Bryston BDA-2 Or Yggdrasil Help

Erik,

Can you please explain to us what modern sound means?

Hi @plotus,

Sorry, this is my short hand. Over the past 5 years or so a number of really good DAC’s have appeared that can play Redbook AND high resolution very well under $2,000.

Smooth extension without exaggeration, no grain or fatigue. Some of these players also do DSD but the truth is they perform REALLY well with all formats, as opposed to pre- 2010 DAC’s which needed high resolution files or DSD to sound their best. This ability to lift up what we previously considered "low resolution" recordings so that they all sound really good is why I lump them together as a "modern sounding" DAC. Perhaps this is thanks to low jitter clocks becoming cheap, or better clocking circuits? I don’t really know. I do know I have noticed a distinct trend. I no longer feel obligated to get a high resolution file because the Redbook sounds a lot better than it used to.

Among them (but by no means a complete list):

Shiit
Mytek

In the portable market:

Fiio
Pono

Certainly NOT Oppo. Oppo is a throwback to cheap Japanese/Chinese gear to my ears. :( This is sad cause I’m a huge fanboy of their BluRay players.

Erik,
Thanks for your thoroughgoing answer.

as opposed to pre- 2010 DAC’s which needed high resolution files or DSD to sound their best.

I suppose you mean up- and oversampling pre 2010 DACs and not all?

Because there still are some heavy hitters along some older classic DACs.

" I suppose you mean up- and oversampling pre 2010 DACs and not all?

Because there still are some heavy hitters along some older classic DACs."

I wouldn't be so fast lump a lot of products together using generic terms. Implantation is everything. Some designers can make a product that is greater than the sum of its parts, while others can't. Also, as is typical with discussions on digital products, most only focus on half the product. The digital half. The analog half is responsible for at least 50% of the sound quality.

Sfall,

Yes I`m aware of what you are saying.
I do not lump anything. It was my question to Erik.

Delta-sigmas are usually known as more DSD players than PCM machines. Therefore my supposition.