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Tranquility Signature vs. Bryston BDA-1?

Getting very close to buying a USB dac. I think I've pared my choices down to dB Audio's Tranquility Signature or the Bryston BDA-1. I'll be using a Mac Mini as my computer. My music library is almost entirely redbook in AIFF format. I'm looking for natural sound quality from my next dac. Has anyone compared these two dacs?
twc_cableguy
nglazer
846 posts
 
Have you considered the W4S DAC2? I have no dog in this hunt nor have I heard the others, but I have lived with the W4S for 6 months now after selling my Dodson 218, and think it is a breakthrough product at a screamin' steal of a price.

Neal
twc_cableguy OP
10 posts
 
Triangleserius - Thanks for the link to the dac comparison that I was looking to find!

Nglazer - I considered the W4S but found reviews between it and the Tranquility where the consensus seemed to be that Tranquility had better mid-range smoothness. I want the most natural sound from my next dac especially in the mid-range.
csacred
4 posts
 
As an owner of the original Tranquility and having heard the Burson AH-D160 (dac with preamp) and a bunch of other dacs, I can say: Tranquility hands down, wonderful sound compared to the Burson. My two cents...
cfluxa's avatar
cfluxa
127 posts
 
The Tranquility SE will be very hard to beat.
ridgestreetaudio
221 posts
 
Hello Gents.

I'd spent over a year with the Tranquility Signature USB Dac. No doubt It was a very special Dac that, in my experience, bested a lot of more expensive Dacs. I've since moved on.

I'm now using the Ultra Fi Dac-41 which is designed by Larry Moore who also engineered and designed the Tranquility series for db Audio labs. To my ears the Dac-41 is a significant advancement for NOS Dacs and pretty much trounces the T Sig. If you've got $1295.00 put aside for a Dac upgrade, you ought to see if you can get your hands on one of these. For the sake of RSAD, I could use about any Dac I want up to around $5-6k but until I hear something better that's also a good value, I'm done.

For the T Sig. owners who'd like to stay with waht they have but would like to upgrade w/o spending too much $$$, Larry Moore at Ultra Fi can upgrade the T and T Sig by modifying the PSU and adding his Twin Reg circuit board. I've not heard it but I've come to trust Moore's work and I also know a few who have and like it a lot.

Hope my 2 cents is helpful.

Robert
RSAD

(Discalimer: While I'm not affiliated with db Audio Labs or Ultra Fi, I have become pretty good friends with Larry Moore as a result of mutual admiration for each other's work.)
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