Description: CD player. Formats: CD, CD-R, CD-RW. Analog outputs: 1 balanced (XLR), 1 single-ended (RCA). Digital outputs: 1 AES/EBU (XLR), 1 S/PDIF (RCA). Output voltage: 4V balanced, 2V single-ended. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.1dB. Noise: –140dB. Intermodulation distortion: <0.0003%. THD+noise, 20Hz–20kHz: <0.001%.
Dimensions: 19" (483mm) W by 3.325" (85mm) H by 11.53" (293mm) D. Weight: 8.8 lbs (4kg).
Finishes: Black, silver.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 00140.
Price: $3495; BR2 remote control, $375 ($150 when purchased with…
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Sidebar 1: Specifications
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Garrard 301 turntable; EMT 997 tonearm; EMT OFD 15 & TSD 15, Ortofon SPU #1S, Shindo Laboratory SPU pickup heads; Denon DL-103 cartridge, with and without MusiKraft body.
Digital Sources: AudioQuest DragonFly Red, Halide Design DAC HD USB DACs; Apple iMac computer (late 2015) running OS 10.12.1 & Roon v.1.2, Build 165; Sony SCD-777 SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Hommage T1 & T2 step-up transformers; EMIA Phono transformer (copper); Sentec EQ11 phono preamplifier; Shindo Laboratory Masseto & Monbrison…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
As with the Hegel Music Systems Mohican, which we reviewed in the May issue, the Bryston BCD-3 has no digital inputs of any kind. This limited my measurement of its technical behavior to using 16-bit test files burned to a CD-R. (I sometimes had to eject and reload a CD-R several times before the BCD-3 would play it.) I tested the Bryston with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It").
The Bryston's error correction was excellent—no glitches were apparent in the player's output until the single gaps in the data spiral on the…
Back when electric-guitar rock music was still the biggest game in town, when boys were still gathering in garages and basements to emulate heroes like The Stones, The Beatles, and in some cases, The Faces, hope sprung eternal. The path was clear, get signed, make a record, become rock stars, or so the fairy tale went.
Of course that cycle also produced a lot of heartbreak and shattered dreams. A few bands, mostly those who could produce hit singles in a Beatles-centric subgenre that would soon come to be known as power pop, made it. For a moment or two. Think of the Raspberries: a big…
The latest installment in Ivan Fischer's near-complete Mahler cycle for Channel Classics, the Symphony No.3 (CCS SA 38817), renders the myriad beauties of this most wondrous of symphonies into an unforgettable experience. No matter what layer you audition on the two-disc hybrid SACD set, or whichever resolution DSD files you download—I listened in DSD128—you will discover the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Cantemus Children's Choir, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and alto Gerhild Romberger portrayed in stunning sound, with pounding percussion, cutting brass, tinkly triangles, and celestial…
The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: Anniversary Edition
Parlophone/EMI PCS 7027 0602557455328 (4 CDs, 1 BD, 1 DVD). 1967/1987/2009/2017. Giles Martin, prod.; Sam Okell, mix; Jeff Jones, exec. prod.; Jonathan Clyde, Guy Hayden, project prods.; Matt Mysko, Greg McAllister, mix assts.; Miles Showell, Sean Magee, mastering; Matthew Cocker, transfer eng.; James Clarke, audio restoration. ADD? TT: 3:23:11 (CDs only)
Performance *****
Sonics *****
Parlophone/EMI PCS 7027 0602557455328 (4 CDs, 1 BD, 1 DVD). 1967/1987/2009/2017. Giles Martin, prod.; Sam Okell, mix; Jeff Jones, exec. prod.; Jonathan Clyde, Guy Hayden, project prods.; Matt Mysko, Greg McAllister, mix assts.; Miles Showell, Sean Magee, mastering; Matthew Cocker, transfer eng.; James Clarke, audio restoration. ADD? TT: 3:23:11 (CDs only)
Performance *****
Sonics *****
Even VIP visitors to Abbey Road studios are allowed to only peer down a dimly lit hallway to the vault where the Beatles…
What? Johnny-come-lately turntable manufacturer Brinkmann Audio now makes a DAC? Are they desperate? What sampling rates does it support—162/3, 331/3, 45, and 78? I guess the vinyl resurgence is over! Why else would Brinkmann make a DAC?
If that's what you're thinking, consider that Helmut Brinkmann began designing, manufacturing, and marketing electronics well before he made the first of the turntables for which his company is best known in the US.
The Nyquist is a thoroughly (almost) modern streaming DAC and headphone amplifier in a surprisingly small case, its compactness…
However, as is all too common in computer audio, the Nyquist's instruction manual is sketchy in terms of overall connectability and use. Although the manual tries to be Roon friendly, what's printed there isn't exactly what appeared on the Roon setup screen. If you're at all experienced with streaming, you'll figure it out.
Sound
Before reading my description of the Nyquist's sound, remember the words of a former audio writer who famously wrote that tubes do not belong in an audio system "unless you are a tweako cultist. There is nothing in audio electronics that cannot be done…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Streaming digital-to-analog converter and headphone amplifier with tubed output stage. Tube complement: four Telefunken PCF803 (NOS, two per channel). Digital inputs: AES/EBU (XLR), S/PDIF (RCA), optical (TosLink), Ethernet (RJ45), USB Type B (high-resolution audio). Analog outputs: balanced (XLR), single-ended (RCA). Formats supported: MQA and PCM up to 384kHz (DXD), DSD64 and DSD128 via DoP (DSD over PCM), DSD256 natively. Frequency response: N/A. THD, I/M: <0.01%. Signal/noise: >100dBA. Channel separation: N/S. Maximum output voltage: ±12V…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn turntable & Castellon stand; Kuzma 4Point, SAT tonearms; Lyra Atlas & Atlas SL & Etna & Etna SL, Ortofon Anna & A95, Miyajima Labs Zero (mono) & Madake cartridges.
Digital Sources: Audio Alchemy DDSPro CD transport; Moon by Simaudio Evolution 780D DAC; Lynx Hilo A/D-D/A converter; Meridian Sooloos Digital Media System; MacBook Air running Roon, Pure Vinyl, & Vinyl Studio software.
Preamplification: Ypsilon MC-10L & MC-16L step-up transformers; CH Precision P1, TruLife…