From: Allen Purdy [mailto:allen@apassociates.ca]
Sent: Tuesday, September 08, 2009 7:06 PM
To: mch@whitbyaudiovideo.com
Subject: Some observations on the Bryston DAC
MCH:
Some observations on the new DAC:
It is VERY cable sensitive. I had just about changed my point of view around to the smoke and mirrors camp regarding high end cables, but with the BDA-1 the differences in cables are not only obvious ? but unfortunately also seem to bear out the old adage that expensive is better. Putting the Argentum digital cable from Mike Jr. into the mix and replacing the XLR cable from Audioquest produced immediate and enormous improvement. But playing around with a few sets of cables from the DAC to the BP26 produced some interesting results:
4th place -Audioquest King Cobras ? very nice bottom end and solid mids but the mid highs and high ranges seem compressed ? held back ? not muddy but like water behind the sluicegate of a dam ? you know there is a lot of stuff behind the wall trying to get out. The compression gets annoying after awhile and you can almost feel the pressure in your ears. I have never noticed this on this cable before, but then I have been using it with the McIntosh MR77 and FM does not tax the extremes.
3rd place - Audioquest Pythons (these were pretty high end about 9 years ago) - very very nice bottom end ? good mids and none of the compression in the mid-highs. Clean but just a tiny touch of ? not Tizz ? but brashness. Startling on good CD?s just mildly disconcerting on really bad ones. This is my cable of choice for the Accuphase T-100 and from time to time I switch it into the turntable mix.
2nd place - Cardas Neutral Reference. Pretty much absolute truth. Wonderful bottom end ? the best of the bunch ? bass in spades ? clean and tight. Startlingly good on some recordings. On Eddie Grant?s Electric Avenue caught the subtleties of the opening riff better than any other cable. Clean and open. Could definitely live with this cable on the BDA-1. I use the Neutral Reference cables in the analogue mix as the cables from the BP1.5 Phono Preamp to the BP26.
1st place - Nordost SPM (the pink ones)? these were the priciest cables of the bunch and overall were the cables that I preferred and will use with the DAC. The bottom end is not as good as the Python or the Neutral Ref but what is there is solid and clean. The midranges and mid highs are beautiful with this wire ? airy and translucent. You can hear down into the music another complete level from the Neutral Reference and the separation of instruments, voices etc is stunning. The highs are as clean and pure as a Boy Scout and there is air and presence here that is quite wonderful to behold. On Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, you can hear all of the weirdness that goes into the mix better than with any other cable. This is the cable for classical for sure as the soundstage is huge and airy. There is a particularly nice version of Debussy?s La Mer by Pierre Boulez and the Cleveland Orchestra from 1995 that I have always loved. It was like hearing it for the first time on this DAC. The beginning of the piece is very quiet and the DAC captures all of the tiny subtleties. When the initial crescendo comes the transitions are lightning fast and timbrally correct. After breaking in for a day or so it got even better. When I used the Densen CD on it it improved still further. I think that this DAC will take the best of the best as far as cabling is concerned and show the results? one could literally use the best of the best.
Before this DAC, there was no doubt in my mind that I preferred the sound of the Rega P9/RB1000/Dynavector 17III combo through the Bryston BP1.5 to anything on CD. Playing, for example Dire Straits Brothers in Arms on CD and then on LP had me going for the LP every time. Of course, the Rega is a wonderfully musical table ? and while certainly not the pinnacle of the food chain, the retail on the table, arm, cart and BP1.5 is close to $10,000.00 so one expects it to be good. I like the P9 better than any table I have had before including the Linn/Lingo and the VPI Scoutmaster because it plays music not sounds and it makes playing records fun. You just spin the vinyl you do not have to evacuate air, place weights on the edge, screw on clamps or any of the other nonsense that makes playing LPs work not fun. Damn the Rega is a fun table and a fine table. I could never put up with the crap necessary to play vinyl on some of the Porsche priced tables out there.
With the BDA-1 the choice is not so clear. The Rega still beguiles and sounds wonderful. With the SPM cables on the BDA-1 the Rega setup has better bottom end (just wonderful bass lines) and the mids and highs are a tossup. With the Neutral Ref cables on the BDA-1 the bottom end is a tossup. But the BDA-1 looks deeper into the music than the Rega quite a bit of the time and the P9, whilst very very quiet (wasn?t that Elmer Fudd?s line?) is not quite as transparent as the new DAC. Both have dynamics and timbral accuracy to burn and both sound wonderful. I happen to just LOVE the old James Last stuff from the late ?60s early ?70s but the CD versions of these compendia have always seemed a touch harsh and closed in compared with the LP?s. The new DAC goes a long way toward making the CD?s extremely pleasurable ? but here ? on the older recordings which were transferred to CD in the first run of things when a lot of CD?s sounded brittle and screechy ? the P9 combo steps out front. James Lasts Beach Party from 1967 on the album is just delightful on the Rega. On the CD ? even with the new DAC it has gone from bearable to enjoyable. This of course is a limitation of the medium and not the DAC ? but it shows you that a good analogue turntable front end has its uses. The ABBA stuff from the ?80s sounds thin and awful on CD quite often but on the LPs it is really very enjoyable. On new, well recorded CD?s the BDA-1 is so good ? different but so good that it is virtually a tie as to which I will listen to.
This is the FIRST time that any digital front end has equaled the P9. (well, in my humble opinion, enyway)
Thank Mike Jr. for making the Argentum cable available to us. It is a wonderful piece of goods ? beautifully made. The construction quality puts Nordost to shame and is right up there with the very high end Audioquest, XLO and Gutwire products. This is a very satisfying product in that it sounds wonderful and is just a pleasure to handle and to look at. It is built like a Breitling watch. Very impressive. When my bank account has fully digested the 4BSST-2 and the DAC I would like to try some of Jr.?s high end stuff as a possible ultimate cable on the BDA-1.
?Thanks to you Michael for making the acquisition of these pieces enjoyable and affordable. You know I appreciate your efforts and all the kindness you have shown to me over the 10 years we have known one another. I may forget to SAY it sometimes but I never forget to REMEMBER it.
?There ? you now have an e-mail to read before you go to bed?
Allen (Al) Purdy
Allen Purdy Associates Business Services
Resiwaste Performance Systems
17 Turner Drive, Uxbridge, ON L9P 1V4 CANADA
Toronto / GTA : 416.428.8725 Uxbridge/ Scugog : 905.852.2345 Fax : 905.852.6867
E-Mail: allen@apassociates.ca allenpurdyassociates@gmail.com
