Bryston B100 SST owners please come in...

Genesis · « **on:** 27 May 2006, 05:19 pm »

The B100 SST sounds fantastic in the shop with B&W speakers. Kudos to Bryston. However, what's the worth of the onboard DAC? Is it better to link a cheap CD transport or a standard DVD player with optical out rather than a decent CD player with a better on-board DAC than the B100? How good is the Bryston DAC and is it swappable/upgradeable?

jethro · « **Reply #1 on:** 30 May 2006, 09:36 pm »

I'm guessing the DAC is worth about $1000 US based solely on the cost to upgrade a BP-25 to a BP-25 DA. I find inexpensive DVD players work well as transports for my SP-1.7 and I no longer use a dedicated CD-player.

Genesis · « **Reply #2 on:** 31 May 2006, 02:53 am »

Thx jethro...that's what I'm thinking, to use my Denon DVD as a transport.

I've read that the Bryston DAC upsamples a standard 44.1 khz signal to 96 khz and then oversamples by 8x. The interpolation in the upsampling requires a reclock of the signal which I understand also minimizes jitter. Hence, any digital input should do which is why I figure my DVD player digital out should be fine. The comments in the Transport thread certainly lead to an interesting debate on this topic!

However, for $1000 for the DAC I could also get a dedicated CD player for a similar amount of cash (or a little bit more would afford something like a Cyrus CD8x). Question is, which option provides the best sound? Would appreciate comments by those who have tried both. Also, as upsampling/interpolation technology changes which will no doubt improve the signal, will B100 owners be able to swap out and replace the current DAC at a later date?

jamesp · « **Reply #3 on:** 31 May 2006, 03:09 pm »

I am interested as well if Bryston has any future plans for DAC upgrades. Maybe James Tanner can answer this one.

Unfortunately, I do not have experience with both. I am using a dedicated mid fi NAD C541 CDP which I feel the DAC is an improvement over the analog stage of the C541. The flexibility of 4 inputs 2 coax, 2 optical was a big seller for me. I have my satellite, DVD player, and CDP all running through the B100DA DAC.

elcaptain88 · « **Reply #4 on:** 31 May 2006, 03:44 pm »

I would personally skip the current built-in DAC. I've listened to a BP-25 & B-60 w/ the built-in DAC and actually preferred separate CD players. I would perhaps wait for Bryston's rumored standalone units, if you're interested in the Bryston.

One other thing to consider based on my own experience is that you will not recoup much if any of the cost of the add-on internal DAC should you choose to sell the B100 down the road. Much easier to sell a standalone unit.