Bryston BDA-3 question

[Parabellum27]

Hey,

I find the BDA quite interesting as it is one of the few DAC that I know which has HDMI inputs. I am especially curious about those HDMI inputs as it could be the solution of my hi fi system. Right now, my listening/media room consist of a 2.0 system with the integration of a projector. The problem if you wish to integrate a projector into a hi fi system is the HDMI inputs. There are solutions like the Bryston SP3 processor that serves audiophile quality with all the bells and whistles of a HTR. The problem is the cost (at least for me).

So, if I understand correctly the HDMI inputs of the BDA-3, it will allow the video signal to pass thru my projector but the sound will output in my integrated amplifier? Am I correct? If this works that way, I believe I will swing for the BDA-3 and not worry about the amplifier I will upgrade down the road. One thing, I don't care about all those atmos gadgets et all. I listen more to music than I watch movies. And for my needs, a good 2.0 well integrated will suit me perfectly.

Thanks for any advice

 

[Parabellum27]

From Mr. James Tanner himself:

Yes the BDA-3 works exactly as you described.

james

 

[gvl]

There is also NAD C510 or M51 but it looks like they have been discontinued.

 

[tcdriver]

It looks like just the ticket for someone who wants to extract 2.0 channel information from an HDMI source and allow the video to pass through. I went to the website and I found some good information on everything expect the price.

 

[Parabellum27]

It looks like just the ticket for someone who wants to extract 2.0 channel information from an HDMI source and allow the video to pass through. I went to the website and I found some good information on everything expect the price.

This is exactly what I want. Yes, the price is a bit high, but still much lower than a Bryston SP-3 + 4B SST2 like I wanted at first. Plus, if I decide to change for a new amplifier, or any pre-amplifier/amplifier combo, I will no longer be limited by the HDMI ports. Since I do not care about all the HT decoding, atmos et all it makes sense for me. Hopefully other manufacturers will start to implement HDMI inputs into their DAC for that specific segment.

 

[Schurkey]

It looks like just the ticket for someone who wants to extract 2.0 channel information from an HDMI source and allow the video to pass through. I went to the website and I found some good information on everything expect the price.

J-Tech and many other brands sell such a device. Mine is now $26, I paid $30 a couple of years ago. Other brands and models range from $20 to $300 including some with multiple HDMI inputs. An Amazon search for "HDMI Audio Extractor" will yield many hits.

This is what I bought to connect an HDMI-output on my computer to the Pre/Pro and projector. I'm using the onboard DAC in the Pre-Pro via Toslink. A back-panel switch allows 2.0 audio vs. 5.1 audio.

https://www.amazon.com/J-Tech-Digit...4&sr=8-3&keywords=j-tech+hdmi+audio+extractor

It doesn't have Bryston's 20-year warranty.

[Edit] It must have at least a rudimentary D/A converter and maybe a headphone amp, as the RCA jacks are listed for use with headphones, without a D/A converter in-line. I've never tried that feature on mine. I don't see a volume control for the RCA jacks. Wild Guess: 2-channel line output, not really a headphone output.[/Edit]

 

[duncan]

Not to hijack the thread I hope, but I wonder if something like the J-Tech device is what I need to find the hi-res streams from bluray audio discs. When I play one on a Sony BDP-S580, its S/PDIF output remains stubbornly at 48khz regardless of player config or disc menu choices, which promise 192/24. So maybe that is a limitation of the player, and what I want is only on the HDMI line where an extractor box would get to it?

-------------

Edit - never mind, I guess this has been discussed to death elsewhere - the 48/16 limit is a well known part of the blu ray spec and originates with copy protection paranoia. I just hadn't known before. Carry on.

 

[Parabellum27]

J-Tech and many other brands sell such a device. Mine is now $26, I paid $30 a couple of years ago. Other brands and models range from $20 to $300 including some with multiple HDMI inputs. An Amazon search for "HDMI Audio Extractor" will yield many hits.

This is what I bought to connect an HDMI-output on my computer to the Pre/Pro and projector. I'm using the onboard DAC in the Pre-Pro via Toslink. A back-panel switch allows 2.0 audio vs. 5.1 audio.

https://www.amazon.com/J-Tech-Digit...4&sr=8-3&keywords=j-tech+hdmi+audio+extractor

It doesn't have Bryston's 20-year warranty.

[Edit] It must have at least a rudimentary D/A converter and maybe a headphone amp, as the RCA jacks are listed for use with headphones, without a D/A converter in-line. I've never tried that feature on mine. I don't see a volume control for the RCA jacks. Wild Guess: 2-channel line output, not really a headphone output.[/Edit]

Well, well, well, look at that. How interesting! I didn't know there was such devices. Essentially, what Bryston did was to integrate a HDMI audio extractor into the BDA-3. Well, that could save me a few thousand bucks if I can get one with enough HDMI inputs with coaxial and/or toslink output for an inexpensive but potent DAC. Thanks a lot for the suggestion.

 

[Schurkey]

Lots of inputs is no problem. J-Tech makes one with eight, plenty of others with 3--4--5--6 in, one or two out. Some with remote control. Amazon has twenty pages of choices.

The issue will be getting a suitably-acceptable D/A converter. Mine are built-into the Pre-Pro, and I'm satisfied with the sound quality even if they're (by digital standards) ancient.

APPARENTLY, there's a tiny D/A built into the audio extractor, so that it can output analog via the RCA jacks. No promises on sound quality, as I said, I never tried mine.

But running the Audio Extractor of whichever brand and model into a stand-alone D/A converter, or into an AV receiver, or a separate Pre-Pro having on-board D/A conversion will work very well if my experience is any indicator.

 

[for_p1]

Not to hijack the thread I hope, but I wonder if something like the J-Tech device is what I need to find the hi-res streams from bluray audio discs. When I play one on a Sony BDP-S580, its S/PDIF output remains stubbornly at 48khz regardless of player config or disc menu choices, which promise 192/24. So maybe that is a limitation of the player, and what I want is only on the HDMI line where an extractor box would get to it?

-------------

Edit - never mind, I guess this has been discussed to death elsewhere - the 48/16 limit is a well known part of the blu ray spec and originates with copy protection paranoia. I just hadn't known before. Carry on.

I used this http://www.kanexpro.com/item/?id=HAECOAX one. It allowed me to extract STEREO 24/96 from DVD, and also STEREO 24/88 from SACD to be processed by extrenal DAC, when I used it along with Oppo DVD player. In my case I didn't care about video at all - it was in audio only system with Oppo as universal CD/DVD-A/SACD transport. Though it does pass-through video to next in line HDMI device.

 

[duncan]

I just picked up a very generic HDMI extractor box and have been trying it between the Sony BDP-S780 blu ray player and the BDA-1. It appears to be identical to this one and many others, but for the disposable price of $12.95 from the big auction site.

No success yet with blu-ray 192khz audio - the DAC just flickers and won't lock. SACDs almost work. They come in at 176khz from the Sony and sound very nice indeed, but with occasional brief sound dropouts accompanied by winks of the lock light. There are any number of possible culprits including the ancient optical cable I'm using. I'll putz around and see if I can figure it out.

 

[for_p1]

I just picked up a very generic HDMI extractor box and have been trying it between the Sony BDP-S780 blu ray player and the BDA-1. It appears to be identical to this one and many others, but for the disposable price of $12.95 from the big auction site.

No success yet with blu-ray 192khz audio - the DAC just flickers and won't lock. SACDs almost work. They come in at 176khz from the Sony and sound very nice indeed, but with occasional brief sound dropouts accompanied by winks of the lock light. There are any number of possible culprits including the ancient optical cable I'm using. I'll putz around and see if I can figure it out.

For Blu-ray to work you need to select STEREO track in player, if there is any. Or configure player to downconvert it to stereo. Most BD disks only have DD and DTS tracks.

Drop outs can be caused by poor quality optical cable. Try to find better and SHORTER one.

 

[duncan]

Drop outs can be caused by poor quality optical cable. Try to find better and SHORTER one.

I'd been about to update here.... thanks, yeah, the optical cable was my first suspect too. I ordered a new one half the length of what I'd been using before, which was many years old and had been stuck in a drawer till being connected for this. The result with the new cable was the same - no lock possible at 192khz, and a marginal one at 176khz. So I decided maybe I'd been kinda dumb to buy an optical-only extractor in the first place, and ordered a different one that includes a wired coax output. That arrived this weekend and, as the brits say, it works a treat. Solid lock and clean sound from whatever I throw at it, so far.

Obligatory:

My guess is that the first extractor box's optical output would have been reliable up to 96khz or so. I don't have any content suitable to test that middle range with, could observe only that 48khz was fine and 176 wasn't.

This is the one I ended up with.

 

[for_p1]

I'd been about to update here.... thanks, yeah, the optical cable was my first suspect too. I ordered a new one half the length of what I'd been using before, which was many years old and had been stuck in a drawer till being connected for this. The result with the new cable was the same - no lock possible at 192khz, and a marginal one at 176khz. So I decided maybe I'd been kinda dumb to buy an optical-only extractor in the first place, and ordered a different one that includes a wired coax output. That arrived this weekend and, as the brits say, it works a treat. Solid lock and clean sound from whatever I throw at it, so far.

Obligatory:

My guess is that the first extractor box's optical output would have been reliable up to 96khz or so. I don't have any content suitable to test that middle range with, could observe only that 48khz was fine and 176 wasn't.

This is the one I ended up with.

I have one that looks exactly the same, but from different brand. The only complain is that it does not stay in stereo mode after power reset. Thus I have to keep it powered all the time, even when audio system is turned off.

 

[duncan]

I have one that looks exactly the same, but from different brand. The only complain is that it does not stay in stereo mode after power reset. Thus I have to keep it powered all the time, even when audio system is turned off.

Hm... no problem with that here. But I'm also using the so-called 5.1 mode even though listening in 2 channel. The control for that seems to me misdocumented/mislabeled, because as far as I can tell, the light-off condition means "limited to 44.1/48khz, 2 channel" and the light-on condition means "passing whatever bit-rate and channels are supplied in the HDMI data". This is going by the rate light indicators on the BDA-1, and the fact that the Sony player is configured for the 2-channel layer of SACDs but apparently works correctly at the supposed 5.1 setting of the extractor box.

It's also possible we don't really have the same unit regardless of the cases looking the same...?

 

[for_p1]

Hm... no problem with that here. But I'm also using the so-called 5.1 mode even though listening in 2 channel. The control for that seems to me misdocumented/mislabeled, because as far as I can tell, the light-off condition means "limited to 44.1/48khz, 2 channel" and the light-on condition means "passing whatever bit-rate and channels are supplied in the HDMI data". This is going by the rate light indicators on the BDA-1, and the fact that the Sony player is configured for the 2-channel layer of SACDs but apparently works correctly at the supposed 5.1 setting of the extractor box.

It's also possible we don't really have the same unit regardless of the cases looking the same...?

In my device it passes high-res audio when mode light is on. But default for it is off. I even asked maker and they confirmed that. On power on my device comes up with light off and thus limited to 16/48.

 

[duncan]

In my device it passes high-res audio when mode light is on. But default for it is off. I even asked maker and they confirmed that. On power on my device comes up with light off and thus limited to 16/48.

Okay -- except for mine luckily defaulting to powering up with the light on, it sounds like they work the same.