Thread: BDA-2....................

Hi All
I'm thinking of buying a BDA-2. Here's my question:

I plan using it as a DAC only, no computer audio whatsoever. Would I need to download any drivers if I'm just going to use it as a DAC only????

I don't think so. So you are thinking the digital out of your CD player into the DAC?

Originally Posted by Mike

I don't think so. So you are thinking the digital out of your CD player into the DAC?

Correct. I'll be using the player as a transport. I'll also be using the Marantz as a cd player because it has sacd capabilities. My pre-amp has two cd inputs and I can switch back and forth via the remote.

You can't do SACD's via the digital out of the Marantz (or any SACD player I'm are of) into a separate DAC. Only redbook.

Originally Posted by Mike

You can't do SACD's via the digital out of the Marantz (or any SACD player I'm are of) into a separate DAC. Only redbook.

Mike
You misunderstood me. My pre has two sources marked cd and cd2. The cd2 input uses the player as a transport going through the DAC. The cd input will use the player as a player via a separate pair of ic's eliminating the DAC. Therefore I will also be able to play sacd's

Originally Posted by Toobs

Mike
You misunderstood me. My pre has two sources marked cd and cd2. The cd2 input uses the player as a transport going through the DAC. The cd input will use the player as a player via a separate pair of ic's eliminating the DAC. Therefore I will also be able to play sacd's

Bob...Mike was merely pointing out that you will not be able to output DSD-layer (play your SACDs) through the BDA as he thought you wanted to play both your CDs and SACDs through the BDA-2. You are saying you will keep your SACD player connected to your preamp as well as the BDA-2 and when you want to play SACDs, you will use your SACD player, but when you play regular CDs through it, you want to play it through the BDA-2. In other words, the BDA-2 will be a way for you to upgrade the CD-playback of your player by going through the Bryston DAC. I think that is what you were saying at least

In any case, if I have that right, the BDA-2 will also be a nice to have if you decide to add a PC- or music server-based source, especially for the higher-res files (up to 24/192 with the BDA-2) down the road as Radioactive was pointing out.

Originally Posted by cmalak

Bob...Mike was merely pointing out that you will not be able to output DSD-layer (play your SACDs) through the BDA as he thought you wanted to play both your CDs and SACDs through the BDA-2. You are saying you will keep your SACD player connected to your preamp as well as the BDA-2 and when you want to play SACDs, you will use your SACD player, but when you play regular CDs through it, you want to play it through the BDA-2. In other words, the BDA-2 will be a way for you to upgrade the CD-playback of your player by going through the Bryston DAC. I think that is what you were saying at least

In any case, if I have that right, the BDA-2 will also be a nice to have if you decide to add a PC- or music server-based source, especially for the higher-res files (up to 24/192 with the BDA-2) down the road as Radioactive was pointing out.

Thanks Cyril.

Originally Posted by Mike

You can't do SACD's via the digital out of the Marantz (or any SACD player I'm are of) into a separate DAC. Only redbook.

HDMI is digital. Few SACD players output pure DSD stream from that digital out connection; stereo, and multichannel SACD (DSD) layers from hybrid SACDs. ...And hi-res DSD audio files (downloads) too (mostly stereo though).

Originally Posted by Toobs

Hi All
I'm thinking of buying a BDA-2. Here's my question:

I plan using it as a DAC only, no computer audio whatsoever. Would I need to download any drivers if I'm just going to use it as a DAC only????

No drivers.....its plug N play

Originally Posted by A/V Solutions

No drivers.....its plug N play

Thanks Jeff.

Hi Bob,

I used to have the BDA-2 so I can answer your question:

You only need drivers in one case, whith two dependencies:
1. You're using the USB input on the BDA-2
AND
1a. You want to decode 24bit material higher than 96KHZ.
AND
1b. You're using Windows

What the drivers do is allow you to run the USB in "class 2 mode" which means USB2.0 essentially. If you just play back 24/96 it will work out of the box is USB1.0 (legacy mode) in Windows. I believe (and don't quote me as I never used a Mac), that the BDA-2 will work with a MAC in USB2.0 mode out of the box, no drivers necessary. I can't think of a DAC out there that will decode anything higher than 24/96 in USB1.0 mode -- I think it's a bandwidth issue, thus the need for USB2.0 drivers.

If your transport will output via AES (balanced cable) or PCM (unbalanced rca type cable), and that's what you want to use, then this will work just fine. You'd be missing out on the good stuff though as the BDA-2 really shines on hi-rez material. I don't believe it's redbook was bad, but 24bit material was really good.

And you can't go wrong with the BDA-2*. It's a very natural, smooth, and refined sounding DAC. It put my (now long-gone) Wyred4Sound DAC2 to shame with how musical it was. I almost miss it sometimes.


* - Unless you want DSD decoding natively then you're out of luck.

Good luck!

Bryan

Originally Posted by Toobs

Hi All
I'm thinking of buying a BDA-2. Here's my question:

I plan using it as a DAC only, no computer audio whatsoever. Would I need to download any drivers if I'm just going to use it as a DAC only????

Originally Posted by Toobs

I plan using it as a DAC only, no computer audio whatsoever. Would I need to download any drivers if I'm just going to use it as a DAC only????

I don't understand this. The BDA2 is a DAC. That is all it is. Plug a cable from a digital source into its corresponding input, and away you go. No drivers to install on it.

Originally Posted by BlueFox

I don't understand this. The BDA2 is a DAC. That is all it is. Plug a cable from a digital source into its corresponding input, and away you go. No drivers to install on it.

Not quite. As has been mentioned above, if you want to use a PC-based source (or music server) via its USB input, then you will need to download the appropriate Windows-based drivers for higher than redbook (CD resolution) files. If you are using a digital transport such as a CD player, then yes, all you need to do is connect the digital output from the CD Player (whichever interface: RCA, AES/EBU, Toslink, etc...) into the corresponding digital input of the DAC and you press play.

Originally Posted by cmalak

Not quite. As has been mentioned above, if you want to use a PC-based source (or music server) via its USB input, then you will need to download the appropriate Windows-based drivers for higher than redbook (CD resolution) files. If you are using a digital transport such as a CD player, then yes, all you need to do is connect the digital output from the CD Player (whichever interface: RCA, AES/EBU, Toslink, etc...) into the corresponding digital input of the DAC and you press play.

Is this a BDA2 limitation, or a Windows issue? Would you need these USB drivers for any USB input DAC to get better than Redbook resolution?

Yes. All USB-capable DACs will require driver downloads when mated with PCs as the digital source. If you are using a MAC, more often than not, no driver is required. I think this is more a Windows vs. MAC OS issue. Not sure what the deal is with Linux-based computers/music servers. In any case, whichever DAC you get will have the appropriate instructions plus in most cases, they will either ship with the appropriate drivers if needed or the drivers can be downloaded from manufacturer's website. Hope this helps.

Thank you Cyril.

Welcome to the forum MATAMBOY!

Bob. I have the BDA2 for last few days and so far I'm really enjoying it. It built like a tank and the sounds really smooth and neutral ( I always thought the Bryson was little cold to my ears ) I don't know if you ever going to play with your computer music file but highly recommend the buy with their digital player ( BDP1 or 2) I didn't have to install any software cause I use them with external hard drives. Installation was so easy as well just remember when you plug in your hard drive it takes some time to load it. Once you pair them it's so fast to use it. I did comparison with my much more expensive CD player ( Red book CD vs ripped file ) the Bryston stood up very well. Highly recommend especially for first time digital file user.

Both units are stereophile recommend Class A


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