Review and Measurements of Bryston BDA-2 DAC

[JJB70]

This is just my own personal preference but I'm more attracted by build quality than SQ. Don't get me wrong, hifi gear has to sound good, but I find that it is harder to find an amplifier, CD player, DAC etc that doesn't sound fine provided the amp is well specified for the speakers. Get a great recording and some good well set up speakers and SQ is pretty much sorted. I just bought an all in one lifestyle system (oh the horror....) which performs fine. Great quality build however is harder to get and once you get properly high quality gear then why change it? And I don't think good build quality necessarily means expensive (though it might, not all that is expensive is well made but genuine quality may not have to cost a lot), in the 80's and early 90's a lot of entry level Sony, Pioneer, Yamaha etc gear was better built than expensive boutique gear. Hence why I bought a lifestyle system as a replacement working hifi for the lounge while I keep my nearly 30 years old Sony ES gear as my real hifi passion.

 

[amirm]

FYI the owner sold this unit in a single day! There is good demand for this brand/product. He had bought it used and I think got the same money back.

 

[Jimster480]

its nice that it avoids disappointment here. With that being said it is still alot of coin for something that doesn't beat a Topping D50 for ~10% of the price.

 

[AudioEnthusiast]

Bryston (is Chris Russell still part of the org?) began, as I remember, building basic, no nonsense gear that, like Mac, would likely last 'forever'.

He is still there. He’s answered some of my questions via email. I bought a BDA-3.14 streamer/DAC.

Bryston actually got started building medical equipment.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

That's why their prices are so high

 

[Vintage57]

Bryston is great value for the money, well engineered, reliable and very clean sounding. If I don't hear my electronics I'm happy.

Very reliable and with a 20 year warranty on analog equipment that is fully transferrable, regardless of how many owners. Then they offer 5 years on digital
There is no other company that has the gonads to warranty their product as long. Most don't have the decency to make the short warranty they offer, transferable to a subsequent owner.

I have a Bryston SP3 for my HT, a BP26, BDP-3 and a BDA-2, they are all great products.

I've used Bryston since the 80's when I had racks, 12 or 16 if I recall, of the 4B's in an entertainment lounge I owned and they were and are bulletproof.

What is the price of that to anyone is their decision to make but say "their prices are so high" is nonsense. High compared to what?

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

I guess like Electrolux. I can buy a new one every year during their warranty.

 

[Sal1950]

Bryston is great value for the money, well engineered, reliable and very clean sounding.

Bryston is great gear, no argument, but I'd debate on "great value for the money". Your paying for that warranty and paying a lot. Warranty's are just a matter of dollars, get some idea on "hours before failure" can be expected from any design then do the math on the cost of probable repair support over a 5, 10, 20 year span. VTL offered a lifetime warranty on its amps (minus tubes and switches) back in the 90s. Long spans are good marketing but mean very little beyond it's cost to the manufacturer and ultimately you.

 

[Doodski]

Bryston is great gear, no argument, but I'd debate on "great value for the money". Your paying for that warranty and paying a lot. Warranty's are just a matter of dollars, get some idea on "hours before failure" can be expected from any design then do the math on the cost of probable repair support over a 5, 10, 20 year span. VTL offered a lifetime warranty on its amps (minus tubes and switches) back in the 90s. Long spans are good marketing but mean very little beyond it's cost to the manufacturer and ultimately you.

Bryston has proven to hold it's value and a major part of that is the warranty. If Bryston was to snazz up the looks like McIntosh and keep the integrity and warranty it would be dead on killer gear. I would love to own some Bryston gear myself. That Bryston headphone amp looks might attractive. Military type engineering and the same with parts with that 20 year warranty. I would not be buying another if I bought that.

 

[anmpr1]

Bryston has proven to hold it's value and a major part of that is the warranty. If Bryston was to snazz up the looks like McIntosh and keep the integrity and warranty it would be dead on killer gear.

What I don't understand is the 3 year Mac warranty. I mean, their gear has the reputation of being solid, and I think it's true for the most part. Word on the street says McIntosh never breaks, and Mac doesn't go out of their way to dispel that mythology. But the Mac warranty is what you'd expect from a mid-fi outfit. So for your McDollars you're sure not paying for warranty.

Bryston is great gear, no argument, but I'd debate on "great value for the money". Your paying for that warranty and paying a lot.

It is true that warranty is 'built in' to the retail cost, however the fact that Bryston offers a 20 year warranty indicates the item is built well. How is it that comparable Bryston amps cost about the same in McMoney as the stuff from Binghamtom, but the warranty from Ontario is 6 and a half times longer? Must be those meters, since the glass is not covered under warranty.

All that said, under normal domestic conditions a decent amplifier ought to last a minimum of at least twenty years before needing service. If not longer.

 

[AudioEnthusiast]

What is the price of that to anyone is their decision to make

Yes, I agree. Bryston is a “luxury good”. You’re paying for an excellent digital stage and a superb analog stage, but you’re also paying for hand building in a high wage country with an extensive social welfare system. Also for an aluminum case and a billet aluminum faceplate, a solid metal remote control, etc. Only the customer can decide if these are worth paying for. They are most definitely subjective properties.

 

[anmpr1]

...but you’re also paying for hand building in a high wage country with an extensive social welfare system.

My guess is that the cost of doing business in the Great White North is comparable and probably not more than it is in the Empire state, which is where McIntosh is made. So the question between Bryston and McIntosh can't really turn on that factor. Ergo the warranty spread--3 years v twenty.

When factoring in cost differentials among countries one also has to look at currency exchange fluctuations. And internal manufacturing subsidies. And both legal and cultural factors in trying to sell a foreign-made product in a domestic land.

Wages are a big factor. But not the only factor in selling price. As I've mentioned before, one can buy a superbly made-in-Indonesia electric guitar (with a major brand name on the headstock) for a few hundred dollars. Something similar made in the US is going to cost you five to ten times as much. Certainly a lot of that is labor/cost of doing business in Indonesia versus doing business in the US (or Canada). However... if so, why is the Indonesian made JBL L100 Classic selling for more than the original did when it was made in LA? Clearly Harman is pumping them out for next to nothing, selling them based on name alone.

In an interview somewhere (I think it was the Boston Audio Society Speaker but I'm not certain) Roy Allison quipped not unironically that off-shore production is 'good' for buyers (lower cost) but 'horrible' for workers (no jobs).

All that said, based on price alone I don't know why Bryston can offer 20 (only analog components--it's 5 years for their digital machines), Benchmark 5, but Mac only 3 years of service. I just don't understand that based on each product's selling price and the 'build quality' that is supposed to go with their names.

 

[AudioEnthusiast]

All that said, based on price alone I don't know why Bryston can offer 20 (only analog components--it's 5 years for their digital machines), Benchmark 5, but Mac only 3 years of service. I

My understanding is that Bryston and Benchmark are owned by people with active roles in their companies. McIntosh is owned by a parent company (at least according to Wikipedia). Not sure if the McIntosh ownership structure causes financial pressure that rules out long warranties.

Some of the discussion is a bit moot until we hear from a McIntosh owner about service outside warranty. I know of someone who owns a Bryston preamp that was right at the 20-year mark. It had a scratchy volume control and some of the labels had worn down a little bit from constant use. Bryston repaired the scratchy volume control, but then also dug out the old silkscreen templates for the labels and touched up his labels too. You can't really give that kind of service unless you're not 100% focused on profits over everything else.

It could be that McIntosh gives only a 3-year explicit warranty but "takes care of you" if you do have a problem. I don't know.

 

[Shorty]

My understanding is that Bryston and Benchmark are owned by people with active roles in their companies. McIntosh is owned by a parent company (at least according to Wikipedia). Not sure if the McIntosh ownership structure causes financial pressure that rules out long warranties.

After six years ownership by Italian company Quadrivio, the McIntosh Group (McIntosh, Wadia, Sumiko, Audio Research, Sonus faber) was bought in 2016 by McIntosh president Charles Randall and Mauro Grange, ex-ceo Sonus faber, ex-ceo McIntosh Group. The deal was financed by LBO, another bunch of venture capitalists, this time from France, plus Italian investment group Yarpa.
So yes, you may be sure there is financial pressure...

 

[H-713]

Bryston is expensive and they tend not to be cutting edge designs, but they run forever without issue. There is some element of paying extra for something you know will perform well, even if it isn't SOTA, and last for decades. I don't know that I've ever even heard of a Bryston amplifier blowing up, and they've been around for a long time. They used to be very common for driving passive studio monitors.

 

[ahofer]

Bryston is expensive and they tend not to be cutting edge designs, but they run forever without issue. There is some element of paying extra for something you know will perform well, even if it isn't SOTA, and last for decades. I don't know that I've ever even heard of a Bryston amplifier blowing up, and they've been around for a long time. They used to be very common for driving passive studio monitors.

The prices are really pushing it. They were a good value in the 1980s - forever warranty, high quality, normal premium price. But now that premium is like 15X the audible equivalent instead of 2-3X. DACs in particular.

 

[Jimster480]

I'm not into paying a ton for something that MIGHT last a long time. I can tell you that following any brand today is a bad idea. Product quality varies wildly with ANY brand and components have defects and issues all the time.
I have cheap "chinese" products that have outlasted expensive "name brand" products when you would believe the inverse to be true.

Today I find that the biggest most well known brands are the largest offenders with piss-poor quality and reliability because brand names are now just means to scam people. A brand becomes known so that it can price gouge its customers.
There are obviously exceptions to this seemingly unspoken "standard" but not many.

 

[H-713]

I'm not into paying a ton for something that MIGHT last a long time. I can tell you that following any brand today is a bad idea. Product quality varies wildly with ANY brand and components have defects and issues all the time.
I have cheap "chinese" products that have outlasted expensive "name brand" products when you would believe the inverse to be true.

Today I find that the biggest most well known brands are the largest offenders with piss-poor quality and reliability because brand names are now just means to scam people. A brand becomes known so that it can price gouge its customers.
There are obviously exceptions to this seemingly unspoken "standard" but not many.

I would have good confidence in Bryston in this regard. The major offenders here are companies that have been bought by multinationals like Harman or Music Tribe (Behringer). That's why you see cheap junk with the Midas or Turbosound name on it. Both Harman and Music Tribe / Behringer are pretty bad about this. It's also the reason why Tektronix and Fluke have gone down hill. The Tek of today is nothing like the Tek that made the 465 or the 2465.


If it is privately owned and hasn't been bought by a multinational, it's a much safer bet. That means they're still somewhat in control of their own destiny. Bryston is a good example. They know power amp design as well as anyone and their designs are tested and proven. They know that reliability and quality is all they have to go on, and they can't risk losing their reputation.

 

[Jimster480]

I would have good confidence in Bryston in this regard. The major offenders here are companies that have been bought by multinationals like Harman or Music Tribe (Behringer). That's why you see cheap junk with the Midas or Turbosound name on it. Both Harman and Music Tribe / Behringer are pretty bad about this. It's also the reason why Tektronix and Fluke have gone down hill. The Tek of today is nothing like the Tek that made the 465 or the 2465.


If it is privately owned and hasn't been bought by a multinational, it's a much safer bet. That means they're still somewhat in control of their own destiny. Bryston is a good example. They know power amp design as well as anyone and their designs are tested and proven. They know that reliability and quality is all they have to go on, and they can't risk losing their reputation.

Maybe, you have to HOPE that they decide to keep that quality and not outsource their designs to another company to make it cheaper.

 

[H-713]

Again, that's mostly a problem with companies who are worried about profit above all else.