Alpha DAC vs Bryston BDA-1

[xjeep]

This question is for Chris Connaker since he is the only person who im aware of so far that has heard both DACs... (ALPHA DAC, BRYSTON BDA-1)

 

Chris Im a currently a little puzzled right now in choosing which DAC to purchase...

 

I Dont want to go into to much detail right now about all the details i heard about both, i will just give my general knowledge from what ive heard...

 

I know you personally use the ALPHA, i know its a killer DAC... But i Heard the same about the Bryston. I understand they are both in different price range, both both exceed there price range dramatically... To give examples. Ive read reviews on the Alpha stating how its a $5000usd DAC that can perform as well as the $10000usd Dacs. These are from reviewers i trust and respect. Plus ive also heard the same of the Bryston, it being a $3000 Dac that plays as well as the $5000-6000usd DACS...

 

Now so far it seems pretty straight forward, the ALPHA DAC has to be better, if it performs with the big boys in the 10k range...

 

But i guess my questions is, just how much better is it than the BRYSTON? What does it do better and what might the BRYSTON to better than the ALPHA?

 

I was not puzzled by the two until i read in your CASH list when you made the comment "If I didn't own my beloved Alpha DAC I would have purchased the review sample (BRYSTON BDA-1) in a heartbeat, and had $3k left over for music! $1995"... This comment makes me think that the two must sound similar in sound and value... But from what ive read from other reviews logic dictates that although the BRYSTON is a killer DAC it cant be in the same league as the ALPHA, if only do to the simply fact more than one reviewer said it can play with the big boys in the 10k range.

 

Chris from the best of your memory can you give us a simple or extensive A/B comparison between the two... head to head match i guess you can call it... lol And yes i understand since you dont have both on hand, you will have to do it from memory...

 

Thanks Cam

 

 

 

[icebreaker]

Bryston BDA-1 is only $2000 not $3000 USD. If it sounds like I'm being picky all I have to say is that a thousand dollars buys alot more DAC in that price range. Ex. Weiss DAC2 @ 3 grand. To me Weiss is much better.

 

Chris wrote: "If I didn't own my beloved Alpha DAC I would have purchased the review sample (BRYSTON BDA-1) in a heartbeat, and had $3k left over for music! $1995"

 

Just shows how subjective listening tests can be. And system dependent. I heard the BDA 1 through the $900 Lynx Aes 16 sound card and then through an inexpensive M- Audio card @ $150. Sometimes the BDA sounded better on the "cheap" M Audio card than the Lynx depending on the music selection. Why I don't know.

Does that mean the cheap M Audio card/ Bryston DAC is as good as the Alpha DAC combo that Chris was listening to in his comparison? I sincerely doubt it.

IIRC, I believe Chris was using the Lynx/ Alpha and Lynx/ Bryston BDA in his setup that he was raving about.

 

System I heard was Mac Pro iTunes ( no Amarra), Bryston BDA-1 DAC, Bryston pre, Bryston monoblocks into PMC IB2i. ( Not mine tho I wish!)

 

 

[xjeep]

OOPS MY BAD...$2000

 

Well its true its all in the ears also... we are all sensitive in different ways...

 

At no point did i ever think the BRYSTON was as good, but im more interesting in just how much better the Alpha is... is it a huge difference? And what does the Alpha do better?

 

And why was he second guessing his purchase of the Alpha when he heard the Bryston?

 

Thanks for your input James

 

Cam

 

[icebreaker]

just the Weiss DAc2 and Bryston BDA1 in different systems on separate occasions. On that basis I felt the Weiss DAC2 was better.

 

Edit: Sorry, I missed "This question is for Chris Connaker since he is the only person who im aware of so far that has heard both DACs... (ALPHA DAC, BRYSTON BDA-1)"

 

Cheers,

 

[xjeep]

All input is appreciated... The fact you heard the Bryston you have experience reason to reply bud...

 

 

 

[bmckenney]

Cam, are you seriously considering one or the other? If you can afford a BADA why even bother thinking about how a Bryston compares? This seems whacked out to me. If I had BADA money, I'd want to know how it compares with the others in that price range.

 

Or I'd bring in a couple of $2K DACs for the price of the BADA and audition them to see which one floats your boat and sell the loser for not much of a loss. A small price to pay for being able to solve the synergy puzzle in person. I wager big bank that a synergistically matched $2K DAC would sound better than an averagely matched $5K DAC.

 

Bryan

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Cam - I think you've misunderstood my comments, or maybe they need a bit more clarification :~) In no way was I second guessing my purchase of the Alpha DAC. What I meant was if I did not have an Alpha DAC I would have purchased the BDA-1. Also, if I couldn't afford an Alpha DAC I would pick up the BDA-1. As I said in the review of the BDA-1, I like the Alpha better. I really can't put a quantifiable number or percentage on how much better I believe the Alpha is. I'm sure some people have the opposite opinion. I recommend looking at the features of both because they are different and can make the decision between the two DACs fairly easy.

 

[xjeep]

i was not comparing them in a sense that i thought they were close to the same, i was more concerned about how much gain in performance i would get from the Alpha or the Bryston... I would like to keep the cost down, but im willing to spend more on the Alpha if its dramaticly better... if its not dramatic, then i would look at spending less on the Bryston... aND When i say Dramatic i mean DRAMATIC as in are the reviews i read true that the ALPHA competes with DACS in the 10k range?

 

I guess i got rambling a bit and was not direct enough in my post...

 

Point being, i can muster the money for a 5k DAC, but would rather not, unless the Gain is substantial...

 

thanks for your input Brian

 

Cam

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Cam - I have a feeling you're going to have to listen to both yourself. "Dramatic" is pretty subjective and each of us has our own definition of dramatic. Since you used ALL CAPS to write the word DRAMATIC I'm willing to bet you want a night and day difference that anyone can notice.

 

[xjeep]

thanks for your reply Chris

 

I didnt actually come across your review on the Bryston, i will read it now... But i did read other reviews and i know it won DAC of the year buy WHATS HIFI...

 

To be honest i dont even know why im doubting my decision to by the DAC after everything i know about it. I guess its because there is no possible way i can hear it for myself and its kinda frustrating, so i guess its giving me doubts... But on the other hand every review i read was AMAZING! And by reviewers i trust. And when i looked up the Guys who Engineered it, they are all guys with long backgrounds in the industry with highly highly reputable companies...

 

And another big selling feature the ALPHA has that caught my eye and shows great value all on its own, would be the DACS digital preamp... since i dont listen to vinyle, i dont need a preamp with this DAC anymore, save lots of money etc... I read the digital preamp is highly reviewed itself... and is great at getting out of the way of the signal....

 

If you guys are wondering the system im trying to set up. It would be as followed...

 

Source::: Music Server with ALPHA DAC

 

Digital interconnect::: unsure right now, but maybe something by ANALYSIS PLUS CABLES, or LOSSLESS AUDIO

 

No preamp::: (since the ALPHA has a great digital built in)

 

Power Amps::: a pair of BRYSTON 2SST2 either each biamping a single speaker in dual mono mode, Or each bridged into Mono powering each speaker... I will try both configurations to find out which will sound best. I currently own both Amps

 

SPEAKER CABLE::: ANALYSIS PLUS Solo Crystal Oval 8 BiWire (4 feet each)

 

SUB CABLE::: ANALYSIS PLUS 2M Oval One

 

SPEAKERS::: I currently have Quad 12L2 with matching QuadL SUB, but i most likely will replace them with either towers or higher quality standmount and move the Quads into another room... Im looking into replacing the Quads with the Monitor Audio PL 100 and thats because i was offered the chance to get them at cost... Im not really in a rush to replace the Quads.

 

Anyways to sum it up, i might just be getting paranoid to make such a large investment on a product i never heard...

 

thanks

 

Cam

 

P.S Yes thanks for wording it that way...Yes Night and Day. In your opinion did you think the Alpha was night and day better than the Bryston?

 

I know its subjective, but im trying to get a better handle, before settling on the budget...

 

[bmckenney]

Cam, one thing I'd be considering is what DAC I'm replacing. If it's a sub $1K DAC, then I'd be thinking I could be pretty happy with a $2K DAC with the right connections and jitter reduction. And not even care what that $5K DAC sounded like.

 

And the other thing I'd want to be really honest about is how good my system is. Including the room acoustics. If my room is a living room with less than ideal speaker placement, and no room treatment such as bass traps, then I really doubt I would realize the benefits of higher and higher levels of DACs. Even if the rest of the "equipment" was expensive stuff.

 

I have found that my system which has uncompromising, ideal speaker placement, room treatment, and good AC conditioning, sounds superb with a $300 Oppo DVD player which is my standby source which I'm using while waiting to finalize a new music server system. I am quite certain it probably sounds better than some less than ideal systems that have $10K DACs in them. So what does that mean? It means a $2K Bryston would be superb for me. It also means I could probably also objectively understand the differences between the Bryston and a BADA, and I'd find the differences to be DRAMATIC. If you have that kind of overall system and room, and $5K to burn, I'd go for the BADA. If not, I wouldn't bother.

 

Bryan

 

[Andrew S.]

Yup the room is the thing - get that right first IMHO. It can save alot of money.

I mucked around for years doing DIY room treatments. Finally paid a professional acoustician. Wish I had done it ages ago.

 

Oh and have a look at the Havana thread - I posted a nice quote there from Jules Coleman about system matching. Bryston or Alpha? Listen to both in your system and see what you think.

 

Cheers

Andrew

 

[icebreaker]

Room acoustics are the most important component in a sound system. Even more important than the source. No. 2 in my rating followed by speakers.

Bad acoustics can make a $20,000 set up sound like the demo of a $350 surround sound system at Best Buy.

 

But I also made the mistake of going too far in the other direction. I overly treated my room with acoustic panels. I added too much isolation/vibration absorption to my amps, CD players, etc. I didn't realize I had slowly sucked the life out of my system.

 

Hopefully, I'm close to the right balance now.

 

[bmckenney]

James, just for fun, what's your top 5 list in sequence?

 

Mine is:

 

1. Speaker Placement

2. Speaker type/model, synergy with room and amp

3. Room acoustic treatment

4. AC power

5. Source

 

1, 2 and 3 might be reordered if I thought about it again. But all three are related to the speaker and room. The other priority in my list that I didn't mention would be overall synergy of the system. But it could be applied across the board to each, so more of a holistic assumption.

 

[Audio_ELF]

Like any piece of audio equipment ... there are differences that only you can decide if one is better than the other ...

 

If you read one of several threads here; you'd think that there was nothing better than the Metric Halo ULN8 (or Sonic Studio's equivilent) but (IIRC) Chris has publically stated that he still prefers the BADA. Also at the price range (between Bryston and BADA) there is a lot of alternatives as well that if you're spending that kind of money you really should try to get out and listen to. At that price you could look at things such as the new Naim DAC and Chord's QBD76 to name just two, along with Weiss DAC2, possibly their new DAC202 and others.

 

As you say, it's a very subjective situation and you really need to listen to the DACs in your own system and your own listening room. Other people's thoughts are useful, but only worth a little more than the pixels they are written with.

 

Eloise

 

[mikechai]

Wow better stop this guy now!