Bryston BDA-3 Owner's Manual

BDA-3 Digital to Analog Converter

Owner’s Manual

Important Safety Instructions

The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the presence of un-insulated “dangerous voltage “ within
the product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons

The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the
literature accompanying the product.

1. Read these instructions.

2. Keep these instructions.

3. Heed all warnings.

4. Follow all instructions.

5. Do not use this apparatus near water.

6. Clean only with dry cloth.

7. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

8. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat.

9. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding-type plug. A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other. A grounding type plug has two blades
and a third grounding prong. The wide blade or the third prong are provided for your safety. If the provided plug does not fit into your outlet, consult an electrician for replace­ment of the obsolete outlet.

10. Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the apparatus.

11. Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer.

12. Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table specified by the manufacturer, or sold with the apparatus. When a cart is used use caution when moving the
cart/apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip-over.

13. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time.

14. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid
has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped.

WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPARATUS TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.
DO NOT EXPOSE THIS EQUIPMENT TO DRIPPING OR SPLASHING AND ENSURE THAT NO OBJECTS FILLED WITH LIQUIDS, SUCH AS VASES, ARE PLACED ON THE EQUIPMENT.
TO COMPLETELY DISCONNECT THIS EQUIPMENT FROM THE AC MAINS, DISCONNECT THE POWER SUPPLY CORD PLUG FROM THE AC RECEPTACLE.
THE MAINS PLUG OF THE POWER SUPPLY CORD SHALL REMAIN READILY OPERABLE.

.

BRYSTON LIMITED WARRANTY

Bryston analog audio products are warranted to be free from manufacturing defects for twenty (20) years from the original date of manufacture. The warranty includes parts and labour.
Bryston digital products and cables are warranted for five years from the original date of manufacture. The warranty includes parts and labour.
Bryston products having motorized moving parts, excluding motorized volume controls, are warranted for three years from the original date of manufacture. The warranty includes parts
and labour.
Bryston will remedy the problem by repair or replacement, as we deem necessary, to restore the product to full performance. Bryston will pay return shipping only for the full length of
the specific product's warranty.
In the event of a defect or malfunction, contact Bryston’s repair centers for return authorization. Products must be returned using original packaging material only. Packing material may
be purchased from Bryston if necessary. This warranty is considered void if the defect, malfunction or failure of the product or any component part was caused by damage (not resulting
from a defect or malfunction) or abuse while in the possession of the customer. Tampering by persons other than factory authorized service personnel or failure to fully comply with Bryston
operating instructions voids the warranty. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which may vary from province to province and country to country.
As of 2006-02-22 Bryston will only warranty Bryston products purchased through authorized Bryston dealers. Bryston products with a date code of 0608 or higher (date code format is
“yyww”, where “yy” is the two least significant digits of the year and “ww” is the week of the year) must be accompanied by a copy of the bill-of-sale from a Bryston authorized dealer to
qualify for warranty service. The warranty is transferable from the original owner to a subsequent owner as long as a copy of the bill-of-sale from the original authorized Bryston dealer
accompanies the re-sale. The copy of the bill of sale to any subsequent owner need ONLY include the Name of the Bryston Authorized Dealer and the Model and Serial number of the
Bryston product The warranty will only be honored in the country of the original purchase unless otherwise pre-authorized by Bryston.

BRYSTON SERVICE in CANADA: BRYSTON SERVICE in the USA:

Postal address: P.O. BOX 2170, Stn. Main
PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO
CANADA K9J 7Y4

Courier address: 677 NEAL DRIVE
PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO
CANADA K9J 6X7

PHONE: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

79 COVENTRY ST., Suite 5
NEWPORT, VERMONT
U.S.A. 05855-2100

PHONE: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

BRYSTON SERVICE outside Canada and the USA:

contact your local distributor or

CHECK OUR WEB SITE: www.bryston.com
E-MAIL BRYSTON DIRECTLY: [e-mail]
FAX BRYSTON DIRECTLY: 01-705-742-0882
PHONE BRYSTON DIRECTLY: 01-705-742-5325

Table of Contents

Important Safety Instructions ....................................2

General.........................................................................4

Welcome ................................................................4

Description ............................................................4

Features .................................................................4

Shipping Box and Packing Material ......................4

Installation ..................................................................4

Ventilation .............................................................4

Connecting to A/C Power ......................................4

Audio Connections ...................................................... 4

Connecting Source Components .........................4

USB Audio .............................................................. 5

HDMI Audio ............................................................ 5

Connecting to a Preamplier ...............................5

HDMI Passthrough .................................................5

Front Panel ..................................................................6

Rear Panel ....................................................................7

Windows Driver Installation .......................................8

Conguring Playback Soware ............................9

JRiver Media Center .............................................. 9

Foobar 2000 ........................................................... 9

Remote Control .........................................................10

Serial Protocol .....................................................10

Network Access ...................................................11

IR Control ............................................................. 11

Dimensions ................................................................ 11

General

Welcome

Thank you for your purchase of a Bryston BDA-3
Digital to Analog Converter! Decades of ongoing
research and development have produced our
highest performing and most capable DAC yet. With
this model, Bryston sought to achieve maximum
compatibility with a wide range of digital source
components yet preserve state-of-the-art audio
quality. Our customers are a tremendous resource
to whom we look for a measure of success. Please
feel welcome to contact us with feedback and
suggestions.

Description

The BDA-3 is a state of the art stereo digital to
analog converter that accepts digital input from
up to 10 source components and connects to an

analog line-level preamplier. Both DSD and PCM

audio data are supported. Advanced engineering
and application of techonological advancements
mean that even previously highly regarded digital
source components may have dramatically
improved sound quality when connected to the
BDA-3.

Features

Bryston BDA-3 includes the following features:

• 10 dierent digital inputs

• Analog audio out via single ended RCA or
balanced XLR connections

• PCM Audio up to 384 kHz sampling rate and 32
bit word lengths supported

• DSD Audio up to DSD256 (quad rate)

• Asynchronous USB Class 2.0 Audio inputs

• Stereo HDMI Audio with video passthrough

• Traditional digital inputs: S/PDIF via BNC, RCA,

or Toslink. AES/EBU via balanced XLR

• Remote control via ethernet, USB, RS232, or IR

• Video passthrough (HDMI audio out)

• User selectable upsampling

• Available in either 17 inch or 19 inch wide

C-Series dress panel in silver-toned (clear
anodized) or black anodized aluminum.

Shipping Box and Packing Material

Please keep the original shipping box and all
packing material. This will ensure the BDA-3 is

protected in future transport. In the unlikely event

you have a problem and must return it for service,

you must use the proper packing material. Ship

the BDA-3 only in the original packing material
as the unit is not insurable by carriers otherwise.
Replacement packing materials consisting of a
shipping carton with plastic foam inserts is available
from Bryston for a small fee.

Installation

Ventilation

The BDA-3 is a cool-running line level component.

It generates far less heat than ampliers and many
other components. It can be safely placed inside
furniture or an equipment rack. However, it should
not be tightly enclosed. Some airow is desired.

Connecting to A/C Power

Please check the Data Plate on the right rear of

the amplier to verify power requirements agree
with your location. Plug the IEC-320 C14 end of the

power cord into the BDA-3, then plug the other end

into an approved and grounded A/C receptacle.

Audio Connections

Connecting Source Components

The BDA-3 can accept DSD or PCM coded digital

audio from up to 10 sources. Any source component

capable of producing raw PCM, DSD, or DoP (DSD
over PCM) audio is supported. Audio formats such
as Dolby Digital, DTS, and other surround sound

audio formats are unsupported.

Each of the available inputs can decode a subset

of all available input formats. Further, a source

component may have multiple interconnect
options that can be used with the BDA-3. Choose

rst by compatibility with desired audio formats,
then by order of sound quality. Source component

permitting, multiple digital connections can be
made between the source component and BDA-3.

4