Opinions of the TC-7510 with MOD21?

[trailer]

Well I have had mine for over a week now. (Sent the Mk3 down to Stan and got the modded unit back 2 days later).

I'm running it off an AppleTV into a NAC202 (NAPSC & HiCap) > NAP250.2 > B&W 804s. (Flashback optical and phono to DIN cables if you're interested)

Soundwise the detail is very, very good. The bass is also much tighter, although maybe a little less pronounced because of this(?). The soundstage is also larger. The only complaint I have (and a minor one at that) is that the mid-range is a little bright but that's probably just my preference. Obviously I can't do a A to B comparison now but I definitely prefer the modded version to the old one.

I haven't had the CD5x on once since I've had the Beresford back. Maybe I should do that over the weekend and see how I get on.

[Covenant]

As I posted previously I cant offer an objective opinion about the 6/4 as I buggered my amp which has now been rebuilt with some tweaked capacitors. What I can say is that my system now sounds different and the comments of Trailer above is what I am finding. I use my hifi in a small second living room (away from I'm a celebrity etc) with floor standing speakers. I thought I had a problem with bass boom and had started experimenting with sound absorbing materials. These didnt help at all. The 6/4 does appear to have better controlled bass because the bass problems have now disappeared.
In addition there is a lovely sense of 'being there'-hearing all the background noises in the recording. The top notes have changed dramatically, on some recording they can screech but I am convinced its just poor recording techniques because on others its simply stunning.
So well done Stan I really do not understand the bad comments you get which mainly seem to be from people who haven't tried your DAC and are probably trying to justify their heavy expenditure. More than anything I appreciate the upgrade path you offer-you cant make a lot of money doing the mods and virtually all manufacturers would see it as an opportunity to get loyal customers to buy a new box.

[leo]

Having more time listening to the TC-7510 MK6/4 (one a friend let me borrow) I can still say these dacs are very good for the price.
Both of my main diy dacs would cost more in parts alone so a direct comparison isn't really fair

I still wouldn't mind getting one of these dacs some time to play with, theres a few things I'd like to try out which shouldn't be too expensive.
Obviously theres the Mod21 too, I've no idea if the one I'm borrowing has this or not, its not my unit so have no intentions of probing about with it

The question in my mind is how far can this unit be pushed without resorting to over the top expensive mods

[StanleyB]

If it is the MK6/4 then it has the MOD21.

One thing that does bug me is why all the LEDs light up on switch on when I use certain power supplies instead of the one that I supply with the DAC. If anyone has a theory or two about that, I'll be most interested to read them. I personally think it is due to the Virtual DC power supply I developed for the DAC. It can continue to supply power to the DAC circuitry for more than 150 mains cycles after the power has been removed.

[leo]

Does it do the light up thing with mainly external linear based supplies or with some SMPS based ones too?

Burst of current at switch on with some supplies is pretty high

[StanleyB]

I noticed it on linear power supplies.

[leo]

Could be the virtual DC power supply stan, linears also take a bit longer to start up and output full voltage than a SMPS.
Maybe the extra time takes longer for the TC-7510 to stabilize

[StanleyB]

I'll have a look at the timing/auto reset circuit after Christmas. I need to solve this problem since it is interfering with every battery powered circuit I tried.

[Labarum]

Does running from batteries or a non-switching power supply improve 6/3 or 6/4?

When will the big upgrade with better phone amp be available?

[StanleyB]

1. Battery
2. Soon. A minor amendment of one of the PCBs needs to be done in order to allow one of the TOSLINK inputs to be substituted for a USB input during assembly. But the USB version will be phased in at a later date. There is a credit crunch on at the moment, so I don't wish to go heavy on people's wallet. Especially since the price of the USB version is close to £200, based on current exchange rates.

Stan