I will be posting more comments on the operational quirks over the next week.
OK, I wanted to hear back from Bryston (contacted Stan B & Mike Picket) before posting here.
Here are my 2 main operational issues or quirks with the BDA-3.
FYI:My unit is connected via coax S/PDIF and HDMI to an Oppo Udp-205.
The Oppo HDMI output is from the "audio only" HDMI output set to bitstream.
The Oppo S/PDIF output is set to PCM.
First issue is the loud pop when I switch from PCM to DSD.
Obviously this only happens on the HDMI input as the Oppo does not output DSD on coax.
Once I'm locked in DSD mode it works fine (no pops).
I though this was fixed quite a while back.
No comment from Bryston.
Second issue is when I power up the Oppo and play something in PCM format the BDA-3 has no output.
It shows the input and lock LED's as green but no sample rate LED (all off).
If I either power Off/On the BDA-3 or change to an unused input and back, it will then lock, show sample rate an have an output.
The same is true on HDMI.
If I turn Off the Oppo and back On the BDA-3 once again will not work.
I also have an BDA-1 that would default to the 32k sample rate when the same Oppo was first turned On.
It would however switch to the correct sample rate (44 to 192k) and output without an issue when a file is played.
Perhaps the Oppo's default 32k locks up the BDA-3 ?
Bryston's comment is "The BDA-3 does not support 32khz sample rate and BDA-1 did".
I'm not asking the BDA to support 32k but it should recover with a proper 44k to 192k PCM signal and not lock up !
All of the above also happens when I tried an older Oppo BDP-105D.
So, If I want to play SACD/DSD I must:
Mute my pre-Amp first, start to play the SACD or DSD file until the BDA-3 locks on DSD and is past the pop.
Stop and un-mute the pre-Amp and start to play the track again.
If I want to play PCM I must:
Turn on the Oppo and play 44k to 192k PCM.
Turn on the BDA-3 (to avoid the lockup) and again re-start the track.
That is some buggy operation IMHO.
I think at least the 32k lockup can be fixed with firmware ?
Todd