Bryston BDA-3 Announced!

James Tanner - Bryston said:
Great - please let me know when the review is up and what you think.

james
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Hi James
For now - after a week of listening I can only say, that is very good DAC ;-) At first sight the sound is a little bit darker then Ayons (S-3 Junior, and CD-1sx), but then You discover that isn't a dark but peace with great resolution.
 
James

Thanks for the attention to the line cord strain relief.

I just got the BDA 3 today. Wow !! It sounds awesome. All I did was hook up my CD player to it. The detail and smoothness is more than I expected. I really did not think I would notice much improvement until I add BDP 2 and BOT 1.

I could stop now and be happy. The BDA 3 is amazing. Money well spent.

You guys have done a super job with it.

Andy Visniewski
 
MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: Bryston BDA-3 DAC – Reviewer Comment

“Hey Bryston folks:

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The BDA-3 is one heck of a DAC! The finesses and dynamics in decoding hi-res files, such as DSD to 5-6MHz and 24/384 ensures that Bryston maintains its super accuracy legacy with this latest D/A.

With my premium AKG K812 HP's and the BHA-1 HP amp — as well as the new Pass Labs HPA-1. I can really listen deep in to the audio detail — especially with jazz and classical. The stereo soundstage is spacious and deep, and that optimization of the AKM DAC chip and your well-implemented analog signal path make for a smooth (but natural sonic character) that is a cut above many of they ESS Sabre DAC-equipped DACs. My own 24/384 stereo guitar samples never sounded better than the BDA-3 through a set of HPs.

The D/A is equally effective via speakers. I have only listened for two days, but already on one system, that includes my Pass Labs x350.8 stereo MOSFET amp (or my Bryston 14SSTII reference bipolar amp), Coda high current preamp, a pair of Martin Logan Montis electrostatics and Macbook Pro player source with Audirvana, the BDA-3 is impressive. A reviewed Heigel DAC is similar in its sound (same chip), which I really like as well, but it is about $1,200 more and offers less features. (No double speed DSD or greater than 192 kHz native playback.

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The BDA-3 is definitely getting our Everything Audio Network Stellar Sound Award, planned for publication next month, and also will go into nomination for the "Best DAC of The Year"

John Gatski,
Publisher,
Everything Audio Magazine.
 
MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: BDA-3 DAC/BDP-2 Review – Coming Soon

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Hi James:

I hope all is well.

Just a preliminary update - I am about half way through my BDP-2/BDA-3 review. I will have a draft for you in about 3 weeks.

I am hard pressed to name a digital front end that can compete.

As a matter of fact, I can't name a better combo at 10 times the price!

Andre Marc
 
MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: BDA-3 DAC Review From Poland

Just received this terrific review from High Fidelity Magazine in Poland.

Here is the link to the full review - http://www.highfidelity.pl/@main-2774&lang= You can use a Polish to English translation program to read the complete review.

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Favourite Quote:

The Canadian DAC offers great sound.

The sound is musical, a bit on the warm side of force, straight and spatial, and it definitely engages the listener. BDA-3 possesses a well-defined and controllable bass, which can go really low. Its top (high-pitched sound) is very vibrant and full of air. It has very long resounds and gives a natural color to acoustic instruments and vocals.

Although this device is not intrusively analytical, it differentiates recordings well and offers a good insight to them. You can't get bored with it. It gives a lot of fun with listening to the music as it provides as much emotions as allowed by the recording. This device is also not brutal with underlining all the weaknesses of a recording – the attention of the listener is focused on the music and emotions, while the technical mistakes of the producers can be felt only somewhere in the background, with no disruption to the reception of good music, which after all is not always perfectly recorded.

I think that BDA-3 is one of the best options on the market when it comes to sound and number of digital inputs. Moreover, it is a must for owners and collectors of concerts on BD records, who will benefit a lot from "filtering" sound by the Canadian DAC through the HDMI cable.

It is a terrific piece of gear!
 
So far listening to mainly PCM this is the best DAC to date in my system. I am a huge stickler for imaging and 3D rendering of instruments in space and the BDA-3 has this in spades. One thing I listen for is the ability to hear the space behind and around instruments and vocals. The layering and separation of depth is remarkable. Next step is to listen to some DSD files compared to the T&A DAC8 DSD. Hats off to Bryston for achieving such greatness for so little money.
 
Marty - I'm very glad to hear that you're so pleased with your BDA-3 DAC. It's an exceptional value and I think you'll find its performance to improve even further with additional break-in time. I've read that the T&A DAC8 DSD is supposed to be phenomenal with DSD material, so I'm very interested in your findings on how the BDA-3 compares. My compliments on your very nice system, enjoy the tunes!
 
Thank you Bill. My DAC journey has been an interesting one for sure.

audio.bill said:
Marty - I'm very glad to hear that you're so pleased with your BDA-3 DAC. It's an exceptional value and I think you'll find its performance to improve even further with additional break-in time. I've read that the T&A DAC8 DSD is supposed to be phenomenal with DSD material, so I'm very interested in your findings on how the BDA-3 compares. My compliments on your very nice system, enjoy the tunes!
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MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: Soundstage Review - Bryston BDA-3 DAC

Please see link below - Soundstage Magazine review of the Bryston BDA-3 DAC.

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http://www.soundstagehifi.com/index...977-bryston-bda-3-digital-to-analog-converter

Favourite Quote:

“The BDA-2, it’s a highly accomplished DAC that can easily hold its own against far more expensive competition. The most full-featured DAC I’ve encountered, it offers myriad connections for just about any digital source you might have. With four HDMI inputs and the ability to play recordings of almost any resolution,

Bryston’s top DAC model distinguishes itself from its competition. And there are converters at multiples of the BDA-3’s price that don’t come close to it in terms of flexibility. But more important than any of that, the BDA-3 sounds transparent and resolving, always remaining faithful to the signal it’s fed.”

Philip Beaudette
Soundstage
 
Hi Folks,

Sneak peak - new review on the Bryston BDP-2 Player and BDA-3 DAC combo coming soon:

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"The Bryston BDP-2 digital file and network player used in tandem with the BDA-3 DAC is the best digital front end I have had in my system.

The versatility, build, ease of setup, and sound quality are unrivalled in my experience at least."

Andre Marc
 
Hi Folks,

Sneak Peak - another BDA-3 DAC magazine review on the way. :thumb:

james



"James,

I hooked up the BDA-3 to a Quad Platinum DMP CD player last night and let it cook for about 3 hours. I've also currently got a SFI Transport-3 and an April Music Eximus CD-5 in house to drive it.

Around 12am, I gave it a listen with the DMP Platinum. My initial impression is that it has superb separation and delineation of instruments. It renders voices (both male and female) with stunning clarity and a jaw-dropping/tactile resolution. It produces immense detail across the entire frequency spectrum. And, thankfully, this detail is presented without the common glass "edge" and ringing high-band fatigue which most solid state (SS) DACs produce.

Instrumental timbres are excellent and the overall fidelity [with PCM-encoded material] competes with most reference caliber DACs I've heard in the $8K to $10K USD MSRP range. Which means, for the price of the BDA-3 DAC, you've got another "giant killer" on your hands. No wonder BDA-3s are back-ordered until the summer of 2017(!).

I'm gonna hook-up a few entry-level DVD players and flagship Hi-Rez DSD digital sources in the next few weeks to hear how the BDA-3 sounds with DSD-encoded material. More listening is required. And I am VERY happy to do more listening. I should probably start squirreling-away coinage into a BDA-3 jar, 'cause I may not be able to return it. ;-)

Cheers... Douglas? :-)
 
Hi Folks,

Please see the attached link - a review from Computer Audiophile Magazine on our Bryston BDA-3 DAC.

Chris rarely gives a recommondation to a product (CASH) award but our Bryston BDA-3 DAC has been honoured with one.

I especially like the comment that to better the BDA-3’s performance would requirer $20,000 dollars or more!


http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/718-bryston-bda-3-dac-review/


james
 
HI Folks,

We have some excellent reviews coming on the Bryston BDA3 DAC - Absolute Sound - Stereophile (December issue) - Canada Hi-Fi and this one from a

French audio magazine called Magazine TED.

I have both a French and English PDF translation available for anyone interested - [email protected]

james
 
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