[Servingthemusic.com]

I see dsd has risen from the dark ages. Its a start i am sure this time next year it'll be pretty good for DSD availability.

Well you realize that less than 2% of ALL commercially recorded music has been mastered in DSD. Hmmm.

[Servingthemusic.com]

True but that's also not much above most of the high resolution PCM download prices. It's the nature of the business, for those wanting high res the price is adjusted to reflect it and it's not cheap, either way.

There are always discounts available for HDTracks, Qobuz, and Pro Studio Masters. Not so for Superhirez.

The $25 price is not justifed. No manufacturing, no printing, and no shipping costs.

[Servingthemusic.com]

Hi

Try this, i wish i would have when i had the BDA1.

Go in with the appropriate sized torex and release the nut holding down the transformer. Then release the screws holding down the pcb board. About a 1/4 turn each, thats it. Everything comes from manufactures tighten down way to much. Which is useful for shipping but not playback. Remember when cd players had the transport screws? Same thing...

Um, huh?

[James Tanner]

I am specifically separating the DSD DOWNLOAD market from the PHYSICAL SACD market.

I am a big fan of DSD and SACD sound wise. But the files freed from the physical format has been over hyped shamelessly.

FYI, I said DXD is a joke, not DSD. DXD is a manufacturer created buzzword. Period.

And I am sure you know that many, many SACDs and DSD downloads may have spent some time in the PCM domain, or so called
DXD for editing.

Hi servingthemusic

Can you expand on the DXD as a buzzword please.

james

[Servingthemusic.com]

Hi James.

I used the phrase buzzword in reference to DXD as a viable commercial end user format.

[werd]

Can't really think of a good reason to do that.  It's an on-chip enable/disable function, it's not like any signal goes through the switch to get degraded.  I think the majority of songs in a library sound better with upsampling bypassed, however for poorly recorded or compressed tracks, upsampling can often make them sound better.

Steve

If your dac is a non upsampling dac do you need a Sample rate converter chip? IDK.

[Grit]

Hi Antun

There is nothing wrong with DSD over PCM (DOP) as it is still a DSD file. My concern is with the fact that there are other was to decode DSD as well (64, 128, 256, DOP, Native  etc.) and I think a DAC show allow for all versions going forward. Also DSD DACs up-sample to a specific very high frequency all incoming Digital signals so playing a PCM native file is not possible if you are upsampling every signal coming in.

I think the best solution is to design a DAC that has 2 different circuit paths - one optimized for DSD and one optimized for PCM. There are some newer chips coming out that should allow us to do this.

james

And there is the precursor to the BDA-3

Format aside, I'd like to see studios release the music before it was compressed for public consumption.

I'd think they edit songs until they have a perfect copy, then take that copy and compress it for public consumption. Does anyone know if that's the case? If so, it would't really require any extra work on the part of the studios to release them, right?

- Garrett

[James Tanner]

Hi James.

I used the phrase buzzword in reference to DXD as a viable commercial end user format.

OK thanks.

james

[R. Daneel]

Hi Antun

There is nothing wrong with DSD over PCM (DOP) as it is still a DSD file. My concern is with the fact that there are other was to decode DSD as well (64, 128, 256, DOP, Native  etc.) and I think a DAC show allow for all versions going forward. Also DSD DACs up-sample to a specific very high frequency all incoming Digital signals so playing a PCM native file is not possible if you are upsampling every signal coming in.

I think the best solution is to design a DAC that has 2 different circuit paths - one optimized for DSD and one optimized for PCM. There are some newer chips coming out that should allow us to do this.

james

Hi James!

I believe that is what I said, converting PCM to DSD inevitably means cahning the sample length and sampling frequncy and as I remember, you mentioned how you are not keen on these techniques but rather prefer to decode each file in the way it was encoded.

One thing to consider is that DSD seems to be available only through USB. In the case you should build a PCM/DSD DAC as a one box solution, the connection to your BDP would have to be USB. As an audiophile, and I am sure many would agree, I would take chip-based hardware of the Envy24 chipset over software encoders in your BDP any day of the week. Just like you, I prefer AES XLR over USB.

Alternatively, USB would eliminate the need for a sound-card on your BDP which would make things less expensive for the customer.

Lots of things to consider but I know I won't be getting a DSD DAC till the format's future is clear. There is a strong chance it will never catch on. The advantage in smaller file size over PCM WAV is irrelevant considering disk space is becoming greater and cheaper by the minute.

Best,
Antun

[werd]

Hi James!

I believe that is what I said, converting PCM to DSD inevitably means cahning the sample length and sampling frequncy and as I remember, you mentioned how you are not keen on these techniques but rather prefer to decode each file in the way it was encoded.

One thing to consider is that DSD seems to be available only through USB. In the case you should build a PCM/DSD DAC as a one box solution, the connection to your BDP would have to be USB. As an audiophile, and I am sure many would agree, I would take chip-based hardware of the Envy24 chipset over software encoders in your BDP any day of the week. Just like you, I prefer AES XLR over USB.

Alternatively, USB would eliminate the need for a sound-card on your BDP which would make things less expensive for the customer.

Lots of things to consider but I know I won't be getting a DSD DAC till the format's future is clear. There is a strong chance it will never catch on. The advantage in smaller file size over PCM WAV is irrelevant considering disk space is becoming greater and cheaper by the minute.

Best,
Antun

The bda2 will play dsd. Or at least the akm chip set does.

[werd]

Um, huh?

Check it out

[R. Daneel]

The bda2 will play dsd. Or at least the akm chip set does.

Hi!

The AK4399 DAC is capable of on-chip DSD conversion but the BDA-2's firmware is not. According to Bryston, doing this would require bypassing the sample-rate converter which would then compromise the PCM processing and audio quality because the SRC is one of the key figures in jitter reduction.

This is why Bryston is thinking of a two-way approach with separate circuits for respective PCM and DSD processing.

Cheers!
Antun

[R. Daneel]

To James or those who know, I would like to know something about the Bryston AES/EBU digital cable. From whom was are the wires sourced? Mogami perhaps? If so, is it the 3080 model?

I am trying to see if there are differences in these cables so I'd like to know more because Bryston's website doesn't say what kind of a conductor this cable uses.

I appreciate your input!

Cheers!
Antun

[James Tanner]

To James or those who know, I would like to know something about the Bryston AES/EBU digital cable. From whom was are the wires sourced? Mogami perhaps? If so, is it the 3080 model?

I am trying to see if there are differences in these cables so I'd like to know more because Bryston's website doesn't say what kind of a conductor this cable uses.

I appreciate your input!

Cheers!
Antun

Its 110 ohm Belden Cable with gold plated XLR connectors or 75 ohm BNC or 75 ohm COAX connectors.

james

[speltz]

  I'm delighted to say that I now own a BDA-2, paired with the BDP-1 I purchased nearly two years ago. And I'm loving the results!

The most obvious (and I do mean obvious) change is the 3-dimensional soundstage the BDA-2 delivers. In the past, the soundstage from my system was always 2-D -- left to right. This is the first time my setup has ever produced a soundstage with depth, in particular extending back behind my speakers (MartinLogans).

My experience is consistent with the reviews I've read saying the sound is moved back (recessed) with the BDA-2. But it's not a negative when it's delivering that 3-dimensional sense of musical space. The music still has plenty of toe-tapping energy and drive, with both pop/rock and jazz music.

Initially, there was some harshness to the upper frequencies. I was sure the fault lay with my system, which has a tendency to tip into over-bright territory. Yesterday I swapped out the XLR cable connecting the BDP-1 to the BDA-2, and that seems to have solved the problem. I listened continuously for about 90 minutes earlier today with no fatigue.

My old DAC was neither old nor cheap, but the BDA-2 is superior to it, and the differences are not subtle. A subtle improvement is all I expected -- hence my delight with the actual results.

[mav52]

I wonder if there will be a BDA-3  and when and what might this DAC include

[Tympani]

Whatever magic the "BDA-3" will surely offer, please-please-please include a polarity switch.
The sheer transparency of these units begs for this option, hopefully in the digital domain.
(its my only gripe with my BDP-2/BDA-2 combo)

[mav52]

Whatever magic the "BDA-3" will surely offer, please-please-please include a polarity switch.
The sheer transparency of these units begs for this option, hopefully in the digital domain.
(its my only gripe with my BDP-2/BDA-2 combo)

James I think it's time for a new BDA 3 thread :   http://audioshark.org/bryston-audio-40/bryston-bda-3-announced-6057.html#post100154

Since it appears to be available  Jan 2015, what will the price be ?

[James Tanner]

James I think it's time for a new BDA 3 thread :   http://audioshark.org/bryston-audio-40/bryston-bda-3-announced-6057.html#post100154

Since it appears to be available  Jan 2015, what will the price be ?

$3195 list

[alexone]

...a BDA-3?!? wow!

al.