BRYStON BDA-1

James Tanner · « **Reply #240 on:** 18 Jan 2009, 04:57 pm »

Quote from: bummrush on 18 Jan 2009, 04:44 pm

For now just out of phase is good enough,but i think you mentioned it above with the generally weak bass and vocals,thanks again.Whats funny is how some clearly hear and some dont.

Hi,

If the Left speaker vs the Right speaker is 'OUT OF PHASE' - meaning there is 180 degree phase shift between the two speakers then the whole concept of 'STEREO' three demensional sound goes to hell in a hand basket- these rules also apply to 7.1 and 5.1 setups.

The sound will lack bass, it will not have the ability to localize 'solid' images in space, or create a soundfield between, behind and beyond the boundries of the speakers. It will sound disjointed and there is a kind of wierd pressure on your ears.

The problem is usually quite obvious in a straight forward system but when you get to biwired and biamped systems or multi-channel systems it can be more subtle because it may be just the tweeter or the mid that are out of phase rather than the more obvious woofer.

The cure is to invert the positive and negative (black/red) speaker leads at ONE speaker and see if things get better or worse.

james

PS - as for 'some hear and some don't' bummrush, its like many things in life -you have to have experience and train yourself how to detect these issues. It's a learning experience.

ted_b · « **Reply #241 on:** 18 Jan 2009, 05:00 pm »

Quote from: Sasha on 18 Jan 2009, 04:37 pm

In regard to out of phase, it is very obvious to me, it makes my eyes cross (really ).
It would seem that some people do not hear it, I had a couple of auditions where one channel was out of phase, yet no one, including the dealer, could not hear it and insisted everything was good, till hours later they were proven wrong.

The phase switch of course doesn't address this; what you describe is a true setup problem with one red/black connection likely black/red. A phase switch addresses absolute reverse polarity. I insisted Dan Wright included one on his first pre (cuz I can hear absolute phase reversal fairly easily) and he's had one ever since. However, although I now have remote phase inversion capability I seldom use it (like almost never) cuz as mentioned earlier, unless the recording uses minimalist microphone setup, the chances of multiple mic's and cables and limiters and preamps being all in the same phase is greatly reduced.....it's become a nit for me now. I've heard pre's without one and don't list it as a prerequisite any more. Nice to have, not need to have.

bob stern · « **Reply #242 on:** 18 Jan 2009, 11:09 pm »

James, I do find that correct phase makes a difference on 15 or 20 percent of my CD's. On those CD's, the correct phase is more lively and spacious; the wrong phase is somewhat muffled. For those CD's, phase reversal makes a much bigger difference than whether upsampling is engaged.

When you did your joint demo's with Thiel at various trade shows in the last few years, did the Thiel reps ever express any interest in flipping the phase switch on the BP-26? If not, that would seem an implicit admission that Jim Thiel's efforts to achieve phase-aligned loudspeakers are pointless.

konut · « **Reply #243 on:** 19 Jan 2009, 12:15 am »

It would be nice to have the option, if not difficult to implement. Those who do not need, or care, are free to ignore.

vegasdave · « **Reply #244 on:** 20 Jan 2009, 04:23 am »

Quote from: James Tanner on 15 Jan 2009, 10:39 pm

HI All,

Have an English translation of a review on the BDA-1 from the French Magazine 'Sound and Image'.
PDF- is 2M
Email me at jamestanner@bryston.com

james

http://www.audioadvisor.com/pdf/BDA_1_DACReview.pdf

ian.ameline · « **Reply #245 on:** 20 Jan 2009, 04:52 am »

Nice review -- it's a shame he didn't realize that he could have listened to the 24/96 tracks with no down sampling or resampling merely by plugging an optical toslink cable into his mac-mini to connect it to the BDA-1, and using the audio/midi control panel to set the digital output to 24 bit, 96Khz.

James Tanner · « **Reply #246 on:** 20 Jan 2009, 12:41 pm »

Quote from: ian.ameline on 20 Jan 2009, 04:52 am

Nice review -- it's a shame he didn't realize that he could have listened to the 24/96 tracks with no down sampling or resampling merely by plugging an optical toslink cable into his mac-mini to connect it to the BDA-1, and using the audio/midi control panel to set the digital output to 24 bit, 96Khz.

Hi Ian,

He was so impressed with the BDA-1 he purchased it for the Magazines testing lab so I will pass on your suggestion-maybe a follow up review is in the cards?

james

KeithA · « **Reply #247 on:** 23 Jan 2009, 11:46 pm »

The BDA-1 in its new home....some pretty good other Bryston /Torus representation as well

Keith

mr_bill · « **Reply #248 on:** 24 Jan 2009, 12:33 am »

Nice System!

Are you using a Cambrige 840 CD player with your BDA1? Isn't that a sideways move?

niels · « **Reply #249 on:** 24 Jan 2009, 12:47 am »

No, he is using the Squeezebox....ha ha. aa

KeithA · « **Reply #250 on:** 24 Jan 2009, 01:41 am »

Quote from: mr_bill on 24 Jan 2009, 12:33 am

Nice System!

Are you using a Cambrige 840 CD player with your BDA1? Isn't that a sideways move?

The Cambridge CD player (it's actually one of the lower versions, 540C) is what I was using for a transport before I got the Squeezebox (Duet & Classic). It's still in my system for times when I want to play a CD that's not yet ripped to my hard drive (for example, if someone brings a CD over for me to try out).

It is turned on today (maybe the 2nd or 3rd time in a year

) since I was playing some new CDs I got for Christmas that are not ripped to my hard drive. Both the CD player and Squeezebox feed the BDA-1 as transports. The CD player is not being used analogue. 99.9999999999999% percent of the time I use the Squeezebox. The Squeezebox sits atop the little white cube on top of the stand. After today, the CD player may not be used for another year

Keith

vegasdave · « **Reply #251 on:** 24 Jan 2009, 04:49 am »

Quote from: mr_bill on 24 Jan 2009, 12:33 am

Nice System!

Are you using a Cambrige 840 CD player with your BDA1? Isn't that a sideways move?

Why would it be a sideways move?

KeithA · « **Reply #252 on:** 24 Jan 2009, 11:44 am »

Quote from: vegasdave on 24 Jan 2009, 04:49 am

Quote from: mr_bill on 24 Jan 2009, 12:33 am
Nice System!

Are you using a Cambrige 840 CD player with your BDA1? Isn't that a sideways move?

Why would it be a sideways move?

Just a guess........

I suspect since if it was the 840C, many people view that particular player as a 'giant killer' in it's own right. So, if I had a 840C and upgraded to the BDA-1, many people would see the quality as comparable. The 840C at US$1,599 has gotten some pretty good reviews. Hence, a sideways upgrade or no real increase in audio quality.

Keith

mr_bill · « **Reply #253 on:** 24 Jan 2009, 03:59 pm »

Correct.

vegasdave · « **Reply #254 on:** 24 Jan 2009, 08:31 pm »

Quote from: KeithA on 24 Jan 2009, 11:44 am

Quote from: vegasdave on 24 Jan 2009, 04:49 am
Quote from: mr_bill on 24 Jan 2009, 12:33 am
Nice System!

Are you using a Cambrige 840 CD player with your BDA1? Isn't that a sideways move?

Why would it be a sideways move?

Just a guess........

I suspect since if it was the 840C, many people view that particular player as a 'giant killer' in it's own right. So, if I had a 840C and upgraded to the BDA-1, many people would see the quality as comparable. The 840C at US$1,599 has gotten some pretty good reviews. Hence, a sideways upgrade or no real increase in audio quality.

Keith

I see. I don't. The 840C is made in China. Not something that I'd want. I'd rather spend my money on the Canadian handcraftsmanship that Bryston provides. Also, is the analog circuitry and the transformers comparable to the BDA-1? I don't believe so.

KeithA · « **Reply #255 on:** 24 Jan 2009, 10:04 pm »

Quote from: vegasdave on 24 Jan 2009, 08:31 pm

I see. I don't. The 840C is made in China. Not something that I'd want. I'd rather spend my money on the Canadian handcraftsmanship that Bryston provides. Also, is the analog circuitry and the transformers comparable to the BDA-1? I don't believe so.

Absolutely. That's why we are here

Keith

vegasdave · « **Reply #256 on:** 25 Jan 2009, 04:07 am »

Cool. I'm glad you agree.

KeithA · « **Reply #257 on:** 25 Jan 2009, 12:58 pm »

Quote from: vegasdave on 25 Jan 2009, 04:07 am

Cool. I'm glad you agree.

But I also see nothing wrong with the Cambridge gear. The little player I have is solid.

Keith

Frisco · « **Reply #258 on:** 28 Jan 2009, 09:01 pm »

KeithA nice set-up

James...I just got your PDF on the BDA-1....thank you....I sent an email to Shane(HiFi Hawaii) and he says your DAC is "awesome". It looks like my shortlist for a Dac just got shorter. It looks like my time frame for a Dac will be about April.... Tax time(hoping for a refund) I know that's a couple of months away from now but how is the backlog looking now for the BDA-1? weeks? month?

One more question...I'm curious on the amount of people ordering the black or the silver faceplate?

I'm partial to the silver myself

Thanks again James

James Tanner · « **Reply #259 on:** 28 Jan 2009, 09:12 pm »

Quote from: Frisco on 28 Jan 2009, 09:01 pm

KeithA nice set-up

James...I just got your PDF on the BDA-1....thank you....I sent an email to Shane(HiFi Hawaii) and he says your DAC is "awesome". It looks like my shortlist for a Dac just got shorter. It looks like my time frame for a Dac will be about April.... Tax time(hoping for a refund) I know that's a couple of months away from now but how is the backlog looking now for the BDA-1? weeks? month?

One more question...I'm curious on the amount of people ordering the black or the silver faceplate? I'm partial to the silver myself

Thanks again James

Hi Frisco,

About a month with a new order.
Silver sells about 2 to 1 and 17 inch to 19 inch about 3 to 1 (I like the 19 inch but that's my pro side speaking)

james