[Pivotal74]

Hi all (waves hand nervously)....

I am not sure what to do on an introduction, so hope that gets it out of the way?

I understand what I am about to ask next has probably been beaten to death elsewhere, but not sure if I can contribute yet.

So- my query goes something like this. I have an excellent transport in the Musical Fidelity M6s CD and excellent amplification in the Musical Fidelity M8 Pre and 700M power. My system didn't take off x3 when I upgraded from the M6 500i amp at a 3rd of the price of the M8's making my thoughts turn to the CDP and possibly adding a DAC.

Few DAC's I have come across have been so universally well reviewed as the BDA 3 and I would like some user input from folk using it as a DAC to serve a CD transport. I have already pulled the trigger on ordering one in an offer that couldn't be refused for a new unit. Also, naturally under consideration, is the Musical Fidelity M6x DAC reviewed as quite an insightful box as well.

I am looking for a bit more snap, crackle and pop from my admittedly laid back gear and hoping the BDA fits the bill. My musical genre preferences are generally rock or somewhere in that vein.

I appreciate most replies will focus on the BDA 3 but it would be great if anyone has experience of the M6 DAC also.

Before anyone suggests it, no I can't demo any of this kit. I live in Ireland and, since the 08 financial crash, no one carries anything above a few hundred Euro.

All the best. M

[Mag]

My experience with Bryston  DAC's is you can remaster recordings with 'em. But you need an ear for transparency.
My method is probably illegal but I use a CD recorder. Run the song through it and record it, be sure to set the levels in your recording using a mixer also helps to control the bass level. As typically bass needs to recorded flat to prevent boominess on playback.
  Depending on the dac this needs to be done from 1 to 3 times until the level of transparency is as good as its going to get, your ears are the judge here. Then if you have the software you can transfer the CD recording to a digital file. So you will need a spool of CD-r and time and patience to record a CD.
  Some recordings are so bad they can't be fixed but if you have an ear for it most recordings have an element of transparency and you can elevate this to a higher level.
  Some recordings are so good you may think re-recording it won't do much. Well I've taken uncompressed recordings and elevated 'em even more.

Good luck!

[stereoal]

I have two BDA 3s and have connected several CD players to them over the years. In every case, the CD player sounds better when it's running through the DAC. I have a both a BCD 1 and BCD 3 compact disc player. The BCD 1 sounds the same to my ears as the BCD 3 when it plays through the BDA 3 DAC. I have not tried any other DACs, but have been very happy with the BDA 3. The only feature I was disappointed with was the HDMI connections. When I connected a blu ray player to it, it made a loud pop when it was about to play a movie. I don't know if this was fixed with a software update, but I would never update the software without checking with Bryston first. I didn't bother updating the software because I only use the DACs for music.

[Pivotal74]

The fact that the BDA made the BCD sound better is hi praise given the BCD3 is also reviewed very well. I’ve read both devices can acquit themselves well against devices x3-4 times more expensive.

Anyone any experience of the musical fidelity DAC?

[stereoal]

Just to clarify, I have never hooked up the BCD 3 to the BDA 3 because they both have the same DAC. The BCD 1 sounded better when hooked up using the AES/EBU connection.

[R. Daneel]

Hi all (waves hand nervously)....

I am not sure what to do on an introduction, so hope that gets it out of the way?

I understand what I am about to ask next has probably been beaten to death elsewhere, but not sure if I can contribute yet.

So- my query goes something like this. I have an excellent transport in the Musical Fidelity M6s CD and excellent amplification in the Musical Fidelity M8 Pre and 700M power. My system didn't take off x3 when I upgraded from the M6 500i amp at a 3rd of the price of the M8's making my thoughts turn to the CDP and possibly adding a DAC.

Few DAC's I have come across have been so universally well reviewed as the BDA 3 and I would like some user input from folk using it as a DAC to serve a CD transport. I have already pulled the trigger on ordering one in an offer that couldn't be refused for a new unit. Also, naturally under consideration, is the Musical Fidelity M6x DAC reviewed as quite an insightful box as well.

I am looking for a bit more snap, crackle and pop from my admittedly laid back gear and hoping the BDA fits the bill. My musical genre preferences are generally rock or somewhere in that vein.

I appreciate most replies will focus on the BDA 3 but it would be great if anyone has experience of the M6 DAC also.

Before anyone suggests it, no I can't demo any of this kit. I live in Ireland and, since the 08 financial crash, no one carries anything above a few hundred Euro.

All the best. M

Hi!

IMHO, I think you are putting too much value on the D/A convertor - for a very simple reason - the M6 CD player is a very good player and given the rest of your system, I do not believe a Bryston BDA-3 would be an upgrade. More 'snap' or dynamics would likely be achieved with a different set of speakers from what you are using now. Musical Fidelity gear is great and sonically very much similar to Bryston.

Given the fact you are using a pair of very powerful monoblock amplifiers and would like more dynamics, then clearly, very little or nothing can be achieved by changing the source component.

Cheers!

[Rocket]

Hi,

What speakers are you using? I've always found the largest upgrade in sound quality was buying better speakers.

Cheers Rod