AudioAficionado.org  

Go Back   AudioAficionado.org > Manufacturers Forums > Bryston Audio

Bryston Audio Unlimited, Unprecedented, Unequalled

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #11  
Old 08-07-2020, 01:00 AM
70sMac's Avatar
70sMac 70sMac is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: The Berkshires
Posts: 557
Arrow Great Support!

Quote:
Originally Posted by James Tanner - Bryston View Post
Hi Bill,

Yes you are fine with the CD's and DVD's etc. with the OPPO.

The computer side though needs some attention so I would look into getting a more up to date computer with ripping capability and rip your physical CD's to a USB hard-drive.

Then products like our 3.14 DAC/Streamer make sense in your system.

You do not need high speed internet to stream most music as it is highly compressed music so you should be Ok there as well.

james
James...... Thanks very much for getting back to the thread about this. I won't forget it. Have a great night!
__________________
Bill in the Hills

OUR VINTAGE MAC: MAC4100, MAC4200 | AMPS: MC452, MC300 | MAC PRE/PROS: MX151, MX130, MX121 | B&W SPEAKERS: (2) N802s, (2) N805s, (1) HTM3S | NEWER EQUIPMENT: Oppo 203 & 105D, Sony X800M2, Denon CDR-W1500 | VIDEO DISPLAY: 65" LG OLED | IMPORTANT NOTE: Zero High-speed internet connections
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 08-07-2020, 10:59 AM
Parabellum Parabellum is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Québec, Canada
Posts: 823
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by 70sMac View Post
Thank you for adding a great post to the thread, as well, Serge.

I see that you picked up on our USB 2.0 issue, but did you catch the part about not having civilized high-speed internet here? We live in the mountains, you see, and our little town government wants to keep us in the dial-up era. I know that it seems hard to believe, in this day and age, but the next town over -- which is much flatter, I admit -- has fiber optic transmission lines already installed.

Seriously, if we didn't have the smartphone hotspot signal provided by those satellites orbiting the planet, we would still be hearing a dial tone and, eventually, the phrase "You've got mail !" I mean, it's so ridiculuous that you gotta laugh about it.

Thanks again and I'd love to read more of your thoughts on this.

P.S. ~ it's great to know that there are others who've had the same kind of reticence on the forum.
Sorry Bill, I didn't pay attention to this part about the slow internet in your area. Then your best solution is to rip your CD collection to media files. For this task, I use dbpoweramp with the perfect tune option. I don't know if this piece of software is compatible on MAC so I will have to double-check to make sure. Probably there are good alternatives for MAC as well so this is to consider too.

In my previous post, I was saying that you can use your computer as playback device but I forgot to tell you why I chose the BDP for that task. In my case, I wanted to break free from the computer as I didn't want to sit in front of the computer to access my music library. Also, computers are prone to bugs and viruses and I didn't want any of this on my hi-fi system. Also, the BDP can be easily controlled with your phone or tablet via multiple apps. I personally use Rigelian on my iPhone. Starting from the BDP-2, you can install a SATA hard drive inside to store all your music library. It's the best playback quality you can get as you bypass USB conversion.

Either you choose the BDA-3 or BDA-3.14 DAC, both have 4 HDMI inputs. In my case this was the big selling point as it allowed me to integrate my hi-fi system with my projector and HDMI sources (TV box, game consoles, etc.). I don't care about 7.1 surround ATMOS yadda yadda as I am more a 2.0 purist guy. The BDA-3 is the swiss army knife in digital audio, and the "brain" of my audio chain. Did I say it sounds really good too? ;-)
__________________
Serge
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 08-07-2020, 04:32 PM
70sMac's Avatar
70sMac 70sMac is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: The Berkshires
Posts: 557
Thumbs up Thanks again

Serge..... UDP, UBP, BDP...I have to admit that keeping all of the acronyms I've seen on the AA forum straight is a bit of a chore for this old vet.

So I did a bit of reading about the Bryston BDP-2 and, quite frankly, the technical aspects made me eyes glaze over. Am I reading everything correctly? Is the BDP-2 a device that acts as a "middle man" between one's computer and a DAC? In other words, with the addition of a SATA HDD, does it store all of your music for playback through a DAC to a preamp to an amp?

I was also wondering if one could potentially use it with a Wi-Fi connection to "stream" and/or store audio to be used with the same playback "system" I described in the previous paragraph.

By the way, I just saw a photo of the rear panel of a Bryston BDP-3. As you may already know, it has ports of every kind back there... USB 2.0, USB 3.0, Coax, HDMI, Ethernet, RS-232 ... Hell, it even has a VGA port, which, thinking back to my computer science days at Rollins, should be for a video monitor. Do these things have an operating system on board?

As you can surely tell, I'm clueless about the connection between computer-type hardware and "digital" audio interface devices. Man, I'm just now learning about the melding of audio stereo equipment and video playback! The last time I spent much time on the AA forum, it was all about our Mac 2-channel analog audio. Now it's become discussions about how to get from digital audio/video back to analog. I'm not sure if I'm explaining my quandary effectively, but, if I am, I trust that you understand just how mind-blowing this is!

I'm not complaining, though. Even a mule gets pulled up the hill, eventually.

Thanks for adding to my continuing education ~ Bill
__________________
Bill in the Hills

OUR VINTAGE MAC: MAC4100, MAC4200 | AMPS: MC452, MC300 | MAC PRE/PROS: MX151, MX130, MX121 | B&W SPEAKERS: (2) N802s, (2) N805s, (1) HTM3S | NEWER EQUIPMENT: Oppo 203 & 105D, Sony X800M2, Denon CDR-W1500 | VIDEO DISPLAY: 65" LG OLED | IMPORTANT NOTE: Zero High-speed internet connections

Last edited by 70sMac; 08-07-2020 at 04:35 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 08-08-2020, 10:29 PM
John Jordan John Jordan is offline
Senior Member

 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 658
Default

Bill-

In the beginning, this whole digital music can be daunting to say the least. I think I can say we all or at least most of us have been there. The good news is that you are asking good questions in a good place and certainly are not SOL... So to continue the acronyms.

BDP is Bryston Digital Player. Think of it as a turntable or tape deck. Instead of a record or cassette, the music is on a solid state hard drive (SSD). BTW, a one TB drive can hold well over a 1000 (maybe 2) albums. Pretty cool for something about the size of a cassette.

A DAC is a Digital to Analog Converter. Think of it as a pre-amplifier of sorts. It allows the digital player's signal to do the "Vulcan Mind Melt" with your amplifier so you can hear music.

To answer you question, a BDP2 is the same as your computer. You can most certainly plug your MacBook into a DAC and then the DAC to your amp/preamp to hear music. A Sata HDD cannot be plugged directly into a DAC. You need a computer in-between. Be it you laptop or Digital Player. Bryston does have the BDA 3.14 that is a combination of a player and DAC. The HDD will plug into it.

A good beginning might be to use your MacBook connected to a DAC. You can rip CD's using iTunes and then output through a USB port or the headphone jack with a Toslink cable. Or before getting into a DAC, simply use the headphone jack as an analog stereo output. A patch cord going from the 3.5 sub miniature connection to stereo phono plugs plugged into an aux input of your pre-amp. Granted, not the best sound but it certainly will get you into the swing of things for little cash. Build form there.

So, for now I hope things are becoming a bit clearer. Take this in small bites, digest and continue to ask questions.
__________________
AKA J2Ordan
McIntosh/Legacy/VPI/Bricasti/Bryston/DIYCable

Last edited by John Jordan; 08-08-2020 at 10:32 PM. Reason: Typo
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 08-09-2020, 12:57 AM
70sMac's Avatar
70sMac 70sMac is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: The Berkshires
Posts: 557
Arrow Sound Advice

Quote:
Originally Posted by John Jordan View Post
Bill-
In the beginning, this whole digital music can be daunting to say the least. I think I can say we all or at least most of us have been there. The good news is that you are asking good questions in a good place and certainly are not SOL... So to continue the acronyms.
TDY, NRTS, RPG, IED and FUBAR ... Those are just a sampling of the military acronyms that I'm very familiar with and, yes, SOL fits in there very nicely, as well.

Quote:
Originally Posted by John Jordan View Post
BDP is Bryston Digital Player. Think of it as a turntable or tape deck. Instead of a record or cassette, the music is on a solid state hard drive (SSD). BTW, a one TB drive can hold well over a 1000 (maybe 2) albums. Pretty cool for something about the size of a cassette.
So a Bryston Digital Player (BDP) is an audio storage and playback device? If so, does Bryston sell them with Solid State Hard Drives (SSDs) installed in them? Yes, being able to store 1000+ albums on one piece of hardware is very cool, indeed.

Quote:
Originally Posted by John Jordan View Post
A DAC is a Digital to Analog Converter. Think of it as a pre-amplifier of sorts. It allows the digital player's signal to do the "Vulcan Mind Melt" with your amplifier so you can hear music.
Not to toot my own horn, far from it, but I was informed in another thread about the basics of DACs. When we purchased our Sony X800M2, for example, we quickly discovered that it could not be used with our Mac MX-130 Preamp/Control Center. The answer to this problem -- which was explained to me right here on the AAF -- was to turn the signal coming out of the X800M2's HDMI AUDIO OUT interface back into analog via a DAC.

Quote:
Originally Posted by John Jordan View Post
To answer you question, a BDP2 is the same as your computer. You can most certainly plug your MacBook into a DAC and then the DAC to your amp/preamp to hear music. A Sata HDD cannot be plugged directly into a DAC. You need a computer in-between. Be it you laptop or Digital Player. Bryston does have the BDA 3.14 that is a combination of a player and DAC. The HDD will plug into it.
Okay, so here's a term that's definitely begging for a bit more elaboration: "Digital Player." Would this concept be akin to an iPod? As silly as it probably seems, we never owned an iPod, but I know several people who do/did. The point here being that I understand that these small devices are used to store and playback -- ? via a headphone amp of some kind ? -- into a set of headphones or a car stereo system. Once again, we've never done this, but at least I think I have a small clue about the concept. By the way, I've been doing a bit of sniffing around the web regarding the BDA-3 DAC ... which, eventually, lead me to the BDA-Pi (BDA-3.14). In our present understanding, this device is becoming more and more attractive to us...

Quote:
Originally Posted by John Jordan View Post
A good beginning might be to use your MacBook connected to a DAC. You can rip CD's using iTunes and then output through a USB port or the headphone jack with a Toslink cable. Or before getting into a DAC, simply use the headphone jack as an analog stereo output. A patch cord going from the 3.5 sub miniature connection to stereo phono plugs plugged into an aux input of your pre-amp. Granted, not the best sound but it certainly will get you into the swing of things for little cash. Build form there.
This is pretty much exactly what I've been pondering. Using a MacBook Pro (MBP) to "RIP" and store audio on the MBP's HDD. From there, I was thinking about investing in a decent DAC of some kind and, now that I think that I'm getting some of this, sending the DAC's analog output signal to our MX-130 preamp ...which leads me back to the Digital Player (DP)... Does the DP portion of the Bryston BDA-3.14 serve the same purpose as iTunes? In other words, via a video interface, does the DP in a BDA-3.14 allow one to select and playback stored albums/songs/tracks, in this case, through it's DAC? ... and, by employing a decent DAC, we should be getting pretty decent sound into our Mac preamp-amp setup, aye?

Quote:
Originally Posted by John Jordan View Post
So, for now, I hope things are becoming a bit clearer. Take this in small bites, digest and continue to ask questions.
Not that I haven't received some great ones before, but this is one of the most informative posts I've read on the AAF, John ... and, yes ... small bites ... more sound advice. Thank you, sir.

P.S. - Sound Advice ... sounds a like a good name for an Audio/Video equipment chain, aye?
__________________
Bill in the Hills

OUR VINTAGE MAC: MAC4100, MAC4200 | AMPS: MC452, MC300 | MAC PRE/PROS: MX151, MX130, MX121 | B&W SPEAKERS: (2) N802s, (2) N805s, (1) HTM3S | NEWER EQUIPMENT: Oppo 203 & 105D, Sony X800M2, Denon CDR-W1500 | VIDEO DISPLAY: 65" LG OLED | IMPORTANT NOTE: Zero High-speed internet connections
Reply With Quote
  #16  
Old 08-09-2020, 02:49 PM
John Jordan John Jordan is offline
Senior Member

 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 658
Default

Bill-

The Bryston BDP3 stores audio and plays it back. Like a Juke box. It can come from the factory with a hard drive or you can add your own. Installing your own certainly gives more bang for the buck. I installed a 2TB SSD. You can also attach an external drive via USB. I have about 1200 or so ripped CD's in the AIFF format (totally uncompressed) taking up around 0.75 TB.

I am not familiar with your Sony but it appears it does not have a built in DAC. The Bryston BDA 3 has several HDMI inputs.

An iPod (and iPad) are digital players. My first venture into "computer audio" was to use $5 adapter from Radio Shack. It plugged into the iPod headphone jack and had two RCA jacks on then other side. Using RCA interconnects it plugged into an Aux input of my Mc C41 preamp of the time. Although not the best sound form the iPod DAC run through its amp, it got my feet wet. The music was also very compressed. Another topic.

The Bryston BDA 3.14 is pretty new. It combines the BDA 3 with a digital player. I haven't really studied its features; it appears to be a nice piece. Not sure how it compares to using a BDP 3 and BDA 3 but reviews seem favorable. The customer service at Bryston is outstanding and a call to them when you are ready would answer many questions specific to your system.

The digital player would be like your MacBook running iTunes but sound better. There is a Bryston interface that runs from any computer hooked to the internet. The DP would also need to be hooked to the internet via an Ethernet cord or an extender with an Ethernet to the Bryston.

A decent DAC and DP will give great sound. Enough to packing up your CD's after you rip them. I often think to sell my CD player but haven't quite got there yet. This despite the discs having been packed away in the basement since obtaining the BDP3 almost two years ago.

Continue your pursuit and enjoy the hunt. It's all pretty much painless and SNAFU free.
__________________
AKA J2Ordan
McIntosh/Legacy/VPI/Bricasti/Bryston/DIYCable

Last edited by John Jordan; 08-09-2020 at 02:51 PM. Reason: typo
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 08-11-2020, 12:34 AM
70sMac's Avatar
70sMac 70sMac is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: The Berkshires
Posts: 557
Default I think I'm making progress...

Quote:
Originally Posted by John Jordan View Post
Bill-

The Bryston BDP3 stores audio and plays it back. Like a Juke box. It can come from the factory with a hard drive or you can add your own. Installing your own certainly gives more bang for the buck. I installed a 2TB SSD. You can also attach an external drive via USB. I have about 1200 or so ripped CD's in the AIFF format (totally uncompressed) taking up around 0.75 TB.

I am not familiar with your Sony but it appears it does not have a built in DAC. The Bryston BDA 3 has several HDMI inputs.

An iPod (and iPad) are digital players. My first venture into "computer audio" was to use $5 adapter from Radio Shack. It plugged into the iPod headphone jack and had two RCA jacks on then other side. Using RCA interconnects it plugged into an Aux input of my Mc C41 preamp of the time. Although not the best sound form the iPod DAC run through its amp, it got my feet wet. The music was also very compressed. Another topic.

The Bryston BDA 3.14 is pretty new. It combines the BDA 3 with a digital player. I haven't really studied its features; it appears to be a nice piece. Not sure how it compares to using a BDP 3 and BDA 3 but reviews seem favorable. The customer service at Bryston is outstanding and a call to them when you are ready would answer many questions specific to your system.

The digital player would be like your MacBook running iTunes but sound better. There is a Bryston interface that runs from any computer hooked to the internet. The DP would also need to be hooked to the internet via an Ethernet cord or an extender with an Ethernet to the Bryston.

A decent DAC and DP will give great sound. Enough to packing up your CD's after you rip them. I often think to sell my CD player but haven't quite got there yet. This despite the discs having been packed away in the basement since obtaining the BDP3 almost two years ago.

Continue your pursuit and enjoy the hunt. It's all pretty much painless and SNAFU free.
Okay, John, considering your words on the uses of DACs and DPs, I think that this is a pursuit worth building toward. Thanks for all the words.

On another note, we received our new Oppo 203 today. After giving it an audio test with an SACD that I've been dying to hear -- Fresh Cream by Cream -- we're now ready to move it over the LG OLED and give it a try there. The problem with that, however, is that we don't yet own any 4K UHD Blu Ray discs. Regardless, the Oppo 203 sounds pretty sweet.

I did have another thought for you, though ... When it comes to ripping SACDs, is it possible to use the Oppo 203 as a source -- and get the full benefit of the SACD encoding. In other words, does the 203 have circuity on board that allows all of the SACD data to be recorded? If not, is there circuitry available for it that will allow one to get the full benefit of the improved recording technique off of the physical disc?
__________________
Bill in the Hills

OUR VINTAGE MAC: MAC4100, MAC4200 | AMPS: MC452, MC300 | MAC PRE/PROS: MX151, MX130, MX121 | B&W SPEAKERS: (2) N802s, (2) N805s, (1) HTM3S | NEWER EQUIPMENT: Oppo 203 & 105D, Sony X800M2, Denon CDR-W1500 | VIDEO DISPLAY: 65" LG OLED | IMPORTANT NOTE: Zero High-speed internet connections
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 08-11-2020, 08:05 AM
John Jordan John Jordan is offline
Senior Member

 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 658
Default

Bill-

Congratulations on the Oppo. While having no personal experience with one, it enjoys a great reputation. Looking on-line, it appears you can plug in a USB external drive and play audio files from it. So, you can rip some CD's with iTunes and you are good to begin.

Ripping SACD's is beyond my current pay grade. Not sure I even own any. However, a few months back, there was a discussion here in the AAF forum. Many well seasoned folks
weighed in with answers. Perhaps someone can chime in as to where this discussion is.

Cream is one of my all time favorite bands. Almost always a sucker when a new release is issued hoping for that last nuance of SQ. How is that SACD of Fresh?
__________________
AKA J2Ordan
McIntosh/Legacy/VPI/Bricasti/Bryston/DIYCable

Last edited by John Jordan; 08-11-2020 at 08:06 AM. Reason: proof read
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old 08-11-2020, 04:06 PM
70sMac's Avatar
70sMac 70sMac is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: The Berkshires
Posts: 557
Default Fresh Cream and other nonsense...

Quote:
Originally Posted by John Jordan View Post
Bill-

Congratulations on the Oppo. While having no personal experience with one, it enjoys a great reputation. Looking on-line, it appears you can plug in a USB external drive and play audio files from it. So, you can rip some CD's with iTunes and you are good to begin.

Ripping SACD's is beyond my current pay grade. Not sure I even own any. However, a few months back, there was a discussion here in the AAF forum. Many well seasoned folks
weighed in with answers. Perhaps someone can chime in as to where this discussion is.

Cream is one of my all time favorite bands. Almost always a sucker when a new release is issued hoping for that last nuance of SQ. How is that SACD of Fresh?
John..... I don't mean to come off as some kind of half-arse Lester Bangs, but I, too, don't believe in going softly on musicians. Clapton, for all his undeniable talent, was one of those guys that had to be accompanied by other great musicians to draw the best out of him. If you sit down and [really] watch the documentary, "Life In 12 Bars," for example, you'll see that the guy had some real problems and, until he was tied down to a group project, he was all over the place. There's a version of "High" used in that documentary that still gives me goose bumps, but the point is that he was working with other great talent(s) when that song was first created; namely, the Derek and the Dominos (DATD) ensemble.

YouTube (YT) doesn't come close to doing it justice, but you can hear the version I'm referring to on YT now -- I'll provide a link at the end of this post -- but I can't help but think about what could've been if he had gotten it together sooner than he did...

By the time he was sweating it out in my home state (FL), he was fresh off of a three-year drug binge. In keeping with my point about having to be matched with other talented musicians, here's an excerpt taken from an article about the production of 461 Ocean Boulevard (in early '74):

"....When the time came to record the new album, Clapton was worried about both its commercial and artistic success, noting his concept of a new album would work only when there was chemistry between the musicians. Clapton also hired guest vocalist Yvonne Elliman and guitarist George Terry as full-time members of his group...."

Anyway, the SACD version of Fresh Cream sounds pretty good. Does it sound better than my "redbook" version of Plant's 'Now and Zen,'? No, but there's 22 years of audio recording engineering between those two wonderful albums. In short, and at the risk of "borrowing" a bit of another poster's thoughts, I've come to the conclusion that the only true way to determine if one format sounds better than the other is to listen to the same album in two different formats...so maybe a redbook version of Fresh Cream is in order, aye?

By the way, the SACD I'm referring to includes mono versions of every song -- including versions of five of the twelve original Fresh Cream tracks that were taken off of a French EP. The French mono version of I'm So Glad is particularly interesting. In closing, there are (32) tracks on the Fresh Cream SACD.

CLICK HERE FOR THE DATD ERA VERSION OF 'HIGH'
__________________
Bill in the Hills

OUR VINTAGE MAC: MAC4100, MAC4200 | AMPS: MC452, MC300 | MAC PRE/PROS: MX151, MX130, MX121 | B&W SPEAKERS: (2) N802s, (2) N805s, (1) HTM3S | NEWER EQUIPMENT: Oppo 203 & 105D, Sony X800M2, Denon CDR-W1500 | VIDEO DISPLAY: 65" LG OLED | IMPORTANT NOTE: Zero High-speed internet connections

Last edited by 70sMac; 08-12-2020 at 12:30 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #20  
Old 08-13-2020, 03:41 PM
70sMac's Avatar
70sMac 70sMac is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: The Berkshires
Posts: 557
Question Question for James Tanner

James T..... Do you think it would be a good idea to call Bryston and talk to someone in sales about what I [seem to] know as a preamp/processor to fit our needs?
__________________
Bill in the Hills

OUR VINTAGE MAC: MAC4100, MAC4200 | AMPS: MC452, MC300 | MAC PRE/PROS: MX151, MX130, MX121 | B&W SPEAKERS: (2) N802s, (2) N805s, (1) HTM3S | NEWER EQUIPMENT: Oppo 203 & 105D, Sony X800M2, Denon CDR-W1500 | VIDEO DISPLAY: 65" LG OLED | IMPORTANT NOTE: Zero High-speed internet connections
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Audioaficionado.org tested by Norton Internet Security

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 06:49 AM.



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.10
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
©Copyright 2009-2023 AudioAficionado.org.Privately owned, All Rights Reserved.
Audio Aficionado Sponsors
AudioAficionado Subscriber
AudioAficionado Subscriber
Inspire By Dennis Had
Inspire By Dennis Had
Harmonic Resolution Systems
Harmonic Resolution Systems
Wyred4Sound
Wyred4Sound
Dragonfire Acoustics
Dragonfire Acoustics
GIK Acoustics
GIK Acoustics
Esoteric
Esoteric
AC Infinity
AC Infinity
JL Audio
JL Audio
Add Powr
Add Powr
Accuphase - Soulution
Accuphase - Soulution
Audio by E
Audio by E
Canton
Canton
Bryston
Bryston
WireWorld Cables
WireWorld Cables
Stillpoints
Stillpoints
Bricasti Design
Bricasti Design
Furutech
Furutech
Shunyata Research
Shunyata Research
Legend Audio & Video
Legend Audio & Video