Bricasti M1 DAC vs PS Audio Direct Stream DAC


I own a PS Audio Direct Stream DAC that I like a lot but heard my friends system with the Bricasti M1 and I am strongly thinking of changing my DAC and would love your feedback from other members that have heard either or both. I know they are both great but really thinking of changing my Dac from PS Audio Direct Stream to the Bricasti M1 DAC. I use a HP Desk top computer as source with Jplay and JRiver Media 19 and the outstanding Tellurium Q BLACK DIAMOND Reference USB Cable. The rest of my system is below. I listen to Classic Rock, jazz, vocal, some modern music and the usual audiophile stuff.

Thanks

My system for reference.

Ascendo C-8 Renaissance Speakers (Germany) Monitor
Purist Audio Design Corvus Praesto Revision 2.5m Bi-Wire Speaker cable
Cardas Clear Interconnect 1 Meter RCA Interconnect
Darwin TRUTH Pure Silver Reference 1 Meter RCA Interconnect
Darwin TRUTH Pure Silver Reference 1 Meter RCA Interconnect
Audio Research REFERENCE 1 w/Rhodium IEC/NOS Tubes Tube preamp
Decware ZSTAGE External Triode Output StageTelefunken ECC801S
PS Audio Direct Stream DSD DAC w/ Bridge DA converter
Tellurium Q BLACK DIAMOND Reference USB Cable
PS Audio PerfectWave PowerBase Vibration Cancelation/AC Condtioner
Conrad Johnson Premier 12 Mono's 140 Watts Tung-Sol KT120's amps
PS Audio PowerPlant Premier AC Regenerator
BMI Shark Pure Jeweler Grade Platinum AC Power Cable
Sablon Audio Petite Corona 2.0M AC Power Cable
Mad Scientist PC-NEO with Power Purifier AC Power Cable
JPS Labs The Power AC+ 2M AC Power Cable
Synergistic Research Labs Tesla Series SE T1 AC Power Cable
Synergistic Research Labs Tesla Series T1 AC Power Cable
PS Audio Noise Harvester (5) Converts noise to light
OYAIDE RI Beryllium Power Outlets (2)
Hubbell Outlet 5362/5262 Deep Cryo Process
Blue Circle Audio The Yalu Balula Industrial Surge/Spike Protection
JPLAY v5.2 hi-end audio player turns PC into a digital transport.
JRiver Media Center 19 Music Software
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xfsmithjack
I use a 1 Terabyte external hard drive. I've ripped my CDs via dbpoweramp on to the external hard drive and plug the USB cord into the BDP-2. It takes only a few seconds to upload the music. I control everything from my Ipad mini. It's very easy to create a play list or play an entire CD.
Although I don't stream, you can stream music through the BDP-2.
I am on the hunt for a BDP right now. I am going to go with the upgraded usb card by sotm like above mentioned because I have a credit with that company coming and get its battery powered linear power supply as well and i think this combo will work great with a bdp. looking for a used one as we write :).

On loan from a local dealer I have a Clayton S-40 Class A 50 watt SS amp. Sounds exactly like a tube amp but better. Never have I heard such a pretty and tube sounding ss amp. Very Very nice... Solid can sound different now a days.
Fsmithjack,

Since you already have a top-notch DAC in the Bricasti M1, getting the BDP-1USB would save you a bundle. From the review that follows, USB thumbdrive seems to give better SQ than NAS.

http://www.bryston.com/PDF/reviews/2015_03_Review_BDP1_USB.pdf
Fsmithjack, Yes, SOtM is just ordinary PCIe card so you're good to go as long as you have available PCIe slot in your PC. One note tough, make sure you connect internal PSU from PC to card regardless of fact that you're going to use external battery PSU. This will step in ONLY in the case if for any reason card loses external PSU (accidentally un-plugged etc...) and will prevent damage to card itself ( see SOtM manual). For normal operation battery PSU is used all the time and you can hear improvement in sound immediately. Other thing to consider is that you go with Windows 8 (as suggested by Chris from CA) for better driver compatibility. Windows 8 will recognize SOtM card without problems but I would also suggest installing original (Texas Instruments) driver from SOtM website. I think I heard further improvement in sound after I did this.

Bryston BDP-1 or BDP-2 are network/USB players and they act as PC, so you don’t need PC if you’re going to use these, neither you need SOtM card/Battery PSU. So you need to decide which way to go first but since you already have money in SOtM I don’t see any reason giving that up.

Sound wise Bryston players are excellent option since they’re actually customized Linux based PCs for audio. However I prefer PC based source since for it’s far more versatile and future proof. For example I rely on JRiver more than 5 years now, my library has almost 10000 albums. I spent countless hours getting all tags correctly and believe me this is not something that’s get done automatically. I don’t believe that BDP user interface/library capabilities are even close to JRiver. On the other hand I run Steinberg Wavelab and Izotope RX professional software for audio editing and restoration of vinyl rips from the same machine. With BDP player you’re lock to music playback ONLY with limited options for upgrades in the future.

I hope this helps.