Bryston BDA-2 review in The Absolute Sound

James Tanner - Bryston said:
MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: Bryston BDA-2 DAC– Customer Feedback

April 2013

Bryston BDA2 DAC

“Over the last couple of years I have upgraded all my cables and power to build a solid foundation for my gear. Each cable upgrade allowed the gear to reach its potential. Now that the foundation is solid it is time to start upgrading the gear. My first upgrade is going from Bryston's BDA1 DAC to the BDA2. This was just released a few months ago, and is getting good reviews all over. While I had no complaints about the BDA1, I thought I would try the BDA2, and send it back if it was not much better.

Well, as soon as I turned it on I realized it is a keeper. The music just seemed to come from nowhere since it is so quiet. There is no digital edge on the music now. You do not even realize it is there until it is gone. That part is amazing. Notes are so clean you can isolate them in the soundstage, and violin string decay into blackness. All CD files, old rock and new jazz, sound so much better. There is much better channel separation with the soundstage much more defined from left to right.

I suspect one reason why this sounds so good is because I am using the Bryston BDP1 digital file player as a source. The interconnect is a Shunyata Ztron Python AES digital, and both the DAC and the source have Shunyata Ztron Cobra power cord. I know some of you think CD players are great, but this pair easily kicks CD player butt. There is no contest. The drawback to this is now I have to put my BDA1 into the HT for when I use it for two channel. That means I have to buy another power cord and a pair of analog ICs. Oh well, I guess that is why I work.

I cannot recommend this combination highly enough. If you are on the fence about digital, or want an upgrade, I say get this DAC and file player. I have been a Shunyata fanboy for a while now because their cables work. Now I am a Bryston fanboy. I just might upgrade to their 7B SST mono amps now.”

BlueFox
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Is that what you said Bud? ...Then thanx a bunch to James! :cool:
 
NorthStar said:
Sorry, not allowed to read posts there. ...You'll have to repeat here if you want a bunch of us know what you said over there. :)
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I said that at another site. It probably would be a good idea to provide a link to anonymous attributions just to demonstrate it is not made up. Of course, being the Internet, you can always make up a user name, and say whatever you want, so maybe a link does not really prove anything. Anyway, this is the original.


[Review] Bryston BDA2 DAC
 
That wasn't what I meant Bud. ...Links are permitted here for our beneficial knowledge.

* It was another site that I was referring to, and from where most common mortals are not allowed in; it's like a club from a one-man show and his business. Anyway, most of us we'd simply rather forget all about it as more and more people are becoming aware of all the false illusions.

Now I see that it was from the Polk forums. ...I've heard a few things, and read some too over at that audio site. ...Mostly like a fan club, and where people can get ..... if they are saying the contrary. ;)

But you know much more about it Bud than I do. ...Cool anyhow that you provided the direct link.
And never for a second I was doubting about what you said, and that it wasn't you.
Sorry perhaps for my phrasing's construction.

_________________
 
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No problem, we are on the same page. I knew which "site" you were referring to and I was just saying I posted it on another site. However, without a link to the original quote, some cynic could say that it was just a made up review. Not that there are any cynics here.

The Polk site is a good site, but periodically somebody shows up and starts trying to 'educate' everyone on how cables and power cords are a waste of money. :rolleyes:
 
BlueFox said:
No problem, we are on the same page. I knew which "site" you were referring to and I was just saying I posted it on another site. However, without a link to the original quote, some cynic could say that it was just a made up review. Not that there are any cynics here.

The Polk site is a good site, but periodically somebody shows up and starts trying to 'educate' everyone on how cables and power cords are a waste of money. :rolleyes:
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I have been over there a few times, there are indeed good folk over @ Polk (hey that rhymed:woot:).

I am considering rap as a profession!:snicker:
 
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Hey James, any word on when the BDA-2 might support DSD? Is this something really in your plans or did you only mention that you were thinking of supporting it?
 
Hi

At this point thinking about it. There is still some discussion about the superiority of high res PCM and the long term survival of DSD.

James
 
BlueFox said:
The biggest issue I have with mpod on the iPhone and iPad is that it crashes all the time if you either switch between apps, or, with mpad, close and reopen the cover on the iPad. If you leave the iPhone set to never turn off the display, and never switch to another app it generally is okay.
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For the record, I don't experience crashing issues with mPad/mPod and I use them daily. They seem quite stable on my devices (iPad retina/iPhone 4S).
 
IMO it's important for any company to have their own app rather than rely on third party apps. Linn has their own app, Marantz has their own app, others too. But, I can see why many companies rely on third party apps. Application development, testing and maintenance is a very expensive proposition and those costs are then reflected in the bottom line of the product. Not to mention the frustration customers may encounter with a buggy app (just ask PS audio). Support of that app also becomes an expense to the organization which will be ultimately passed on to customers.

As for DSD, today it makes sense from a marketing standpoint, more than a pure application and feature perspective IMO. Although I personally have a sizeable DSD collection and thoroughly enjoy the direct to DSD recordings from the likes of Blue Coast Records, I also recognize that not everyone wants to encounter hours of frustration trying to "mod" a PS3 just so they can rip their modest SACD collection and not everyone is going to be spending money downloading direct to DSD files from the Internet from talented, but otherwise, unknown artists. That being said, with so many DAC/music streamer manufacturers adding DSD capabilities, to not do it, may affect the bottom line.

The Bryston stack is a home run. I've heard the first version several times. It would be nice if it had its own app and DSD capabilities, but at its price point, it's certainly the smart alternative in a world of "me too".
 
James Tanner - Bryston said:
Hi

At this point thinking about it. There is still some discussion about the superiority of high res PCM and the long term survival of DSD.

James
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I currently have the DCS Debussy and the BDA-2. The Debussy supports DSD and I can tell you that in my experience, DSD blows hi-res FLAC out of the water. I mean the 24bit 176Khz kind of files that HDTracks has etc. DSD is so much better. If you haven't heard the difference, you're doing yourself and your customers a disservice.

Here's a photo of the Debussy and the BDA-2 in my rack:

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And as far as the long term survival goes, DCS appears to feel it's going to be around for a long time. I guess it's partly because they created the DOP standard. I guess it's easier for them to implement since their "DAC's" are all implemented in FPGA's and software. But the way I understand DOP, it is data packed into the lower 16 bits of a 24 bit 176Khz stream. The remaining 8 bits are a marker to the DAC that the data is DSD rather than PCM. It doesn't appear to be a strange format that is terribly difficult to decode.

Honestly, when comparing it to the Debussy, it's a real shame the BDA-2 doesn't support DSD; it's a very nice sounding DAC. If it did, I might end up keeping it, but I'm pretty hooked on DSD.

I'm also a bit confused why Bryston has published that they changed to the AKM chip and that one of the benefits is the future support of DSD? At least you didn't promise that you were going to actually provide a format support in the future and drag your heels for years like McIntosh ;)
 
Dear James

You might like the attached BDP2 & BDA2 review attached that is currently on the shelves throughout the UK.

Gramophone – The UK’s Leading Classical Music Magazine
Kindest regards

Keith
PMC

Capture2.JPG

Have the PDF folks if you want a copy - [email protected]
 
Hi Folks,

There is a nice follow up review on the Bryston BDP-2 Digital Player in the October issue of Stereophile Magazine - page 192.

james
 
Hi Folks,

Here are some pics of the NEW BDP Interface we are working on which will be utilized with the new Manic Mouse software we are developing.

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dark_media-player_view-artist.jpg
 
From: Laurence Stoll
Sent: Monday, September 23, 2013
To: James Tanner
Subject: BDP-2

James,

I was one of the very early purchasers of the BDP-1. I have always been thrilled by both the sound on my Thiel 3.7 speaker system using the BDP-1 as the source for a very large classical music collection and the flexibility of the software interface. I just ordered a BDP-2) because I wanted the greater flexibility and the ability to manage very large libraries.

Note:
I am keeping the BDP-1 as a "back up" because I cannot face the prospect of listening to music in another manner if something should happen to the media player. I am a VERY satisfied customer.

Best regards,

Larry
 
MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: BDP/DBA Digital Player/DAC – Customer Feedback
From: Allen Purdy
Subject: Bryston duo

Date: 13 October, 2013

I have to keep things in perspective I know but these Brystons have totally changed the way I relate to reproduced music. I bought my first "high end" component in 1968 - a Dual 1019 turntable so I have been at this game for a long time and nothing has prepared me for the way in which the BDA and the BDP facilitate my enjoyment of high quality reproduced sound.

They are uber-convenient I am getting all of my CDs ripped to my network attached storage drive which I as super fast Iomega RAID setup with 4TB of storage. I can access the music through the network if I like and actually stream it to the DAC in the magnum Dynalab but I mostly just copy what I want to 32GB USB drives and plug them into the BDP

As the BDA -2 breaks in it just gets sweeter and sweeter not a trace of digital glare. I swapped out The cable between the BDA and the BDP to a Kimber D-60 BNC and find that I like the focus better than with the Bryston cable. The kimber has a list "price of around $300 compared with $105 for the Bryston so thats no surprise. I use the iPad to control everything and it is just dynamite

These two pieces have been revolutionary for me not evolutionary can't thank you enough for pointing me in this direction. The Naim DAC was excellent but this Bryston has gone to another level with sound staging and imaging and has a WOW factor that the Naim did not give me.

WOW even on Red Book material

Al
 
MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: Bryston BDA-2 DAC

Bryston is pleased to announce that the Bryston BDA-2 DAC has been awarded a PRODUCT OF THE YEAR AWARD from Absolute Sound Magazine.

“Hi James

On behalf of The Absolute Sound I want to congratulate you on winning a product of the year award.
The awards will be announced in the January issue.

Marvin Lewis”

POY 2013 LOGO FINAL.jpg
 
Hi Chris,

I've read a variety of articles mentioning the benefits of a real-time OS for audio quality. Do you echo this sentiment? To what degree do you think it matters?

Best regards,
Gary


From: Chris Rice [mailto:[email protected]]
Subject: Re: real time os

Hi Gary,

It's essentially snake oil, the idea behind a real time OS is to give certain tasks absolute priority for best possible timing. In the case of audio this sounds like a good thing, however it's a non-issue and would only be useful if the CPU running the OS where also directly controlling the analog signal outputting the audio. This is not the case for the BDP or even average desktop computers as they both have sounds cards that handle this task. As for any application towards outputting the data to the sound card, whether that be. A traditional sound card or a USB DAC out BDP is configured to buffer as much data as possible into system memory. There are two buffers and input buffer that is 2KB in size (MPD) and a output buffer that will use as much memory that is available (ALSA). As the songs in the playlist are decoded by the system, the decoded material is then stored in system memory until it's handed off to the sound output device (sound card or USB dac).

Think of a barrel with a small whole in the bottom being filled with water. The water escaping from the bottom of the barrel is the data being sent to the sound output device, the barrel itself is the buffer and the water filling the barrel is the computer reading the data. So if the computer becomes occupied doing another task, the flow slows down or stops all together;
but it's ok because the barrel is still full of water and as long as water remains in the the barrel it will continue to flow out at a constant pace.

If you venture into the BDP's settings page, under services you'll notice some statistics, one of which is system memory. As the playback music, the larger your playlist becomes the memory becomes used. This is the BDP buffering as much audio as possible, however if you skip a song it has to start over.

You can test this by playing some music off of a USB drive, once it has started playing for 15-20 seconds. Pull the thumb drive out and the BDP should continue playing for a few seconds. It would play longer but the BDP is configured to send the stop command once it's realized the drive has been pulled.

Hope this information helps Gary, feel free to email me with any further questions or concerns.

Cheers,
Chris

Embedded Linux Engineer
Web Application Developer
Bryston Ltd.
 
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