BDA-2 DAC and BDA-3 DAC

hal jones · « **Reply #260 on:** 26 Mar 2013, 02:43 am »

Hey!

Currently I have a Simaudio Moon 300D. Would a BDA-2 be a definite upgrade, or more of a sideways shift?

TIA for your edifications.

James Tanner · « **Reply #261 on:** 26 Mar 2013, 11:08 am »

Quote from: mav52 on 25 Mar 2013, 02:52 am

James exactly where is this measurement taken from, USB, PCM etc.. just wondering

PCM (SPDIF)

james

Xinon · « **Reply #262 on:** 26 Mar 2013, 03:27 pm »

Quote from: bobNL on 18 Mar 2013, 08:42 pm

Great review!

Does make me somewhat sad that I went for the BDA-1 (ordered just as the BDA-2 came on the market ) as it was said to have "the same sound signature".

Still, as long as I do not visit my dealer to hear the BDA-2 I am happy as a bunny ,

Bob

I had both , and they both are good , I had a hard time desiding .
In the end I chose to keep the Bda1 ,it is more open and dynamic and hard hitting, Bda2 is darker and calmer .
Bda1 to me was more fun to listen to

Yesterday I testet the Bda1 against Nad M51 , also a very good dac .
The Bda1 was better , and clearly so !

alexone · « **Reply #263 on:** 27 Mar 2013, 07:07 pm »

...that's interesting, Xinon. did you try some music through the usb of the BDA-2?? if yes, did you detect any audible differences??

thanks,

al.

bobNL · « **Reply #264 on:** 27 Mar 2013, 08:28 pm »

Quote from: Xinon on 26 Mar 2013, 03:27 pm

I had both , and they both are good , I had a hard time desiding .
In the end I chose to keep the Bda1 ,it is more open and dynamic and hard hitting, Bda2 is darker and calmer .
Bda1 to me was more fun to listen to

Yesterday I testet the Bda1 against Nad M51 , also a very good dac .
The Bda1 was better , and clearly so !

Hi Xinon,

You just made my day!

Bob

marsboer · « **Reply #265 on:** 27 Mar 2013, 10:30 pm »

I have also ordered the BDA-2 (and BHA-1). I already have BDA-1 and I am extremely happy with it. My primary motivation is to get good headphone sound from my computer setup (which is also my headphone listening station). I will move the BDA-1 together with the BHA-1 to the computer. The digital source is the coaxial 24/192 output on the Asus Xonar STX sound card.
The BDA-1 has done duty in my main hi-fi setup, but as my M2Tech Hiface Two adapter have several implementation issues, which causes unreliable behaviour on my Linux MPD computer, I have to use the optical output from the internal Intel HDA card. It seems to stream 24bit 192kHz ok, but some dropouts happens sporadically on the maximum bitrate (TOSLINK only officially support 24bit/96kHz). I am looking forward to peace of mind when I can connect the Bryston BDA-2 directly using asynchronous USB, with no S/PDIF conversions or low quality hardware on the way.

In other words I will keep both the BDA-1 and the BDA-2.

I also have the Bryston 4B SST² amplifier, which I am still impressed by on a daily basis. I only wish that Bryston would release a preamp that have XLR inputs and outputs, very accurate volume control (I have a very sensitive system) and home theater passthrough. The BP17 with XLR would be nice thank you

gordon · « **Reply #266 on:** 27 Mar 2013, 11:51 pm »

Quote from: alexone on 27 Mar 2013, 07:07 pm

...that's interesting, Xinon. did you try some music through the usb of the BDA-2?? if yes, did you detect any audible differences??

thanks,

al.

Al, if you're asking about USB on the BDA2 vs BDA1 then the 2 is far superior based on the completely revised USB signal path. I moved to a 2 from BDA1 solely for this reason.

bobNL · « **Reply #267 on:** 28 Mar 2013, 08:04 am »

Hi Marsboer,

"I only wish that Bryston would release a preamp that have XLR inputs and outputs, very accurate volume control ....... "

Sounds just like the BHA-1 !

(no passthrough though)

Bob

ttsto · « **Reply #268 on:** 28 Mar 2013, 02:14 pm »

And no remote...

alexone · « **Reply #269 on:** 28 Mar 2013, 06:11 pm »

Quote from: gordon on 27 Mar 2013, 11:51 pm

Al, if you're asking about USB on the BDA2 vs BDA1 then the 2 is far superior based on the completely revised USB signal path. I moved to a 2 from BDA1 solely for this reason.

ok. thanks, Gordon. are you a 2 channel listener or do you prefer headphones?

al.

Xinon · « **Reply #270 on:** 28 Mar 2013, 08:04 pm »

Quote from: alexone on 27 Mar 2013, 07:07 pm

...that's interesting, Xinon. did you try some music through the usb of the BDA-2?? if yes, did you detect any audible differences??

thanks,

al.

Never used USB .
Use Bdp1 with Aes/Ebu WW Platinium and Mac Mini Amarra/Spotify with toslink .
I had the Bda2 in my system for 1month to be shure it was not a burnin issue .

James Tanner · « **Reply #271 on:** 1 Apr 2013, 11:01 pm »

Review on BDA-2 DAC

http://www.blu-raydefinition.com/hardware/bryston-bda-2-digital-analog-converter-review.html

james

So There · « **Reply #272 on:** 1 Apr 2013, 11:34 pm »

Congratulations on a very strong review, James. In my view, the author notes aptly that Bryston provides superb quality and excellent value.

I'm patiently awaiting the arrival of my BDA-2, BDP-2, and SP3.

Looking forward to The Absolute Sound review. (When using the BDP, do I wipe the green felt-tip marker on the flash drive?)

BTW, the Blu-ray Definition website doesn't format well to PDF (at least on my 2010 iMac), so could you let us know if/when you have a file in your spiffy PDF Bryston format?

Again, congratulations, and thanks for your pursuit of excellence.

Rich
_______________
Whiney Napa Valley

hal jones · « **Reply #273 on:** 2 Apr 2013, 08:36 pm »

Ordered mine on Mar 27. Any estimates on when to expect it?

So There · « **Reply #274 on:** 2 Apr 2013, 08:47 pm »

Bryston fans, I would appreciate your help with three questions on firmware updates for the BDA-2.

1. The manual states that Mac's are not supported. Ouch. Is this still the case? Chris . . . please, please, please. I run Windows 7 on a BootCamp partition on my iMac, so I could uninstall the BDA-2, move it near the iMac, and perform the update. A pain, though.

2. Is there any special cable needed for a USB 2.0 to RS232 connection, or is this generic? I see lots of flavors on Amazon, including different chipsets (chipsets? why?). Any specific one- or two-meterish cable you'd recommend?

3. Are the firmware updates infrequent?

Thanks muchly,

Rich
________________
Whiney Napa Valley

lycia · « **Reply #275 on:** 4 Apr 2013, 04:28 am »

What is the nature of the signal at the SPDIF output of the BDA-2 when its USB input is receiving digital music files from a PC? I note that the manual states that the signal present at the SPDIF output is the same signal that is selected as an input source, except for USB input signals.

James Tanner · « **Reply #276 on:** 4 Apr 2013, 10:12 am »

Quote from: hal jones on 2 Apr 2013, 08:36 pm

Ordered mine on Mar 27. Any estimates on when to expect it?

Hi Hal

Ordered through?

James

hal jones · « **Reply #277 on:** 4 Apr 2013, 10:53 am »

Natural Sound in Kitchener, ON..

Thanks.

James Tanner · « **Reply #278 on:** 4 Apr 2013, 02:28 pm »

Quote from: lycia on 4 Apr 2013, 04:28 am

What is the nature of the signal at the SPDIF output of the BDA-2 when its USB input is receiving digital music files from a PC? I note that the manual states that the signal present at the SPDIF output is the same signal that is selected as an input source, except for USB input signals.

Hi,

USB is converted to SPDIF and then outputted.

james

lycia · « **Reply #279 on:** 5 Apr 2013, 02:05 am »

Quote from: James Tanner on 4 Apr 2013, 02:28 pm

Hi,

USB is converted to SPDIF and then outputted.

james

Thank you for your reply, James.
If I connect the BDA-2’s SPDIF output to a SPDIF input of my BDA-1 then I can obtain no analogue output from the XLRs of the BDA-1. This happens only when the USB input of the BDA-2 is chosen. If the BDA-2’s AES/EBU input is chosen then the normal output from the XLRs of the BDA-1 is present. The BDA-1 sees the incoming signal from the BDA-2 (with the latter's USB input chosen) as it records any change in bitrate. However, it seems not to process the signal.
Further advice would be appreciated.