Bryston BDA-1 se dac


What is the scoop on this dac? The sound characteristic? Is it anylytical, clinical, dry, etched, etc. or is it musical, liquid, holographic, and emotive OR somewhere in betweeen. Do people think this dac is a good value for the money? Sound similar to anyother dacs out there? I am thinking of going this route for my server which is replacing my Ayre C5xe-MP player.
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xjaymark
It is very, very warm and liquid in my setup. It sounded better, more tube like, than any DAC I had in my system. The Berkeley I had was a bit more extended, but not as warm, and it cost more than twice as much so I choose the Bryston.
This must be the signature modded dac, not the stock dac with the "se" designation. So a logical question is the modded dac worth the extra 500 dollars or so? Anyone heard the dac pre- and post-mods.

Based on what I have read and the feedback from end users, the Berkely dac does not appear to merit its several thousand dollars in extra cost though it seems to be a fine dac for many.....
Jaymark,
I think that I'd go with a Weiss DAC2 before the Bryston, especially if you are interested in computer audio. FWIW, I tried a Berkley in my system, and didn't feel it was a significant step up from my Benchmark- a better soundscape, but with less PRaT. FYI, the unit I bought used was slightly damaged in shipping due to the original packing being rather limited. It appeared as if the foam supporting the sides was inadequate, and the BNC socket became slightly bent. In dealing with this I got a taste of Berkley's customer service via the original owner forwarding emails to keep me informed. Not only were they going to charge him $200-300 to replace the socket (completely accessible $5 part on a 6 month old product), but they wanted a similar amount to upgrade it to the current product. Forgive me if I am off base, but as a manufacturer myself (non audio) I feel as if they should have updated it for free to current specs and be grateful for the opportunity. A DAC isn't an amp or something that has a lot of pricey components. A lot of what you are paying for is the design. If after less than a year they are already making changes, then their design was fully executed in the first place.

I'll wrap up my rant, but keep in mind that if you were to buy a Berkley, don't expect much service for your $5000 DAC (as opposed to Bryston's warranties).
Touching on the Bryston warranty - If you purchase the "SE" version of the DAC-1 from that modding company you may have to have all the issues dealt with by the modders themselves as modding the DAC-1 "may" negate the factory warranty...