[Chicago]

Is it possible to use the BDA-2 with my BCD-1 and will it improve the quality of my listening experience?  Has anyone actually tried this and did they hear a noticeable improvement?  I will get down to a shop where I can do an A/B comparison but your input would be appreciated.

Eventually, I also want to purchase either the BDP-1 or 2 but this would allow me to spread out the cost and hopefully have a better listening experience in the interim.

Thanks, Mike

[redbook]

 I was thinking about that as well. Given the chips don'y match would that effect the ttiming  and pace from the bcd-1 or further improve it?

[saveloy]

Yes, of course it is possible.  The BDA-2 uses 2 sets of DAC chips, whereas the BCD-1 uses only 1.  Amongst other things you will find an improvement in overall smoothness.
Connecting the two means that the BCD-1 simply becomes a transport.  It will output a digital signal and that's it.  The digital conversion will be done solely by the BDA-2. 
Going to a BDP-1/2 will improve sonics further. 

Kyri

[Chicago]

Yes, of course it is possible.  The BDA-2 uses 2 sets of DAC chips, whereas the BCD-1 uses only 1.  Amongst other things you will find an improvement in overall smoothness.
Connecting the two means that the BCD-1 simply becomes a transport.  It will output a digital signal and that's it.  The digital conversion will be done solely by the BDA-2. 
Going to a BDP-1/2 will improve sonics further. 

Kyri

Thanks Kyri,
My technical knowledge is less than adequate but I enjoy the listening end of the hobby.  I will have to give this a try at the audio dealer.

Redbook,
Thanks for looking and I will let you know how it sounds at the dealer.  They can set it up for me with Bryston amp, pre-amp and my speakers so I will get a pretty good flavor.  If I like the cool aid I will bring one home for audition.

Mike

[stereoal]

I have a BDA-1 with my BCD. Adding the BDA improved the sound. The bass improved as did the detail. The difference in some songs is quite noticeable. Overall, I felt the sound improvement justified the cost of the BDA, especially when you consider you can spend as much on cables and still not get as much of an improvement.

[Samurai7595]

Yes, of course it is possible.  The BDA-2 uses 2 sets of DAC chips, whereas the BCD-1 uses only 1.  Amongst other things you will find an improvement in overall smoothness.
Connecting the two means that the BCD-1 simply becomes a transport.  It will output a digital signal and that's it.  The digital conversion will be done solely by the BDA-2. 
Going to a BDP-1/2 will improve sonics further. 

Kyri

+1 and besides the 2 sets of DAC chips, you will also be using seperate power supplies which should also improve the sound.

[saveloy]

Chicago,

You are welcome.  I own a BDP-1 & a BDA-1.  The DAC came first and I had it hooked up to my NAD cd player.  The NAD was a nice player in its own right.  But the BDA-1 transformed everything.  If I gave the sound 10/10, then it would only be fair to award the NAD cd player on its own a 1/10.
The difference was that great.
The BCD-1 uses a good DAC, so the difference won't be as marked.  But there will be a very noticeable difference. 

Kyri

[Chicago]

+1 and besides the 2 sets of DAC chips, you will also be using seperate power supplies which should also improve the sound.

Thanks for the input and I am going to have my dealer set up an in store audition for me.  It sounds like my strategy will work.

Kyri and Samurai,

The feedback is greatly appreciated. 

Mike

How do people mange to get more than one quote in the same response?

[Chicago]

I have a BDA-1 with my BCD. Adding the BDA improved the sound. The bass improved as did the detail. The difference in some songs is quite noticeable. Overall, I felt the sound improvement justified the cost of the BDA, especially when you consider you can spend as much on cables and still not get as much of an improvement.

Thank you, I was hoping someone had actually tried this.  I gathered the BDA-2 was a better DAC than what's in the BCD-1 but not sure there would be a noticeable difference without the BDP-2 (or the #1's) added to the equation and the higher resolution material. 

I recently attended a computer era listening session at my dealer (more of a seminar) where they did a number of side by side comparisons as they moved through the evolution of computer era sound from compressed i-tunes to uncompressed recordings (CD's in 16 and 24 BIT) to a state of the art high resolution set up.  It was nice listening as well as informative and once again peaked my interest in high resolution.  The first time I heard HD was a little over a year ago and the same dealer had a set up of the best gear in their shop.  I really enjoyed the session but it was presented on about $250,000 in gear.  I wasn't sure how much was the high resolution and how much was the gear but I knew if I won the lottery I wanted one of those.   

[srb]

How do people mange to get more than one quote in the same response?

If you scroll down below the editing window you will see recent posts and to the right of each is an Insert Quote link.  It inserts the quote at the beginning, so you may have to cut and paste it to a different position in your reply.
 
If the quote you want is earlier than the list of recent posts on the page, then you will have to open another AudioCircle window, click the relevant quote and cut and paste that quote into your current editing session window.
 
Steve
 
 

[spinner]

  I think the question is that the BDA1 the same chip as  the bcd1. The bda2 has a  different  chip set .

[James Tanner]

  I think the question is that the BDA1 the same chip as  the bcd1. The bda2 has a  different  chip set .

Yes the DAC chip in the BDA- 1 and the CD player is the Cyrstal CS4398.  Tha DAC chip in the BDA-2 is the AKM - AK4399

james

[spinner]

  Thanks James but is it a better match using like chips between the player and the dac? in regards to timing errors?

[redbook]

  if so it would be better to hook up  the cd1 to the bda1 rather than the bda2

[James Tanner]

  if so it would be better to hook up  the cd1 to the bda1 rather than the bda2

HI,

It is not required to match chips when going from one component to the next.

james

[redbook]

  Thanks again James

[Chicago]

Yes the DAC chip in the BDA- 1 and the CD player is the Cyrstal CS4398.  Tha DAC chip in the BDA-2 is the AKM - AK4399

james

HI,

It is not required to match chips when going from one component to the next.

james

If you scroll down below the editing window you will see recent posts and to the right of each is an Insert Quote link.  It inserts the quote at the beginning, so you may have to cut and paste it to a different position in your reply.
 
If the quote you want is earlier than the list of recent posts on the page, then you will have to open another AudioCircle window, click the relevant quote and cut and paste that quote into your current editing session window.
 
Steve

Thank You all. 

It would be much easier if I better understood the technology/engineering of audio.  My brain just doesn't operate well in that mode.  I read about it and think I understand it but then can't seem to apply the knowledge.  It reminds me of calculus, I got top grades in it but only because I could memorize the steps.