[pianoguy]

I am one of the very happy owners of the B100-DA integrated amplifier and have been thoroughly enjoying its sonic advantages for the last four years.  Its performance has been, in a word, exceptional.  I have also been recently reading the high praise of the new BCD-1 and have been seriously thinking of adding it to my system.  However, with the economy as it is, I must admit that I am more cautious now about making any significant changes. 

I am currently using an Arcam Diva 72 CD player which was purchased several years ago, running it through one of the digital inputs on the B100.  The result has been very impressive to say the least.  I guess my question is this (and forgive me if it sounds overly simplistic): If the DAC's in the B100 and BCD-1 are similar, in what other ways would I expect to hear a significant improvement with the BCD-1? 

[Watson]

For what it's worth, the Soundstage review of the BCD-1 makes the exact same comparison you're interested in (the B100-DA internal DAC versus the BCD-1):
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/bryston_bcd1.htm

I do think there's possibly a minor error in the review... I think the B100-DA uses the CS43122 DAC IC rather than the CS4398, but the two parts are extremely similar in any case.

[niels]

pianoguy, I just read the soundstage review, and the reviewer have a scary ability to explain exactly how I feel about the B100 DA.
Its extremely difficult ro put down in words how it sounds, but he really nailed it.
Okay, I can tell you what I would like to know. I have a Squeezebox 3 which is digitally connected to the dac in the B100, and although I really dont have any complaints, except for half my music sounding like crap compared to the downloads I made from Linn I am really curious as to how the dac would compare to the dac in the Transporter.
So, in the future, that might be my upgrade path, if wife and the bank allows.

[audioman999]

I believe the major difference by going with the CD player and dac rather than the B100 DAC, is the upgraded circuitry in the CD player.  It  is a better dac as well but i believe the biggest difference is the circuitry.
I am sure I will be corrected if I am wrong.

In terms of the squeezebox, does it sound crappy because half the downloads are mp3s?  what about cd rips?  I too am venturing into this world mainly due to one of your posts to a question I had.  I haven't yet purchased the squeezebox duet but am also curious about the quality using the transporter dac over the Bryston dac.  I am assuming that the Bryston dac is better and that the transporter dac is good for someone using a lower quality cd player.

[Mag]

With my BCD-1 I find that mp3s converted to wave, lack the transparency of good cd recording. For me the extra transparency which may be considered marginal is the difference I need to get my audiophile fix.

Even with the lack of transparency of mp3's, the sound still far exceeds my home stereo  I had in the 70's.