Bryston BDA-3 Announced!

Hi Folks,

Sneak Peak

The very extensive review on the BDA-3 DAC will be out shortly – Stereophile December issue.

1; There are 4 pages of measurements from John Atkinson and his conclusion was:

“With its extremely low levels of noise, harmonic and intermodulation distortion, and its superb resolution, the Bryston BDA-3 offers measured performance that is as good as digital can get.”—John Atkinson
(In other words you can spend much more money but you can not buy better performance than the BDA-3)



And from Larry Greenhill the BDA-3 reviewer:

“I recommend that the BDA-3 be listed in Class A+ of Stereophile’s ‘Recommended Components’.”


I will have a PDF of the full review in a few days.
 
Hi James,

I just got my new BDA-3 all hooked up.

I finally sat down and started to play different sources and WOW!…What a difference from what I had before! I have played some SACDs, DVD-audio, DSD and my ripped CDs and in some, hear things I hadn’t heard before.

BTW, I found out that you can actually control the BDA-3 with a Harmony remote, you just have to set it up, I can actually switch inputs! (I had read some posts complaining it couldn’t be done?)

Anyhow, thanks for all your support and putting up with all my questions.

Denis
 
MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: BDA-3 DAC – Product Of The Year Award

December 2016

Hi Folks,

The Bryston BDA3 DAC gets 2016 “PRODUCT OF THE YEAR”

2016 EAN_Product_OTY2016_3x.jpg

LINK:

http://everythingaudionetwork.blogsp...-bda-3-da.html


Favourite Quote:

The Bryston BDA-3 is the best-sounding DAC the company has ever made and is one of the most open, accurate D/A converters on the market.

Couple the pristine sonic character with the plethora of connection options, and you got yourself one mighty fine piece of hi-fi gear.
 
MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: BDA-3 DAC – Product Of The Year Award

December 2016

Hi Folks,

The Bryston BDA3 DAC gets 2016 “PRODUCT OF THE YEAR”

View attachment 17933

LINK:

http://everythingaudionetwork.blogspot.com/2016/12/audiophile-dac-review-bryston-bda-3-da.html


Favourite Quote:

The Bryston BDA-3 is the best-sounding DAC the company has ever made and is one of the most open, accurate D/A converters on the market.

Couple the pristine sonic character with the plethora of connection options, and you got yourself one mighty fine piece of hi-fi gear.
 
MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: Bryston DAC – Customer Feedback

December 2016

Dear all at Bryston,

A couple of weeks ago I bought a used Bryston DAC to pair with my new Meridian Media Core 200 and my well used Sugden Masterclass IA4 amp with Harbeth Monitor 30 speakers- yes, I live in England, a stones throw from where Beatles came from.

I would like to say that your DAC is truly fantastic in its music making and blends beautifully in my system.

Until now I was mainly listening on LPs, and disregarded CD replay-(A Naim CD player) - I am now enjoying digital music again.

I did try few DACs before and what I like the best about Bryston is, in my humble non-specialist opinion, the focus on the reproduction of music to a very high level without the audio fatigue, and the soundstage it produces. Well done and great work in producing this great equipment.

I do not buy Hi-fi equipment often, but in the future if I am looking to upgrade, Bryston is right up there in my list. Meanwhile, I will advise my hi-fi non-believer friends and colleagues to try one themselves to see the light.

Best wishes and Merry Christmas.

Dr Vinod Kumar Gowda
15 Floral Wood
Liverpool L17 7HR
 
Happy New Year James !

Just playing around with Bluerays via the Bda3...and I am amazed how superb the PCM layers sound ...Live concerts by Diana Krall, Christ Bottu and Jose Feliciano have a level of details, precision and intimacy, which is stunning...I dont miss the surround layers at all...really a bit surprise...

Cheers !
Tom
 
MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: Bryston BDA-3 – I was Floored!

January 2016

Bryston:

I received my BDA-3 yesterday.

Spent not much time setting it up, launched Audirvana on a Mac Mini and streamed in a DSD--and I was simply floored!

I followed it with CDs and SACDs--no matter, the sound was crystal clear, perfectly spatially separated and stable. I think I listened for six straight hours.

Of course the unit was feeding a BP-25 preamp and 4B SST amp, so it was going to sound good. It's much more though. It sounds GREAT.

Well done, all around. Bryston products are not cheap, but so worth it.


Regards,
Mark Dynarski
 
Hi Folks,

It’s always a feather in your cap when a reviewer purchases the review sample after their assessment.

BUT when TWO reviewers purchase a unit its exceptionally rare !!!

james


MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: Bryston BDA-3 DAC Review – UHF

February 2017

Hi Folks – nice feedback from a review to appear shortly from UHF Magazine on our new BDA-3 DAC.





“Hi Folks,

In the midst of listening sessions with the new Bryston BDA3 DAC.

We began the sessions with the unit you see here, the Bryston BDA-3. We had reviewed the BDA-2 in an earlier issue of UHF, and we can say that the third incarnation of this converter is a mighty leap forward. As usual, we don't give “stars” or other numerical ratings to products we review, because that would take away the nuances we strive to add to our reviews.

Suffice it to say that this is a very good product.

Well, we should possibly add one more nuance: we liked the BDA-3 enough to have purchased one for our reference system. And, to add one more nuance, one of our panelists, Albert Simon, bought one as well.

We're continuing our sessions.”

Gerard Resjkind[/
 
MEMO: To All Bryston Customers
SUBJECT: Bryston BDA – 3 Review – UHF Magazine

May 2017

logo.PNG

We've had a pause in our publishing schedule, not for the first time in our 35-year history. But we're getting the new issue put together. You can see the cover here.

What's more, there are changes afoot that will make it easier for us to put out the magazine more regularly. We'll be telling about that shortly.

Cover.JPG

The product on the cover, in front of the trees with their Spring buds, is the Bryston BDA-3 DAC, the new DAC from this famed Canadian manufacturer.

The older BDA-2 is still in the catalogue, but the new unit is worth waiting for. In point of fact we bought one ourselves.

There will be another Bryston product in our review lineup, the TF2 Moving-Coil Transformer .

Years ago (back in the 80's), Bryston was selling the TF1, a step-up transformer for moving-coil cartridges. We still own one, which we use to match a Goldring Excel cartridge to the Copland tube preamplifier that is at the heart of our Alpha reference system.

As analog seemed to be fading away, the TF1 was discontinued, though it lived on inside Bryston's own preamplifiers. But analog is back, obviously, and Bryston even makes turntables.

TF-2.JPG

We might add that making a step-up transformer is harder than it may seem, and in the intervening years, we've heard some duds (the Talisman and the YBA, notably). We're looking forward to hearing the TF2.


Gerard Rejskin,
UHF Magazine
 
Hi Folks,

I have a PDF of the Absolute Sound Review on the BDA-3 DAC. The review was written about a year ago but is now published.

Favourite Quote:

"Bryston’s BDA-3 DAC surpasses the high-value performance standard set by the BDA-2, enables inexpensive HDMI- equipped disc players to function as premium source components, and adds exceptionally engaging DSD playback to its potent mix of virtues.

I’ve already purchased the review sample"

Email me if you want a copy - [email protected]

james
 
Hi James,

I have now compared BDA-3 DAC and my 6-yr old BDA-1 DAC, at home. AES only.

I never imagined this -- my BDA-1 is veiled. After all these years, the added transparency and improved stage on BDA-3 have revealed my BDA-1 to be quite warm. One track was all I needed: Patricia Barber's Nardis, as a CD Rip in FLAC, played on my BDP-2 thru AES. The percussion and sheen of the metallic drum kit were much more present than with BDA-1.Also played other tracks, like Rudolf Serkin (piano) on Beethoven's Choral Fantasy 9Bernstein/NY Phil) -- there was a moment when a stool creaked on the left channel, very subtle, but audible on BDA-3 -- veiled on BDA-1.

I swear, one of the elves at Bryston must have installed a tube somewhere inside my BDA-1 as a prank!

Also, could you give me the names of the engineers who designed this BDA-3? I want to mention them on my audio website!

Well done!

Prof. Pete Nguyen
University of Alberta
 
It truly is a great DAC and in its price range it is very hard to beat. It take a SERIOUS step up in cost to get something that sounds better.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I have an Oppo 105D that I use for my digital front end. I generally listen to LP's, so I did not want to invest too much. Still, I went out and listen to a variety of dacs and sources but I never had a chance to listen to Bryston dacs. I am only familiar with their amps. My favourites (since studio days) were apogee and mytek pro converters but Oppo was very close sounding and was solving so many other issues for me. I went ahead and bought it. I still want to use it as transport for all my digital needs. (I still have apogee and motu pro converters at my home studio)

As far as I understand, I can connect my Oppo 105d via hdmi out to BDA-3 hdmi in and use the BDA's dac. What are the limitations here? Can I listen to DSD's like this, both SACD collection I have and the digital dsd files. If so, up to what resolution? Are there other, better ways to connect Oppo 105d to BDA-3?

Has anyone had the chance to listen to Oppo 105d with a BDA-3, what improvements I can expect?
 
kodomo said:
I have an Oppo 105D that I use for my digital front end. I generally listen to LP's, so I did not want to invest too much. Still, I went out and listen to a variety of dacs and sources but I never had a chance to listen to Bryston dacs. I am only familiar with their amps. My favourites (since studio days) were apogee and mytek pro converters but Oppo was very close sounding and was solving so many other issues for me. I went ahead and bought it. I still want to use it as transport for all my digital needs. (I still have apogee and motu pro converters at my home studio)

As far as I understand, I can connect my Oppo 105d via hdmi out to BDA-3 hdmi in and use the BDA's dac. What are the limitations here? Can I listen to DSD's like this, both SACD collection I have and the digital dsd files. If so, up to what resolution? Are there other, better ways to connect Oppo 105d to BDA-3?

Has anyone had the chance to listen to Oppo 105d with a BDA-3, what improvements I can expect?
Click to expand...

I took that upgrade path in a system. I had the Oppo 105D and connected it to the BDA-3. There was a distinct improvement. There was even more improvement when I added the BDP2 for my streamer. The biggest improvement was adding the Aurender n10 as my streamer to the BDA3 which was at the end before I sold it. the BDA3 is a fantastic DAC. The better signal you can feed it, the better it will sound.
 
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