How does the Bryston BDA-1 DAC sound?

Brytson is great. Warm, full, detailed with great bass and extended highs. Prior to the Bryston, I owned (mostly) or auditioned:

Berkeley Alpha Dac

MHDT Labs Havana

Bel Canto Dac3

TAD PreDac

PS Audio III

Benchmark DAC1 USB

Cary Audio Xciter

Musical Fidelity (older one)

PS Audio Perfect Wave

and a few more

I picked the Bryston and have kept it

macdad- can you compare the BDA1 to the Berkeley? I have often thought about upgrading to the Berkeley from my Bryston and using the volume control....

I thought the Berkeley was a little bit better overall, slightly clearer highs, but was no where near worth the additional $$$

How about Xciter vs Bryston? I've tested the Bryston in my home, but own a lot of Cary gear and tend to like the Cary family sound in tube gear anyway....
Thanks,
Art

Keithr - I have had both the Bryston and Berkeley in my system (they were broken in). IMO the Bryston provides very accurate but ultimately hi-fi sound, while the Berkeley is overall more organic and palpable. Along with the ability to drive an amp directly, this makes the Berkeley worth the extra cost IMO, assuming of course the rest of your system will reveal the differences. That said, once you are up in the price range of the Berkeley, there are some other DACs out there to think about....

what other Dacs with volume controls would you guys recommend?

it appears resale on Berkeleys is falling, so maybe i will try one some day.

I just upgraded from a Benchmark to a Berkeley and can finally say my Squeezebox (w/Berkeley) finally sounds as good as my Esoteric X03SE - different, but just as good, finally. The Berkeley is am amazing dac. Solidly wide soundstage, incredible resolution and the retrieval of low level detail is simply astounding. There is one on 'gon for $3,995 new in box - if your funds allow GRAB IT. You can always sell it for probably the same price if you aren't thrilled with it, though I bet a nickel you will not.