Two i have in mind are the nad m51 and the bryston bda2. The first thing i noticed on the bryston was that the bass is fatter and more upfront, which kind of surprised me as i wasnt expecting bass to be more thumpy. The other is the bryston bda 2, has all the detail of the nad, but more air, warmth, and expansive stage. Transform your home audio system into a wireless audio system with the mb50 streaming audio player. While brystons bda2 is an excellent dac, its the kind of product thats revealing of whats on the recording and wont pretty it up for you. The bryston bda2 is a state of the art external stereo dac digital to analog converter which delivers superb sonic performance through resampling and reclocking of the digital input signal. The model 11b is a basic signal preamplifier with switching facilities for all the sources likely to be used by even the most elaborate domestic sound system, including dubbing capability for two tape recorders, and the convenience of recording from any source while simultaneously listening to any other through the speakers. I had originally tried this dac a little while ago and compared it to the nad m51 in the boutique i work at. Experiences with nad m51 dac audiogon discussion forum.
The bda2 incorporates a new asynchronous usb input capable of 19224bit resolution. The nad s display reported that the sooloos was sending the correct 96khz stream across, and the hdmi from the oppo was also running at 96khz. One is mytek, which sounds good, but is not user friendly to me. I am also a fan of the bryston bda2, if you decide that dsd is not essential. Switching to a wav version of kanye wests monster is a bit disappointing. Best music i heard was some tracks from otmar liebert, the imaging was amazing. It improves upon the bda 1 in distortion, and adds an asynchronous usb input to be used for playing music with a digital output to the dac. In a clever touch, the web interface of brystons bdp series of music players automatically detects a networked bda3 and displays a convenient link to the dac on the bdp home page. It also improves on its predecessors feature set by having four hdmi inputs that allow dsd bitstreaming and two asynchronous usb inputs.
Review by ron nagle if you love music and yearned for something you never could afford there is a good chance are you are an audiophile. Apples macintosh operating system natively supports usb audio class 2 devices such as the bda 2 in versions 10. With excellent dynamic snap, astoundingly full and fit bass, and plenty of resolution revealing of the most your recordings have to offer, brystons dynamic duo pack a lot of musical punch. With the 3 coming out shortly, you should be able to grab one secondhand at a good price. Bryston bda3 digital to analog converter galen carol. Whereas the bda2 supported pcm up through 24192, the bda3 supports pcm up through 32384. M51 direct digital dac is another excellent product that exemplifies nads. Nad m51 direct digital dac impressions page 3 headphone.
The bryston bda3 digital to analog converter is packed to the gills with features, yet it offers nothing superfluous. I currently have an audiolab mdac plus dac playing tidal via a sonos connect via coaxial. The nad m51 is a good sounding dacdigital preamp especially for the moneyits hard. The bryston bda3 is a worldclass dac digital to analog converter that is packed with the perfect mix of features making it an essential part of your digital audio chain. Bryston bha1 headphone amplifier the bryston bha1 is one. The bryston bda3 greatly contributed to the conclusions in that post. For the audiophile wanting to deploy possibly unlicensed signal splitters, choices of dacs are few. In terms of looks, the newer components are almost the same as the. Microsoft windows users need to install the driver supplied by bryston on a usb key literally the usb stick resembles a metal key. Naim dac vs dac magic vs bryston bda1 page 2 avforums. Been happy with my bryston bda1, but wondering if the bda2 or bda3 have improved sound quality over the bda1. While bryston s bda 2 is an excellent dac, its the kind of product thats revealing of whats on the recording and wont pretty it up for you. Here is a short video on the bryston 4b cubed power amp and bryston bda3 dac.
Compared to the nad m51, the ayre had slightly greater punch and better dynamic edges. At 384 khz 32 bit, digital is fully competitive with vinyl. The bryston bda 2 would be great if you can find a used one at the right price and the bda 1 was great though a bit dated. Like several of the newer dacs on the market, the bryston bda1 includes a usb socket for connection to a desktop or laptop computer, potentially turning a cheap bit of consumer electronics into a. Used as a line source in place of parasounds halo jc 2 preamp, the bricasti. The bryston bda3 is an exceptionally transparent piece of audio gear. The bryston bda2 would be great if you can find a used one at the right price and the.
I played a neil young dvda in the oppo via hdmi, and the nad m51 displayed the correct 176. Of course both products feature brystons venerable discrete class a analog output circuitry, rather than offtheshelf ic opamps. The use of the nad usb audio driver downloaded through the nad site. The bryston bda3 is a world class dac digital to analog converter that is packed with the perfect mix of features making it an essential part of your digital audio chain. I should have added that i have my 103d going into a nad m51 dac. I listened to some maroon 5 which must have been a horrible recording, i had to pull the headphones off because the recording was so bad. Sound quality of a bryston bda1 vs the bda2 or bda3. Enjoy the s takes a closer look at the bryston bdp2 digital player, bda2 external dac, b5 sst 2 integrated amplifier and bha1 balanced headphone amplifier. The bda3 is the highest resolution dac by bryston to date and it adds dsd playback to its repertoire. Bryston bda2 digitaltoanalog converter the absolute sound.
The upgrade company bryston bda1 external stereo dac. Last year, they launched the bdp2 and bda2 which were meant to complement rather than replace the older components. The bryston bda1 is a stateoftheart external stereo dac digital to analog converter using fully discrete classa proprietary bryston analog circuits, two independent linear power supplies and dual crystal cs4398 dac chips. Downloads forum contact us remote support my bryston. The first bryston dac to offer dsd compatibility, the bda 3 supports the sacd. Bryston provides a driver for windows systems and a useful guide on set up in the manual, i used the dac with both a melco n1a digital transport and a cad cat windows based computer running jriver and jplaystreamer, this proved easy to set up with the bda3 once i had the driver. The bda1 features an impressive array of inputs for usb, coax, optical, aesebu and bnc equipped digital devices. The two independent dac chips used in the bda1 are the crystal cs4398.
System was a bdp2 to bda3 combination, then fed into a highend headphone amp and headphones. If you can snag one bda2 chase, i would be very interested in your findings. But the reason i bought the bda2 is that ive heard it in my home and it did bring my dynamic and electrostatic rigs to the next level. So, for now, the bulk of material played on these brystons is likely to be no better than 16bit44. So i am probably looking at adding either the bryston bda 3 or nad m51 to my existing system fed by sonos connect or similar for streaming and i guess a dedicated laptop for cd files. Looks like the dac has been designed to cater to the latest trends in the cas market. Bryston show hdmi bda3, roon ready bdp2 at ces 2016. Mcintosh mb50 streamer dac for sale canuck audio mart. The bryston bda2 is a stateoftheart external stereo d to a converter using fully discrete analog classa proprietary bryston analog circuits, two independent analog and digital linear power supplies and dual akm 32bit dacs. The bda2 also utilizes a new asynchronous usb input capable of 19224bit resolution. The bda 2 supports high resolution pcm from your choice of sources including disc players, servers, and streaming systems and converts it to ultra clean analog audio. The bryston digital duo of the bdp2 and bda2 offered up a rock solid and revealing presentation. Greatest bits digital to analog converters audiostream.
Bryston bha1 headphone amplifier the bryston bha1 is one heckova highend class a headphone amplifier. The bryston bda2 would be great if you can find a used one at the right price and the bda1 was great though a bit dated. To purchase bda1 spares or accessories, please contact the company via their website or visit an authorised retailer. Before i give you my impression between the bryston bda 2 and nad m51, i want to clearly state that theyre both equally winners, but also significantly different. I know theres been a bit of debate on this so i thought some of you would be interested to hear what i find. The bda1 is an excellent dac and will produce great results provided your source and source material is. However, i have found 2 others around that price range that i liked better. I ultimately chose the nad for its features and for its. Based on what you described, the answer to your question is pretty easy. This website is not affiliated with or sponsored by. I use a seriously modified oppo bdp 95 for 2,5 years and it was very good. This is a high end streamer with a very small price. It builds on the already impressive performance of the previous generation bda2 and bests its measured performance in most respects. Can any owners of bryston bdas share their listening experiences.
Use diverse audio sources such as brystons bdp digital music players, computers, music servers, and cd players to. Whereas the bda1 utilized a pair of timetested 24bit crystal cs4398 dacs, one per channel in a dualdifferential configuration, the bda2 has been upgraded with the latest topoftheline 32bit akm 4399 dacs. The nads display reported that the sooloos was sending the correct 96khz stream across, and the hdmi from the oppo was also running at 96khz. This website is not affiliated with or sponsored by bryston. With excellent dynamic snap, astoundingly full and fit bass, and plenty of resolution revealing of the most your recordings have to. It improves upon the bda1 in distortion, and adds an asynchronous usb input to be used for playing music with a digital output to the dac.
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