Bryston Introduces the BDA-3.14 Multi-Function Streaming DAC

[nitsuave]

Ordered a BDA 3.14 sight unseen on Friday.
Got a call from my dealer this afternoon with the great news that there is one in stock.

A quick conversion from green to blue LEDS and then hopefully it ships tomorrow. Can’t wait!

[Masterlu]

nitsuave... Welcome to AA!

[nitsuave]

My BDA 3.14 arrived yesterday just before noon. Of course, my work day seemed to crawl for the rest of the day but I was able to connect it to my NAS and start enjoying it by the early evening.

My first impressions are very good. Lots of new detail on familiar tracks that I have not heard before. Bass has gained some weight also.

Last night was a late one as I could not pull myself away. I will have no problems with physical distancing for the next few week. Next up is a Tidal subscription.

[clpetersen]

Congratulations on the purchase! Many Bryston fans on this forum -

[James Tanner - Bryston]

Hi Folks,

Sneak Peek on a very extensive review coming May 1 on the Bryston 3.14 DAC/Streamer/Preamp.

Favourate quote:

Listening

When I began listening to the Bryston BDA-3.14, my first thought was,

“Wow, this sounds really nice.”

Among its immediately obvious virtues was that it was extremely quiet -- at normal volume levels, with no music playing and my ear next to a tweeter, I heard only a very faint hiss. From a foot away, I heard nothing.

And as soon as I began listening attentively, it was obvious that the BDA-3.14 had amazing dynamics and fluidity -- the combination drew me into the music in a way I’ve rarely experienced.

[nitsuave]

Originally Posted by James Tanner - Bryston

Hi Folks,

Sneak Peek on a very extensive review coming May 1 on the Bryston 3.14 DAC/Streamer/Preamp.

Favourate quote:

Listening

When I began listening to the Bryston BDA-3.14, my first thought was,

“Wow, this sounds really nice.”

Among its immediately obvious virtues was that it was extremely quiet -- at normal volume levels, with no music playing and my ear next to a tweeter, I heard only a very faint hiss. From a foot away, I heard nothing.

And as soon as I began listening attentively, it was obvious that the BDA-3.14 had amazing dynamics and fluidity -- the combination drew me into the music in a way I’ve rarely experienced.

I’ll second the dynamics and also mention the tremendous amount of detail present. I’m hearing subtle nuances in familiar tracks that I have not heard before.

[James Tanner - Bryston]

Hi Folks,

A major magazine is doing a review on our Bryston 3.14
DAC/Streamer/Preamp and asked me a few questions.


Hi James

Thank you for your time. Because the interview must be carried out via email, below you will find questions. Please write your answer under each of them. If I can advise you, please try not to read the next and next question - then the finished interview is a bit more like a real live conversation. To enable you, we have left some space under each question. If any of the questions do not suit you or you think that there is no point in answering them (it may happen that "inadvertently" you already answer them by adding the answer to the previous one), please leave a free place - then we will remove such a question. At the end, the interview will undergo a minor language correction and of course it will be translated into Polish, so please do not worry about any minor mistakes - we will correct it so that it works out well.

For starters, could you please introduce yourself? This is not a question - we would only like to know something about you, please give me a short bio, which will be used to introduce your person in the introduction to the interview.

Hi, James Tanner here from Bryston. I believe you have the interview I did recently so at this point you probably know more about me than I do myself. I am the VP of Bryston but I do not tell the company exactly what I do – that way they can not fire me because what I do may be important.

In one of the interviews I read that you come from a really large family, and in the pictures you willingly pose with your grandchildren. But immediately I started wondering - is hockey like a compulsory thing in Canada?

Yes when I joined the Fire Department one of the questions the job interviewer ask me was at what level did I play hockey!

Bryston's story begins unusual. Not from amplifiers welded on the kitchen table, not from speakers built in the garage, but... Medical equipment?

Yes Bryston was a Canadian company owned by 3 individuals who’s initials where put together to provide the company name Bryston. We were a notable engineering firm specializing in medical electronics. We had a patented blood analyzer. When John Russell Sr. retired from work as an engineer in the USA with NASA (space agency), he bought Bryston. One of his son’s, Chris, was able to explore his interest in music and audio by taking advantage of the facility’s tools. While modifying existing amps of the time, he designed his own which won a sound quality competition at a local major recording studio. The studio ordered some amplifiers from Bryston and that began our rapid transition to an audio engineering firm.

Professional audio gear is a slogan that attracts audiophiles not from today. For some reason they are very interested in loudspeakers and amplifiers that are used in recording studios, or rather - their amateur counterparts. From your point of view, are these two completely different worlds or maybe two markets that can coexist to some extent, and do not interfere with each other?

I think in the past having a product that was accepted in the PRO market was a negative and was not accepted by audiophiles because they consider them a ‘tool’ for the pros to use for accuracy of the recording mix and not necessarily a pleasant sound to listen too. So they were perceived as different worlds but I believe that is changing today due to audiophiles being more educated into what happens at the recording end of the music business as well and how that translates to what they hear at home.

Rarely the company that produces professional equipment offers exactly the same models also for the amateur market. Most often it is a sharp division - loudspeakers manufacturers make active loudspeakers for professionals and passive loudspeakers for audiophiles, with electronics they are practically two different catalogs. And at Bryston these are the same devices that you can simply order with a wider front with holes for rack mounting. Wouldn't it be better to separate them completely?

Maybe … but we have always been an Engineering company first and a Marketing company second. So building the most accurate amplifiers and gear available given the current state of the art has always been our holly grail. We have always felt that a linear amplifier tells the truth – good or bad – and that is the best way forward for both the Audiophile and the Studio as anything else just takes you in a big circle.

When audiophiles look for hi-fi equipment, read reviews, visit exhibitions, arrange auditions, etc. And what about professionals? How does it happen that they decide on Bryston? Recommended? Due to the fact that some other producer of recordings equipped themselves with this brand's equipment?

Yes the Pro market is a reasonably small community so if you are accepted by the leaders in that field then others tend to follow. Bryston from day one has been well accepted in the studio market because it represented excellent accuracy and most of all high reliability – a must – time is money in studios.

Many customers also appreciate our scientific engineering approach to product designs. We can prove the accuracy and performance of our equipment scientifically instead of just telling people to buy what they think they will like. But, I think Pro customers buy Bryston because it happens to sound fantastic. It stands up really well against competing products in a demonstration.

You are famous for the fact that your company provides a 20-year warranty on analog devices. Does it work? Is it worth it? Is it not so that this warranty is really included in the price of the product and the customer pays for it at the start?

We implemented the 20 year warranty in 1990 when we were 18 years old. Even though back then we had a 5 year warranty we had never charged for a repair. So after 18 years we were still seeing our original amplifiers operating without issues so we decided to make it official and offer a 20 Year warranty.

So the warranty was never about who pays for it – it was the outcome of building a product with the best possible parts and with the long-term reliability in mind. Many people assume that we just build in the cost of inevitable repairs, but we don’t. We work really hard to design robust gear that will outlast us all. Furthermore, our electronics go through a 100 hour test cycle at our factory before shipping to ensure quality.

Why not extend the warranty to 20 years for digital products? Where does this division come from?

The problem with digital is it changes too quickly, and we feared that some parts would not be available going forward. We are seeing how this goes and may extend the warranty but so far all our digital products have been very reliable with very few warranty issues.

At some point, relatively recently, you decided to change the finish of the fronts - from brushed to satin. Why? Some regular customers will certainly not be happy with it, because suddenly the whole concept of the tower breaks down...

Well I guess it’s one of those issues where you are dammed if you do and dammed if you don’t. The main reason for the satin finish was it was much better liked when we showed prototypes at shows and it is much easier to get a more uniform finish from product to product and with less problems with scratching and discoloration over time.

One of our favorite Bryston devices is the BDP-3. The game is sensational, but inside is a prehistoric computer. Is it not strange, especially considering its price?

To oversimplify, any digital music player is just a purpose built computer. Our BDP-3 includes a fully linear power supply, Bryston designed and built digital audio output device, and of course our own logic board and casework. The ‘computer’ itself is a motherboard we source from a company that specializes in high reliability long-term-support hardware often used in critical care and industrial applications. Music playback does not require an enormous amount of power or the latest Intel processor. In fact, big fast processors are at greater risk for radiating high frequency noise. Finally, the more powerful the processor, the more heat it generates. We very much like to avoid fans if possible for a variety of reasons. Our firmware and hardware were developed to work with each other, and the internal computer is the right choice for this digital player. Would state of the art processors and tons of RAM enable more advanced features? Probably, but it would add a tremendous cost, decrease reliability, and quite possibly sacrifice sound quality.

When we connected the 4B3 power amplifier during the test, we had a problem running it. Only later it turned out that this is the whole procedure - you need to turn on one button on the back, insert the power cable, then the device measures the current parameters and only then can be fired with the button on the front panel. Is that necessary? Do you think that hi-fi equipment sounds worse if the supply voltage is a bit too low or if the polarity of the plug in the cable is incorrect? If so, how do you explain it logically? The key argument of opponents of such solutions is "there is a transformer, rectifier and capacitors inside".

Yes in order to get all the safety and hydro requirements and clearances we have to provide these safeguards. Every product has to go through a very extensive and expensive test by the safety authorities before we can sell our equipment. The supply voltage can change quite a bit with our products without issue as most of our source gear runs Class A. With the amplifiers the lower or higher voltage will allow for slightly lower or higher power but there again there is a fairly wide envelop as to where it will perform without issue.

There are plenty of power conditioners in Bryston's catalog. I counted 16! Are they used by audiophiles or mainly professionals? How does this affect the sound?

We sell them about equally to pro’s and audiophiles. These are not power conditioners – they are Isolation Transformers. The basic idea is to Isolate you from the outside world. It’s like having your own little power station inside your music room. The transformer has a primary and a secondary section and you are working off the magnetic field between these two sections. So the outside world (primary) never see’s the inside world (secondary) thereby isolating your system from all the noise and crap on the hydro line outside your listening environment.

Recently, we tested the BDA-3.14, which looks a bit like a device invented in five minutes, with a combination of two others. Are you not afraid that the implementation of Raspberry Pi in such expensive equipment looks a bit frivolous?

Not really – the Pi is a great and low cost piece of gear so it is a very cost effective way to add a computer to our BDA3 DAC. The one design parameter we have implemented though is we use the I2S output from the Pi to drive our DAC. This is the most accurate way to transfer digital signal and I think you will agree the 3.14 sounds superb as a result. Also using our DAC – which is the same as the BDA-3 DAC – eliminates any downside to the Pi itself. The Pi is being updated and improved upon as we go along and is retro fit-table to the 3.14 so customers will be able to upgrade going forward if required. Finally, Raspberry Pi devices have proven to be extremely reliable and versatile over many years now. We feel very confident in our decision to use them.

And if I can make a point – quality engineering is not about using the most expensive parts available. It’s about understanding the complexities of the circuit and implementing solutions that improve the performance of the product.

Bryston's loudspeakers are manufactured by Axiom. Or only partially? What is the purpose of having Bryston speakers, since Axiom also produces loudspeakers under its own brand that look very similar?

I am often asked why Bryston decided to partner with Axiom on our loudspeaker project. Yes some of the products look similar but thats an economic advantage and some are totally different – for example we use 8 inch woofers they do not. But here is the complete story.

Axiom is more capable of producing a quality loudspeaker than 99% of the companies out there:
• They have their own on-site anechoic chamber (same size as the NRC’s chamber in Ottawa).
• They have the latest and greatest test gear.
• They have two superb engineers that have been in involved in speaker design for over 30 years each.
• They have on on-site tower for testing subwoofers in a true anechoic environment.
• They make their own, (and our), drivers to suit each model independently,
• They make and test all the speakers in Canada. (Drivers are made in Axiom’s factory so they maintain all aspects of quality control).
• All Cabinets are made in their factory in Ontario using high quality CNC machines.

Also they do this at a price point that mere mortals can afford.

There is also a striking symmetry between our companies:
• We have known each other for over 30 years, since our days at the NRC in the early 80s
• Both Bryston and Axiom are still controlled by their founders and built on a passion for audio. There are very few audio companies left that are not now controlled by a conglomerate.
• We are geographically very close to each other in small towns in northern Ontario.
• We both share a passion for doing real research and staying on the leading edge of our areas of expertise.
• We both share a belief in manufacturing the products we design and sell and we both have extensive manufacturing facilities located in Canada to ensure the best product quality.

So I chose Axiom to work with me because they are the most qualified to help me with this project and because we share a passion for audio. If I tried to tackle this project on my own the capital costs would have been horrendous and the speaker would be 3 times the price, with the initial ship date still in the future. I was also starkly aware of the abysmal track record of electronic companies entering the speaker market. Having a speaker company as a design and manufacturing partner eliminated the reasons this happens so often.

Did you ever think about moving your production to China? With Canadian labor costs and taxes later, such a device on the shelf is much more expensive than the competition, which has comparable parameters, and even sound. Is it important who and where solders capacitors and screws enclosures?

No - we are keeping the jobs in Canada. Most of our factory staff have been with us for many, many years – decades in some cases. Building precision electronics isn’t a job for just anybody. It takes care, patience and skill that isn’t easy to learn. Sure, there is some nice sounding gear coming from low-cost labor countries, but there’s more to high quality gear than just sound. We want our casework to be elegantly machined, we demand high reliability. In the event of a repair, we want it to be serviced quickly and effectively – how would you feel about having to ship a 40 kilogram amp all the way to China for service? We can provide rapid turnaround on repair either at our factory or by providing parts quickly to our distributors worldwide all of whom are properly trained in service.

You have a very large and very nice system, many of Bryston's employees probably also use your devices. Are there situations when the idea for an improvement arises not in the company, but at home, when, for example, you connect a new model, listen to it and comes to the conclusion "hmm, we should do it differently"?

Yes in fact one of my main jobs is to assess the product before we go into production. I have the facilities to do blind tests as well … which believe me removes a lot of – gee it looks great so it must sound good! And yes it usually takes a few tries before I am happy – as an example I went through 5 prototypes of the Model T speakers before we decide to go to market with it.

Huge home theater systems and installations in which a dozen or several dozen devices work, from sources and processors to five-channel power amplifiers, are still popular in Canada and the USA. In Europe, this is hardly seen. Here audiophiles prefer more minimalist stereo systems. At first glance, Bryston's catalog is constructed more for the US market, but maybe I'm wrong? For example, are you seeing huge demand for these largest, most expensive devices in China or in other markets?

It varies depending on the timing. I would agree though that Europe and the Far East tends to be more Stereo motivated but there are areas where surround is still a large market for our distributors. An intesting development though is we are selling more phono stages now than we ever had in all markets so I guess that tells you Stereo is still very much alive and kicking!

You are one of the companies that is clearly not interested in launching one-piece network speakers, wireless headphones, soundbars and other recently fashionable devices. You recently released a turntable, which is no longer on offer. Aren't you afraid that at some point it can work against you, that is - customers will be accustomed to ever better equipment from brands that do these things today, and will never know about something like Bryston?

Actually, we have just introduced a complete line of Wireless powered speakers including a Soundbar. So yes we are aware of trying to establish the Bryston brand in these market segments. I agree that customers starting out seem to prefer a simpler all in one solution so we will be offering more products in that segment going forward.

Our advantage in new audio markets is that we are sound quality experts. The fundamentals of good speaker and amplifier design are still important in wireless audio and all-in-one type devices.

I'm asking about this because I remember how Naim was once treated. It was the equipment for absolute weirdos who like to do everything differently. Even among audiophiles, Naim owners were treated like freaks. Sect inside the sect. Suddenly it started to change. Naim created all-in-one cinema equipment, then quickly entered the topic of streaming, was one of the first companies to play music from files and iPad at exhibitions, then made great Uniti systems, Muso speakers, another amazing streamers, and today is no longer a brand for fanatics, and extremely demanding audiophiles have also benefited, because of, among others, Statement. Don't you think this is the right direction?

We see our place in the market clearly. Bryston is the brand music and movie lovers can turn to when they need 1) Top quality sound that can be scientifically proven and easily heard. 2) Most excellent reliability – nobody cares what it sounds like if it’s broken. If we can apply these principles to more lifestyle oriented products, we will do so. We are not the brand to turn to for “latest and greatest”. Our equipment is built to provide an enormous sense of enjoyment and pleasure for a very long time. We feel very confident in the superb sound quality and timeless design of our powered wireless products.

So what are your plans for the near future? Can we expect something surprising?

We are working on new products all the time based on feedback from our customers and hopefully will be able to provide our customers with more superb musically satisfying gear for many more years to come.


Thank you for the conversation and for the time you have devoted to making this interview happen!

[James Tanner - Bryston]

MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: Bryston 3.14 DAC/STREAMER/PREAMP

May 2020

Hi Folks,

Please see the link below for a very in-depth review of our new Bryston 3.14 DAC/Streamer/Preamp from Soundstage Magazine.

Favourate quote:

Listening

When I began listening to the Bryston BDA-3.14, my first thought was,

“Wow, this sounds really nice.”

Among its immediately obvious virtues was that it was extremely quiet -- at normal volume levels, with no music playing and my ear next to a tweeter, I heard only a very faint hiss. From a foot away, I heard nothing.

And as soon as I began listening attentively, it was obvious that the BDA-3.14 had amazing dynamics and fluidity -- the combination drew me into the music in a way I’ve rarely experienced.


https://www.soundstagesimplifi.com/i...e-articles/126

[James Tanner - Bryston]

MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: Bryston 3.14 Review – Alpha-Audio

May 2020

Review Bryston BDA-3.14 Renderer – DAC
by CHRISTIAAN PUNTER


Conclusion (for those that can’t wait!

The BDA-3.14 is a great DAC with an excellent streamer section on board. This seemingly simple addition is actually so well implemented that it leads to a better result than with the best server + renderer combo I currently have available. And that says it all!

Listening:
The first listening session with the Bryston BDA-3.14 took place after a long day at work and without prior comparisons. At that time the Magicos were connected with the Aqua La Diva CD transport as source.

The Antipodes combo is still working faithfully but lately your editor is back in the CD mood. That way, you stay busy as an audiophile, huh!?

Anyway, the BDA-3.14 sounded immediately fantastic! We may be accustomed to a DAC from the very highest regions, but the Bryston gave no reason to be cranky. Everything was perfectly balanced and you immediately get involved.

The timbre is also very natural, Bryston never has a synthetic sound at all, and the DAC has a pleasant combination of sonorous robustness, impressive dynamics and a rich midrange with smooth highs without any sharpness.

Although the BDA-3.14 has that Bryston-typical V12 motor-like “drive”, there is also a high degree of refinement and versatility so the sound never gets dry. And when a component sounds smooth and supple with the Magicos, you can be sure that it does. If there is sharpness or a loud edge, they let you hear it right away.

Now it was time to switch to the Antipodes CX + EX music server to compare the USB and RJ45 inputs. Your editor immediately took this opportunity to make a comparison between the server and the CD transport. Starting with the CX + EX combo as server and renderer, connected to the Bryston BDA-3.14 with a Final Touch Audio Callisto USB cable, we immediately recognized the Antipodes-typical sonore robustness. This was a clearly fuller and more colorful sound than with the CD transport. However, the BDA-3.14 also showed perfectly that the server does not have the same level of tautness and impulsiveness as the Aqua CD transport. In comparison, the sound of the server is a bit more static. The CX can also perform both server and renderer tasks on its own and sounds tighter and faster but also a bit less magical. As such it approaches the sound of the CD transport but the sound image becomes more compact and with less feeling of depth image. But what we missed the most is the sonorous and robust fullness in which the EX excels. Which reproduction is the most neutral we leave in the middle but what is certain is that the BDA-3.14 shows these differences in a very fine way.

Streaming input:
After connecting the Antipodes CX directly to the BDA-3.14 with an Ethernet cable, the sound suddenly reminded us of the Bryston BDP-3 media player. Tighter, faster, better articulated and also more direct. Now the server sound came much closer to the sound of the CD transport and while maintaining the lyrical power, call it the magic. It seems that the physically more direct connection actually results in a more concrete (and better!) sound.

Comparison

When judged with the music server via USB or the CD transport via coax, both the Aqua Formula xHD and the Denafrips Venus reach an even higher level of transparency and resolving power. Both DACs use a discreet NOS R2R topology which makes them sound “cleaner”, without the subjectively often pleasant warmth and forgiveness of most other D-A converters.

In absolute terms, we would say that both components expose more of the recording than the comparatively warmer and more robust sounding Bryston. Of course, this is also a matter of taste, but in the case of the Aqua, it’s no disgrace anyway, as this DAC costs no less than 13,670 euros. In the case of the Denafrips it’s a bit different as the Venus is more or less in the same price range as the Bryston. In that case one has the choice between a pure DAC with a strictly speaking more audiophile sound and a DAC with an extremely good sounding streaming input and the largest selection of inputs that we have seen so far on a DAC.

But the most important factor is that with both other DACs you also need a streaming endpoint. And as the tests soon showed, you don’t have one, two, three really top sound with a server/streamer.

This is where the Bryston BDA-3.14 comes into its own, making it perhaps unbeatable as a complete solution in its price range!

[Ollie]

I’m thinking of buying the Pioneer uhd-lx800 player to watch movies and play dsd music via sacd. It has two hdmi connections. If I connect one hdmi port the bda3.14 to listen to music and the other to the tv so that hdr10 works I then need to unplug it and connect hdmi to the SP3 in order to listen to Dolby digital or DTS and watch the UHD/ blue ray movie as it was intended.
There is no other way around this right? I have to keep changing the hdmi cable between the two devices depending on whether I am listening to music or watching a movie?