[MacedonianHero]

MH, I don't suppose you've heard the Auralic Vega? Upgrading DAC soon, and the Bryston is very high on the shortlist right now with the Vega and a couple of others. If you (or anyone) else has ears-on experience with both I'd love to hear of it. It looks to me like I'd be paying a premium for some features I won't use (DXD/DSD), and while I like the reassurance of some more future proofing, if the sound improvement simply isn't there I'd rather pocket the price difference to possibly put toward a Chord Hugo for portable use.

Sorry I haven't heard the Vega, but I can say that the BDA-2 seriously brings it!

 

[NZtechfreak]

I'll probably have a chance to audition both together into a Taurus when I'm in Melbourne in about a months time, only problem is that I'm really not a patient guy when it comes to this stuff!

 

[MacedonianHero]

I'll probably have a chance to audition both together into a Taurus when I'm in Melbourne in about a months time, only problem is that I'm really not a patient guy when it comes to this stuff!

LoL, me neither. But at times, my impatience has cost me $.

 

[NZtechfreak]

Oh me too, just hasn't bit me badly enough to teach me a lesson.

I must say that for its priceerformance ratio this DAC looks criminally unappreciated.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Oh me too, just hasn't bit me badly enough to teach me a lesson.

I must say that for its priceerformance ratio this DAC looks criminally unappreciated.

Maybe here...but not with the speaker folks.

 

[seb7]

  Maybe here...but not with the speaker folks.

 
Speaking of (heh)...
 
I have read some reviews that mention the soundstage of the BDA-2 might sound 'recessed' or more distant to some..I guess it puts it at the plane of the speakers but goes back deep from there. Just curious if you notice this and how/if this phenomenon affects the presentation on headphones.

 

[MacedonianHero]

   
Speaking of (heh)...
 
I have read some reviews that mention the soundstage of the BDA-2 might sound 'recessed' or more distant to some..I guess it puts it at the plane of the speakers but goes back deep from there. Just curious if you notice this and how/if this phenomenon affects the presentation on headphones.

 
I find the soundstage outstanding next to the W4S DAC-2, PWD2 and M51. It did sound fairly close to the PWD2 in that regard. The Absolute Sound's review of the BDA-2 was very well written and I share a lot of their sentiments. As well Stereophile rated it a Class A product. So the speaker folks certainly know what's going on.
 
Not sure what recessed soundstage is? 

 It's either expansive, kinda in the middle or collapsed.

 

[music_man]

it "looks" like the bda-1 has a better power supply. I am guessing the bda-2 still sounds better? does it make a difference if only using pcm on coax? I figured I could save $400 if I am right.

 

[aive]

The Absolute Sound review mentioned that USB was weaker compared with the other inputs...

 

[MacedonianHero]

  it "looks" like the bda-1 has a better power supply. I am guessing the bda-2 still sounds better? does it make a difference if only using pcm on coax? I figured I could save $400 if I am right.

Actually I think the analog section (and PS) are pretty much the same. The biggest difference is the digital section (the BDA-2 went with the top flight AKM DAC chipsets) and the USB is finally fixed. I would have bought the BDA-1 years ago had the USB implementation been half descent (but sadly that was it's weakest link by far). The BDA-2's USB is awesome and when coupled with Audinirvana on my iMac, I find rarely reaching for CDs.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Just noticed on the new March edition of TheAbsoluteSound that the BDA-2 won an award for 2014 for DACs under $3k. 

 

[Dave74]

  Just noticed on the new March edition of TheAbsoluteSound that the BDA-2 won an award for 2014 for DACs under $3k. 

Good to hear.  I am planning on making this my next dac  but I am going to have to save for a little while first... Too much money spent on headphone gear in the past two months  Do you think it will be a noticeable improvement over my Audiolab M-DAC?  I really like my BHA-1, I find it was big upgrade over my Lyr.

 

[MacedonianHero]

  Good to hear.  I am planning on making this my next dac  but I am going to have to save for a little while first... Too much money spent on headphone gear in the past two months  Do you think it will be a noticeable improvement over my Audiolab M-DAC?  I really like my BHA-1, I find it was big upgrade over my Lyr.

Sorry, I haven't heard the M-DAC. But the improvements over the W4S DAC-2 were well worth it IMO. 

 

[Dave74]

  Sorry, I haven't heard the M-DAC. But the improvements over the W4S DAC-2 were well worth it IMO. 

Thank You.  It looks like the W4S DAC-2 uses the same Sabre ES9018 chip that the M-DAC does, plus the W4S seems to be very well reviewed so that is a good reference point.  I'm probably not going to buy it until at least this summer though as I promised my wife I would by her a new camera which will probably cost around the same as the BDA-2.  If I keep the wife happy then she doesn't complain as much when I buy HP gear lol.

 

[MacedonianHero]

  Thank You.  It looks like the W4S DAC-2 uses the same Sabre ES9018 chip that the M-DAC does, plus the W4S seems to be very well reviewed so that is a good reference point.  I'm probably not going to buy it until at least this summer though as I promised my wife I would by her a new camera which will probably cost around the same as the BDA-2.  If I keep the wife happy then she doesn't complain as much when I buy HP gear lol.

That's always the trick!