Bryston BDA-1 DAC, any thoughts?

PS Audio's Perfect Wave DAC input is capable 192 khz 32 bit data via its I2S, XLR, and RCA Coax inputs.

I am wondering how much difference the Bryston would make with the sound of a run of the mill cd player. I have an old "juke box" technics 110 that I like to let run occasionally in a secondary system. Could one expect a good result via coax or toslink to a the Bryston DAC? Anyone with thoughts or experience?

Tamara -- Are you sure that the Technics has digital outputs? They made various models of 110 disk cd changers. I took a look at photos of some of them in eBay listings, and none of the ones I looked at had digital outputs.

Re your question, though, I would expect the degree of improvement you would perceive by using a Bryston DAC to be dependent on the quality of the rest of the system, particularly the speakers. It might be overkill for a secondary system.

Regards,
-- Al

Thanks AL
Yes, It is the SLP 110, and it has a toslink optical out. The reason I am asking the question is that I might consider connecting that to the main system every once in a while as I might, say, a music server of some type. I guess the jist of the inquiry is just how important is the unit that is reading the 1s and 0s. I have a feeling that doing that might be the real test of jitter correction. Surely someone has connected a not so great player. Just an interesting question to me.

I own the bryston bda-1 and i run it primarily from the aes/ebu input. I use a stello u3 as a digital transport for my computer files. It sounds fantastic, especially with classical and jazz. With rock its pretty good too. To be honest, i really feel that it sounds a touch cold and thin compared to my vinyl playback system though, even when the bryston is at its best with the stello.... Mind you, im not sure anything can sound as good as a good vinyl system. My vinyl system is a cardas rewired technics 1200 mk3d with silversonic output rcas, a fidelity research fr-1 mk3f mc cart, and a home-made diy pass labs designed pearl 2 phonostage that sounds so sexy its all i ever want to listen to since i built it.
But this is about the digital domain.

Im 30y/o.. Raised with records, then tapes, then cds which i always thought of as the ultimate and eventually into mp3 and then finally 24bit hi sample rate flac/alac files. So im fully invested into digital. so im not a stuborn old vinylhead with a closed mind... But i have to say witn complete confidence, the old vinyl junkies of yesteryears and today have it right. vinyl soud s better provided the investment has been made into it.. i have many albums in several mediums, always imprefer the sound of vinyl, despite the need to get up twice as often to flip and clean.

The bryston dac is,a fantastic digital Decoder especially when playing digital files via my stello u3 usb to aes/ebu transport.
My rotel cd player sounds better directly though when compared to using the spidif input of the bryston to play the rotel. I dont understand why, but it does. When i bought the bryston it was to play high sample rate digital flac/alac files from my computer, which is by far what it does best. But out ofmcuriosity i tesed the spdif output ofmthenrotel into the dac and the cd player sounds best without the dac.. The dac loses some much needed warmth that the cd player provides.

As for the cd outputs on cd players and the spdif input of the bryston. Well. I did an experient several times, Fully expecting and wanting the bryston to improve the sound out of an already truly wonderful sounding top rotel hdcd player. .. To my dismay, shock and surprise, i prefered the cdplayer to the brystons decoding ofmthe same cd. .. The cdpayer didm better job decoding the cds than the bryson. The rotel was more rounded and embodied. more lifelike, albeit its soundstage a tad narrower. I still i a/b it all the time thinking perhaps its my mood that has me prefer the rca audio output of the cd deck to the spdif.. . The bryston bda-1 just sounds a touch on the dry side. Occasionally a touch too forward, verrrrry wide and incredible imaging.. But i pine for a little more sweetness and warmth.

I read an article not long ago. The author argued that most disk transports have poorly desiged spdif outputs.. Perhaps thats what it is.. Maybe the rotel has a poor spdif output, becuas the aes/ebu input of the bryston is sweeter than any spdif source ive tried.

All said though... Despite the fact that the bryston ismthe best dac ive ever heard, i still wish it was on the sweeter/warmer side. Id love a mod aimed at improving the output components.. I supose its just that im spoiled by the class a circuitry of my phonostage.

The bryston demonstrates a very remarkable soundstage. Wide and deep, though sometimes a little too forward..
the bryston handles lower gain recordings better than than higher gain recordings... Which is why i feel it does so well with classical via its high sample rate file playback via the stello transport, Which rules all digital sources ive heard easily.