I decided to upgrade to an external DAC from my Red Wine modded SB3. I had waited since I bought the RW SB3, in April '06, to upgrade to an external because when I originally bought it, I was convinced that an "all in one box" player, precluding the SPDIF conversion, avoided additional jitter. Additionally, it was my opinion that I would have to spend a substantial amount in order to raise the SQ to a point where a significant difference could be gained. Better to wait a few years and let the technology of DACs improve, and costs come down, as they inevitably do, to upgrade. As I surveyed the DAC landscape late last year, I became aware of 2 products that seemed to garner almost universal praise for their SQ. The Audio By Van Alstine Insight DAC was introduced in the fall of '08 and features a multi-bit, oversampling design that "can output a completely symmetrical waveform with a top-to-bottom and left-to-right symmetry that is necessary to correctly recover all of the digital data". The Bryston BDA-1 was also introduced in the fall of '08. It features a list of features which can be found here.
http://bryston.com/bda1_m.htmlA hint that an electronic component is better than average is that you don't see them for sale on the used market. Both of these units exhibit this characteristic.
I ordered them and proceeded to compare. Easier said than done. Firstly, the Insight and the BDA-1 had different output voltages and impedance's. I had rejected other highly thought of DACs because, using a passive setup(no preamp), I required a DAC with a healthy output capability to drive my amps. I also lusted after a unit with a discrete output stage. These 2 DACs, I thought, had the requisite drive capability for my set-up. I would never have guessed the differing outputs of the 2 would diverge as greatly as they did in the resulting drive capability. Those differences were noted in these 2 threads.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showt...hreadid=131541http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/i...?topic=60588.0After the Insight was graciously revised by Frank Van Alstine, I sat down for some more serious listening. Matching output presented a tedious exercise requiring numerous resetting of volume with test tone tracks to be absolutely certain of matching levels so results were not skewed one way or another. Even so, I could not reliably judge whether the Insight or BDA-1 had better overall SQ. At first I thought the Insight had a better spacial presentation but a slightly lesser bass. Checking levels revealed a slight difference, and when adjusted, the differences disappeared. Oh dear.
My system just didn't have the resolution to tell a difference between the 2. While my Kenwood KM-X-1000, 270w, mono-blocks do not have an audiophile pedigree, they are nonetheless solid performers and sound as good as they measure.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/3279611/Ke...Manual-EnglishI then received notice that the X-Amps, 150w, mono-block, I had on order from AV123, were being shipped.(see separate review)
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=63886.0Hopefully these would be better quality than the Kenwoods, and I could discern a difference. I asked Frank to extend my 30 day audition and he, again graciously, aquiessed. The X-Amps did, in fact, have better resolution and retrieval of low level detail than the Kenwoods. Again, a 2 day comparison, going back and forth, switching cables, playing test tones, resetting levels and then auditioning. Big band, reggae, baroque, full symphonies, solo Hawaiian slack-key, classical, and bluegrass guitar. Cuban big band, hard rock, small ensemble jazz, folk. I threw everything I had at them! Results? DEAD EVEN! They both had solid, deep, nimble bass, threw sound-stages that had depth , height, and width and had even, smooth, frequency response. Low level details were presented in away I had not experienced before. After I installed my new X-Amps, they both allowed me to hear the sense of space around each individual instrument instead of a homogeneous sound of the hall acoustics, on recordings made in real time in live venues, compared to my previous amps. Micro-acoustics, if you will.The sound of spittle in a sax mouthpiece, the chiff noise of a violin bow being moved across the strings when changing direction, the inflection of emotion in vocals, all were revealed in familiar recordings heretofore obscured. The differences were so slight and nonspecific as to be imperceptible to my ears. Maybe someone with better hearing and/or a better system would be better able to judge. With the Kenwoods in the system, I was able to have the gain all the way up on all recordings with the Insight due to the lesser input sensitivity of the Kenwoods. With the BDA-1, recordings with high output levels would overdrive the Kenwoods to distortion. With the X-Amps in the system, there was the increase in SQ as well as the greater gain resulting in a lowering of gain,at the attenuator, before overload. This overload was to the amp, not the speakers, so the upper SPL limit was lower, as the X-Amps are rated at 150w and the Kenwoods at 270w. Even with the higher SQ of the X-Amps, the SQ of both DACs remained comparable. I was amazed at how similar they sounded. So there is no loser. Both units are winners. The Insight is the stone bargain of the 2 at half the MSRP of the Bryston. If one has a preamp, I would not hesitate to recommend it. The BDA-1 has more output, which is important to me, as I have a passive attenuator instead of a preamp. While the Insight has a very utilitarian look to its chassis, the Bryston has a smaller footprint and a more sculpted look. Also, the bells and whistles, as Frank terms them, of the multiple inputs and upsampling offer greater utility in my setup, so I'm keeping the Bryston. To be sure, there are other differences that make the BDA-1 a more compelling unit, but they have nothing to do with sound quality. If you don't need balanced outs, a USB input, multiple digital inputs, and outputs, and upsampling, the Insight is a great value and the equal in SQ to the BDA-1. I would be remiss if I did not comment on the oversampling feature of the BDA-1. I can only echo the comments of others that the differences were subtle and not consistent from recording to recording. I usually leave it on. I did not use the USB input.
To some it all up, my impression is that the digital sections of these 2 DACs are both extremely refined and comparable in quality. The analog sections are both top notch with the ever so slight edge going to Bryston as far as drive capability.
I wish to thank Frank Van Alstine for going the extra mile with me in the audition process. While maintaining his curmudgeonly exterior, he also revealed his passion for what he does, and it seemed to me, genuine curiosity as to how these 2 DACs would compare.
My setup:
Sources: Red Wine Modded SB3, Toshiba SD6980
Passive Pre: Creek OBH12
Amps: Kenwood K-MX1000s, AV123 X-Amps
Speakers: SP Tech Timepiece Minis, Rocket UFW-12 sub w/RDES, VMPS Ambience Tweeters
Power Conditioner: Pure/AV PF60
