Bryston BDA-1 used V/S Wyred 4 Sound DAC 2

I ask because the W4S DAC2 has asynchronous USB and the BDA-1 does not. Many thanks.

Also the Bryston limits USB to 16/44.1 resolution; not sure why any reputable manufacturer would include a severely compromised USB input in their product. Better to include none at all.

Another question that must be asked: What pre-amp did you use with the Bryston? This DAC has no volume control so it needs to go through a pre-amp.

Radni,

W4S excels with synchronous USB, but if you don't intend to go computer-based, then this feature will not matter to you. I, personally, use my W4S in a computer-based system with superb results. Red book and hi-res files are a joy to listen to.
Also, W4S has built-in volume control which means that you don't need a preamp, if you don't have any other analog source. It accommodates multiple digital sources.
This is how I use my W4S, directly into the power amp.
W4S also has polarity switch, which, believe me, makes a difference, albeit subtle, and other settings to fine-tune the sound.
I didn't have the pleasure to audition the Bryston and I'm sure it's a great unit.
One might say that picking up over the other might be a matter of preference, like everything in this hobby of ours. In this case my or anybody else's advice, sound-wise, shouldn't matter all that much to you.
Then, you may want to consider the features set and see which one wins in this respect.

I'm just going to state up front this is all in my experience. Others may have different experiences and that's OK but these are mine.

I/We compared the W4S Dac 2 and Bryston using toslink, spdif, and USB with a Mac and PC as source. The Bryston USB is not it's strong suit but then it came out 2 years ago so that's to be expected. If you are committed to connecting your Dac via USB I would not suggest the Bryston; however I have never heard a USB Dac, asynchronous or otherwise I thought was terrific compared to any other connection method. Everyone keeps touting their new USB module but I have not heard one yet that I think is any good, and I have heard a lot of Dacs in the last 6 months. I strongly believe USB robs the music of emotion, and dynamic range.

Next in my experience using a Dac without a built in volume control and without a preamp will work fine. Just use the digital volume control in your music player software.

However I recommend using a preamp.

Why limit yourself to just these? I demo'd many dacs (ayre, bryston, audio research, bel canto, music hall) and the best 1 I liked was the ayre out of this bunch. Then I purchased the w4s dac2 with the 30 day trial period and never sent it back. It is every bit as good as the ayre and it has so many more features plus it is 1/2 the price.
I ended up selling my classe Cdp-10 player after purchasing the dac2 to use with my Mac mini setup.