BRYSTON BDA-2 DAC

BRYSTON BDA-2 DAC in silver one-owner unit just taken in.  The BDA-2 is a well-executed step up from the wonderfully musical BDA-1, adding greater resolution and detail and a performance level with few equals in its price range.  You had to spend a good deal more to better it.  This is a pristine looking unit.  Appears to have been taken out of the box by the original owner and left in place before being boxed back up.  
From TAS:

As thrilled as I was to explore these advancements in digital playback fidelity, I found that the crowning achievement of the Bryston BDA-2 can be described in the simplest of terms: It makes the best of every recording that you play through it. Late one night, I browsed through the BDP-1’s music library, and selected one of my “desert island” discs: the eponymous 1993 debut release from October Project. This album is a delectable pop confectionery that I will never be able to assess objectively, as it has a special place in my heart.

Alas, its densely layered studio production can become murky during complex passages, and some tracks suffer from a dull tonal balance. As much as I love the music, I usually end up playing only a few songs at a time, frustrated by the sonic compromises. What an unadulterated joy, then, to finally surrender to this cherished album’s unabashedly romantic spell from beginning to end, enraptured by the BDA- 2’s magical ability to allow the music to transcend the recording’s limitations. I have never enjoyed the music more, and have never heard more in the recording. I cannot think of higher praise, nor can I imagine living without the Bryston BDA-2.

The Bryston BDA-2 is a state-of-the-art stereo DAC using fully discrete Class-A proprietary Bryston analog circuits, two independent (analog and digital) linear power supplies and dual 32-bit AKM DAC chips.  The BDA-2 also utilizes a new asynchronous USB input capable of 192/24bit resolution.  

The BDA-2 delivers inherent flexibility with an impressive array of inputs for high resolution USB, COAX,OPTICAL, AES-EBU and BNC-equipped digital devices. For audio outputs, the BDA-2 offers both balanced XLRas well as unbalanced RCA stereo connectors on the rear panel. The BDA-2 is RS-232 software upgradeable,making it the most user-friendly high performance USB DAC on the market. “With more and more consumersrelying on their computers as a source of entertainment in the home, we felt it imperative to offer a DAC with highperformance USB inputs,” stated Bryston’s James Tanner. “Additionally, the new 32-bit DAC chips deliverstunning resolution and detail. The BDA-2 was built upon the award-winning BDA-1 architecture, whichemphasized isolation, low noise and imperceptibly low levels of distortion and Jitter,” Tanner concluded.

Power Supplies: The BDA-2 power supply employs two independent secondary windings on the powertransformer—one each for the digital and analog sections of the device. In the BDA-2, each stage in the digitalchain is also independently regulated to prevent any unwanted interactions and to provide rock solid powerdelivery for any up-sampling/over-sampling process.

AKM 32-bit DAC Chips: The BDA-2 incorporates dual AKM 32-bit DAC chips, some of the highest resolutionavailable on the market today.

Jitter Reduction: The input signal to the Bryston BDA-2 is re-clocked and re-sampled with the highest precisionoscillators to reduce any possibility of jitter affecting the sound quality (jitter is a mis-timing of the data beingmoved from point A to point B in any synchronous digital system). Additionally, the BDA-2’s input receiver andsample rate converter have both been engineered to further reduce jitter to levels too low to measure accuratelyeven with the best test equipment available.

Digital Input Matching Devices: The BDA-2 employs high quality impedance matching transformers providingthe optimal interface to virtually any incoming source under all sorts of signal conditions. Lesser qualityterminations may degrade the signal and could cause increased jitter.

Discrete Class-A analog stage: The Bryston BDA-2’s analog circuits are constructed of carefully sorted andselected discrete devices (individual transistors, resistors, and capacitors) instead of the more commonly usedintegrated circuits. The use of discrete devices has enabled Bryston to design a circuit that exactly matches theneeds of the BDA-2, resulting in superior sound quality.

Ultimate Quality: Bryston applies techniques and employs custom materials in our everyday manufacturing ofelectronic equipment that are more typically utilized by the military and aerospace industries. Such techniquesensure unit-to-unit consistency that is vastly superior to mass production. Bryston’s adherence to the use ofproprietary parts, sophisticated construction, and refined testing techniques guarantee superb performance andlong-term product reliability.