2).  That's why I buy factory refurbs as I consider them like PCs that will be technologically obsolete to some extent down the road.  The extra dimension of overhead channels adds something.  I wouldn't term it a night and day difference (at least so far with my limited experience of two movies in the spare system) and certainly if one has space limitations and one system then an expensive processor may make more sense.

Phil how many speakers are you running in your atmos configuration

[Phil A]

Phil how many speakers are you running in your atmos configuration

Chris - had 5.1 (in the spare system) with in-ceiling surrounds and added side surrounds and am now using the in-ceilings as Atmos/DTS:X overhead channels.  So it is 7, but referred to in Atmos terms as 5.1.2 (where 2 in the number of Atmos speakers - gets confusing a drop). 

In the main system I am not running Atmos yet.  Had Axiom in-ceilings installed several months ago (just have to terminate the ends) but don't as yet have a capable receiver.  I run 9.2 with side surrounds, back surrounds and (Dolby Pro Logic iiz) height channels (pic below) and will add the in-ceilings when I get an Atmos capable receiver.

Whenever I do my next Space Coast Audio Society meeting (I usually run 3 systems anyway for that) probably early next year, I may use the 4th system in the bonus room for audio and have Atmos demos in the one room.

[mav52]

Chris - had 5.1 (in the spare system) with in-ceiling surrounds and added side surrounds and am now using the in-ceilings as Atmos/DTS:X overhead channels.  So it is 7, but referred to in Atmos terms as 5.1.2 (where 2 in the number of Atmos speakers - gets confusing a drop). 

In the main system I am not running Atmos yet.  Had Axiom in-ceilings installed several months ago (just have to terminate the ends) but don't as yet have a capable receiver.  I run 9.2 with side surrounds, back surrounds and (Dolby Pro Logic iiz) height channels (pic below) and will add the in-ceilings when I get an Atmos capable receiver.

Whenever I do my next Space Coast Audio Society meeting (I usually run 3 systems anyway for that) probably early next year, I may use the 4th system in the bonus room for audio and have Atmos demos in the one room.

Thanks Phil

[R. Daneel]

Can we stay on topic please?

[Tympani]

James, any estimate on timeframe for BDA-3 deliveries after placing an order? And is $3495 the US price?

[James Tanner]

James, any estimate on timeframe for BDA-3 deliveries after placing an order? And is $3495 the US price?

Hi

We are 194 units back-ordered and start shipping next week.  I would say about 4-6 weeks from order at this point.

james

[Don_S]

Can we stay on topic please?

No   

Phil,  What's the tall white thing to the left of the screen?

[Phil A]

No   

Phil,  What's the tall white thing to the left of the screen?

If you're talking about the foreground that is the projector. Immediately to the left of the screen are beige acoustical treatments and then there is an arched doorway to a short hallway to the master bedroom.

[Phil A]

No   

Phil,  What's the tall white thing to the left of the screen?

If you're talking about the bone colored things (painted the wall color) on each side of the screen near the top, those are Thiel Power Point height speakers.

[James Tanner]

MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: Bryston BDA-2 DAC Review From Germany

5/2015 - November/December

Magazine for Digital HiFi

Test:  Bryston BDA-2 DAC

Canadian Competence





The professional audio realm has its own demands.  Here technical and tonal quality is of primary importance, while the appearance is of little concern.  But does one want to use such components in the home?  One does if the name Bryston is displayed on it.

A famous maxim which one hears again and again from engineers is “form follows function.”  This nice phrase just merely expresses that with technology the inner values are those that count not the outer ones.  As an inclined HiFi enthusiast one can opine about this as one wants, but after all one must look at the components one uses at home on a daily basis.  However there are manufacturers who have subscribed to this creed, and by means of cleverly thought out technology and good development work achieve the best possible tonal results, while during the design phase of the components they concentrate on ease of operation.  The Canadian Firm Bryston clearly belongs to this group of manufacturers.  Professional use products as well as systems for daily use in the home originate here.  No matter for which realm work is being done, all engineers are instructed, independent of design requirements, to develop the technically best possible product.

One of these products is the BDA-2 D/A Converter, and already on its outside one can see that we are dealing with serious electronics.  Here there are no bells and whistles or optical gimmickry, but rather substantial audio technology.  Substantial is also appropriate for the cabinet because despite the rather light components inside, the entire BDA-2 weighs almost eight kilograms, which is quite ample for a D/A Converter.  Besides the comparatively thick metal panels which form the actual cabinet, this number can surely be explained because of the massive front panel which projects above the top and below the bottom of the cabinet.  Exactly this front panel then also avoids that the BDA-2 does not simply look like a clumsy, metallic lump, because its outside is indeed endowed with a trace of finesse, because the lightly rounded off corners remove some of the hardness from its visual effect.

But with a view at the existing controls it already goes somewhat unceremonially to the nitty-gritty.  Eight status LEDs and ten pushbuttons find room on the component, and every element is responsible for exactly one function.  So that one does not lose any time with guessing or with the study of the instruction manual for the identification of these functions, all elements are equipped with the appropriate designation.  Six of the pushbuttons serve for choosing the desired input, whereby the BDA-2 does not only glisten simply with the number but also with its wealth of variants.  Data can be transferred either via two optical Toslink inputs, or via an XLR plug per AES/EBU.  Additionally there are four S/PDIF inputs of which two are for coaxial cables with RCA connections, and two for BNC bayonet connections.  Here again Bryston’s experience in the professional realm show up, because with newer media servers or streamers BNC connections are quite rare.  Considerably more modern is the USB-B socket which is also present.  Thanks to the multitude of connections one would have difficulty finding a component that cannot be used with the BDA-2 D/A Converter.

No matter which input one uses, the maximum possible sampling rate is always 192 kHz, even with the optical inputs.  Besides that at Bryston one really dislikes to depend on the spadework of others, and therefore every digital signal that is received by the BDA-2 D/A Converter is newly timed by its internal clock in order to counteract the reviled jitter.

From the Japanese manufacturer AKM two AK4399EQ-DAC-Chips, which in the BDA-2 offer a maximum bit length of 24 bits, are responsible for the concluding conversion of the incoming signal.  These are located directly before the analog output stage of the Converter, which in this case is a discretely built-up Class A module.  At the same time the digital and analog sections of the BDA-2 D/A Converter are supplied with current independently from each other.  Yes, here one works technically on a very high niveau, where every possible distortion factor is considered and thought about.  Exemplary.

Another of the eight pushbuttons on the front serves to actuate the synchronous upsampling in order to help the technically less than perfect input signals.  Synchronous here means that the BDA-2 D/A Converter is working with multiple whole numbers, so that signals with 44.1 kHz Or 88.2 kHz are upsampled to 176.4 kHz, while music with 48 kHz or 96 kHz is upsampled to 192 kHz.  Thus during the conversion the most optimum result is achieved at all times.  For every used sampling rate, whether with or without upsampling, one of the eight LEDs is available, and a value is always assigned to it.

Tonally the Bryston BDA-2 D/A Converter sounds as would be expected: The Converter generates the converted music very neutrally and detailed.  This helps positively with jazz, as well as rock, and even with rap, whereby the good dynamic range and the generally very flowing playing of the BDA-2 prevents it from sounding too digital.  Music of CD quality with enabled upsampling sounds still a tick more spatial than without, but the effect is limited because even without upsampling the music already sounds decidedly good.  It once again proves that one should not judge things by their appearance.  So perhaps Bryston’s BDA-2 D/A Converter is not an absolute eye catcher, but there is absolutely nothing lacking in technical finesse.

“Bryston’s BDA-2 is an outstanding D/A Converter, which brings all the strength of professional audio reproduction to the living room.  Those who are more interested in excellent sound rather than in unusual appearance have come to the right place”

Philipp Schneckenburger


Translated from the German by Peter Ullman

[spitzer]

Hello All, I'm newbie member:)

I have a question about bryston bda-2 dac. I bought bda-2 from distributor at turkey. It is demo product. Now ı realize, during silent times(like midnight) ı can feel transformer bzzzz noise from 3-5 feets away. It is normal or not.

[James Tanner]

Hello All, I'm newbie member:)

I have a question about bryston bda-2 dac. I bought bda-2 from distributor at turkey. It is demo product. Now ı realize, during silent times(like midnight) ı can feel transformer bzzzz noise from 3-5 feets away. It is normal or not.

Hi

That is not normal.

james

[scirica]

Hello All, I'm newbie member:)

I have a question about bryston bda-2 dac. I bought bda-2 from distributor at turkey. It is demo product. Now ı realize, during silent times(like midnight) ı can feel transformer bzzzz noise from 3-5 feets away. It is normal or not.

Not normal. Your BDA-2 should be dead quiet!