BDA-3 DAC

Renato6 · « **Reply #300 on:** 29 Feb 2016, 02:47 pm »

Quote from: James Tanner on 29 Feb 2016, 10:57 am

HI Renato6

I am not familiar with the Jitter Bug - I assume it reduces the jitter on the input? The USB in the BDA3 is asynchronous so the quality of the audio is controlled by the BDA-3 not the MAC.

james

Yes .. here is info from the site

USB Data & Power Noise Filter
Dual Discrete Noise-Dissipation Circuits

Reduces the noise and ringing that plague both the data and power lines of USB ports
Measurably reduces jitter and packet errors
Improves dynamic contrast, warmth and resolution

The Problem: All computing devices—laptops, smartphones, Network Attached Storage devices (NAS drives), media servers, etc.—inherently generate a significant amount of noise and parasitic resonances. Additionally, computers contribute a considerable amount of RFI and EMI pollution onto the signal paths—all of which can easily find its way onto your USB cables and into your audio system. This noise and interference has many negative effects. Noise-compromised digital circuitry increases jitter and packet errors, resulting in distortion that causes a comparatively flat and irritating sound. Noise-compromised analog circuitry also damages the sound’s depth,
warmth and resolution.

The Solution: JitterBug’s dual-circuitry measurably reduces unwanted noise currents and parasitic resonances. It also reduces jitter and packet errors (in some cases, packet errors are completely eliminated).

I assumed the Jitterbug is redundant in this case and to streamline I removed it. It did help (I think

) when I was running my Schitt Modi 2 as my temp DAC.

James Tanner · « **Reply #301 on:** 29 Feb 2016, 04:39 pm »

Quote from: Renato6 on 29 Feb 2016, 02:47 pm

Yes .. here is info from the site

USB Data & Power Noise Filter
Dual Discrete Noise-Dissipation Circuits

Reduces the noise and ringing that plague both the data and power lines of USB ports
Measurably reduces jitter and packet errors
Improves dynamic contrast, warmth and resolution

The Problem: All computing devices—laptops, smartphones, Network Attached Storage devices (NAS drives), media servers, etc.—inherently generate a significant amount of noise and parasitic resonances. Additionally, computers contribute a considerable amount of RFI and EMI pollution onto the signal paths—all of which can easily find its way onto your USB cables and into your audio system. This noise and interference has many negative effects. Noise-compromised digital circuitry increases jitter and packet errors, resulting in distortion that causes a comparatively flat and irritating sound. Noise-compromised analog circuitry also damages the sound’s depth,
warmth and resolution.

The Solution: JitterBug’s dual-circuitry measurably reduces unwanted noise currents and parasitic resonances. It also reduces jitter and packet errors (in some cases, packet errors are completely eliminated).

I assumed the Jitterbug is redundant in this case and to streamline I removed it. It did help (I think ) when I was running my Schitt Modi 2 as my temp DAC.

Hi

I spoke to engineering and they feel it would be redundant but listen both ways and see what you think.

james

Renato6 · « **Reply #302 on:** 2 Mar 2016, 04:38 pm »

Quote from: James Tanner on 29 Feb 2016, 04:39 pm

Hi

I spoke to engineering and they feel it would be redundant but listen both ways and see what you think.

james

Thanks James, I removed it as I heard no difference.

Here is a very basic question so I apologize in advance.

I have a MacBook Pro --> USB --> BDA-3 to a BP-6 to a 4BSST2
I have an older CD player (Harmon Kardon) with only 2 RCA outputs. Right now I just plug it into my BP6.
If I wanted to take advantage of my BDA 3 for CD playback, I assume I would need a CD player with optical output (Toslink or SPDIF) then I can connect it to the BDA.

Would I notice a difference going from CD -->Optical --> BDA3 --> BP6 as opposed to CD --> RCA --> BP6?

James Tanner · « **Reply #303 on:** 2 Mar 2016, 05:15 pm »

Quote from: Renato6 on 2 Mar 2016, 04:38 pm

Thanks James, I removed it as I heard no difference.

Here is a very basic question so I apologize in advance.

I have a MacBook Pro --> USB --> BDA-3 to a BP-6 to a 4BSST2
I have an older CD player (Harmon Kardon) with only 2 RCA outputs. Right now I just plug it into my BP6.
If I wanted to take advantage of my BDA 3 for CD playback, I assume I would need a CD player with optical output (Toslink or SPDIF) then I can connect it to the BDA.

Would I notice a difference going from CD -->Optical --> BDA3 --> BP6 as opposed to CD --> RCA --> BP6?

Hi

Have a look on the back of your CD Player - even the older ones had an RCA Digital output jack. Connect that to the BDA3 and you will get a major improvement.

james

Renato6 · « **Reply #304 on:** 2 Mar 2016, 05:35 pm »

Quote from: James Tanner on 2 Mar 2016, 05:15 pm

Hi

Have a look on the back of your CD Player - even the older ones had an RCA Digital output jack. Connect that to the BDA3 and you will get a major improvement.

james

I checked on the weekend, my CD player only has the 2 RCA connectors, that can't be connect to the BDA 3 correct?

James Tanner · « **Reply #305 on:** 2 Mar 2016, 06:38 pm »

Quote from: Renato6 on 2 Mar 2016, 05:35 pm

I checked on the weekend, my CD player only has the 2 RCA connectors, that can't be connect to the BDA 3 correct?

Yes that is correct - they are analog outputs.

james

Renato6 · « **Reply #306 on:** 2 Mar 2016, 06:54 pm »

Quote from: James Tanner on 2 Mar 2016, 06:38 pm

Yes that is correct - they are analog outputs.

james

Great, thanks since I don't listen to CDs that much I will find a CD player that is reasonably priced with Digital output so I can take advantage of the BDA 3. It sounds so nice I want to take advantage of it!

Bones13 · « **Reply #307 on:** 3 Mar 2016, 03:06 am »

Consider ripping your CDs to FLAC (or any lossless file format you prefer) and play them from your Mac. And/or consider a universal disc player to play CDs, SACDs, and DVDas to your DAC via HDMI.

If you are a CD purist, I seem to remember reading here on the forum tha Bryston has a new CD player in the works. I don't have clue if the BDA3 is needed with that, yet to be released, device.

My wife got me a Sony CD player in 1986. It was the only player I have owned that did not have digital out SPDIF of some sort. I guess a specialty CD player might consider skipping its own DAC to be a bad thing, and not have digital out. I have never owned a really good CD player. My current HiFi era pretty much started with computer music through headphones. With a quality DAC, I never persued high level CD players.

James Tanner · « **Reply #308 on:** 3 Mar 2016, 10:19 am »

MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: Bryston A3 Speaker – Distributor Comments

March 2016

Hi James,

Three (3) wonderful products arrived at PMC from Bryston recently.

We’ve just run up the Bryston A3 speakers and we’re really excited. They sound great and they offer a lot of performance for the money.

The Cubed amps are amazing. So much smoother, greater depth and height information. It all sounds so much more “real” A big thank you to whoever came up with this improvement. We are measuring substantially lower THD at high frequencies (always a good sign) and the common mode rejection of the balanced inputs is almost 20dB better……incredible results!

The BDA-3 blows the BDA-2 out of the game. So much more detail, smoother and well-judged overall balance.

Thank you,
Peter Thomas
Managing Director

Tympani · « **Reply #309 on:** 4 Mar 2016, 12:59 am »

What does your BDA-3 weigh?

Strange question, perhaps. As I unpacked my brand new BDA-3 last weekend, and swapped out my trusty BDA-2 on the rack, I couldn't help but notice the difference in heft. The slender BDA-2 (and BDP-2) are renowned for their solid, brick-like feel, conveyed by substantial mass. The new DAC felt very light in comparison, despite it's larger chassis. Before hooking things up, I pulled out a small, reasonably accurate scale to measure the 2 components. The BDA-2 weighed in at 12.5 lbs. Solid to say the least. Just as stated in specs. The BDA-3 weighed just 8.6 lbs! I searched the included manual for specs and measurements, and noted that Weight was left blank. So I checked on the Bryston site, where BDA-3's weight is listed at 15 lbs/6.8 kg, almost twice my unit's weight.

So what gives?

Is the posted weight simply a typo? That would be unusual as the metric weight correlates. Was it the weight of a previous "prototype" before switching from steel to a lighter, perhaps all aluminum chassis? If so, would a steel vs aluminum chassis explain a 7 lb difference? Are there any 15 pound BDA-3's out there in service? Are there sonic/performance rationales for a lighter chassis?

In this industry, solid construction is typically linked to weight. Sure, non-ferrous metal has it's known advantages as well. But mass typically is associated with lower chassis resonance, better vibration control, better coupling to platforms, etc. And I don't see any advantages to lowering weight simply for the sake of weight reduction in such a small component. It's not a car, after all.

Anyway, not to sound paranoid or critical, but really just curious. Especially with the discrepancy between the posted and real weight.

As to the SOUND...I'm letting things mature a few more days before any critical listening. I learned with my BDA-2/BDP-2 combo it took a good 2 weeks to come to its glorious best. And considering I'm also using a new USB cable, and passing signal thru the BUC circuit for the first time, I don't want to jump the gun.

James Tanner · « **Reply #310 on:** 4 Mar 2016, 01:44 am »

Hi

The weight difference is because we went to an aluminum chassis instead of a steel chassis.

Must be a typo on the weight will have that looked at. Thanks for chatching it.

James

R. Daneel · « **Reply #311 on:** 4 Mar 2016, 02:52 pm »

Quote from: James Tanner on 4 Mar 2016, 01:44 am

Hi

The weight difference is because we went to an aluminum chassis instead of a steel chassis.

Must be a typo on the weight will have that looked at. Thanks for chatching it.

James

Hi James!

Did you change the BDA-2 and BDP-2 chassis to aluminium on the current models as well or do they remain steel?

Cheers!
Antun

James Tanner · « **Reply #312 on:** 4 Mar 2016, 03:29 pm »

Quote from: R. Daneel on 4 Mar 2016, 02:52 pm

Hi James!

Did you change the BDA-2 and BDP-2 chassis to aluminium on the current models as well or do they remain steel?

Cheers!
Antun

Hi

They are staying the same. Just the newer designs are going to aluminium.

james

Roberto135 · « **Reply #313 on:** 4 Mar 2016, 04:37 pm »

Hi, I have not read all 3d, but I want to understand what is the best connection between a BDP-2 and BDA-3, and which type of cable is better (now I use a Digital AES/EBU between my BDP-2 and my BDA- 2).
My doubt: which BDP-2 output is connected to BDA-3 usb input?
If I understand correctly I can use an 'AES/EBU-AES/EBU' cable for pcm files, but for the dsd files I need a '...-USB'

I hope You understand something

Roberto

James Tanner · « **Reply #314 on:** 4 Mar 2016, 04:42 pm »

Quote from: Roberto135 on 4 Mar 2016, 04:37 pm

Hi, I have not read all 3d, but I want to understand what is the best connection between a BDP-2 and BDA-3, and which type of cable is better (now I use a Digital AES/EBU between my BDP-2 and my BDA- 2).
My doubt: which BDP-2 output is connected to BDA-3 usb input?
If I understand correctly I can use an 'AES/EBU-AES/EBU' cable for pcm files, but for the dsd files I need a '...-USB'

I hope You understand something
Roberto

Hi Roberto

Yes if you want to play DSD files as well as PCM files with a single cable you need to use the USB out from the BDP to the USB in on the BDA-3.

If you just want PCM then you can use the AES.

You can also switch back and forth between AES and USB on the BDA-3 while you are listening to PCM if you want to do that comparison in sound.

james

Roberto135 · « **Reply #315 on:** 4 Mar 2016, 04:59 pm »

Quote from: James Tanner on 4 Mar 2016, 04:42 pm

Hi Roberto

Yes if you want to play DSD files as well as PCM files with a single cable you need to use the USB out from the BDP to the USB in on the BDA-3.

If you just want PCM then you can use the AES.

You can also switch back and forth between AES and USB on the BDA-3 while you are listening to PCM if you want to do that comparison in sound.

james

Ok James, I was uncertain because on BDP-2 manual I always read ''USB Inputs'', but rear panel USB are also outputs...

James Tanner · « **Reply #316 on:** 4 Mar 2016, 05:08 pm »

Quote from: Roberto135 on 4 Mar 2016, 04:59 pm

Ok James, I was uncertain because on BDP-2 manual I always read ''USB Inputs'', but rear panel USB are also outputs...

Correct - USB is a 2-way system. Just plug in the USB cable - reboot the BDP - and the USB will work as a sending connection.

james

R. Daneel · « **Reply #317 on:** 5 Mar 2016, 07:59 am »

Quote from: James Tanner on 4 Mar 2016, 03:29 pm

Hi

They are staying the same. Just the newer designs are going to aluminium.

james

Hi James!

A bit of an off-topic here but what about the chassis on the BHA-1 headamp? Is it alumunium or steel?

Cheers!
Antun

James Tanner · « **Reply #318 on:** 5 Mar 2016, 08:46 am »

Quote from: R. Daneel on 5 Mar 2016, 07:59 am

Hi James!

A bit of an off-topic here but what about the chassis on the BHA-1 headamp? Is it alumunium or steel?

Cheers!
Antun

I believe steel

stereoclub · « **Reply #319 on:** 9 Mar 2016, 02:19 pm »

Hi James,

Just received first BDA-3 in Romania, we are distributors. We have in our showroom Oppo universal optical players, BDT101CI, BDP-103D etc.
I connected on HDMI and inserted SACD's with output set to Stereo and DSD from source.
On BDA-3 the led goes on green on DSD, but never amber. Oppo says the output is native DSD if I setup properly.
What is the explanation? I expected this product for this DSD native on HDMI feature, does this mean all players send DoP not DSD?

Thank you