BDA-3 DAC

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Lappy27

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1080 on: 8 Nov 2018, 03:05 am »
Hello, James.

There are 52 pages of posts in this thread, and I don't wish to spend an hour or two reading through them. Please tell me what is special about the BDA-3 DAC.

I use my Mac Mini as source, and usually stream Tidal. 98% of my music is CD quality.

Regards,

Michael

Hi Michael, I also use a modified (linear power supply) Mac Mini with Audirvana with embedded Tidal with my recently acquired BDA-3. I have a really good USB chain between the Mac and the BDA-3 with two very good USB cables linked together by an Uptone Iso Regen and LPS 1.2. I'm coming from a R-2R dac and I was a bit skeptical that the Bryston will be able to match the sheer musicality of my old multibit dac that have a reputed Amanero 384 USB input. But to my surprise, the BDA-3 bested it in every imaginable way. It's even smoother and at the same time more detailed. It's a non-fatiguing music machine. BTW, I sold a well regard NAD M51 to get my old R-2R dac after comparing the two. I told to myself then that I will stick with R-2R and forget about delta sigma dacs. I'm happy I gave the BDA-3 a chance. A big bonus for me is since I got the BDA-3 I sold all my audio HT stuff and upgraded my two channels system because I plugged my Blu-Ray player, cable box and Mac in the HDMI inputs of the BDA-3 and I don't think I lost anything in clarity in dialogue of films or broadcasts. For me, really good stereo is as much satisfying as my old 5.1 setup by my neighbors won't regret my subwoofer!😁 Bottom line, the BDA-3 is a terrific performer and extremely convenient piece of equipment for acting as the heart of my system.

Lappy27

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1081 on: 8 Nov 2018, 03:26 am »
Hi Folks,

The 5 filters available on the AKM 4490 chip.



And the winner is... :lol:

Lappy27

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1082 on: 8 Nov 2018, 03:34 am »
I would like to try a Synergistic Research Blue fuse in my BDA-3.

If anybody can tell me the value of the fuse I should purchase, it will be very kind.

Regards.


gbaby

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1083 on: 8 Nov 2018, 07:38 pm »
I would like to try a Synergistic Research Blue fuse in my BDA-3.

If anybody can tell me the value of the fuse I should purchase, it will be very kind.

Regards.

What would a fuse make a difference in the sound quality when a fuse only comes in play when their is a power surge or malfunction and the fuse blows to keep from damaging the unit.  :o All you need is a little discernment along with common sense. Don't fall for it.

adol290

Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1084 on: 8 Nov 2018, 08:24 pm »
I would like to try a Synergistic Research Blue fuse in my BDA-3.

If anybody can tell me the value of the fuse I should purchase, it will be very kind.

Regards.

They used to have the fuses in the manual. But now they don't.

You could call Mike Pickett, he should know, or open the unit yourself.

If you change it let us know your findings....

Lappy27

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1085 on: 9 Nov 2018, 03:47 am »
What would a fuse make a difference in the sound quality when a fuse only comes in play when their is a power surge or malfunction and the fuse blows to keep from damaging the unit.  :o All you need is a little discernment along with common sense. Don't fall for it.

Please don't start a flame war. Like it or not, in my OBJECTIVE experiments and I made a lot, nearly everything make a difference beeing wall duplex, cables, vibration control, room treatment and FUSES!

If you have already decided that you don't believe that a better made fuse can make a difference in sound WITHOUT trying it then more power to you. I tried it with a skeptical approach and I was convinced. That apply with all tweaks aforementioned. I try and decide if it works or not. Simple as that. You can call it placebo if you want but my ears/brain really believes the improvement! It's all that matter. No?

Lappy27

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1086 on: 9 Nov 2018, 03:50 am »
They used to have the fuses in the manual. But now they don't.

You could call Mike Pickett, he should know, or open the unit yourself.

If you change it let us know your findings....

I sent two emails to Mr. Pickett but no answers :(

The Rang

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1087 on: 9 Nov 2018, 06:44 am »
For anyone experiencing the "pops" when switching between PCM and DSD files, there is a firmware upgrade available that resolved this issue. It's u2015.12a. I got mine directly from Bryston but I believe it is the same update available via the BDA-3 web GUI.

So far the great Bryston sound coupled with the versatility makes this a true winner. Now to see if there are any break-in changes.

I get wicked pops between tracks when playing Van Morrison's Moondance Blu-ray in stereo (24/192) via HDMI.
i can see the HDMI LED turn red before each track then the 'pop' as it locks back in for the next track.
is this a hardware or software issue?
I can go to coax or toslink input but then not getting 24/192

srb

Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1088 on: 9 Nov 2018, 08:46 am »
Oops.  Delete.

James Tanner

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1089 on: 9 Nov 2018, 10:00 am »
I get wicked pops between tracks when playing Van Morrison's Moondance Blu-ray in stereo (24/192) via HDMI.
i can see the HDMI LED turn red before each track then the 'pop' as it locks back in for the next track.
is this a hardware or software issue?
I can go to coax or toslink input but then not getting 24/192

Hi Rang

If you are getting pops then it means your DVD player is not outputting a digital signal between tracks and the BDA-3 is having to re-clock and re-lock in between tracks  Some DVD players do this while others maintain the digital signal at all time and therefore no pop 

I would recommend COAX or BNC if you want 192/24 capability assuming your DVD player is outputting 192/24 on those outputs

james


Jozsef

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1090 on: 9 Nov 2018, 12:28 pm »
Please don't start a flame war. Like it or not, in my OBJECTIVE experiments and I made a lot, nearly everything make a difference beeing wall duplex, cables, vibration control, room treatment and FUSES!
I've been where you are, so let's start small, with terminology. Your tests are what's referred to as subjective. Objective would involve provable, repeatable, factual numbers from laboratory instruments. Subjective means you are deciding what's better by listening and it is called an opinion because it can't be proven as fact. Another person might not agree with your assessment of what's better or they might.

Subjectivity definitely has a place because without it we would not know which problems are the most unpleasant and should be minimized when a tradeoff is necessary during the design phase. This fuse I imagine does not have any signal going through it and studying how we hear (and see) will clarify why you can hear absolutely everything you change in and around the house reflected in the sound of your system.

The short explanation is that we hear primarily with our brain, not with our ears. (Same with vision, just for the record.) Very interesting stuff, I promise you. It was well known by scientists more than 40 years ago when I studied it. Check it out.

CanadianMaestro

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1091 on: 9 Nov 2018, 01:29 pm »
I've been where you are, so let's start small, with terminology. Your tests are what's referred to as subjective. Objective would involve provable, repeatable, factual numbers from laboratory instruments.

The short explanation is that we hear primarily with our brain, not with our ears. (Same with vision, just for the record.) Very interesting stuff, I promise you. It was well known by scientists more than 40 years ago when I studied it. Check it out.

he said he had done objective experiments. That means measurements.

sidenote: Do you know of the work by Hubel and Wiesel (1960s, visual cortex; 1981 Nobel winners)? Hudspeth (auditory transduction/hair cells)? Great stuff.

gbaby

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1092 on: 9 Nov 2018, 03:25 pm »
Please don't start a flame war. Like it or not, in my OBJECTIVE experiments and I made a lot, nearly everything make a difference beeing wall duplex, cables, vibration control, room treatment and FUSES!

If you have already decided that you don't believe that a better made fuse can make a difference in sound WITHOUT trying it then more power to you. I tried it with a skeptical approach and I was convinced. That apply with all tweaks aforementioned. I try and decide if it works or not. Simple as that. You can call it placebo if you want but my ears/brain really believes the improvement! It's all that matter. No?

I think you are too sensitive in reading more into my comments than necessary. :roll: :o

R. Daneel

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1093 on: 9 Nov 2018, 04:35 pm »
Felas, felas, come on now. I thought I knew a thing or two about power cables, having studied electrical engineering and all of that. That was until I was told/instructed/reeducated to stop believing the science and trust my ears because there is more that we don't know than what we do know. Apparently, electricity has not yet been fully investigated. Damn, I just hope I haven't made any serious mistakes designing those 5 MW bio-gas power plants.

What I ought to be doing is start my own business and reinvent everything - with a HI-FI prefix. Someone really ought to take money from these people before they hurt themselves with it. I am sick of watching others take their money and I want my share. I demand my share!

CanadianMaestro

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1094 on: 9 Nov 2018, 04:52 pm »

 I am sick of watching others take their money and I want my share. I demand my share!

Will you buy my cable cooker?   :lol: :popcorn:

R. Daneel

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1095 on: 9 Nov 2018, 04:53 pm »
Hi,

I assumed wrong that it was indeed off, but as you point out, it is actually a default filter setting.

The reason i was looking at the off function, is because i have built a standalone windows server using an HDplex chassis and an outboard linear power supply.
 It has no fans or motors in it. All solid state. I output from the server to an IFI iusb3.0 and then into the BDA-3.

The program i use on windows is called HQplayer. This program allows you to select different filters/dithering, and any type of up sampling you want.

So the idea was to turn off filtering in the DAC and have it all controlled by HQplayer.

Hi mate!

That's a solid plan. Unfortunately, the software itself can only deliver the data to the DAC which then does it's own thing, unrelated to the software. Even audio designers who design DACs (DAC as in a device, not the acutal chip) don't know exactly how the chip processes data. In many cases, modern chips add in the "missing" data before the data is processed. That means even 16 bit audio is processed as 24 bit (or which ever bit depth architecure is used to construct the chip).

Speaking of which, the input receiver chips for USB are a lot more complex than that. XMOS, MediaTek, whomever builds them, they sure know how to complicate matters if you wish to learn more about how they work.

In the end, how did you like your Esoteric player? Do you still have it or do you use something else these days?

Cheers!
Antun

R. Daneel

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1096 on: 9 Nov 2018, 04:56 pm »
Will you buy my cable cooker?   :lol: :popcorn:

No, but that's a really nice ski mask! :green:

CanadianMaestro

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1097 on: 9 Nov 2018, 04:58 pm »
No, but that's a really nice ski mask! :green:

Balaclava. I keep one atop my BDA.  :thumb:

adol290

Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1098 on: 9 Nov 2018, 05:51 pm »
Hi mate!

That's a solid plan. Unfortunately, the software itself can only deliver the data to the DAC which then does it's own thing, unrelated to the software. Even audio designers who design DACs (DAC as in a device, not the acutal chip) don't know exactly how the chip processes data. In many cases, modern chips add in the "missing" data before the data is processed. That means even 16 bit audio is processed as 24 bit (or which ever bit depth architecure is used to construct the chip).

Speaking of which, the input receiver chips for USB are a lot more complex than that. XMOS, MediaTek, whomever builds them, they sure know how to complicate matters if you wish to learn more about how they work.

In the end, how did you like your Esoteric player? Do you still have it or do you use something else these days?

Cheers!
Antun

Hello,

I really liked my Esoteric K-03x. Spinning disks was a whole new level.

But then i started to use the DAC in the K-03x for digital downloads. I output from the server to an
 IFI iusb3.0 and then into the K-03x.  The sound quality was very close to what i was getting spinning disks.

So at that point i sold the K-03x to fund another project and bought the BDA-3. The BDA-3 is a great unit and
 comes very close to the  quality of the K-03x Dac.

If i had the $$$$ i would purchase another Esoteric player. This time it would be the next step up. Probably the K01xs.
My friend has a K-01x and it sounds even better than my K-03x did.  I really like the sound of their players.

R. Daneel

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1099 on: 9 Nov 2018, 07:53 pm »
Hello,

I really liked my Esoteric K-03x. Spinning disks was a whole new level.

But then i started to use the DAC in the K-03x for digital downloads. I output from the server to an
 IFI iusb3.0 and then into the K-03x.  The sound quality was very close to what i was getting spinning disks.

So at that point i sold the K-03x to fund another project and bought the BDA-3. The BDA-3 is a great unit and
 comes very close to the  quality of the K-03x Dac.

If i had the $$$$ i would purchase another Esoteric player. This time it would be the next step up. Probably the K01xs.
My friend has a K-01x and it sounds even better than my K-03x did.  I really like the sound of their players.

Yes, I can imagine they sound wonderful. Unfortunately, where I live, they cost a lot more than they do in Japan or the States so I never actually heard one or even seen one in real life.

That said, I think my preference would go towards Denon top models like the DCD-SX1. But they too cost a lot. I admire the workmanship and long-lasting value of Japanese high-end machines. No one can make them like the Japs, that's for sure.

But it's also good to know you're enjoying your BDA-3!