[jamesmustain]

Hi all,  I using bda-3 and Oppo 203. The 3.14 seams very good choice but I don't won't to loose sound quality.

Will the 3.14 sound as good as the Bda-3 from oppo? Any suggestion? Thanks!

[Francois_Tardif]

Hi,

It should sound exactly the same. Same DAC. Same connection (HDMI to send hi-res audio or DSD to the DAC).

François

PS. I have an OPPO connected to a BDA-3... and a BDP-3. I tried a BDA3.14 before buying the BDA-3+BDP-3 combo. Opted for the combo simply for the better performance of the BDP-3 vs the streamer that is built-in the BDA-3.14.

[Clive197]

Hi,

It should sound exactly the same. Same DAC. Same connection (HDMI to send hi-res audio or DSD to the DAC).

François

PS. I have an OPPO connected to a BDA-3... and a BDP-3. I tried a BDA3.14 before buying the BDA-3+BDP-3 combo. Opted for the combo simply for the better performance of the BDP-3 vs the streamer that is built-in the BDA-3.14.

Hi
I use a BR-20 which also uses the same streamer as the BDP-3 and BDA-3.14 which is in fact a Raspberry Pi. So am very interested in how the products sound different.
I know that the DAC in the BR-20 is slightly different in that it doesn’t come with the HDMI board as standard.

[James Tanner]

Hi Clive

The BDP-3 is not a Pi it is a full out very high powered custom computer. The 3.14 uses the Pi3 and the BR-20 uses the Pi4

The DAC in the BR-20 is identical to the DAC in the 3.14 its just that the 3.14 comes standard with the HDMI board and in the BR-20 it is an option.

james

[Francois_Tardif]

"The BDP-3 is not a Pi it is a full out very high powered custom computer."... and I love it 

[Clive197]

Ok, my bad, I obviously misunderstood some of the original information that came out about the BR-20.

I’ve had my BR-20 for about 5 weeks now and I’m here to tell you that it is a superb piece of kit, with SQ being the best I’ve ever heard.

[WillyP]

...

 The 3.14 uses the Pi3 and the BR-20 uses the Pi4

...

james

Hi James,

Are there sonic differences between the Pi3 in the BDA-3.14 and the Pi4 in the BR-20?

Thanks,

Willy

[James Tanner]

Hi James,

Are there sonic differences between the Pi3 in the BDA-3.14 and the Pi4 in the BR-20?

Thanks,

Willy

Hi Willy

That's a good question - The problem is there is no way to do a direct comparison as the circuit path of the digital signal in the 3.14 is different than in the BR-20.

james

[WillyP]

Well, James, then I have another question for you. Let’s compare the XLR output of the BDA-3.14 with the XLR fixed output of the BR-20. Will there be significant differences in sound quality when using both units as a streamer?

WillyP

[James Tanner]

Well, James, then I have another question for you. Let’s compare the XLR output of the BDA-3.14 with the XLR fixed output of the BR-20. Will there be significant differences in sound quality when using both units as a streamer?

WillyP

Hi Willy,

I would say little difference in terms of the Streamer functionality other than the Pi4 is more powerful so it would be faster and handle larger libraries and paly lists etc.

As for sound quality the BR-20 is the first preamplifier we have designed with a fully balanced circuit path from input to output.  I think that reaps rewards when it comes to sound quality with any source.

james

[WillyP]

Hi James,

Thanks for the prompt reply! You probably know that there is a very favorable review of the BR-20 in the German magazine Stereoplay of June?

Willy

[James Tanner]

Hi James,

Thanks for the prompt reply! You probably know that there is a very favorable review of the BR-20 in the German magazine Stereoplay of June?

Willy

Hi Willy

No I did not - can you send me details?

james

[WillyP]

James,

I have sent you a PM.

WillyP

[WillyP]

James,

This is the magazine, it is from June 2021.



WillyP

[James Tanner]

THANKS - I do not read German but it seem as if they liked it 

[vlach]

Hi,

It should sound exactly the same. Same DAC. Same connection (HDMI to send hi-res audio or DSD to the DAC).

François

PS. I have an OPPO connected to a BDA-3... and a BDP-3. I tried a BDA3.14 before buying the BDA-3+BDP-3 combo. Opted for the combo simply for the better performance of the BDP-3 vs the streamer that is built-in the BDA-3.14.

Francois,

Not sure if you're still around but you are the ideal person to answer my question, which is; what are (if any) the sonic differences between the Oppo and the BDP-3? Since you have both connected to the BDA-3 it should be easy to do A/B comparisons, thank you.

Alex

[Francois_Tardif]

Hi Alex,

OK… I have compared the same song two ways. A 24/96 audio file from a DVD-A from the OPPO to the BDA-3 connected via SPDIF and the same file ripped and stored on a NAS connected to the BDP-3 (with a Cat 8 RJ45 cable) and the BDP-3 to the BDA-3 connected with a AES/EBU Cable. To my ears, those two sounds exactly the same. In fact, the more I make comparisons, the more that I find that anything CD-Quality (16/44.1) or higher, played with different connections, sounds the same. A CD played from my CD transport and the same file stored on my NAS sounds exactly the same. I came to the conclusion that this is a good thing.

In the past, the main difference that I found was when playing DSD files VS their PCM versions. I think that the difference comes from the fact that the file must be fed to the BDA with the USB cable. To my ears, high frequencies was a little bit more audible which can be interesting at times, but I found this cause listening fatigue (just my opinion). In fact, I converted all my DSD files to PCM (flac) and I use the same cable for all files to feed the BDA-3 (the AES/EBU cable).

And now, I return to listening to music and not to the system 

Francois