[James Tanner]

hi, james!

volume control via the remote would be nice...

greetings,

al.

HI Alex,

Problem with volume controls in digital systems is that as you reduce the volume your 'resolution' suffers.

james

[ian.ameline]

I agree with James here -- volume control in the digital domain inevitably leads to loss of numerical precision in the samples. This loss of precision leads to the usual noise introduced by digital processes to be magnified relative to the signal, thus requiring more aggressive analog filtering to remove it - causing its own set of problems -- or just leaving in there in the signal. It is just so much simpler to do volume controls in analog.

What is important to remember is that they're not trying to build another pre-amp, just the absolute best DAC they can.

I like the fact that it has several inputs -- I have several devices that generate digital signals that I want to feed into this beast. But I already have a great pre-amp (BP25 w MPS1) -- I don't need another.

James, as an aside, how is it going with respect to fitting it into a 1U enclosure?
When it is power cycled, does it remember which input was selected? (I have a master power switch on a line conditioner, so when I power things off , they're really OFF  -- will the selected input persist across complete removal of power? If not, is there a way to tell it which input to use when it does power up?

Thanks.

[alexone]

hi, james!

...i thought it would be almost the same as it is with the bcd-1 remote.
maybe just to enter a code to control a bryston preamp.

thanx anyway for building a dac- that completes all the hifi-wishes!!

al.

[alexone]

hi, james!

could you find out in the meantime if the usb outs of bryston's external d/a converter will run with apple ?

i was thinking of getting a nice apple iMac...


greetings,

al.

[James Tanner]

hi, james!

could you find out in the meantime if the usb outs of bryston's external d/a converter will run with apple ?

i was thinking of getting a nice apple iMac...


greetings,

al.

Hi al,

Yes Mike Pickett at Bryston tried the prototype BDA-1 with his MAC and it works fine.

james

[James Tanner]

hi, james!

could you find out in the meantime if the usb outs of bryston's external d/a converter will run with apple ?

i was thinking of getting a nice apple iMac...


greetings,

al.

Hi al,

Just to be clear you mean USB 'in' (not out) to the BDA-1 -correct?

james

[alexone]

  uuups- my mistake...yes, i meant usb 'in' and not 'out'.

good news!

al.

[mr_bill]

James,
Could you please contrast the new BCD1, BP26DA and the upcoming DAC?
I'm not so much concerned with inputs/outputs but rather dac chips, analog output stage, power supplies etc.  I do realise that the BCD1 has the added transport but for any of us thinking about a BP26DA, or BCD1 or wating for the dac, it would be interesting to know if they are basically all the same or if their are performance benefits to one configuration or another.
Thank you,
Bill

[James Tanner]

James,
Could you please contrast the new BCD1, BP26DA and the upcoming DAC?
I'm not so much concerned with inputs/outputs but rather dac chips, analog output stage, power supplies etc.  I do realise that the BCD1 has the added transport but for any of us thinking about a BP26DA, or BCD1 or wating for the dac, it would be interesting to know if they are basically all the same or if their are performance benefits to one configuration or another.
Thank you,
Bill

Hi Bill,

The DAC in the CD player and the External DAC will be the same. The Class A fully discrete analog stages are the same as well. Both the CD player and the External DAC have Dual power supplies and independent circuitry for the analog and digital circuits.

When you can sequence the DRIVE and the DAC through a Master clock you can reduce jitter (timing issues) which is what we do in our CD Player. When an outboard CD drive feeds into a DAC like in the BP26 or the Bryston External DAC you have to 'reclock' and 'resample' the incoming signal. There is no Master clock so there will be some small amount of jitter in comparison.  Be aware that we are talking about very low levels of jitter but still a Master clock eliminates the issue.

james

[mr_bill]

James,
Could you please contrast the new BCD1, BP26DA and the upcoming DAC?
I'm not so much concerned with inputs/outputs but rather dac chips, analog output stage, power supplies etc.  I do realise that the BCD1 has the added transport but for any of us thinking about a BP26DA, or BCD1 or wating for the dac, it would be interesting to know if they are basically all the same or if their are performance benefits to one configuration or another.
Thank you,
Bill

Hi Bill,

The DAC in the CD player and the External DAC will be the same. The Class A fully discrete analog stages are the same as well. Both the CD player and the External DAC have Dual power supplies and independent circuitry for the analog and digital circuits.

When you can sequence the DRIVE and the DAC through a Master clock you can reduce jitter (timing issues) which is what we do in our CD Player. When an outboard CD drive feeds into a DAC like in the BP26 or the Bryston External DAC you have to 'reclock' and 'resample' the incoming signal. There is no Master clock so there will be some small amount of jitter in comparison.  Be aware that we are talking about very low levels of jitter but still a Master clock eliminates the issue.

james

James,Thanks for contrasing the dac and the BCD1.
Could you compare these units with the BP26DA also.  Does the BP26DA offer any digital or overall performance or design benefits over the other two option, or possibly any adverse effects of digital (generating noise) in the same box as preamp?
Regards,
Bill

[James Tanner]

James,
Could you please contrast the new BCD1, BP26DA and the upcoming DAC?
I'm not so much concerned with inputs/outputs but rather dac chips, analog output stage, power supplies etc.  I do realise that the BCD1 has the added transport but for any of us thinking about a BP26DA, or BCD1 or wating for the dac, it would be interesting to know if they are basically all the same or if their are performance benefits to one configuration or another.
Thank you,
Bill

Hi Bill,

The DAC in the CD player and the External DAC will be the same. The Class A fully discrete analog stages are the same as well. Both the CD player and the External DAC have Dual power supplies and independent circuitry for the analog and digital circuits.

When you can sequence the DRIVE and the DAC through a Master clock you can reduce jitter (timing issues) which is what we do in our CD Player. When an outboard CD drive feeds into a DAC like in the BP26 or the Bryston External DAC you have to 'reclock' and 'resample' the incoming signal. There is no Master clock so there will be some small amount of jitter in comparison.  Be aware that we are talking about very low levels of jitter but still a Master clock eliminates the issue.

james

James,Thanks for contrasing the dac and the BCD1.
Could you compare these units with the BP26DA also.  Does the BP26DA offer any digital or overall performance or design benefits over the other two option, or possibly any adverse effects of digital (generating noise) in the same box as preamp?
Regards,
Bill

Hi Bill,

There is no performance compromise with the DAC in the BP26 as long as your using it with the MPS-2 power supply as there is a separate power supply feed to the DAC.  Have a look at the review measurements on the DAC in the BP26 - http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_14_4/bryston-bp-26-preamplifier-11-2007-part-1.html  You will see the distortion and noise is extremely low (page 3 - 6th graph down).

james

[phurbag]

James,
Could you please contrast the new BCD1, BP26DA and the upcoming DAC?
I'm not so much concerned with inputs/outputs but rather dac chips, analog output stage, power supplies etc.  I do realise that the BCD1 has the added transport but for any of us thinking about a BP26DA, or BCD1 or wating for the dac, it would be interesting to know if they are basically all the same or if their are performance benefits to one configuration or another.
Thank you,
Bill

Hi Bill,

The DAC in the CD player and the External DAC will be the same. The Class A fully discrete analog stages are the same as well. Both the CD player and the External DAC have Dual power supplies and independent circuitry for the analog and digital circuits.

When you can sequence the DRIVE and the DAC through a Master clock you can reduce jitter (timing issues) which is what we do in our CD Player. When an outboard CD drive feeds into a DAC like in the BP26 or the Bryston External DAC you have to 'reclock' and 'resample' the incoming signal. There is no Master clock so there will be some small amount of jitter in comparison.  Be aware that we are talking about very low levels of jitter but still a Master clock eliminates the issue.

james

Hi James,

Will it possible to power the External DAC with the MPS2 together with a BP26 ?

[James Tanner]

James,
Could you please contrast the new BCD1, BP26DA and the upcoming DAC?
I'm not so much concerned with inputs/outputs but rather dac chips, analog output stage, power supplies etc.  I do realise that the BCD1 has the added transport but for any of us thinking about a BP26DA, or BCD1 or wating for the dac, it would be interesting to know if they are basically all the same or if their are performance benefits to one configuration or another.
Thank you,
Bill

Hi Bill,

The DAC in the CD player and the External DAC will be the same. The Class A fully discrete analog stages are the same as well. Both the CD player and the External DAC have Dual power supplies and independent circuitry for the analog and digital circuits.

When you can sequence the DRIVE and the DAC through a Master clock you can reduce jitter (timing issues) which is what we do in our CD Player. When an outboard CD drive feeds into a DAC like in the BP26 or the Bryston External DAC you have to 'reclock' and 'resample' the incoming signal. There is no Master clock so there will be some small amount of jitter in comparison.  Be aware that we are talking about very low levels of jitter but still a Master clock eliminates the issue.

james

Hi James,

Will it possible to power the External DAC with the MPS2 together with a BP26 ?

Hi,

We originally were thinking that we would use the MPS-2 for the CD player and the External DAC but when we were developing the CD Player we found we got much better performance using independent 'power supplies' and 'circuit board layouts' for the Digital and Analog sections in the CD Player.

We have decided to carry that concept into the External DAC as well so the MPS-2 will not be used to power the BDA-1.

james

[bolalair]

hi, james!

volume control via the remote would be nice...

greetings,

al.

HI Alex,

Problem with volume controls in digital systems is that as you reduce the volume your 'resolution' suffers.

james

Hi James,

A volume controls on the analog output would permit a very transparent setup.

Digital source > DAC > Amp

I'm looking at this DAC as an alternative to the Benchmark, Lavry, Apogee DA for studio work.

[James Tanner]

hi, james!

volume control via the remote would be nice...

greetings,

al.

HI Alex,

Problem with volume controls in digital systems is that as you reduce the volume your 'resolution' suffers.

james

Hi James,

A volume controls on the analog output would permit a very transparent setup.

Digital source > DAC > Amp

I'm looking at this DAC as an alternative to the Benchmark, Lavry, Apogee DA for studio work.

Hi bolalair,

The problem with offering even an analog volume control on the BDA-1 is that to do it right you then have to add our buffer stages and Class A discrete gain stages as well which means your really adding a preamp section to the output of the DAC.

james

[alexone]

hi, james!

volume control via the remote would be nice...

greetings,

al.

HI Alex,

Problem with volume controls in digital systems is that as you reduce the volume your 'resolution' suffers.

james

Hi James,

A volume controls on the analog output would permit a very transparent setup.

Digital source > DAC > Amp

I'm looking at this DAC as an alternative to the Benchmark, Lavry, Apogee DA for studio work.

Hi bolalair,

The problem with offering even an analog volume control on the BDA-1 is that to do it right you then have to add our buffer stages and Class A discrete gain stages as well which means your really adding a preamp section to the output of the DAC.

james

 hi, james

isn't it possible to 'turn' the remote of the bda-1 into a volume controller- compareable to the remote of the bcd-1?
means that it is not necessary to implement a preamp section into the converter but just making the remote able to control the volume of any bryston preamp by entering a certain code (and of course providing volume up/down/mute knobs on the remote) ?

al.

[bolalair]

hi, james!

volume control via the remote would be nice...

greetings,

al.

HI Alex,

Problem with volume controls in digital systems is that as you reduce the volume your 'resolution' suffers.

james

Hi James,

A volume controls on the analog output would permit a very transparent setup.

Digital source > DAC > Amp

I'm looking at this DAC as an alternative to the Benchmark, Lavry, Apogee DA for studio work.

Hi bolalair,

The problem with offering even an analog volume control on the BDA-1 is that to do it right you then have to add our buffer stages and Class A discrete gain stages as well which means your really adding a preamp section to the output of the DAC.

james

Hi James,

I understand the dilemma, for me, this unit (with analog volume) would be an upgrade of my converter and preamp in one buy.

One solution is the BP-6 with the optional DAC, that only one or two digital in, no usb, no AES EBU, no balanced out.

Another solution, a pro version of the BDA-1 with the analog volume preamp section and balanced xlr out. Perfect for the recording, mixing and mastering studio.

[James Tanner]

hi, james!

volume control via the remote would be nice...

greetings,

al.

HI Alex,

Problem with volume controls in digital systems is that as you reduce the volume your 'resolution' suffers.

james

Hi James,

A volume controls on the analog output would permit a very transparent setup.

Digital source > DAC > Amp

I'm looking at this DAC as an alternative to the Benchmark, Lavry, Apogee DA for studio work.

Hi bolalair,

The problem with offering even an analog volume control on the BDA-1 is that to do it right you then have to add our buffer stages and Class A discrete gain stages as well which means your really adding a preamp section to the output of the DAC.

james

Hi James,

I understand the dilemma, for me, this unit (with analog volume) would be an upgrade of my converter and preamp in one buy.

One solution is the BP-6 with the optional DAC, that only one or two digital in, no usb, no AES EBU, no balanced out.

Another solution, a pro version of the BDA-1 with the analog volume preamp section and balanced xlr out. Perfect for the recording, mixing and mastering studio.

Hi bolalair

Maybe a Pro version would be a future option but it would be more expensive of course than the current BDA-1 because of the preamp section required. Also just as an aside, in testing many of the DAC's with volume control - either digital or analog - the voltage out is limited to about 2 volts where our preamps have 30 volts. I typically find the dynamic performance suffers due to the limited voltage swing.

james

[mfsoa]

James,
Any word on a release date for the DAC?

Anything more you can tease me with?

Blowout introductory pricing for AC members   ?

Thanks,

-Mike

[James Tanner]

James,
Any word on a release date for the DAC?

Anything more you can tease me with?

Blowout introductory pricing for AC members   ?

Thanks,

-Mike

Hi Mike,

Yes I have the finished version at home this weekend and we will start building units next month.  It will be $1995 Suggested list US. We have preorders for a number of units already.

Send me an email jamestanner@bryston.ca and I will send you the literature.

james