Bushmaster Mk. II (TC-7533)

[Ammonite Audio]

I've got my BM Mk. II up and running tonight after having a quick listen to the original BM as a reminder of its sound. I took the time to readjust my Paul Hynes power supply down from 16V to 15V on Stan's advice.

Forgive my ignorance, but I thought that the Bushmaster requires a 12v supply. What is the optimum supply voltage?

[StanleyB]

The Bushmaster will operate with power supplies from 10.5V to 15V. I deliberately designed it to operate across that particular range of supply voltages so that customers could try out various methods of powering the BM. A typical 12V lead acid battery can manage to deliver 14.4V, and I know of a customer in the Australian outback who uses one of his old truck battery to run his BM. Another customer of mine uses a 12V solar panel.

I myself got a modded BM for headphone use that has to be run on at least 14V. That's because it uses a 12V master regulator. The standard BM uses a 9V master regulator. But the modded 12V version is specifically for my 300 Ohms headphones like my HD800. It worked fine as well on a 600 Ohms headphone that I borrowed. The standard BM is not that loud on 600 Ohms.

[worrasf]

My BM II arrived earlier today (thanks for uber rapid delivery Stan). Despite my saying I would wait until the weekend to install I just couldn't help myself - not least as I was "home alone" for the evening and could sneak it into the system unobserved

Let it warm up for a few hours before listening. Only listened via headphones so far (Grado GS1000's in the main direct from the DAC but a short time with Beyer DT990/600 through the SOHA II. The line up comprised Thea Gilmore, Antonio Forcione, Jan Garbarek & Joe Satriani using iPod/Wadia 170 (Audiocom signature) and CDXT se2/PSxR.

My review:

THis is simply bloody stunning - go get one.

The end


Well OK - a bit more for the fussy types out there. I'm going to be opinionated here with none of the "IMHO" softly softly phrases


I'm not even go to start to compare this with the BM I - it is so totally different that any comparison is meaningless.

The most striking thing is that it has no sonic signature - it's like there's an empty box that has a digital wire going in and an analogue wire coming out. Most times if I'm listening to new kit I'm concentrating on the high, the lows, the cymbals the bass yada yada but this evening I found I was just drawn into listening to the music - difficult to describe but here goes.

There is a lightness and delicacy of touch with precision. Thea's voice is often spoken as much as sung with emphasis on the ends of words that tail off - there is so much more emotion and expression here - you can even here where she "spits" a bit through moist lips - I shit you not Carry that sort of detail throughout the vocal range and it's just mesmerising.

A similar effect is with plucked strings - they start and stop with more precision - there's no bleed from one note to another so you get to hear much more fine/background detail. Particularly with bass lines be they electronic or strings.

The frequency response seems flat right across the range so there is no emphasis/de-emphasis at a particular frequency so all voices/instruments seem in the "right place". It makes for a more "easy" presentation - it's not "shouty" or fatiguing to listen track after track.

Don't think this means presentation is laid back or boring - feed it with some welly from Satriani and it can rock along fine and dandy with the old toe a tapping.

Of all the digital sources I've had in my system this sounds the most "vinyl" - I just love it. It gets out of the way and just lets the music through (pretentious - moi?)

The asking price is ludicrously little for a DAC of this calibre.

Will definitely need to wait until the weekend before I can listen through the amp/speakers but I think I have a treat in store.



Steve

[MartinT]

The most striking thing is that it has no sonic signature - it's like there's an empty box that takes has a digital wire going in and an analogue wire coming out.

I noticed the same thing. There is no tonal tilt or odd voicing, it's just an open window.

[StanleyB]

Inter-track capacitance and reactance, audio signatures of electronic components in the signal path, and power line noises are are the enemies of good sound. The BM1 was an attempt to sideline those problems, but the power line noises were a limiting factor. The MKII takes care of that last remaining obstacle.

I don't do cuddly bass, heart warming vocals, or silky smooth treble. It's not my intention to mess about with the work and efforts from the original artist(s) and production team. The job of the Bushmaster is to concentrate on converting the digital signal into an analogue one, and leave what you hear to the content of the musical piece that you listen to.

So prospective DAC owners now have a clear and unambiguous selection choice: The Bushmaster MKII with its straight wire presentation, or the alternatives with artificially enhanced flavouring.
The BM2 won't gel with everyone, but they say that the sign of a good sound signature is the lack of one. The MKII is a follower of that ideal. And I hope you guys and girls like it.

[Ali Tait]

What's the price Stan?

[worrasf]

Inter-track capacitance and reactance, audio signatures of electronic components in the signal path, and power line noises are are the enemies of good sound. The BM1 was an attempt to sideline those problems, but the power line noises were a limiting factor. The MKII takes care of that last remaining obstacle.

I don't do cuddly bass, heart warming vocals, or silky smooth treble. It's not my intention to mess about with the work and efforts from the original artist(s) and production team. The job of the Bushmaster is to concentrate on converting the digital signal into an analogue one, and leave what you hear to the content of the musical piece that you listen to.

So prospective DAC owners now have a clear and unambiguous selection choice: The Bushmaster MKII with its straight wire presentation, or the alternatives with artificially enhanced flavouring.
The BM2 won't gel with everyone, but they say that the sign of a good sound signature is the lack of one. The MKII is a follower of that ideal. And I hope you guys and girls like it.

Well I'm pretty pleased that my old ears told me the truth and that what I was hearing and reported was exactly what Stan had set out to achieve. And for all you sceptics out there I had no prior discussion with anyone let alone Stan prior to my listening session.

Steve

[StanleyB]

What's the price Stan?

It depends on the options selected. But Black BM2 + PSU + UK plug + express delivery = £208.20.

[NRG]

....

The most striking thing is that it has no sonic signature

I would go along with that, that's the impression I got from a short listen yesterday. I did feel however, that it's going to need a little burn in time unlike the BM MK1 which I noted as sounding the same out-of-the-box vs running for a week...

[MartinT]

I noticed a little burn-in with the BM1 but not as much as with some components. The BM2 is going the same way with small improvements in soundstage and spaciousness.