[Hoiman]

Can somebody explain me why the digital player is as important as the DAC, if we are talking about making the sound?

What I mean is that a digital player just gives his 1's and 0's digital to the DAC, so the music stays the same (as the studio mixed it)?
So a digital player can't make the sound more clear, open, warmer, broader etc.? Only the DAC does that?
If the digital player makes the sound more clear, open, warmer, broader etc. then the 1's and 0's are changed?

So you can use a cheap digital player (with a good app of course) because the DAC does all the works?
Or does a digital player do more?

As you can see I put question marks after every sentence.
Can anybody explain to me how "the making of a sound" is also done by the digital player?
I know that amplifiers and speakers also do a lot but I want to know this part of the chain.
Already thanks.

[CanadianMaestro]

^ Great questions imo. I asked these way back in 2014. Here is Mr. Tanner's reply (e-mail): (I expect the raw full details may be proprietary)

From: Pete
Date: Saturday, December 6, 2014 at 8:13 PM
To: James Tanner <[email protected]>
Subject: What exactly does BDP do?


Hi James,

Owned BDP-1/BDA-1 for 3 yrs -- love them. But still ahve 3 Q's for you:

1. What exactly does BDP do with digital files from a drive? I've read that it "processes" the files -- what does "processing" entail?

2. Why not have a DAC inside BDP? Shorter signal path, less signal degradation.

3. What's the division of labor between BDP and BDA (external DAC)? 50/50? Which does the lion's share of the workload?

Thanks.

Pete
--------------------------------------

Hi Pete

    Think of the BDP as replacing the computer or laptop.  Computers have many peformance issues  switching power supplies, virus’s, moving parts etc.) when it comes to prcessing a music file so the BDP optimizes all those processes with a single minded omputer than does nothing but play music files (Linux operating system linear power supply, no moving parts) etc.).  The file comes in as raw data from the drive and is processed by a computer mother board to output a signal to a high quality sound card in the BDP and then the sound card in-turn outputs that digital signal to an external DAC which then processes that digital signal to an analog signal that your preamp can play.

2. We could but it complicates things and drives up the cost. Our DAC can be used with 8 different sources and we felt many people already owned our DAC or other DACs and the BDP would work in either situation.

3. I would say he BDP does the lions share when it comes to processing raw data to a quality signal – 75/25 maybe?

Hope this helps

James

[Hoiman]

The file comes in as raw data from the drive and is processed by a computer mother board to output a signal to a high quality sound card in the BDP and then the sound card in-turn outputs that digital signal to an external DAC which then processes that digital signal to an analog signal that your preamp can play.

So what I understand from this is that the digital player (in this example the Bryston BDP) changes the music (makes it more clear, warm, broad etc..) and give this changes to a DAC (in this example the Bryston BDA)?
So the DAC can be a cheaper one, one that has to be lesser work because why making the music better twice?

I understood that the DAC also does something with the sound (read: make the sound better).
If the digital player already has done it then the only thing that is left is that the DAC makes the digital stream analog.
Or not?

[CanadianMaestro]

I didn't see "make better" anywhere in that reply from JT. Nor any mention of "changing the music". Noise filtering and Jitter elimination, very likely.

Neutrality and transparency are hallmarks of Bryston's digital gear imo.
Try it out -- use a "cheap" DAC with BDP-x and see whether the SQ is changed at all.

Sounds like you want to hear justification for using an inexpensive DAC/are skeptical of the synergy between DAC and player.

cheers

[James Tanner]

I would also add to this - now that I have more experience - that the BDP-2 will make sure your DAC is getting a "BIT Perfect" digital stream.

I am amazed at how many computers are fiddling with the signal through their operating systems that the end user has no knowledge of.  Make sure whatever source you are using is in fact bit perfect.

So the Player and the DAC are important - as in any other chain the quality of the links in that chain are critical to the end result.

james

[Hoiman]

I didn't see "make better" anywhere in that reply from JT.

That is to what I translated it to, just to understand what is happening in the digital player.

Noise filtering and Jitter elimination

I would also add to this - now that I have more experience - that the BDP-2 will make sure your DAC is getting a "BIT Perfect" digital stream.

Now I understand what is done in the digital player, thanks.

[CanadianMaestro]

So the Player and the DAC are important - as in any other chain the quality of the links in that chain are critical to the end result.

james

Yup. It all starts with the SOURCE. Everything flows downstream from it. Corrupt the source > nothing else can fix it downstream.