BDA-3 DAC

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James Tanner

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1380 on: 7 Jun 2021, 04:04 pm »
James,

What’s Bryston’s view and position on DSD x8 / DSD 512?

Thanks

Michael

Hi Michael,

No position other than at some point it becomes 'spec-man-ship"

I have always felt the MASTER done correctly is the determining factor once you reach CD quality.

james

bokko

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1381 on: 15 Jul 2021, 01:41 am »
That and the one album I have at DSD256 is 11GB same album DSD64 is  2.76gb
Thats a lot of space and better be reading from a fast connection or drive...

fbny71

Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1382 on: 3 Aug 2021, 05:00 pm »
James, I have another question about my BDA-3: a Mac mini is my main digital source, does it make more sense to use the HDMI output vs. the USB?

James Tanner

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1383 on: 4 Aug 2021, 10:47 am »
James, I have another question about my BDA-3: a Mac mini is my main digital source, does it make more sense to use the HDMI output vs. the USB?

It depends on your thoughts about how important lower jitter is. HDMI is much higher than USB.

james

fbny71

Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1384 on: 4 Aug 2021, 11:41 am »
Noted, thank you.

Inter

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1385 on: 31 Aug 2021, 06:23 pm »
Hi, I have a very old BDA3 unit (in the 0001's) running firmware u2015.12a. Normally I would not do anything about upgrading the firmware, but I have always had the problem when switching from a 16-bit source to a 24-bit source (from my trusty BDP-2), the BDA3 shows an orange light and I have to manually switch the SPDIF input back and forth every time this changes. Very annoying.

I've read a lot of this thread where upgrading firmware is discussed and I was looking into upgrading the firmware to see if that problem went away, but I cannot find any documentation referenced here on how to do it or even the firmware bin files themselves.

People link to a PDF where supposedly the instructions are in, but that link is now dead. I can also not anywhere find on the bryston.com site the .bin files. In the (old) web ui, the "File" GUI refers to a dropbox address which no longers exist where supposedly .bin files were to be found at some point.

I am completely at a loss on how to upgrade the firmware here. Can anyone direct me to anyplace where I might be able to find some instructions and even the firmware itself? Should I even bother, and just live with my annoying problem? Like I said, normally I would not bother with it as it works fine in my other usages.

Anyone kind here able to point me in the right direction? :)

GeAllan70

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1386 on: 31 Aug 2021, 11:54 pm »
get in contact with Mike Pickett at Bryston.  :thumb:


bokko

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1387 on: 1 Sep 2021, 12:04 am »
Certainly follow Brystons advice.
Just sold my BDA-3 and found BDA3_2018_05d firmware was solid and can be run on the old BDA-3's mine was in the low 1000's. Not the new firmware though.
No troubles with switching from 16-24, DSD 64 128 or 256.

Good Luck

Inter

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1388 on: 1 Sep 2021, 02:34 pm »
Thanks for the replies. Does anyone know what his email address is?

James Tanner

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1389 on: 1 Sep 2021, 03:04 pm »
Thanks for the replies. Does anyone know what his email address is?

mpickett@bryston.com

Inter

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1390 on: 2 Sep 2021, 10:39 am »
Thanks! :)

Audiophile

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1391 on: 23 Oct 2021, 05:26 pm »
Any chance of Bryston doing a firmware update to the BDA-3 to support I2S? I’m waiting on a PS Audio PerfectWave SACD Transport and to get DSD I need an I2S Dac.

James Tanner

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1392 on: 23 Oct 2021, 08:02 pm »
Any chance of Bryston doing a firmware update to the BDA-3 to support I2S? I’m waiting on a PS Audio PerfectWave SACD Transport and to get DSD I need an I2S Dac.

Hi

No I2S would require a hardware change in the BDA-3.

james

Audiophile

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1393 on: 23 Oct 2021, 08:15 pm »
Thank You James.

Grant Hill

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1394 on: 13 Nov 2021, 12:59 pm »
Hi Folks,

Quick question on bda3. I have mine connected to a Cambridge audio CXUHD which is a blue ray player WITHOUT Dac on board. It outputs video on tv via HDMI and audio to bda3 via hdmi and coax. On hdmi I can send DSD stream if I play sacd or pcm up to 192 if I play a blue ray audio disc, depending on the specific disc.

One strange thing is that when I select coax input (SPDIF1) on bda3 it says the rate is 48 while if I switch on hdmi is 96/24 as it should (same blue ray disc of course). I changed audio output on Cambridge settings from 192/24 to 96/24 to bitstream but on coax the rate is always 48. According to bda manual coax input should be able to accept signals up to 96/24.

Any hints?

huric9

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1395 on: 13 Nov 2021, 08:03 pm »
Hi All

I haven't flipped through all the posts in this circle yet but I need to introduce myself to be able to use the site's features.  However, I'm intrigued by the Bryston BDA-3 or the Bryston BDA-3.14.  Does anyone have a strong opinion on the DAC/Streamer combo?  Comps I'm looking at are the Aurender A10 (I can find an open box one for a similar price to the 3.14.)  I'm also intrigued by the Denafrips Venus II DAC (I'll have to find a streamer for it).  In any case,  the choices are many and sometimes a bit overwhelming.

Grant Hill

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1396 on: 14 Nov 2021, 12:49 pm »
Hi All

I haven't flipped through all the posts in this circle yet but I need to introduce myself to be able to use the site's features.  However, I'm intrigued by the Bryston BDA-3 or the Bryston BDA-3.14.  Does anyone have a strong opinion on the DAC/Streamer combo?  Comps I'm looking at are the Aurender A10 (I can find an open box one for a similar price to the 3.14.)  I'm also intrigued by the Denafrips Venus II DAC (I'll have to find a streamer for it).  In any case,  the choices are many and sometimes a bit overwhelming.

Hi huric9,

Very happy with my BDA3. If you have enough budget, you can add a dedicated streamer as BDP3 or others produced by Aurender Lumin Innuos or Auralic.
If you want all in one box then BDA3.14. My preference is keep them separated


fbny71

Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1397 on: 16 Nov 2021, 07:56 pm »
mpickett@bryston.com

Is Mike away? I've emailed several times to inquire about process to change LED light in BDA3.

fbny71

Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1398 on: 16 Nov 2021, 07:59 pm »
And, on another note, is there any special reason why my BDA3 needs to have the power cord removed and re-seated when I turn it back on in order to recognize the Mac mini connected via USB?

I had resorted to just leaving it and the BP17 preamp on all the time to avoid having to go through the trouble. I'm also wondering if it will happen when I replace the Mac with a Roon Nucleus!

R. Daneel

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Re: BDA-3 DAC
« Reply #1399 on: 18 Nov 2021, 01:56 pm »
Hi Folks,

Quick question on bda3. I have mine connected to a Cambridge audio CXUHD which is a blue ray player WITHOUT Dac on board. It outputs video on tv via HDMI and audio to bda3 via hdmi and coax. On hdmi I can send DSD stream if I play sacd or pcm up to 192 if I play a blue ray audio disc, depending on the specific disc.

One strange thing is that when I select coax input (SPDIF1) on bda3 it says the rate is 48 while if I switch on hdmi is 96/24 as it should (same blue ray disc of course). I changed audio output on Cambridge settings from 192/24 to 96/24 to bitstream but on coax the rate is always 48. According to bda manual coax input should be able to accept signals up to 96/24.

Any hints?

Hello!

Your 'quick' question may not have a quick answer :)

The problem is not in the Bryston DAC but rather in the Cambridge bluray player. Obviously, it down-samples everything above 48kHz through the S/PDIF output. This is not uncommon with bluray players and was actually a major downside of this interface in almost all of the DVD players.

Try burning a CD with a 32 and 44.1kHz file and see if the BDA-3 still shows a 48kHz sample-rate.

Remember that the more modern D/A conversion techniques like delta-sigma were actually introduced alongside the first DVD machines, hence the reason why DVD players were thought to sound superior to many CD players of the time. Even if that was the case, the industry never bothered to 'improve' upon the S/PDIF spec to allow for sample-accurate playback. I seem to remember reading a whitepaper about that back in the day and I think the concern was that it would not be compatible with  most outboard DACs of the time which, still depending on traditional linear-type converters, would not be able to work properly. Also, because the recording formats of the time such as Digital Audio Tape and MiniDisc did not work with sampling frequencies above 48kHz (with some exceptions), there was no real need to upgrade the specification. Professional industry didn't care either because the 44.1kHz sampling was chosen specifically to correspond to and synchronize well with the video formats of the time which is all they needed.

In a nutshell, Cambridge must have used an either older or cheaper chipset or did not choose to process the S/PDIF signal on the main DSP instead or quite simply didn't care. Still, I must say, I find it odd because I consider the brand something of a digital specialist and for a while, I was considering the same player. If I had actually bought one, I would have had the same problem as you because that is one of the things I would have liked to do with that player.

Sorry for the bad news, mate. At least I hope I managed to answer your question.

Cheers - Antun