Bryston BDA-1 External DAC review


http://www.innerearmag.com/reviews/c...BDA1_DAC.shtml

James.......The Bryston BDA-1 seems to be winning the hearts and minds of everyone who hears it. The Class A analog output stage seems to be the icing on the cake. Congratulations on another great review.

__________________
Dan


Living Room System: McIntosh C2300, MC601 (2), MCD1100, MS750, MR85, Sony DAT 60ES, Nakamichi BX-300, Micro Seiki DD-40, Ortofon 2M Black, Sonos ZP90, Oppo BDP-83SE Blu-ray, PMC EB1i, Fathom f113 w/ Sound Anchor stand, Power Plant Premier (2), PS Audio Soloist Premier SE (3), Rollerblock Jr.'s, Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's & PC's, Kimber 8TC with WBT Solid Silver Angled Locking Banana Connectors.
Studio System: McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MCD1100, MR88, Michell Gyro SE w/SME 309/Ortofon Cadenza Black, Sonos ZP90, PS Audio Power Plant Premier, PS Audio Soloist Premier SE, Sonus Faber Amati Anniversario, Rollerblock Jr.'s, Wireword Silver Eclipse IC's & PC's, Wireworld Silver Eclipse speaker cable.
Studio Home Theater System: McIntosh MX120, MC452, Oppo BDP-95 Blu-ray, PS Audio Soloist Premier SE, JBL LSR-6332 (2), JBL LSR-6328P (3), McIntosh XLS112 (2), Sony 52XBR9, Tributaries Silver IC's, Wireworld PC's.
Vintage: McIntosh MA5100, MR74 tuner, JVC XL-Z1050 K2 CD player, Wyred 4 Sound DAC2, Tandberg 3008A and 3026A, JBL4312A , McIntosh 4300V for deck speakers.

Bryston BDA-1 DAC CD player review - from the experts at whathifi.com

Here's my review -

It sounds great!

__________________
Chuck


McIntosh C2200, MC352, MR78, MS300, MC275, MVP871
PMC OB1 Speakers, JBL L56
Bryston BDA-1 DAC, Bryston 10B crossover, Bryston BDP-1
Rega P3-24 w/ TTPSU ,Ortofon 2M Black Cartridge, Groovetracer Reference Sub Platter,and upgraded Rega belt
JL Audio F112 Sub, Sony HD Tuner(modified)
PS Audio Soloist Premiers, Power Plant Premier, and Noise Harvesters, Alan Maher Design Filters
Aural Harmony, Black Mountain Interconnects, and Wireworld Speaker Cables, Symposium Roller Blocks, and Fat Padz, Custom made switch box.


Yesterday is history.... Tomorrow is a mystery.... Today is a gift.... That's why its called the present!

Hi Folks,

Another nice review on the Bryston BDA-1 from Positive Feedback Magazine - this time as a comparison to another fine DAC.


http://positive-feedback.com/Issue48/dac.htm


james

James........It seems Dave Clark fancies himself a colorful novelist......."the BDA-1 is the tattooed busty biker-vixen that your mother always told to to stay away from... cause with her, well, you are just asking for trouble! Though you and I know that this kind of trouble will always leave you smiling and wanting for more." Wow!

Thanks for the link.

__________________
Dan


Living Room System: McIntosh C2300, MC601 (2), MCD1100, MS750, MR85, Sony DAT 60ES, Nakamichi BX-300, Micro Seiki DD-40, Ortofon 2M Black, Sonos ZP90, Oppo BDP-83SE Blu-ray, PMC EB1i, Fathom f113 w/ Sound Anchor stand, Power Plant Premier (2), PS Audio Soloist Premier SE (3), Rollerblock Jr.'s, Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's & PC's, Kimber 8TC with WBT Solid Silver Angled Locking Banana Connectors.
Studio System: McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MCD1100, MR88, Michell Gyro SE w/SME 309/Ortofon Cadenza Black, Sonos ZP90, PS Audio Power Plant Premier, PS Audio Soloist Premier SE, Sonus Faber Amati Anniversario, Rollerblock Jr.'s, Wireword Silver Eclipse IC's & PC's, Wireworld Silver Eclipse speaker cable.
Studio Home Theater System: McIntosh MX120, MC452, Oppo BDP-95 Blu-ray, PS Audio Soloist Premier SE, JBL LSR-6332 (2), JBL LSR-6328P (3), McIntosh XLS112 (2), Sony 52XBR9, Tributaries Silver IC's, Wireworld PC's.
Vintage: McIntosh MA5100, MR74 tuner, JVC XL-Z1050 K2 CD player, Wyred 4 Sound DAC2, Tandberg 3008A and 3026A, JBL4312A , McIntosh 4300V for deck speakers.

How do I post 2 pictures?

james

Bryston BDA-1 DAC

I have made references to my experiences with the Bryston BDA-1 DAC under my Bryston posts in the amplification section, but this product is so good that I thought it only fair to make a post in the DAC section. Unfortunately, I have not had the option of listening to this DAC in direct comparison to other DAC's in the same system, but I hope that I am a fairly seasoned listener who has heard many different DAC's in many systems, I including most recently at the 2011 CES.

Let me cut to the chase. This piece of electronics is superb and is probably a good run for the money for anything under $7500, which is pretty good considering that it lists for $2150. Although it has most of the main types of inputs, except firewire (allegedly the best and present on the Weiss for $8k), I have only used the Toslink and coaxial inputs due to the components that I am using with it.

If you want to know what the BDA-1 sounds like, go audition some the latest versions of the Bryston 28's because they have essentially the same analog driver sections. This means it sounds highly focused, incredibly fast, absolute pristine highs, state of the art mid bass and bass, and a noise floor so quiet that you cannot tell that you are listening to electronics. While this device sounds great with everything I have put through it, it is remarkable with acoustical stringed instruments and percussion, because you can hear decays and resonances that I presume are normally lost in the noise floors of lesser devices.

This device is so good that my tube preamp has only two of its inputs being used, a balanced input from the DAC and an analog phono. Anything I can run through the DAC I do, because it is SO much better then their analog sections and their D to A conversion. I was about to buy a new CD player or at least a new Blu-Ray, but just for the hell of it, tried a cheap Sony Blu-Ray that I bought in Costco for $230 2 years ago and thus probably inferior to what you can buy for the same price today, and connected its Toslink output to the DAC. Although i expected an improvement, I was not ready for what I got. It far exceeded my ARC CD 3 MK2 and I believe (based on memory) is superior to the $10k Meitner, although I have not had that unit in my system.

I have run several different Mac models through this DAC and they all sound the same, incredible, provided that you have at least 4 Gb of ram. BTW, on the advice of the Meitner engineers, I buy my digital cables from Monoprice.com, typically at a cost of $3-4. Also they say that you must use at least 2 meter lengths with optical cables to minimize internal reflections affecting the primary pulse.

My only disappointment with this unit is that the remote is an extra cost item, which means that I have to manually switch the inputs from my other devices.

Russ
The Mobiusman

MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: New BDA-1 DAC Review
DATE: July 2011

Hi Folks,

NEW BRYSTON BDA-1 DAC REVIEW
(Reviews do not get any better than this!)


Bryston BDA-1 DAC Review*-*AVRev.com

I have been considering the BDA-1 or the MCD1100..... I have made up my mind. The the Bryston fits my systems price point, without giving up on performance.

__________________
Josh

Sonus Faber Amati Futura; Olive 4HD; MC601 [x2]; MEN 220; MCD 1100; RGPC 1200C

Green items were all purchased used thru AA members