Review and Measurements of Bryston BDA-2 DAC

[Angsty]

Wow - a BDA-2 that I was following on Ebay just sold for US $1,475 as a pre-owned "8/10" item. I just bought a brand new Topping D70s for less than half of that and there is no way you can convince me that the Bryston performs its job better. The Bryston has nicer case work (if you like their style) and a longer warranty (not the famous 20-year warranty, but 5 years on digital goods), but it simply cannot compare on merits.

I have been a Bryston proponent for more than 20 years - long enough for some of my units' warranties to run out. But I have to admit when something better has come along and Topping has got it. The Topping replaced the internal DAC in my BP-25DA that is at least 15 years old.

Yeah, as a Bryston fanboy, I might have bought the used BDA-2 for $500, but not for $1475. And now I have Bluetooth, remote control and MQA, to boot.

 

[Sal1950]

Bryston is great gear, no doubt about it but warranty length is simply a number. Build a product, figure in expected life expectancy and divide it's cost to warranty over X amount of years and you'll be making money no matter what.
What really bugs me is the hyper expensive high end gear that is only covered for a year or three.
Buy a $10,000 amp from Pass Labs and it's only warranty is 3 years, not including shipping to and from factory. Wonder what shipping a 100 lb amp both ways costs today.
BLAH

 

[Nango]

This thr is about Bryson, not Topping.

 

[restorer-john]

Buy a $10,000 amp from Pass Labs and it's only warranty is 3 years, not including shipping to and from factory. Wonder what shipping a 100 lb amp both ways costs today.

I can't believe Pass tries that crap on people. Whatever you buy in here, the retailer/importer has to pay for the freight both to and from the repair/replacement facility.

 

[Angsty]

This thr is about Bryson, not Topping.

It's meaningless to talk about the Bryston DAC without comparisons to some standards, whether they are electrical measurement standards or market (i.e. value) standards. In both cases, the Bryston BDA-2 has some deficiencies relative to comparable goods.

 

[Sal1950]

I can't believe Pass tries that crap on people. Whatever you buy in here, the retailer/importer has to pay for the freight both to and from the repair/replacement facility.

IMO, such an expensive component should have been built to a quality standard that the manufacturer should be comfortable offering a warranty with a very extended time period, such as Brystons 20 year with no shipping costs to the owner. David Manley offered a transferable lifetime warranty on my monoblock power amps, not to include tubes. (those were the good ole days).

 

[restorer-john]

It's meaningless to talk about the Bryston DAC without comparisons to some standards, whether they are electrical measurement standards or market (i.e. value) standards. In both cases, the Bryston BDA-2 has some deficiencies relative to comparable goods.

Putting Bryston and Topping in the same sentence is bad enough.

Bryston have a multi decade, superior reputation for excellent product, backed up by arguably the best warranty by anyone, ever. There is absolutely nothing with the Topping badge on it I would swap for anything from the Bryston stable.

 

[Angsty]

Putting Bryston and Topping in the same sentence is bad enough.

Bryston have a multi decade, superior reputation for excellent product, backed up by arguably the best warranty by anyone, ever. There is absolutely nothing with the Topping badge on it I would swap for anything from the Bryston stable.

As I said, I’m a Bryston fan and have been so for decades. But when it comes to digital gear, I don’t believe that all the traditional advantages of Bryston guarantee a lasting edge anymore. I own a 16 year-old Bryston DAC that works perfectly as it was designed 16 years or more years ago; that says a lot.

But I doubt that I will use a single DAC for more than 10 years again, so the Bryston premium may not be warranted because the capabilities will be eclipsed more quickly due to new formats and I/O methods. The BDA and BDP lines have evolved much more rapidly than the rest of the product lines.

My Topping sits cozily on my Bryston preamp, attached with balanced cables and sounding great. If I had purchased the used BDA-2 for 2.25x, I would have a great looking DAC that is functionally bulletproof, but has fewer features and lower measured performance.

 

[Sal1950]

Bryston have a multi decade, superior reputation for excellent product, backed up by arguably the best warranty by anyone, ever. There is absolutely nothing with the Topping badge on it I would swap for anything from the Bryston stable.

The price tags ???