Bryston BDA-3

[GeAllan70]

[Humbuster]

Originally Posted by cma29

Eventually I'll get there but for now I'm happy browsing and playing music from my compact disc music library.

Me too..
May make the plundge in 2019, however this old fart still likes to puruse the cover art and booklets when my eyes are not closed a s I listen.

[gbaby]

I just saw in Stereophile the BDA-3 was rated A+ along with other D/A converters in the 5 figures range. That is a remarkable achievement for Bryston.

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by gbaby

I just saw in Stereophile the BDA-3 was rated A+ along with other D/A converters in the 5 figures range. That is a remarkable achievement for Bryston.

And I can readily confirm their findings.

[James Tanner - Bryston]

MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: BDA-3 DAC Gets A+ Rating - Stereophile’s Recommended Components

September 2019

Bryston BDA-3 DAC … A+ Rating

The first Bryston DAC to offer DSD compatibility, the BDA-3 supports the SACD format via its four HDMI inputs, and DSD128 to DSD256 via USB. (PCM performance, including user-selectable upsampling in multiples of 44.1 and 48kHz, extends to 384kHz; DoP is also supported.)

Twin AKM DAC chips are used, as are completely separate paths for PCM and DSD data.

Using an Oppo BDP-103 universal BD player to listen to SACDs through the Bryston BDA-3, LG remarked that "spatial performance was sensational, with wider, deeper soundstages than heard from my SACD player on its own," and praised the Bryston's overall performance for delivering "superbly effortless, delicate, subtly revealing, tube-like analog output from a variety of digital file formats and sample rates."

Writing from his test bench, JA singled out for praise the BDA-3's extremely low levels of noise and distortion and "superb" resolution—close to 21 bits, and concluded that it …

"offers measured performance that is as good as digital can get."

[James Tanner - Bryston]

Hi Folks,

Thought you may find this post by Doug at SoundStage Magazine interesting.


Doug SoundStage Schneider

Potential high-end audio trend -- with FLAC-based PCM streaming now from Qobuz and Amazon Music HD, I believe there's a new marketing opportunity available for companies that DID NOT adopt MQA into their digital-to-analog converter designs.

For example, in many MQA-compatible DACs, the digital filter is the same for MQA material AND straight PCM material -- but it may not be the best filter for PCM (i.e., what's coming out of Qobuz and Amazon Music HD). Some companies did not take this approach and DO NOT use the MQA filter for everything. But a number of other companies do use it for everything -- and if people start dropping Tidal w/MQA for Qobuz and/or Amazon Music HD with straight FLAC-based PCM, we might see an upsurge in the desire for non-MQA DACs because they perform better.

[Audiophilehi]

Does anybody know the fuse value on the BDA-3? I’ve been on a fuse upgrade mission lately and looking to upgrade the fuse on my BDA-3. Thanks

[Robert_Anderson]

My BDA-3 outperforms many much more expensive DAC's I have had.

[gbaby]

Originally Posted by Audiophilehi

...I’ve been on a fuse upgrade mission lately and looking to upgrade the fuse on my BDA-3. Thanks

Since a fuse only breaks current when there is excessive current going through in order to prevent damage, I see no reason for you to want to put a different fuse in any Bryston product. Talk about snake oil, wow! Don't buy into it. I fail to see how you can get better sound with a fuse.

[Audiophilehi]

Originally Posted by gbaby

Since a fuse only breaks current when there is excessive current going through in order to prevent damage, I see no reason for you to want to put a different fuse in any Bryston product. Talk about snake oil, wow! Don't buy into it. I fail to see how you can get better sound with a fuse.

Hi gbaby....I believe current is always flowing through a fuse. Like you said it’s only when it exceeds its value it would then pop.

I recommended you try one. Most of the fuse manufacturer’s have a 30 day return policy. If you don’t hear a difference then send it back. Nothing gained and nothing lost.

As for me the 5 fuses I’ve replaced so far has transformed my system. No placebo effect for me. My daughter sat with me for awhile last night and remarked how good the music was sounding and asked if I replaced anything. I told her just a few fuses and she said “yeah right”

Just do a search and you’ll see I’m not the only one.