Bryston BDA-1 DAC

[deepak]

I just checked out the Alpha Dac at a shop yesterday, although I didn't get to hear it in action due to short time and their preamp not cooperating. I am trying to figure out if there is a way to use their preferred Lynx AES16e PCI-Express digital I/O card with any Mac laptop (current or recent past) or if the big box Macs are the only option for that beast.

Al buy yourself a nice 8 core Mac Pro then you'll have something to put the AES16e in

As a non-fan of conflicting IO/DMA issues, I am very happy that there are high end PCI-Express digital soundcard transports being made available to us.

[Hopstretch]

How about one of the Weiss FW units? Weiss is nice though the price is scheisse.

[Voltron]

Think twice before buying Weiss. Not really, I have been reading about the Minerva and less fancy more pro DAC2 or whatever it is called. So clever these dac namers. Not a lot of commentary on here or HF, tho. May have to look elsewhere to find user impressions other than mag or ezine reviews.

[Dreadhead]

Think twice before buying Weiss. Not really, I have been reading about the Minerva and less fancy more pro DAC2 or whatever it is called. So clever these dac namers. Not a lot of commentary on here or HF, tho. May have to look elsewhere to find user impressions other than mag or ezine reviews.

Al I'm not quite following. I'm very seriously considering the DAC2 mkII. I alot of pretty famous mastering studios use it in the mastering path which makes me think it kicks ass and it's the same thing as the Minerva for a lot less.

Weiss claims to do more QC on the audiophile units but I'm not sure I believe that; pro's don't usually put up with something costing 7 grand breaking or having issues.

[Hopstretch]

Yeah, the Minerva is a DAC2 with a machined face plate and fancy feet. I saw an online chat with Daniel Weiss a while back where he admitted as much.

The Computer Audiophile guy rated it the best USB or FW DAC he'd ever heard but in the end preferred the Lynx/Alpha DAC combo.

[Dreadhead]

Yeah, the Minerva is a DAC2 with a machined face plate and fancy feet. I saw an online chat with Daniel Weiss a while back where he admitted as much.

The Computer Audiophile guy rated it the best USB or FW DAC he'd ever heard but in the end preferred the Lynx/Alpha DAC combo.

Preferred is a tad strong, he explained the differences:

Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC Review | Computer Audiophile

by his description the Weiss is more my speed anywa and I actually am looking at the DAC1 mkII (weiss' top of the line) not the DAC2 (my mistake).

[Voltron]

Yeah, Chris, the fancy reference was to the aluminum case and face plate which pretties up the rack bling for the audiophile community. I will take a look at the DAC1 mk2.

[aardvark baguette]

Yeah, the Minerva is a DAC2 with a machined face plate and fancy feet. I saw an online chat with Daniel Weiss a while back where he admitted as much.

I actually prefer the look of the cheaper 'pro' weiss more

[Hopstretch]

I actually prefer the look of the cheaper 'pro' weiss more

'Cause you square, square.

[Dreadhead]

I actually prefer the look of the cheaper 'pro' weiss more

Me too me too

[Voltron]

On the Weiss Dac1 mk2, the high rez inputs have to be done is a 2-wire configuration so that L and R are on separate AES EBU cables. What source would you use for that in a home environment? Maybe some of the cards or external boxes with breakout cables have that arrangement but I am just not familiar with it.

[Dreadhead]

On the Weiss Dac1 mk2, the high rez inputs have to be done is a 2-wire configuration so that L and R are on separate AES EBU cables. What source would you use for that in a home environment? Maybe some of the cards or external boxes with breakout cables have that arrangement but I am just not familiar with it.

Al that's actually not true:

* Inputs:

There are three digital inputs on XLR connectors,

and one on Toslink (optical). The accepted

sampling frequencies are 44.1, 48,

88.2, 96, 176.4 and 192kHz. For all sampling

frequencies signals on a single connector are

supported. For 88.2, 96, 176.4 or 196kHz

signals also two connectors (dual wire

scheme) can be used. Each XLR input is actively

routed to a corresponding XLR digital

output, allowing monitoring at multiple stages

in a digital studio setup.

Damn I want one. I am going to get one sometime but now I have to wait for my bank account to recover a bit.

[Voltron]

Al that's actually not true:

Damn I want one. I am going to get one sometime but now I have to wait for my bank account to recover a bit.

I read a couple of things from their website that all seemed to indicate that two-wire was the only way, like this on the product page:

The DAC1-MK2

The DAC1-MK2 is similar to the DAC1 except for the sampling frequency range it can accept. The DAC1 works at 44.1 / 48 / 88.2 and 96kHz, while the DAC1-MK2 can handle 176.4 and 192kHz in addition.

176.4 or 192kHz signals must be connected to inputs 1 and 2 of the DAC1-MK2 in the two wire AES/EBU format. (The left channel goes to input 1, the right channel to input 2). If a valid two wire 176.4 or 192kHz signal is connected to the DAC1-MK2 and input number 1 is selected, then the unit will automatically detect such a signal and will light both input 1 and input 2 selection switches.

DAC1 units can be upgraded to DAC1-MK2 by swapping two chips inside the unit.

And then I saw this from the same manual you quoted (even though I missed the part in your post):

For dual wire scheme signals (88.2 up to 192

kHz) the two channels are connected as follows:

Left channel to input 1, Right channel to input 2.

To activate, press the input 1 key. If such a signal

is present at the input of the DAC1-MK2, the

software automatically detects that and switches

the D/A accordingly. Also both input 1 and input 2

keys are lit. If you press the input 2 key with such

a two wire signal present at inputs 1 and 2, the

DAC1-MK2 interprets the signal at input 2 as a

normal two channel AES/EBU signal. I.e. do not

select input 2 when feeding a two wire signal.

That one portion of the manual would seem to contradict the product description, which seems odd but is preferable of course. How much is thie mk2?

[Hopstretch]

$6,550 at Vintage King.

[Dreadhead]

$6,550 at Vintage King.

Already emailed them to see about a trial... I doubt I'll be successful but I will let you guys know.

To be honest I need to run 96kHz because that's all my EQ can do anyway. I haven't found one at any price with a fast enough processor to EQ anything at a higher bit rate.

[Dreadhead]

I read a couple of things from their website that all seemed to indicate that two-wire was the only way, like this on the product page:

The DAC1-MK2

The DAC1-MK2 is similar to the DAC1 except for the sampling frequency range it can accept. The DAC1 works at 44.1 / 48 / 88.2 and 96kHz, while the DAC1-MK2 can handle 176.4 and 192kHz in addition.

176.4 or 192kHz signals must be connected to inputs 1 and 2 of the DAC1-MK2 in the two wire AES/EBU format. (The left channel goes to input 1, the right channel to input 2). If a valid two wire 176.4 or 192kHz signal is connected to the DAC1-MK2 and input number 1 is selected, then the unit will automatically detect such a signal and will light both input 1 and input 2 selection switches.

DAC1 units can be upgraded to DAC1-MK2 by swapping two chips inside the unit.

And then I saw this from the same manual you quoted (even though I missed the part in your post):

For dual wire scheme signals (88.2 up to 192

kHz) the two channels are connected as follows:

Left channel to input 1, Right channel to input 2.

To activate, press the input 1 key. If such a signal

is present at the input of the DAC1-MK2, the

software automatically detects that and switches

the D/A accordingly. Also both input 1 and input 2

keys are lit. If you press the input 2 key with such

a two wire signal present at inputs 1 and 2, the

DAC1-MK2 interprets the signal at input 2 as a

normal two channel AES/EBU signal. I.e. do not

select input 2 when feeding a two wire signal.

That one portion of the manual would seem to contradict the product description, which seems odd but is preferable of course. How much is thie mk2?

Al, yeah I would just drop Weiss an email but I'm 99.9 that the manual is right about the AES since a single channel 192 AES is very standard. It is not uncommon for people to have updated firmware and the manual but not the website.

If you get one can you ship it to me first and then I'll send it along to you after a week

[Dreadhead]

To thread crap a little more there is a guy over on HF that has a Weiss DAC1 and has had a Weiss DAC2 and he says they are very similar sounding to the level that he can't determine which is which blind.

He also claims the transport makes a difference but I can't see that one since the signal is entirely reclocked within the DAC1 and DAC2. In all testing I've seen Jitter has remained constant through a large range of transports.

[aardvark baguette]

dac2 has the better footprint. done

[grawk]

You don't know anything about the guy who compared them tho. I would have to hear them together to decide. Of course, I wouldn't consider a $7k dac

[aardvark baguette]

I think I'd rather have 2 dac2s than one dac1. Home + office. I dunno.

[deepak]

Al I'm not quite following. I'm very seriously considering the DAC2 mkII. I alot of pretty famous mastering studios use it in the mastering path which makes me think it kicks ass and it's the same thing as the Minerva for a lot less.

I wouldn't take this to mean a whole lot. Often times they are given the gear for free or at a very significant discount since it's basically free advertising for said manufacturer.

[Dreadhead]

I wouldn't take this to mean a whole lot. Often times they are given the gear for free or at a very significant discount since it's basically free advertising for said manufacturer.

I would have to disagree with this. The pro audio mastering studios pay for their gear or at least as best I can tell on gearslutz.

[deepak]

I know two large mastering studios in Chicago that didn't pay for most of their expensive gear.

And this is just rumor- but Chord donated all its gear used in Abbey Road Studios to them.

[Dusty Chalk]

Large mastering studios, yes; Abbey Road? Hell yes. Most everyone else -- someone's gotta pay for it. You have to realize, studios are like restaurants -- if you can keep one open for a year, you're doing pretty damn good.

[Dreadhead]

I know two large mastering studios in Chicago that didn't pay for most of their expensive gear.

And this is just rumor- but Chord donated all its gear used in Abbey Road Studios to them.

Interesting. Well I dunno. I was looking at less famous studios. Also the reason I doubt it at least in the Prism case is that they don't even have an audiophile market, and Weiss didn't until well after they had already introduced the DAC1.

As you say times change.