PDA

View Full Version : Beresford Bushmaster DAC Reviews



Pages : 1 2 3 [4] 5 6

StanleyB
02-07-2012, 12:33
Hope this is relevant but I found with my Caimanised 7520 that feeding it 16.3v DC (from a linear PSU followed by a JLH Ripple Eater) actually improved the SQ to my ears. Stan recommended that as the maximum it would take and I have been feeding it 16.3v for well over a year now with no apparent ill effects :) .
Dave.
To anyone reading this and contemplating doing the same with the Bushmaster: DON'T!!!

Jabberwocky
02-07-2012, 17:13
Just opened my BM for the first time (to replace the Eprom with the update that Stanley kindly sent me - it wasn't reliably 'seeing' my Apple TV after power off of the source, etc) -

WOW is it a beautifully designed and constructed bit of kit or WHAT?

Well done Stan:cool:

Russell Turner
02-07-2012, 17:51
Just opened my BM for the first time (to replace the Eprom with the update that Stanley kindly sent me - it wasn't reliably 'seeing' my Apple TV after power off of the source, etc) -

WOW is it a beautifully designed and constructed bit of kit or WHAT?

Well done Stan:cool:

Pics?

Martinh
02-07-2012, 17:55
Just opened my BM for the first time (to replace the Eprom with the update that Stanley kindly sent me - it wasn't reliably 'seeing' my Apple TV after power off of the source, etc) -

WOW is it a beautifully designed and constructed bit of kit or WHAT?

Well done Stan:cool:

Hi Malcolm,

I'm having Source selection issues with my apple tv too.

Let us know how it works please.

Cheers,

MartinT
02-07-2012, 21:16
WOW is it a beautifully designed and constructed bit of kit or WHAT?

Yes, I took a peek inside too. Lovely bit of single PCB design.

Mark Grant
02-07-2012, 21:18
What colour is the band of the connector that fits the Bushmaster?

Looking at your signature it the blue one ( 2.1mm) to fit your squeeze upgrade PSU.
If you contact where you bought the PSU from in the Netherlands they will send you an an adapter.
I send them out for free to my customers so that people with a PSU from previous Beresford Dacs dont have to spend any more money when they upgrade to the Bushmaster. All part of the service :)

Reid Malenfant
02-07-2012, 21:25
WOW is it a beautifully designed and constructed bit of kit or WHAT?

Well done Stan:cool:
I remember commenting on the very same when I saw the PCB layout of the prototype that Stan put a picture of on the forum quite a way back :)

No idea what thread that's on, but if it's still similar or the same....

:cool: :D

edmondwolfman
03-07-2012, 03:31
For testing the evaluation PSU Nick had kindly sent me to evaluate I had the Stan provided PSU, a 13v 1amp hefty PSU I had "discovered" at work and Nick's evaluation unit.

The qualities Nick's PSU has above the others is ultimately it is cleaner sounding, its not as brash as the Stan unit, the hefty one isn't far off Nick's so I am guessing it is a Linear supply, hence the clean audio.

As a consequence of this cleansing of the audio signal you can interpret low level detail slightly better, perhaps its more coherent and better organised if you know what I mean...

Its also less fatiguing as well, I was sat listening to one of my reference CD's (The Art of Noise's Seduction of Claude Debussy) and I was not finding it hard work.

I think the stock Stan unit you get is louder, I would say by about 1dB or so (my Leema amp has 0.2dB volume steps), and I mentioned previously to Nick the low level detail is there with the stock unit, it just gets uncongested with the higher spec PSU.

Ultimately I guess the question would be “would you buy one”? I am unsure on this, don't get me wrong it does make a difference but I wouldn't say it made a £200 difference like the Squeezebox Touch power supply made, its better but its not jaw dropping difference better than the Touch one.

I guess this is a testament as well to Stan's DAC design more than anything, as it must have a good noise rejection front end that cleans up as much as it can before it gets to the audio parts.

Russ



Which power supply are you using for your Touch?

Russell Turner
03-07-2012, 06:11
Nick's LDA one distributed by Dave:-

http://www.mains-cables-r-us.co.uk/power-supplies/346-mains-cables-r-us-dc-power-supply.html

Worth the £200 in my opinion...

Fi-Wi
03-07-2012, 06:29
Looking at your signature it the blue one ( 2.1mm) to fit your squeeze upgrade PSU.
If you contact where you bought the PSU from in the Netherlands they will send you an an adapter.
I send them out for free to my customers so that people with a PSU from previous Beresford Dacs dont have to spend any more money when they upgrade to the Bushmaster. All part of the service :)

Thanks for this info Mark, I will contact Wiebren Draaier when I order a BM. He's a nice guy who obviously selects his resellers with great care.

Jabberwocky
03-07-2012, 10:27
Pics?

Sorry - too late - it's back together now.

James_Woods
03-07-2012, 20:14
Hi,

I'm having troubles too with my AirPort Express..

I am also interested in an EEPROM update.

Kind regards,
Tobi


Hi Malcolm,

I'm having Source selection issues with my apple tv too.

Let us know how it works please.

Cheers,

Val33
03-07-2012, 21:11
Try contacting Stanley Beresford directly rather than posting on a forum!

Val

James_Woods
04-07-2012, 10:55
Try contacting Stanley Beresford directly rather than posting on a forum!

Val

Sorry, you were right. The update comes with an updated chip, just like as if you change your BIOS chip on your computer main board. Anyone having similar problems should just get in touch with Stan directly.

By the way: First class support. I am deeply impressed Stan!

Cheers,
Tobi

audionewbi
05-07-2012, 07:00
If anyone has Er-4s, can they be kind enough to let me know how the bushmaster pairs with it. Many thanks.

Mr.Ian
05-07-2012, 20:13
been running one of these for a while now and I am mighty impressed BUT this is the first and possibly the only component that I have ever noticed significant differences between output cables.

The cables connecting the dac to my pre make a huge difference, for example old kimber PJB have great clarity but at a huge loss of bass, I even thought my subs had stopped working it was so noticeable,

Blue Jeans Belden 2m gave the opposite effect flat and boring distinct quietening of treble,

I have some old 1.5m Belden component cable in place at present and it seems a good balance -

Might try some Canare tomorrow or maybe some solids silver I made years ago if I can be bothered to re-solcer a loose connection

DSJR
05-07-2012, 21:19
There's summat on the AVI forum about the latest ADM9's doing this.Apparently, Apple have software and model changes which are causing this apparently and there's a lengthy thread there about it.

Ali Tait
05-07-2012, 21:44
been running one of these for a while now and I am mighty impressed BUT this is the first and possibly the only component that I have ever noticed significant differences between output cables.

The cables connecting the dac to my pre make a huge difference, for example old kimber PJB have great clarity but at a huge loss of bass, I even thought my subs had stopped working it was so noticeable,

Blue Jeans Belden 2m gave the opposite effect flat and boring distinct quietening of treble,

I have some old 1.5m Belden component cable in place at present and it seems a good balance -

Might try some Canare tomorrow or maybe some solids silver I made years ago if I can be bothered to re-solcer a loose connection

I'd venture to suggest that the BM will indeed be more sensitive to cable changes because it has a passive output stage I believe, so changes in impedance matching due to use of different cables will have a greater impact on sound.

Gazjam
05-07-2012, 22:47
not to muddy the waters, but at the recent dac comparison chez Gaz, swapping out my Mogami for Ali's TQ Black improved things across the board, not just with the BM but with Ali's valve Dac too.

In this case the effect was pretty astonishing even with an "insensitive" valve dac!

Go figure...I've stopped trying to work it out :)

StanleyB
05-07-2012, 22:49
In other words: using the Bushmaster to test different leads makes it a lot easier to differentiate the performance characteristics of the various leads.

Ali Tait
05-07-2012, 23:11
not to muddy the waters, but at the recent dac comparison chez Gaz, swapping out my Mogami for Ali's TQ Black improved things across the board, not just with the BM but with Ali's valve Dac too.

In this case the effect was pretty astonishing even with an "insensitive" valve dac!

Go figure...I've stopped trying to work it out :)

Yes, but it's more a case of the dac having good "drive" (meaning impedance matching with amp/pre would be less of an issue, so a change of i/c would be less obvious) and also that it outputs about 2.5v I think, so a little more than standard. Which might mean you would hear less of a difference swapping the i/c's from dac to pre than you would with a more conventional dac. Maybe. The TQ certainly did vastly improve matters, but I think that had more to do with amp-speaker interface than anything else.

StanleyB
05-07-2012, 23:22
Yes, but it's more a case of the dac having good "drive" (meaning impedance matching with amp/pre would be less of an issue, so a change of i/c would be less obvious) and also that it outputs about 2.5v I think, so a little more than standard.
It's actually 1.9V.

Gazjam
06-07-2012, 01:45
In other words: using the Bushmaster to test different leads makes it a lot easier to differentiate the performance characteristics of the various leads.

no...wouldn't say that Stan tbh.

We heard the same improvement going Mogami>TQ Black with all the dacs we tried.
The BM sounded good, it was only when compared with the other Dacs that we got a better idea.

Jabberwocky
06-07-2012, 11:23
I'm running Stanley's digital input cables (coax and optical) but to my (valve) preamp I'm running hand-made twisted gold-plated solid silver with the same from pre to power.
Speaker cables are custom-made silver plated stranded OFC in low-cap foam insulation. No terminations to dilute/confuse things.
Sounds pretty good to me.:eek:

Ali Tait
06-07-2012, 16:49
It's actually 1.9V.

I was talking about my valve dac Stan. :)

Ali Tait
06-07-2012, 16:50
Yes, but it's more a case of the dac having good "drive" (meaning impedance matching with amp/pre would be less of an issue, so a change of i/c would be less obvious) and also that it outputs about 2.5v I think, so a little more than standard. Which might mean you would hear less of a difference swapping the i/c's from dac to pre than you would with a more conventional dac. Maybe. The TQ certainly did vastly improve matters, but I think that had more to do with amp-speaker interface than anything else.

In case there's any confusion, I was talking about my valve dac in the above.

edmondwolfman
06-07-2012, 18:14
Well, I ordered a new Bushmaster today. Probably won't go out until Monday as I'm in the US and the order will show up late for Stan. I'll be comparing the Bushmaster with my DACMagic and if it betters the CA DM then it will have a new home here. I've seen some comparisons where the listeners liked other DACs better in their system than the Bushmaster and I've seen several others that think the Bushmaster bests their current DAC by a long way so what I took from those reports is that one needs to listen to it in their own system. I'm not going to go for the "better" power supply for now, my DACMagic still uses the wall wart so it will be a fair comparison.

I do use a Magenta ADE-24.1 in the signal chain to tame some of the harshness I hear from some female voices and other high pitched sound but will remove it and have each DAC going straight into my preamp.

Of course you all know that once your order is placed you start watching for your tracking information to show up even though you know it won't ship for a couple of days:D

magiccarpetride
10-07-2012, 23:41
Mine arrived today, so I thought I'd kick off a review thread. :)

I know that StanDACs need to run in, but just out of the box it's a stunner! :wowzer:

Stereo focus and fine detail is a step-up from what I have heard before - from StanDACs or anything else for that matter.

Delicacy, fine detail, articulation - all exemplary.

Blimey, Stan - at first listen, it's a stonker! :thumbsup:

Well, after living with the Bushmaster for the past four weeks (that's almost one month, if my calculations are correct), I must say that this product had completely won me over. Either the DAC is getting better with constant use, or I'm getting gradually accustomed to its sound, whatever the case may be, I'm finding it to be more and more enjoyable with each passing day.

Last night I was listening to Iron Butterfly "Slower Than Guns" (off their 1970 album "Metamorphosis"), and the sparkly sound of acoustic guitars has to be heard to be believed. Never before have I heard acoustic guitars sound so good. Amazing!

edmondwolfman
10-07-2012, 23:53
Well, after living with the Bushmaster for the past four weeks (that's almost one month, if my calculations are correct), I must say that this product had completely won me over. Either the DAC is getting better with constant use, or I'm getting gradually accustomed to its sound, whatever the case may be, I'm finding it to be more and more enjoyable with each passing day.

Last night I was listening to Iron Butterfly "Slower Than Guns" (off their 1970 album "Metamorphosis"), and the sparkly sound of acoustic guitars has to be heard to be believed. Never before have I heard acoustic guitars sound so good. Amazing!

Hey mcr that's great to hear. I have mine on order but Stan wanted to check to see if the new eprom was in it so I won't have it this week but look forward to getting it and start the burn in process:eyebrows:

jajh2204
11-07-2012, 07:22
Can i ask what the "eprom" is and what problems is causing apple tv?

(purely selfish reason for question as I use apple tv and I will be ordering the bushmaster when I come over to the uk for a visit!)

Martinh
11-07-2012, 07:59
Can i ask what the "eprom" is and what problems is causing apple tv?

(purely selfish reason for question as I use apple tv and I will be ordering the bushmaster when I come over to the uk for a visit!)

Hi Jason,

I have an ATV and Stan kindly sent me an updated EEPROM. I will be giving my feedback to him later today. PM me if you want any details.

Great service from Stan, as usual.

Cheers,

allsorts
11-07-2012, 09:16
From Wikipedia
An EPROM (rarely EROM), or erasable programmable read only memory, is a type of memory chip that retains its data when its power supply is switched off.

Martinh
11-07-2012, 10:18
From Wikipedia
An EPROM (rarely EROM), or erasable programmable read only memory, is a type of memory chip that retains its data when its power supply is switched off.

The chip Stan sent me was a PIC16F88 Microcontroller, which has a built in EEPROM.

The chip doesn't have a UV window, so can't be an EPROM.

By the way, the PCB and internal components are very nicely laid out and manufactured.

Cheers,

audionewbi
11-07-2012, 10:59
So how can folks in Australia order this? I have thought hard enough and owning the gator I am sure the BM will be a worth upgrade.

Mark Grant
11-07-2012, 11:31
You can order the Bushmaster on Stanleys website although it says out of stock until end of July.

They appear to be very popular judging by the 'out of stock' and the amount of Sboosters and Linear PSU's that people are buying from various parts of the world.

http://www.homehifi.co.uk/products/TC-7530DC.html

http://www.homehifi.co.uk/PP/TC2D7530DC_DAC_BLACK_with_TWIN_OPTICAL_26_TWIN_SPD IF_INPUT.html

audionewbi
11-07-2012, 11:36
^thanks, contacted his Australian reseller they also said the same thing to me.

I will buy it via them. I really hope Bm synergy with Er4s is as good as the caiman.

PS:Mark any chance of you entering LOD and Mini-mini interconnection cable world?

StanleyB
11-07-2012, 13:17
So how can folks in Australia order this? I have thought hard enough and owning the gator I am sure the BM will be a worth upgrade.
You can try emailing me if you wish to order one :). Many happy Australian Bushmaster owners on this forum.

MartinT
12-07-2012, 06:31
They appear to be very popular

This relatively new thread has over 56,000 views :eek:


...and the BM thread in Digital Expressions has over 104,000 views.

edmondwolfman
12-07-2012, 21:15
You can order the Bushmaster on Stanleys website although it says out of stock until end of July.

They appear to be very popular judging by the 'out of stock' and the amount of Sboosters and Linear PSU's that people are buying from various parts of the world.

http://www.homehifi.co.uk/products/TC-7530DC.html

http://www.homehifi.co.uk/PP/TC2D7530DC_DAC_BLACK_with_TWIN_OPTICAL_26_TWIN_SPD IF_INPUT.html

Can anyone point me to an sbooster or linear psu equivalent that can be obtained in the US?

lurcher
12-07-2012, 22:25
I have been making 120v versions of the MCRU linear supply if thats any use.

audionewbi
13-07-2012, 10:24
Just ordered the BM DAC, i am sure I will love it. I was told the headphone output impedance is less than 0.1 Ohm! Insanity!

*cough cough* I hope Stan sends me a free optical cable on the house. :-D

Cant wait to use my gator again with my studio monitor and use the BM as my bedside DAC/amp.

If the headphone section of the BM is as good as the gator I will be a very happy man.

audionewbi
14-07-2012, 15:38
What are the list of compatible opamp for BM?

SteveW
14-07-2012, 15:55
It's a very very short list.

DaveK
14-07-2012, 16:05
In fact, it could not be shorter ;) .

edmondwolfman
14-07-2012, 23:08
Ok, I received my BM today. Honestly I don't know how Stan does this but it was in Taiwan on the 12th, Los Angeles yesterday and delivered to my doorstop around 1 today and I live in the middle of the country, Oklahoma.

Anyway I have it hooked up and music running through. I listened to it immediately out of the box compared to my DACMagic and at fist listen the DACMagic has more upper range detail but I've been using the DM for a couple of years so I'm not jumping to any conclusions yet. I'm going to give it a fair break in period and form no opinions until after it has had a few days to burn in.

Since the Logitech Touch has both the optical and coax outs active at the same time I left the optical plugged into the DM and ran coax to the BM. This way I can have music playing and change back and forth on the fly and never miss a single beat of the music.

I'll listen this way for a while and then I'll connect the optical to the BM and the coax to the DACMagic. I'm pretty sure the optical output from the Touch sounds better than the coax or I wouln't have had it setup that way. I can say that the BM sounds very good right out of the box and the 2 are very close right now but with the DM having slightly more upper register detail. That may be the "brightness" that bothers me at times with some female voices and high pitch musical instruments when I've applied a generous amount of volume.

I've seen some of you say you have your cable or satellite box running to your BM, are you listening to 2 channel television?

StanleyB
15-07-2012, 07:34
I can say that the BM sounds very good right out of the box and the 2 are very close right now but with the DM having slightly more upper register detail.
Hi Bobby, can you do a break down for me of the differences in the upper register detail between the two DACs? I am particularly interested in such things as:
Instruments and vocals separation.
The presence, or lack of them, of instruments or certain notes or musical passages played with those instruments.
Additional sounds in the back ground etc.
Reverberation of vocals and instruments.
Louder.

Don't forget: I am after the difference in the detail that you can hear and only in the upper register.

MartinT
15-07-2012, 12:28
I've seen some of you say you have your cable or satellite box running to your BM, are you listening to 2 channel television?

Yes, I run optical from my Sky HD box (a UK satellite service) into the BM for 2-channel audio. It sounds superb.

Ali Tait
15-07-2012, 13:26
Yes, I do similar, though with a different dac

edmondwolfman
15-07-2012, 13:34
Hi Bobby, can you do a break down for me of the differences in the upper register detail between the two DACs? I am particularly interested in such things as:
Instruments and vocals separation.
The presence, or lack of them, of instruments or certain notes or musical passages played with those instruments.
Additional sounds in the back ground etc.
Reverberation of vocals and instruments.
Louder.

Don't forget: I am after the difference in the detail that you can hear and only in the upper register.

Stan after I do some more listening today I'll try a describe what I am hearing in more detail but I'm not very good at putting it into words and like I said that may be what comes across as bright when I listen to certain music at louder volumes. I can say for now that I might be listening to something with acoustic guitar or the lead voice through the DM and when I hit the switch to the BM the guitar or vocal seems to move back a bit, not quite as distinct or prominent.
I will swap the optical and coax later today and see if I hear a difference after doing that also.

Has anyone else with a Touch hooked up both outputs at the same time and run to their preamp so they can just change from AUX1 to AUX2 or similar? You can compare without having to shut everything down and don't have minutes between hearing the different DACs, you can compare within milliseconds.

***And remember, these observations came with the BM being plugged in for a few short hours.

StanleyB
15-07-2012, 16:36
. I can say for now that I might be listening to something with acoustic guitar or the lead voice through the DM and when I hit the switch to the BM the guitar or vocal seems to move back a bit, not quite as distinct or prominent.

Thanks for the clarification. That's good enough for me.
What you are hearing is the effect of the opamp MFB or Sallen-Key anti-aliasing filter in the DM. The feedback employed in those filters has the effect of pushing mainly the midrange part of the audio forward. The TC-7510 had a mod to counter act that by removing the capacitor in the feedback loop, and the Gator PCB has the feedback removed altogether. The BM doesn't have an opamp output stage so you won't get that type of pushed forward response.

audionewbi
17-07-2012, 07:07
Cant wait to try this. So excited

audionewbi
17-07-2012, 07:12
cant wait to receive this. I am pretty sure it will be a great DAC, hopefully a decent amp. But one think for sure I think I got more than enough DAC for now :-D Time to invest on a good amp.

icehockeyboy
17-07-2012, 11:47
cant wait to receive this. I am pretty sure it will be a great DAC, hopefully a decent amp. But one think for sure I think I got more than enough DAC for now :-D Time to invest on a good amp.

Some folk think I must be crazy to say this, except Jerry (Jandl) who is of a similar opinion, but having sold on my mega expensive Theta dac, believe the Bushmaster to be way better!

I am certain you will love it!

The Vinyl Adventure
17-07-2012, 18:47
Im with you too Craig!
Works an absolute dream in my system!
Im well in to getting accustomed to it/burn in ... And I'm completely, overwhelmingly chuffed!

ukemaxxer
17-07-2012, 20:06
Just received my BM today, fantastic service from Stan.

Only been running for five hours, but sounds so much better than my 7510.
Just finished listening to Candice Night's Reflections album, never heard it sounding so good.

Do you leave them powered up constantly, does sound benefit from this?

Richard

The Grand Wazoo
17-07-2012, 20:26
Richard:
Please attend to this (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17333) before you do anything else.
Thanks

ukemaxxer
17-07-2012, 20:51
Richard:
Please attend to this (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17333) before you do anything else.
Thanks

Sorry, done now.:eyebrows:

ukemaxxer
17-07-2012, 20:59
Anyone using an offboard headphone amp with their BM?

I have just built a Panda, but after hearing the BM in comparison to the 7510, I'm not sure I'll hear any benefit from it. Can't try it just yet, still waiting for an enclosure for it and final interconnect wiring.

Richard

The Grand Wazoo
17-07-2012, 21:37
Thanks Richard

NRG
19-07-2012, 13:57
SBooster effectiveness:

Before:
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l82/_NRG_/other/sBooster_before.jpg

After:
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l82/_NRG_/other/sBooster_after.jpg

jandl100
19-07-2012, 14:03
Crikey! :wowzer: that's an amazing improvement. Job done!

jandl100
19-07-2012, 14:04
Anyone using an offboard headphone amp with their BM?

I have just built a Panda, but after hearing the BM in comparison to the 7510, I'm not sure I'll hear any benefit from it. Can't try it just yet, still waiting for an enclosure for it and final interconnect wiring.

Richard

I've compared it with an upgraded MF X-CANS (cylinder chassis) and the BM is clearly superior - more dynamic, more controlled, more transparency, tauter bass.

camtwister
19-07-2012, 14:10
Neal,

Thank you! I've been searching for this information for some time.

What is the measured p-p ripple without the S-Booster?

NRG
19-07-2012, 14:17
Its not ripple as such but 150mV p-p spikes at about 8Khz on this supply and 30Khz within the group (thats from the first to last 3rd spike)...

audionewbi
20-07-2012, 02:32
Received the unit. Excellent package, excellent built quality. The headphone section has way more juice than the gator unit. It is too powerful for sensitive IEM. I still prefer the gator for my sensitive IEM but the k702 sounds excellent from the headphone section.

Too soon for me to comment on the DAC section, but right out of the box is sounds as good as the caiman.


Update:The vocal is too forward on the Bushmaster. While it has more gain which seem to benifit the k70x I out of the box i prefer the balance of the gator board of the caiman over the BM for ER-4S. I hope things change.

MartinT
20-07-2012, 05:36
audionewbi (please can we have your real name) - you have to give it more time, it settles down as it burns in. Vocals too forward? Not in mine they aren't.

audionewbi
20-07-2012, 06:24
^name added.

I am playing back some white, pink and brownian noise, will check things after 40 hours of burning in.

Just had a question in regard of playing back 24/192 files, can coaxial cable handle such files?

I am using squeezebox touch, dont know whether I would benefit more if I use the optical out instead of the coaxial out.

MartinT
20-07-2012, 06:25
Hi Moe, I use the co-ax connection and I've streamed 24/192 files without issue. I believe the ultimate bandwidth capability of co-ax is higher than optical, but I couldn't say for sure which sounds better as both my optical inputs are tied up with other sources.

jandl100
20-07-2012, 06:27
I always find that a decent co-ax sounds better than TOSLINK optical. It sounds like a rez thing to me.

audionewbi
20-07-2012, 07:28
Thanks guys, I will try buying a high quality coaxial cable tomorrow.

RoboCopper
20-07-2012, 08:00
Thanks guys, I will try buying a high quality coaxial cable tomorrow.

Do not take my suggestion (as myself have not tried it and do not cause more confusion) but I got recommendation that this could be good.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_nkw=oscilloscope+cable+probe&LH_PrefLoc=2

Anybody have tried this cable as digital coax?

Does it make sense?

Of course, some DIY soldering RCA connectors should be applied.

audionewbi
20-07-2012, 10:47
Do not take my suggestion (as myself have not tried it and do not cause more confusion) but I got recommendation that this could be good.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_nkw=oscilloscope+cable+probe&LH_PrefLoc=2

Anybody have tried this cable as digital coax?

Does it make sense?

Of course, some DIY soldering RCA connectors should be applied.

No idea what I just looked at :-D

You are dealing with a total noob here mate, take it easy on me :D

RoboCopper
20-07-2012, 10:52
No worries, the question was aimed at more experienced engineers or DIY enthusiast.

I am also beginner in some way. So welcome to our club :)

MartinT
20-07-2012, 10:54
Just buy a standard RG59U cable, which is designed for 75 Ohm co-ax use. You should find them made up in different lengths over in Amazon Australia or eBay.

RoboCopper
20-07-2012, 10:57
Thanks, but anybody any experience in Oscilloscope probe cable for connection between source and DAC?

DSJR
20-07-2012, 11:33
No, but make sure you don't screw it up with high capacitance phono plugs, of which there are a few out there!

Stratmangler
20-07-2012, 12:13
Thanks, but anybody any experience in Oscilloscope probe cable for connection between source and DAC?

Your oscilloscope probe lead will be multi-stranded cable, which is not ideal.

RoboCopper
20-07-2012, 12:24
Your oscilloscope probe lead will be multi-stranded cable, which is not ideal.

By reading specs of the probe seems that it can handle lots of data through it.

Obviously must try first :)

The Grand Wazoo
20-07-2012, 12:38
I don't understand why you have this idea that you'll need a cable that can handle extra data.
To take your argument to it's conclusion, how much information should an analogue cable be able to cope with? An analogue signal isn't sampled like a digital one - it's the whole thing. So you'd need a really fancy cable to hear an analogue signal, right?

Just get yourself a competent 75 ohm cable & listen to some music!

RoboCopper
20-07-2012, 12:46
Yes, I know all this, but obviously some of us are into tweaks, testing, trying. I am naturally curious and so far rule 1+1=2 does not apply in hifi.

It is mostly 1+1= own ears

NRG
20-07-2012, 12:50
Just get a standard 75 Ohm cable but don't use a 1m length use 1.5m :eyebrows:

If you want to go a bit exotic buy some of the Audio/Visual stuff from Maplin or speak to Mike who can if asked nicely sell you some of his...

edmondwolfman
20-07-2012, 13:55
Received the unit. Excellent package, excellent built quality. The headphone section has way more juice than the gator unit. It is too powerful for sensitive IEM. I still prefer the gator for my sensitive IEM but the k702 sounds excellent from the headphone section.

Too soon for me to comment on the DAC section, but right out of the box is sounds as good as the caiman.


Update:The vocal is too forward on the Bushmaster. While it has more gain which seem to benifit the k70x I out of the box i prefer the balance of the gator board of the caiman over the BM for ER-4S. I hope things change.

Mine was just the opposite. I had DACMagic and BM both running at the same time so I could just change from AUX1 to AUX2 immediately and the vocals seemed recessed as compared to the DM. Over the last 5 days things have changed for the better. When I switch back and forth the BM no longer seems subdued but very detailed without being forward or bright More to come.

audionewbi
20-07-2012, 15:26
Mine was just the opposite. I had DACMagic and BM both running at the same time so I could just change from AUX1 to AUX2 immediately and the vocals seemed recessed as compared to the DM. Over the last 5 days things have changed for the better. When I switch back and forth the BM no longer seems subdued but very detailed without being forward or bright More to come.

I am using this merely as a bedside dac/amp, I am not using any speaker setup.

Have you tried the headphone out yet? Anyways the unit is burning in, I will try it in few days time. But I am sure what I described before is me not been use to the sound signature of the unit. I am sure once I get used to this I wouldnt notice what I have noticed now.

To recap: I hear loud hissing noises from the headphone out of the BM when I pair it up with my sensitive IEM (XBA-4). There is hiss.

At low volume there is imbalance, but that is not an issue for me as I dont listen to such low volume. it would have been an issue only if this unit was usable with sensitive IEM, but due to the hiss I dont think I will ever care about the imbalance at such low volume.

I dont know if the hiss is normal or not but it is present in my unit out of the headphone out.

Richardl
20-07-2012, 17:44
I might try one of these, if they ever come back in stock :)

I was wondering how everyone used theirs, straight into a power amp using the variable output, or to an integrated amp?. I know the information's on this thread, but there's 84 pages of posts.

MartinT
20-07-2012, 17:50
Just get a standard 75 Ohm cable but don't use a 1m length use 1.5m :eyebrows:

Interesting, Neal. I presume that 1m lengths give bad reflections at that impedance? Is there a shorter length than 1m that works?

edmondwolfman
20-07-2012, 18:12
I might try one of these, if they ever come back in stock :)

I was wondering how everyone used theirs, straight into a power amp using the variable output, or to an integrated amp?. I know the information's on this thread, but there's 84 pages of posts.

No preamp feature so you will need to feed into a preamp or integrated amp. The volume knob is for headphone only.

StanleyB
20-07-2012, 18:43
To recap: I hear loud hissing noises from the headphone out of the BM when I pair it up with my sensitive IEM (XBA-4). There is hiss.
Do you hear the hiss when the music is playing and/or when there is no music playing but with the volume control turned to max?

Gie663
20-07-2012, 19:36
My first impression after unpacking hasn't changed much : you could tell immediately that the soundstage has widened considerably : the bass fundament is better focussed, mid register has stepped up a bit and the highs sound as silky natural as before (they already did on my Accuphase e-213 integrated amp). I listened to the Bushmaster mostly coax-connected with my Marantz 63mkII KI cd-player (14 years of age !)
It's not so easy to catch into words what exactly this Bushmaster achieves : the feeling of 'directness' is sometimes overwhelming : the recording space as such becomes almost palpably audible, most spectacular in classical recordings : the strings of La Stagione Frankfurt for example in the Telemann Wind Concertos vol, 4 (CPO) ring out beautifully and naturally (they even sound 3D on a stereo). The coloratura soprano of Danielle de Niese in her Handel cd (with Les Arts Florissants – Decca) is a triumph, both in artistic achievement, but also in recording quality : the Bushmaster gives this voice the space and ease to reach unknown regions of virtuosity, reproducing every note and breath – it gives you shivers down your spine.
Jazz recordings fare well too. The saxophone of Stan Getz (Getz/Gilberto – Verve) is 'greasy' and one tick more prominent and transparent.
Do I sound enthusiastic ? Sorry, I can't help it.
Since my old (and rather cheap) DVD-recorder (Philips DVDR 610) happens to have a digital coax output I connected it to the DAC too. And yet again the Bushmaster turned the low-fi Philips into a very decent cd-transport, the sound somewhat more laid back compared to the Marantz, but still surprisingly full and clear,
I 've only given the headphone output (with the Grado SR 80) one quick listening : brilliant sound, but maybe a bit too close for comfort ? I need to have a second opinion here.
So far I used one optical imput for the Sony Minidisk recorder, the sound evenso nice and clear, but less spectacular compared to straight cd-playing.

One oddity : at first I used a digital audio coax cable (1m) from Sunshinetronic.
Later on I changed this cable with one more 'everyday model' from Bandridge (also 1m) and the sound ameliorated slightly. Who can explain that ??? These interlinks only carry digital information, so normally there can't be any differences as to quality ?

http://www.sunshinetronic.de/epages/61935512.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/61935512/Categories/%22Koaxial%20Kabel%22/HomeCinema

http://blue.bandridge.nl/products/audio/digital_connections/digital_coax/digital_coax_audio_cable/general.html

Greetz from Belgium !

edmondwolfman
20-07-2012, 20:26
^name added.

I am playing back some white, pink and brownian noise, will check things after 40 hours of burning in.

Just had a question in regard of playing back 24/192 files, can coaxial cable handle such files?

I am using squeezebox touch, dont know whether I would benefit more if I use the optical out instead of the coaxial out.

I too use a Touch and after carefully listening I found that optical connection to sound better than coax. I tried both and optical was just better...at least in my system.

edmondwolfman
20-07-2012, 20:34
To recap: I hear loud hissing noises from the headphone out of the BM when I pair it up with my sensitive IEM (XBA-4). There is hiss.

I dont know if the hiss is normal or not but it is present in my unit out of the headphone out.

I've only tried my heaphone briefly but there is no hiss at all.

nat8808
20-07-2012, 23:41
I dont know if the hiss is normal or not but it is present in my unit out of the headphone out.

My Shure IEM manual tells me to expect hiss on most equipment because of their sensitivity.

I guess a case of not being able to design a headamp for every single type of headphone..

audionewbi
21-07-2012, 01:24
Do you hear the hiss when the music is playing and/or when there is no music playing but with the volume control turned to max?

The hiss is present when there is no music is playing. The volume control position adjusement does not seem to make any difference when there is no music playing, however while music is playing the hiss becomes louder as the volume is not is turned more towards 12 oclock.

Update:
Discovered something interesting! The hiss seems to only be coming from the left channel, the hiss on the right channel is almost non-existence while there is no music playback!

Update 2:
I hear no music, the unit seems to have died on me! Tried the different coaxial connection, non seem to pick up the digital signal coming out of the SB touch. I thought maybe there is something wrong with touch, so I hooked up the touch back to the good old caiman and yea I think there is something wrong with the BM.

NRG
21-07-2012, 06:11
Interesting, Neal. I presume that 1m lengths give bad reflections at that impedance? Is there a shorter length than 1m that works?

Well its to do with non ideal cable termination and reflections for the wave length of the signal...1.5m came up as the minimum length somewhere I read...longer maybe better in multiples of 1.5m but for practical considerations 1.5 is OK.

The Vinyl Adventure
21-07-2012, 18:13
The hiss is present when there is no music is playing. The volume control position adjusement does not seem to make any difference when there is no music playing, however while music is playing the hiss becomes louder as the volume is not is turned more towards 12 oclock.

Update:
Discovered something interesting! The hiss seems to only be coming from the left channel, the hiss on the right channel is almost non-existence while there is no music playback!

Update 2:
I hear no music, the unit seems to have died on me! Tried the different coaxial connection, non seem to pick up the digital signal coming out of the SB touch. I thought maybe there is something wrong with touch, so I hooked up the touch back to the good old caiman and yea I think there is something wrong with the BM.

Switch it off and on again

gilesw
21-07-2012, 20:35
I've got a naim cd5i at the moment, I love the fact that dance music and any beats sound really snappy on it but of course I barely use the thing these days and listen to more music on my squeezebox in the kitchen. I'm thinking about getting another squeezebox for the lounge and some sort of dac. Do you guys think that the squeezebox beresford combo will sound as a good as the naim? Difficult question I know... Also I do have a htpc in the lounge with an optical out so is there even a reason for me to buy a squeezebox touch?

DSJR
21-07-2012, 20:55
The old Caiman was probably as good as a CD5i, so the Bushmaster should eat it alive I reckon :)

gilesw
22-07-2012, 01:22
Interesting thanks for your response. I might try one out then. Is it essential that I drive it with a squeezebox or would the optical out of a standard pc motherboard do? Actually I use the htpc for 5.1 output so I'm probably best of getting a squeezebox.

dave2010
22-07-2012, 02:54
Interesting thanks for your response. I might try one out then. Is it essential that I drive it with a squeezebox or would the optical out of a standard pc motherboard do? Actually I use the htpc for 5.1 output so I'm probably best of getting a squeezebox.
You should be able to drive a Caiman or a BM directly from any optical or coax digital source. You don't need to buy yet another squeezebox to act as an interface. There may be some merits in using a touch, but it's not the only way to get the job done. I am thinking of using a Mac mini to drive my DAC instead of or as well as a squeezebox. That way I can also watch video on the TV via the HDMI interface.

gilesw
22-07-2012, 09:02
Well to explain I have an old Denon 5.1 amp which doesn't have a hdmi in so my htpc has optical out to the amp and hdmi straight to my projector. My htpc is also my filestore box so it has all my flacs on it. So are you saying it's better for me to directly play them from that machine? If that is the case then I need to get a separate soundcard with optical out. to feed the dac and run some separate player on the htpc rather than just xbmc which can use the old onboard optical out.

It certainly looks like xmbc can be configured to use 2 separate soundcards for playing music or movies:-

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=86038

Question is what soundcard do I buy for linux then with the best optical out I can find..

DSJR
22-07-2012, 09:30
I don't want to come across thread crapping but i hate digital, i used to use it becuase most my music cost mega bucks to buy on viny, now it's being re issued at the rates of knots i'm no longer intrested. good riddence now i say..amazing that 30 years i have wasted when i could have just stuck with vinyl in the first place, but you live & learn i say.

[/U]

What is it about digital that you hate? I bet what you're hearing is an amp not able to take uhf very well (many outputs of players and DAC's have spurious hash coming out and many amps just don't like it), and the speakers may not take to the increased high frequency impact of master recordings or their digital clones over the more restrained tones of a good record player.

Tone controls? Nah, just get a proper Klark Teknik parametric eq and do it properly :) Most of the analogue stuff you listen to will have been through a few of these already, so another one won't make any difference :)

loonytunes
22-07-2012, 19:38
Mine arrived today, so I thought I'd kick off a review thread. :)

I know that StanDACs need to run in, but just out of the box it's a stunner! :wowzer:

Stereo focus and fine detail is a step-up from what I have heard before - from StanDACs or anything else for that matter.

Delicacy, fine detail, articulation - all exemplary.

Blimey, Stan - at first listen, it's a stonker! :thumbsup:

I know you've had experience with a modified Marantz CD48 which employs the TDA1549 DAC, and you liked what it did (even though everything about it was not perfect). I too own an old CD48 (not modified though) and what this player does right it does superbly. Does Stan's DAC achieve what the CD48 does at its best do you think?

Yes it would seem churlish to compare the excellent, modern and up-to-date Bushmaster with an old dog like the CD48 when other are comparing this with a Naim for example - but my personal experience with the CD48 is excellent.

jandl100
23-07-2012, 08:43
I know you've had experience with a modified Marantz CD48 which employs the TDA1549 DAC, and you liked what it did (even though everything about it was not perfect). I too own an old CD48 (not modified though) and what this player does right it does superbly. Does Stan's DAC achieve what the CD48 does at its best do you think?

Yes it would seem churlish to compare the excellent, modern and up-to-date Bushmaster with an old dog like the CD48 when other are comparing this with a Naim for example - but my personal experience with the CD48 is excellent.

Yes, I agree, the TDA1549-chipped CDPs are very very good - I first came across a reference to the "TDA1549 magic" on the Lampizator site, where he reckoned a Philips CD751 (I think) was as good as, or better than, a top Wadia! I was intrigued and as the Philips machines are cheap as chips I bought one on eBay.

Well, maybe Lampi is prone to a bit of exaggeration ;) but yes, there is a real midrange magic to be had, a natural musical flow and insight. No, it doesn't do full justice to Big Music, and certainly not in the way that a good Wadia can, but in its own way it does sound better than most digital and certainly represents superb value at £30 or so from t'Bay.

And, yes, I bought another TDA1549 machine, a Marantz CD48, but with a valve output stage added. The mids suddenly got even better - a very special machine (I've just sold it and the new owner is over the moon and is selling his old Pink Triangle DAC!! It also demolished an Audiolab MDAC in small to medium scale music.) - but the bass loses some of the quite decent slam available from the Philips machine. Of course, all is not necessarily equal comparing the Philips and Marantz machines anyway - PSU, laser mech (?), chassis build etc would all be different. Nonetheless, there is enough in common between the sounds that a) I am inclined to attribute the magic mids heard from both to the TDA1549 chip and b) I am inclined to attribute the weaker bass from the Marantz to the valved output stage.
I might be wrong, though!

Anyhoo -- where were we? Ah yes! - the Bushmaster DAC.
Yeah, it does it all!
I would have thought the 'honeymoon' period should be over for me by now - I've had it about 6 weeks now - but it recently trounced a £2k unit that passed thru Jerry Towers, and I still love the Bushmaster sound madly/deeply.
Yes, it betters the midrange magic of the TDA1549, although I might be persuaded to concede that the TDA1549 mids are 'nicer' in a somewhat laidback and free-flowing way. I think that's a colouration, though!

I still rate the Bushmaster as the best digital I have heard, although it's a bit of a case of swings and roundabouts with the other top CDP I have owned - a £25k Krell KPS25c. It's hard to argue with the slam and precision of the Krell and the way it hangs an amazingly well focussed soundstage. But I think the Bushmaster beats it in terms of the naturalness of its 3D soundstaging when suitably partnered, and the rez, transparency and speed is easily up there, too.

_____
All of the above is just ime & imho, of course! :)

gilesw
23-07-2012, 14:47
Oh well, I've just ordered a Bushmaster. I'll try and do some testing against the Naim before I box it all up. Tempting to get another mini-t amp to plum into my Denon amp with it.

loonytunes
23-07-2012, 14:49
(I've just sold it and the new owner is over the moon and is selling his old Pink Triangle DAC!! It also demolished an Audiolab MDAC in small to medium scale music.)


Thanks for being very comprehensive with your reply! I assume you finally sold your CD48 due to the Bushmaster - else perhaps you would still be clinging onto it a reference for its strong points.

Has the Bushmaster been fussy with the upstream transport? Or is it quite consistent no matter the host? The convenience of a Squeezebox Touch is tempting but not at the expense of ultimate SQ.

vinylspinner
23-07-2012, 14:58
Hi Jerry,

Would the BM improve on the Musical Fidelity A5? I know you had one at Jerry Towers for a little while, would like to hear your opinion.

Nigel

Yomanze
23-07-2012, 18:13
Well its to do with non ideal cable termination and reflections for the wave length of the signal...1.5m came up as the minimum length somewhere I read...longer maybe better in multiples of 1.5m but for practical considerations 1.5 is OK.

5 metres is the way to go. ;)

From an RF engineer who knows more about this than I ever will...

As for the Bushmaster, Stan or anyone else who knows, is there a 30 days return policy?

edmondwolfman
23-07-2012, 19:37
5 metres is the way to go. ;)

From an RF engineer who knows more about this than I ever will...

As for the Bushmaster, Stan or anyone else who knows, is there a 30 days return policy?

I saw something about a return policy on one of the sites but I didn't read it. From what I've seen on the forums if the BM doesn't work for you for any reason Stan wouldn't try to make you keep it....but don't use it for 3-6 months and then say "I'm not happy with it" like I've seen some do at a restaurant, eat almost everything and then say "I didn't like this, I don't want to pay" :)

Darren
23-07-2012, 20:03
I too use a Touch and after carefully listening I found that optical connection to sound better than coax. I tried both and optical was just better...at least in my system.

Agree with that. The optical connection does seem optimal for the touch

Darren
23-07-2012, 20:06
I'd like to try a Bushmaster in my work system but am deeply skeptical regarding substantial differences between reasonable dacs - certainly I've never heard any though my experience is limited.

synsei
23-07-2012, 20:17
I can assure you that there can be substantial differences Darren. The two DAC's I've owned, a Beresford Caiman and a CA DacMagic were as different as chalk and cheese. I prefer the sound of the Caiman having found the DacMagic to be far too polite for my ears.

edmondwolfman
23-07-2012, 20:18
I'd like to try a Bushmaster in my work system but am deeply skeptical regarding substantial differences between reasonable dacs - certainly I've never heard any though my experience is limited.

I was able to hear a difference between my DACMagic and the BM. At first the DM had more bass and clearer highs but that was when the BM was just a few hours old. After the BM broke in (and I can tell you I was VERY skeptical of the people on the forum saying that after 4 or 5 days the BM changed a lot and for the better) it bettered the DM in all areas.

If I didn't have them both hooked up at the same time with both outputs from my Touch running to each DAC where I could just change from AUX1 to AUX2 and not miss a beat it would have been harder to hear the difference. If you have to take a few minutes to shut everything down and change cables, fire everything back up and then compare it can be really hard to hear a difference, at least for me but when you have both running and can just click a button and change back and forth it is very easy to hear the differences.

NRG
23-07-2012, 20:19
5 metres is the way to go. ;)

From an RF engineer who knows more about this than I ever will...

As for the Bushmaster, Stan or anyone else who knows, is there a 30 days return policy?

Well theres no hard and fast rule as you don't know what the rise time of the signal is but yes longer the better it would seem on the majority of commercial kit, 1.5m was just a minimum figure.

edmondwolfman
23-07-2012, 20:21
5 metres is the way to go. ;)

From an RF engineer who knows more about this than I ever will...

As for the Bushmaster, Stan or anyone else who knows, is there a 30 days return policy?

I found this at the HomeHIFI site:

Returns
We value our reputation as a value for money trader. So should you wish to return an item after having had a chance to evaluate it for a few days, please contact us for the return address and any additional information that you may require.

Darren
23-07-2012, 22:13
Hey Dave and Bobby,
Many thanks for your remarks. I am tempted. Its either that or a Nexus 7 tablet......

Alp
24-07-2012, 05:50
Do you hear the hiss when the music is playing and/or when there is no music playing but with the volume control turned to max?

Although I rarely use headphones, I have just the same hiss - except it is in the right channel.

My Grado SR80s pick it up whether the volume is turned-up or turned right down. When the music is playing it is very noticeable during quiet parts.

The hiss is quite choppy and seems to stop momentarily and then restart - quite unlike the white noise you get in both channels with the volume on max (no music). It is there irrespective of which input is selected but it did seem to reduce when I set the LEDs to be off. Turning BM off and on again made no difference.

There is no noise on the fixed output, which sounds excellent BTW after burning in.

Is there a fix to this problem, short of returning the unit and losing my hard-won burn-in?

edmondwolfman
24-07-2012, 13:41
Although I rarely use headphones, I have just the same hiss - except it is in the right channel.

My Grado SR80s pick it up whether the volume is turned-up or turned right down. When the music is playing it is very noticeable during quiet parts.

The hiss is quite choppy and seems to stop momentarily and then restart - quite unlike the white noise you get in both channels with the volume on max (no music). It is there irrespective of which input is selected but it did seem to reduce when I set the LEDs to be off. Turning BM off and on again made no difference.

There is no noise on the fixed output, which sounds excellent BTW after burning in.

Is there a fix to this problem, short of returning the unit and losing my hard-won burn-in?


I'll have to give mine another listen. I only used the headphones for a few minutes and my wife had the television on at the same time so I'll do it again and pay closer attention.

UPDATE: I just tested the headphones again. First with no music at all and volume turned all the way up, next with music playing and finally with music paused and volume turned all the way up again and I have no hiss from any of them.

Alp
24-07-2012, 18:23
I'll have to give mine another listen. I only used the headphones for a few minutes and my wife had the television on at the same time so I'll do it again and pay closer attention.

UPDATE: I just tested the headphones again. First with no music at all and volume turned all the way up, next with music playing and finally with music paused and volume turned all the way up again and I have no hiss from any of them.

I did the same initially which is why I only noticed it today. Thanks for checking. Hopefully Stan will come back with something. It definitely seems to be something to do with the LEDs. When they are set to go off after a few seconds, the hiss more-or-less disappears about 30 seconds later. On the few occasions I listen to headphones, I now know what to do.

Gie663
24-07-2012, 18:31
Although I rarely use headphones, I have just the same hiss - except it is in the right channel.

My Grado SR80s pick it up whether the volume is turned-up or turned right down. When the music is playing it is very noticeable during quiet parts.

The hiss is quite choppy and seems to stop momentarily and then restart - quite unlike the white noise you get in both channels with the volume on max (no music). It is there irrespective of which input is selected but it did seem to reduce when I set the LEDs to be off. Turning BM off and on again made no difference.

There is no noise on the fixed output, which sounds excellent BTW after burning in.

Is there a fix to this problem, short of returning the unit and losing my hard-won burn-in?

I also use the Grado SR80. When connected to the Bushmaster there is no hiss at all. With the music off and the volume turned at maximum level there is absolutely no sound audible (quite impressively so !). My guess is that somehow there must be interference getting in the course of your headphone signal. There's also no difference when the leds are on or out.
By the way,for reasonable listening levels I can only turn the volume knob one quarter of a turn up, putting the knob at 12 o'clock is already unbearably loud !

jandl100
25-07-2012, 11:36
Hi Jerry,

Would the BM improve on the Musical Fidelity A5? I know you had one at Jerry Towers for a little while, would like to hear your opinion.

Nigel

Yup.

The A5 is a nice player, I enjoyed it.
But the imaging is a bit flat, especially compared to the Bushmaster, which is a superb imager once you're tuned in to it (which can take a while, it's so good as to be quite a different experience that you need to get used to, imo).

And there is a light & life, a musical freedom and exuberance, to the BM's playback that takes it into serious high end territory - you normally need to spend multiple-£k's to even have a chance of getting that sort of quality, ime. The A5 doesn't do it - most digital playback doesn't.

loonytunes
25-07-2012, 14:15
Yup.

The A5 is a nice player, I enjoyed it.
But the imaging is a bit flat, especially compared to the Bushmaster, which is a superb imager once you're tuned in to it (which can take a while, it's so good as to be quite a different experience that you need to get used to, imo).

And there is a light & life, a musical freedom and exuberance, to the BM's playback that takes it into serious high end territory - you normally need to spend multiple-£k's to even have a chance of getting that sort of quality, ime. The A5 doesn't do it - most digital playback doesn't.

The BM certainly seems to be a bit of a giant killer - so I thought I would elevate my experience with hi-end digital and borrow a digital giant from another music lover that fortunately lives nearby. I am soon to become accustomed to the sound of a 'Rega Isis'. Let's see if David can kill this Goliath!

jandl100
25-07-2012, 15:09
Wow - I've never heard any of the high end Rega stuff. I await your thoughts with interest! :)

MartinT
25-07-2012, 15:32
MikeMusic has an Isis CD player and very fine it sounds, too. That will be an interesting comparison.

Gazjam
25-07-2012, 15:33
The Bushmaster didn't beat the Rega Dac when three of us compared it at mine, I'm assuming the Isis is better.
Funny old hobby this...

jandl100
25-07-2012, 15:59
I'd have loved to have been at that comparison, Gaz!

IIRC the BM came last, after Ali's valve home brew, the Rega and the Beresford Caiman. I don't think anyone else here who has compared the BM to the fully tricked-out Caiman has come to the same conclusion.
.... :scratch:
A funny hobby, indeed.
I've heard the Rega DAC and I agree that it is indeed a good'un. But for me, the BM is very special indeed.

Gazjam
25-07-2012, 16:37
Yeah..its odd innit? :)
Just how it was on the day.

What matters is everyones happy with what they have and there's a lot of happy punters :)

Ali Tait
25-07-2012, 19:52
Still remember how much of an improvement the TQ cable made, it made the dac differences seem insignificant..

DSJR
26-07-2012, 08:00
The isis valve CD player hifi dave has is like the Rega DAC in overall flavour, but just more of everything. I have no idea if it's a subtle colouration - one would think so if reading between the lines on their website about it - but it's one of those select players that enable one to completely forget about the "mechanics" of "digital replay," the music taking total control. Years ago, I found the Naim CDS2/XPS did similar things in almost ANY system, the magic coming through with ease. All Naim's cheaper player combinations sounded mechanical rather false in comparison.

Mind you, for a retail price of several thousand quid, the Isis in both versions should be a bloody good player, and for the £500 Rega DAC and the £200 Bushmaster to be spoken of in the same breath is an achievement IMO...


P.S. I understand Rega are trimming their "Reference Dealers" down and a few Isis/Osiris combinations are being flogged off below trade price to ease some dealers' cash flow. The amp is good too, although a six grand integrated doesn't really fit well in the UK unless it comes imported by Absolute Sounds and is foo'd up accordingly ;)

aBe
26-07-2012, 08:18
The BM sounds great through my headphones - Audio Technica ATH M50 and Superlux. The problem is that I am not too keen in listening for long hours through those cans to begin with.

But, when connected to the Brio-R and Epos M12.2 it seems that the amp + speakers combo fails to replicate the thunderous bass thump and overall dynamics of the 'phones.

Am I missing something here.
Is there anything else that I could change or include to spice things up ?
A different speaker cables perhaps?

gilesw
26-07-2012, 10:29
I remember demoing a £500 rega cd player when I bought my naim cd5i and I thought the naim was far better. I'm hoping my beresford when it arrives is more naimlike!

StanleyB
26-07-2012, 10:56
The BM sounds great through my headphones - Audio Technica ATH M50 and Superlux. The problem is that I am not too keen in listening for long hours through those cans to begin with.

But, when connected to the Brio-R and Epos M12.2 it seems that the amp + speakers combo fails to replicate the thunderous bass thump and overall dynamics of the 'phones.
You are not the first Brio-R owner to mention something similar between the Brio and the BM, and I mentioned the feedback comments of a couple of Brio owners a while back.
But that suggestion has been dismissed as incorrect. Obviously as an engineer I have to accept that there are people out there who are even smarter than audio engineers when it comes to the detecting a pattern of possible issues between audio equipment. So hopefully someone more knowledgeable than me will be along soon to make some suitable suggestions.

icehockeyboy
26-07-2012, 11:12
The BM sounds great through my headphones - Audio Technica ATH M50 and Superlux. The problem is that I am not too keen in listening for long hours through those cans to begin with.

But, when connected to the Brio-R and Epos M12.2 it seems that the amp + speakers combo fails to replicate the thunderous bass thump and overall dynamics of the 'phones.

Am I missing something here.
Is there anything else that I could change or include to spice things up ?
A different speaker cables perhaps?

Get a sub!:)

jandl100
26-07-2012, 14:15
Mind you, for a retail price of several thousand quid, the Isis in both versions should be a bloody good player, and for the £500 Rega DAC and the £200 Bushmaster to be spoken of in the same breath is an achievement IMO...


Well, I don't think that they have yet, Dave!

I mean it's possible for me to mention a Reliant Robin and a Ferrari in the same breath, in fact I have just done so, but that doesn't necessarily mean that their performance is in any way comparable! :)

Let's wait and see what the listening verdict is ....

Althouigh I have done some equally esoteric BM comparisons myself .... :eyebrows:

edmondwolfman
26-07-2012, 14:32
Well, I don't think that they have yet, Dave!

I mean it's possible for me to mention a Reliant Robin and a Ferrari in the same breath, in fact I have just done so, but that doesn't necessarily mean that their performance is in any way comparable! :)

Let's wait and see what the listening verdict is ....

Althouigh I have done some equally esoteric BM comparisons myself .... :eyebrows:

I haven't heard the Rega DAC but have read many reviews and it seems to be the consensus that the Rega DAC has bloated bass. Maybe the people that prefer the Rega over the BM don't hear bass as well and don't hear the bloated bass. I'm not knocking the Rega I'm just saying some people hear different frequencies differently.

One example of this, a friend of mine doesn't hear high freqs very well. When I get in his car his stereo has the treble turned all the way up and th bass turned all the way down. That sounds right to him but it sounds like a $5 transistor radio to me.

This is just 1 example of all the Rega reviews I've read.

From Stereophile:

Overall, the Rega DAC offered respectable measured performance for $995. But I am concerned about the ±120Hz sidebands that accompany high-level tones. Psychoacoustic masking theory suggests that these sidebands will be too close in frequency to the musical tones to be perceived. On the other hand, Paul Miller has written, in the English magazine Hi-Fi News & Record Review, that he has found that the presence of low-frequency sidebands in other processors correlates with the perception that a product's bass is larger than life, even a touch ponderous. Although my measurements show that the Rega DAC's frequency response is flat to below 20Hz, both Jon and Sam described the Rega's low frequencies as being exaggerated, which might correlate with this measured problem. Otherwise, it remains a puzzle.—John Atkinson

So I guess what I'm getting at is one person may think the BM to be much better at the same time as 2 people listening together decide they like the Rega better. Doesn't mean either is wrong;)

When I first plugged in my BM and did direct comparisons to my DACMagic the DM sounded better. Had more bass, better, clearer highs. After a few days that changed and now the BM betters the DM in all areas. It's not night and day but if you can change back and forth quickly enough you can definately tell that the BM has come into it's own and in my system sounds better than the DM.

MartinT
26-07-2012, 17:14
Althouigh I have done some equally esoteric BM comparisons myself .... :eyebrows:

I'm beginning to have an equally high regard for the BM, Jerry. I have mostly used it for Sky HD and Blu-ray but more recently I've been using it with the Logitech Touch and I am beginning to realise just what a giant-killing package the Touch + Bushmaster + Linear PSUs is. Streaming just 16/44 material is really excellent, giving that palpable presence, air and space that only high end CD players can do. Hi-res material sounds even better.

Gazjam
26-07-2012, 17:23
I haven't heard the Rega DAC but have read many reviews and it [B]seems to be the consensus that the Rega DAC has bloated bass. Maybe the people that prefer the Rega over the BM don't hear bass as well and don't hear the bloated bass. I'm not knocking the Rega I'm just saying some people hear different frequencies differently.

One example of this, a friend of mine doesn't hear high freqs very well. When I get in his car his stereo has the treble turned all the way up and th bass turned all the way down. That sounds right to him but it sounds like a $5 transistor radio to me.

This is just 1 example of all the Rega reviews I've read.

From Stereophile:

Overall, the Rega DAC offered respectable measured performance for $995. But I am concerned about the ±120Hz sidebands that accompany high-level tones. Psychoacoustic masking theory suggests that these sidebands will be too close in frequency to the musical tones to be perceived. On the other hand, Paul Miller has written, in the English magazine Hi-Fi News & Record Review, that he has found that the presence of low-frequency sidebands in other processors correlates with the perception that a product's bass is larger than life, even a touch ponderous. Although my measurements show that the Rega DAC's frequency response is flat to below 20Hz, both Jon and Sam described the Rega's low frequencies as being exaggerated, which might correlate with this measured problem. Otherwise, it remains a puzzle.—John Atkinson

So I guess what I'm getting at is one person may think the BM to be much better at the same time as 2 people listening together decide they like the Rega better. Doesn't mean either is wrong;)

When I first plugged in my BM and did direct comparisons to my DACMagic the DM sounded better. Had more bass, better, clearer highs. After a few days that changed and now the BM betters the DM in all areas. It's not night and day but if you can change back and forth quickly enough you can definately tell that the BM has come into it's own and in my system sounds better than the DM.

I actually have heard the rega dac and "bloated bass" is not the first thing I'd say comes to mind describing its sound.
To me its tight, agile tuneful and musical.
System synergy always comes into play, so really there's no absolute verdict on any piece of kit.
(apart from Lidl stereo's vs proper kit of course)

I'm always wary of any "general conscensus" when (as you say) different people hear differently. :)
(though all three of us at a recent dac comparison at my gaff ranked the BM less than other dacs on show that day)


That Stereophile Review... there's a fair bit more to it than just that.
(Including comment by Paul Darwin of Rega)

Have you the link to the full article?

edmondwolfman
26-07-2012, 18:26
I actually have heard the rega dac and "bloated bass is not the first thing I'd say comes to mind describing its sound.
To me its tight, agile tuneful and musical.
System synergy always comes into play, so really there's no absolute opinions on any piece of kit.
(apart from Lidl stereo's vs proper kit of course)

I'm always wary of any "general conscensus" when (as you say) different people hear differently. :)
(though all three of us at a recent dac comparison at my gaff ranked the BM less than other dacs on show that day)


That Stereophile Review... there's a fair bit more to it than just that.
(Including comment by Paul Darwin of Rega)

Have you the link to the full article?

I just googled it, it's on the Stereophile site, I just pulled the conclusion from the end.

Just looking at reviews, professional and just regular users I see a lot of bass bloom, bloated, heavy bass, warm and slightly lacking in upper detail. Things like that. I'm not knocking the Rega at all but generally when most of the reviews mention that something is a little bass heavy there is usually at least a little something to it and I also know that the system, room, etc. that is used contributes to the outcome.

If only we could all have the perfect listening rooms and hearing as good as it was when we were young we would all probably agree a lot more about our music playback:)

What I can say though, is that in my system the BM sounds better than the DACMagic. The brightness/harshness on some music is not there through the BM.

One other thing that made it even better was when I plugged the Magenta ADE-24.1 back into the siganl path. Its a analog digital enhancer made in Mexico by Margules. It's kind of a weird product. Some say in no way can it make the music sound better, but those are mostly the ones that never heard it. You can see a write up here http://adventureshifi.blogspot.com/2011/10/margules-audio-from-mexico-magenta-ade.html .

It says it does something about odd order harmonics but I don't know enough to talk intelligently about that I just know that it makes my music, in combination with the BM, sound great.

If one listened to their music and then turned everything off, added the Magenta, turned everything back on and listened you may not be able to tell a big difference. You might say, well that sounds good and doesn't detract so I'll just leave it in.

If you have a setup like I do where you have 2 DAC live at the same time with the Touch feeding each and connected to your preamp so you can just change from AUX1 to AUX2 and never miss a note you can hear a big difference but I can't explain it, it just sounds better. Music has more weight and sounds fuller if that makes any sense.

So in short with that setup and not Magenta the BM sounds better than the DACMagic. Add the Magenta to the BM, switch back and forth and the BM sounds much better.

Short story and I'll cut this off. I have a friend, while not an audiophile has always poo poo'd digital music. He listens to albums almost exclusively and swears how much better they sound. He's heard my system dozens of times and always talks about how smooth vinyl sounds. The other night he came by and as we were listening to music (first time he's heard the BM and Magenta together and I didn't say anything) he sat there for a bit and looked at me and said "I always thought vinyl sounds so much better than digital music but this sounds so good I'm having second thoughts!"

Gazjam
26-07-2012, 18:38
I've read most of the reviews too and cant honestly draw the same conclusion..
Personal experience (and that of others) hearing the same kit says otherwise too.

This is a good read?
Big dac comparison over on Pinkfish, see the comments on the Rega,Young, Audiolab.
etc.
http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?t=93581

An analogue sounding dac, like vinyl?
sounds perfect!

*EDIT*
Rega Dac Review that you talked about.
http://www.stereophile.com/content/rega-dac-da-processor

Ali Tait
26-07-2012, 19:30
Yep, agreed Gary, it didn't sound bloated to me either.

brian2957
26-07-2012, 19:39
Got to agree with you Ali , I know there's synergy involved with your all- Rega system Gary and the Mogami speaker cables , but the bass from the RS3s was amazing . Tight , tuneful , deep and 'settee shaking ' . IMO possibly as good as I've heard in any system in my time.

aBe
27-07-2012, 04:55
You are not the first Brio-R owner to mention something similar between the Brio and the BM, and I mentioned the feedback comments of a couple of Brio owners a while back.
But that suggestion has been dismissed as incorrect. Obviously as an engineer I have to accept that there are people out there who are even smarter than audio engineers when it comes to the detecting a pattern of possible issues between audio equipment. So hopefully someone more knowledgeable than me will be along soon to make some suitable suggestions.

Am I?

I might need to try to connect the BM to my other amps - the Creek & T-Amp, and see how it goes over the weekend.

Ahhh..I really like both the BM and the Brio R.
The last thing that I want to do is to keep them apart.

Maybe it's already time for me to save up for an Audionote OTO SE..

jandl100
27-07-2012, 06:21
Maybe it's already time for me to save up for an Audionote OTO SE..

A lovely amp. :thumbsup: - a mate of mine has one. Give it an easy-ish speaker load and it can be magical!

aBe
27-07-2012, 08:20
I'm losing too much sleep these days after having listen to a terrific sounding Audionote setup last week.

The amp sounds lovely...surreal.
I really have to get one of those Otos.

Gazjam
27-07-2012, 10:38
I haven't heard the Rega DAC but have read many reviews and it seems to be the consensus that the Rega DAC has bloated bass. Maybe the people that prefer the Rega over the BM don't hear bass as well and don't hear the bloated bass. I'm not knocking the Rega I'm just saying some people hear different frequencies differently.

One example of this, a friend of mine doesn't hear high freqs very well. When I get in his car his stereo has the treble turned all the way up and th bass turned all the way down. That sounds right to him but it sounds like a $5 transistor radio to me.

This is just 1 example of all the Rega reviews I've read.

From Stereophile:

Overall, the Rega DAC offered respectable measured performance for $995. But I am concerned about the ±120Hz sidebands that accompany high-level tones. Psychoacoustic masking theory suggests that these sidebands will be too close in frequency to the musical tones to be perceived. On the other hand, Paul Miller has written, in the English magazine Hi-Fi News & Record Review, that he has found that the presence of low-frequency sidebands in other processors correlates with the perception that a product's bass is larger than life, even a touch ponderous. Although my measurements show that the Rega DAC's frequency response is flat to below 20Hz, both Jon and Sam described the Rega's low frequencies as being exaggerated, which might correlate with this measured problem. Otherwise, it remains a puzzle.—John Atkinson

So I guess what I'm getting at is one person may think the BM to be much better at the same time as 2 people listening together decide they like the Rega better. Doesn't mean either is wrong;)

When I first plugged in my BM and did direct comparisons to my DACMagic the DM sounded better. Had more bass, better, clearer highs. After a few days that changed and now the BM betters the DM in all areas. It's not night and day but if you can change back and forth quickly enough you can definately tell that the BM has come into it's own and in my system sounds better than the DM.

The first Bushmaster comparison I've seen with the Dacmagic, cheers.
Would have been good to have heard a DM at my recent Dac comparison.
Interesting!

RichB
27-07-2012, 11:05
As a Rega DAC owner I cant agree with the bloated bass comment either, it is certainly more bassy than any other DAC I've owned but then I use it as part of an all Rega system and as others have said system synergy really does count for a lot.

One of these days I'll try it with other amps and speakers but for now I find it perfectly matches the Brio-R which some have found overly bright and bass light!

jandl100
28-07-2012, 07:49
When I compared the Rega DAC with my old M2Tech Young DAC, a 'bloated bass' was certainly not evident. In fact, the 2 DACs sounded remarkably similar - both were good!

Lee
02-08-2012, 13:03
Appologies to Stan for taking so long to post my thoughts. I picked up the Bushmaster over a month ago and have put it through it's paces, both listening through speakers (Hornshoppe / Heils) and headphones (Grado 1000GS). I was very happy from the moment I connected the DAC. Everything was more clear and musical than either the Gator or DacMagic. This week the linear power supply from Mains Cables r Us arrived and WOW WOW WOW! I'm feeling like I'm in the big leagues now. Music that was sometimes a little edgy is now both smooth and detailed. The Bushmaster with the new power supply has made even previously stident female vocals sound clear and yet still raspy when that is what they intended. But never brittle. I can hear breathing, double bass strings reverberating and rubbing, piano textures are fantastic. Whoever is thinking of getting a Bushmaster, stop thinking and buy one. Whoever is debating whether the linear power supply is worth it, stop thinking and buy one as well. I was worried the improvements would be subtle, but they are dramatic. EXCELLENT toe tapping sounds. Airy highs, dramatic lows, sweet and clear top to bottom. Sound stage is spread beyond the speakers and makes me put the headphones down (as great as they are) in favour of performers on stage in front of me. Of course I should give more than a little credit to my Dayens Ampino Power Amp, Hornshoppe / Heil speakers and Truth preamp, and BK sub. Together they are a force to be dealt with and from which it's difficult to pull away.

ZebuTheOxen
02-08-2012, 21:48
Cracking stuff Lee!

Which linear PSU did you get? (Going to push the button soon)

Lee
02-08-2012, 23:46
I bought the linear power supply for the Bushmaster from Mains Cables r Us. Seems crazy to buy a power supply that costs more than the DAC, but it really is like a different DAC now, and SO much better. I didn't compare it to other options, but with the sound I'm getting I have absolutely no second thoughts. It just works amazingly well and I'm looking no further in the DAC department. Stan has created something that should put smiles on many faces, for many years to come.

SteveW
03-08-2012, 05:05
I bought the linear power supply for the Bushmaster from Mains Cables r Us. Seems crazy to buy a power supply that costs more than the DAC, but it really is like a different DAC now, and SO much better. I didn't compare it to other options, but with the sound I'm getting I have absolutely no second thoughts. It just works amazingly well and I'm looking no further in the DAC department. Stan has created something that should put smiles on many faces, for many years to come.

What he said. Could not agree more.

DSJR
03-08-2012, 10:30
The thing that the Rega DAC "is," is a product from a vinyl loving manufacturer. As such, and when designed, the compromises would probably have been laid in a sonically "organic" kind of way, rather than a brightly lit "deeeeetailed" treble for example. Compared with my ancient ton-up Digit (with a few silly cap tweaks inside as well as two supplies), it has a slightly meatier bass, which is NEVER stodgy - the QED lost it's bloat ages ago with the twin supplies - but the trebly performance of the Rega is far better in a quick comparison. All I wanted to do was prove to myself that I hadn't ruined the QED and in all honesty I don't think I have, thankfully.

Although my financial state appears to be slightly easing (thank gawd for that!), we have some house repairs to deal with and it'll be a while before I can look at DAC upgrades, since this will form part of the second system primarily. The Bushmaster is top of my list and since the Digit uses a 12V supply for the 5532 audio output chips, maybe a heavy duty linear supply might be a good halfway option since it could be used with a BM later?

jandl100
04-08-2012, 06:53
I bought the linear power supply for the Bushmaster from Mains Cables r Us. Seems crazy to buy a power supply that costs more than the DAC, but it really is like a different DAC now, and SO much better.

I found the same kind of improvement using the rather less costly S-Booster "Best of two worlds solution" linear PSU available from Mark Grant.

Has anyone compared the two PSU upgrades for the Bushmaster DAC?

MartinT
04-08-2012, 11:58
My Paul Hynes PR3-16 based PSU still sounds superb. Don't discount that for self-builders.

jandl100
04-08-2012, 11:59
Yes, all the add-on PSUs seem to do a good job with the BM, it would be interesting to have a shoot-out!

edmondwolfman
06-08-2012, 13:45
Yes, all the add-on PSUs seem to do a good job with the BM, it would be interesting to have a shoot-out!

Would any type of linear psu work better than the one that comes with the BM?

I tried to order either the SBooster or linear PSU (can't remember) but the site said that there is no shipping to the USA so I was wondering if any linear type PSU would be better? Would 13 or 14V be better than 12V:confused:

MartinT
06-08-2012, 17:09
The Bushmaster manual says that it can take up to 16V DC input. This is what my Paul Hynes PR3-16 is set to. I think the regulation quality is more important than the absolute voltage, so no, Bobby, not any old linear PSU will do. It needs to be a well regulated, low noise supply.

DSJR
06-08-2012, 19:15
Didn't Stan make a big thing about supply isolation in the Bushmaster though? This should give it greater immunity to the supply fed it I reckon.

MartinT
06-08-2012, 19:19
I find it's as critical as any other DAC, in other words quite critical of its supply quality.

NRG
06-08-2012, 19:46
Hmmmm, I'm not yet convinced ;)

lurcher
06-08-2012, 23:38
Are you back from holiday Neal? Still want to try that supply?

NRG
07-08-2012, 02:15
Yes Nick, maybe in a weeks time...I'll drop you a PM when ready.

allsorts
07-08-2012, 03:23
I'm running the BM off a li-po battery. Was so impressed by the immediate SQ improvement that I went and bought a second battery so I always have one ready to go. The SBooster from Mark Grant, which I had attached prior to the battery upgrade, had less/little effect - to my ears. The battery powered improvement has now got me thinking, whether my Macbook running off its battery would improve on my current mac mini mains powered source?

NRG
07-08-2012, 08:11
I agree with the above about the sBooster, if there is an improvement it's minimal at best to my ears...it does cut the SMPS noise down by about 45db though so its effective in that respect.

Can't agree about the battery though, found it reduced HF detail and clarity. A step backwards IME. The output impedance of a battery gets a lot worse as frequency rises and I wonder if this effect is directly responsible.

Clive
07-08-2012, 08:24
Can't agree about the battery though, found it reduced HF detail and clarity. A step backwards IME. The output impedance of a battery gets a lot worse as frequency rises and I wonder if this effect is directly responsible.
I found the same when running a T-amp from a battery, the sound was "nice" but lost detail.

StanleyB
07-08-2012, 08:27
The BM has a noise filter built into the internal power supply as well, but its main purpose is to reduce the noise on the power rails to the digital and analogue circuit. The filtering effect of the internal filter is not very steep so that the power rail impedance is not increased.
I have been playing around with a couple of inexpensive and simple mods to see if I can get more out of the PSU circuit. But the Olympics have come in the way so the project is on ice for a week or two for now.

DaveK
07-08-2012, 12:27
I found the same when running a T-amp from a battery, the sound was "nice" but lost detail.

I'm running a pair of Mini-T amps bi-amped from a single LiPo battery and can't say I've noticed any lack of detail. Not saying it doesn't happen, just that I don't notice it with my kit and my ears :) . I'll try and take special notice next few times I listen, maybe even A to B test 'cos I've still got my linear supply through JLH Ripple Eaters 'plumbed in'.
I had thought about putting the Ripple Eaters between battery and Mini-Ts but was advised against it because of initial current draw IIRC - anybody got any thoughts on that?
Cheers,
Dave.

MartinT
07-08-2012, 14:45
There's no ripple to eat from a battery, Dave. Only mains PSUs have ripple.

DaveK
07-08-2012, 15:35
There's no ripple to eat from a battery, Dave. Only mains PSUs have ripple.

Martin,
Thanks for your response. What little logic I have regarding electricity led me to think the same but to be safe I asked the question on another audio forum - see here: -

http://rockgrotto.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=m&thread=8368&page=1

Given the inconclusive nature of the responses I thought I would risk posing the same question on here.
I interpret the other replies as being possibly not in total agreement with your thoughts. As I said, I know nowt, so I'm not pitching A against B, I'm just interested in seeing if I can raise the SQ any, given that I already have the Ripple Eaters, but not wanting to see any smoke if I tried to :) .
Cheers,
Dave.

MartinT
07-08-2012, 16:37
Well, ripple is strictly speaking the residue from imperfect rectification and smoothing of a sinewave (transformed mains, in this case). Yes, the battery may exhibit 'sag' and it's just possible that the 'ripple eater' may help to compensate, but in a battery there is no ripple.

DaveK
07-08-2012, 17:33
Thanks Martin,
I'm beginning to wonder if there are any 'absolutes' in audio electronics, or indeed in anything 'audio' ;) .
Cheers,
Dave.

MartinT
07-08-2012, 17:41
Absolutes are for religion, inquiry is for science.

DaveK
07-08-2012, 18:39
Absolutes are for religion, inquiry is for science.

Progress in any science is built on absolutes, surely? Most things start of as an idea, a hypothesis, a theory, which is then tested and, if proved, becomes an absolute on which further ideas etc are based and so the cycle contunues and progrees is made. IMO very few absolutes get reversed with the benefit of future discoveries and those that don't can surely be regarded as absolutes?
As to religion, I don't know much about non-Christian ones but absolutes are generally being demolished I would have thought in those, with the possible exception of the Rome based dinosaurs? No offence to anybody, beliefs are a personal thing :) .
Just my opinion :) .
Dave.

lurcher
07-08-2012, 19:01
Progress in any science is built on absolutes, surely? Most things start of as an idea, a hypothesis, a theory, which is then tested and, if proved, becomes an absolute on which further ideas etc are based and so the cycle contunues and progrees is made. IMO very few absolutes get reversed with the benefit of future discoveries and those that don't can surely be regarded as absolutes?

No, Absolutes have no part in science. And I think you are making the common mistake about the use of "theory" in science, its not the same as a legal theory. In science, a theory is the closest a concept can get to being a "fact", something is only awarded the tag of being a theory if its withstood many and varied tests, has make proven predictions and is the simplest model that explains the behavioured of the part of the universe it concerns itself with.

But even Theory's are open to being shown to be wrong, or more often to being incomplete, and so eventually replaced with a new model that explains more observations.

DaveK
07-08-2012, 19:07
Nick, I stand corrected :) .

Marco
07-08-2012, 19:42
I'm beginning to wonder if there are any 'absolutes' in audio electronics, or indeed in anything 'audio'.


There is: You get no sound if you don't switch your gear on. That's about yer lot! ;)

Marco.

DSJR
07-08-2012, 19:50
I think the basic rules in audio reproduction were sorted decades ago, but it's the application where the subtle artistic differences come in I feel - there's enough leeway to interpret the rules...

DaveK
07-08-2012, 20:15
There is: You get no sound if you don't switch your gear on. That's about yer lot! ;)

Marco.

It's little gems of information like that, given so freely, that keep me coming back to AoS :eyebrows: .
Dave

nat8808
08-08-2012, 14:48
There is: You get no sound if you don't switch your gear on. That's about yer lot! ;)

Marco.

I disagree!

Those "inky black backgrounds" are still there in spades.

DaveK
08-08-2012, 16:03
I disagree!

Those "inky black backgrounds" are still there in spades.

:lol: :lol: :lol::mex: Not very often that Marco is proved wrong but this time you've got him dead to rights :lol::ner::yay:
Dave.

gilesw
08-08-2012, 22:21
Test Equipment:-

Slimdevice squeezebox
Naim cd5i
Linux pc with asus a8n nforce 3 coax and optical out
( mplayer -ao alsa:device=plughw track.flac )

Chord Crysalis stereo phonos
Denon AVR 3805
Monitor Audio 9i with modified caps

Coax cable made myself years ago from maplins
cambridge audio optical cable.

Burn in:-

2 days left on with online radio from the squeezebox

##################
Squeezebox low quality source test

I used my squeezebox as it was my only digital source at first. I use it for online radio mostly, things like radioio at 128kbit. They sounded good with the bushmaster and I could still hear a difference compared to the denon's built in dac that sounded muddy.

Naim comparison

Amazingly the volumes between the naim and my linux pc hooked up to the bushmaster seemed very similar, I had to just swap the phono leads over and left the volume the same...

Phil Colins face value track3. The Naim initially seemed more foot tappy and the bushmaster sounded less whole but eventually I began to miss the vocal quality of the bushmaster that was lacking with the naim. On the top end I noticed finger snaps that I weren’t obvious on the naim. Treble didn't seem harsh at all.

Jeans team van oben track12 (kraftworky type stuff), the electronic instruments sounded incredible on the bushmaster with massive sonic swoops showing off the bottom end, naim didn’t even hold my attention!

Optical and Coax comparison

Turns out my pc can output optical and coax concurrently so I could just swap the selector on the bushmaster over. I only did a quick test but to me the coax sounded better with firmer drums.

Round up

My naim is already boxed up ready to go, after hearing a few tracks I was convinced on the bushmaster. The thing I'm really pleased about is that beats still sound snappy, this was my main reason for picking the naim over a rega cd player years ago. The extra benefit are on vocals, they sound great. Classic hiphop and vocal house seemed to stand out for me. The other benefit seems to be the bass. I put some wu tang on and the lowend started to feel like a sub woofer from my floorstanders, very odd. I do wonder if I would get the same feel from 320kbit mp3s.

Take one guess at what I've just ordered? Yes a linear power supply pack with new phonos from mark grant. Any questions ask away.

DSJR
08-08-2012, 22:35
Would be interesting for Stans take on this, but one reason why optical is recommended for computer connection is because of electrical "stuff" that might inadvertantly get into the external DAC. May not apply to the BM of course and although you don't need to spend a fortune on a blingy optical lead, the very cheap ones might not be optically good enough?

gilesw
08-08-2012, 22:42
I've had these ones for years and I'm pretty sure the ends have been scratched up a bit. I'm just pleased that my pc has two digital outs so i can still run 5.1 out to my surround amp. All in all this has to be the best bang for buck of any of my hi-fi purchases, along with the mini-t I got for the kitchen.

With the low cost of all these bits I might even buy a new 2 channel amp to feed off my denon to do the fronts. What do you experts think the next bottleneck in my system could be?

g.

RoboCopper
14-08-2012, 20:33
My mobile phone just exploded in my pocket :doh:

And my wristwatch started to smoke :lol:

I was joking in this post, but now I am worried.:doh:

The battery was working fine so far (although charge did not last more than 3 days on few hours of listening a day), but now when I charge it, the green light is blinking when being charged.



btw battery does not get hot or anything mischevious, only green light is blinking on the charger whereas before it wasn't.

latest update. the green light is now steady as it used to be.
update two.... green light is blinking again.

Is that normal operation?

this sort of battery
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Portable-12V-DC-USB-5V-Rechargeable-Lithium-Li-ion-Battery-Pack-for-CCTV-Camera-/150868489203?pt=Battery_Chargers&hash=item23207673f3

Richardl
15-08-2012, 11:26
I've just received my BM, and it's up and running.

The set-up is......

SB touch with a Maplin PSU and a S-booster to Audiolab 8200DQ with a 0.5M Wireworld starlight Coaxial cable.

SB touch with a Maplin PSU and a S-booster with a VDC 1M optical cable into the BM, then using Xindak FA1's into the Audiolab 8200DQ's analogue inputs (I know the cables aren't great, but it's all I had knocking about with dismantling my very complicated cabling).

This setup means I can press a button between listening to the Audiolabs dac and the BM dac. Both setups were using the 8200's analogue volume control.

My thoughts so far.....I'm preferring the sound of the BM, the Audiolab seems a very slight bit more detailed (occasionally too detailed), slightly more digital sounding. I wish I could say more, but there's not really a lot in it though.

I'm going to be doing some swapping around in a bit, using the S-Booster and the Wireworld cable for the BM, I'll see how it goes. I'm guessing there's going to be a bigger difference after swapping around.

jandl100
15-08-2012, 11:28
You need to give yourself time to settle down with the sound as well, Richard!
... and the BM needs to run in.

Differences grow with familiarity. :)

Richardl
15-08-2012, 11:32
You need to give yourself time to settle down with the sound as well, Richard!

Differences grow with familiarity. :)

Yes, I really pleased with the BM, considering it's only been on about an hour and has a disadvantage with the cabling it seems an excellent buy.

I didn't give the rest of the system, a Nuforce mch-2c3 and Rega RS5 speakers.

Richardl
15-08-2012, 12:09
Had a slight change around.......

A) SB - Wireworld cable - BM - Audiolab
B) SB - VDC cable - Audiolab

B sounds horrible, the sound is completely out of control, too much bass ( every note is a 'Boing'............if you see what I mean) and it sounds as though someone has turned the treble upto 10 on my system, it sounds really harsh and completely unlistenable. One of the tracks I use to test new equipment was painful to listen to.
zK1mLIeXwsQ

RoboCopper
15-08-2012, 12:29
Question in relation to Bushmaster PSU (sorry if the info was already given).

Can this be used to power Bushmaster? Is it worthwhile upgrade?
http://www.maplin.co.uk/13.8v-regulated-mains-power-units-231

Thanks

Clive
15-08-2012, 12:49
Question in relation to Bushmaster PSU (sorry if the info was already given).

Can this be used to power Bushmaster? Is it worthwhile upgrade?
http://www.maplin.co.uk/13.8v-regulated-mains-power-units-231

Thanks
All I can add is that on a T-amp it was worthwhile but the more expensive Ordo was better, . These Maplin jobbies are very cheaply made and some have a tendency to buzz.

See the Ordo here, hunt for a UK supplier of one of these, I got mine for £50 + postage:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ORDO-90-12...-/120749249027
Can't be sure it's a good match for a DAC as it's designed for an amp

aleman
19-08-2012, 18:45
bushmaster arrived today played for four hours did not sound to bad however stans,sdac need to be run in .ha dto modify as mysource ha bnc sockets stripped bushmaster replaced input rca with silver plated bnc sockets wired with teflon covered pure silver wire rca outputsalso changed for silver plated cnc rca sockets silver wired also earth lug modified rivet rplced with a screw tgus only need to solder the wire leading to the earth tag which will help when furthet dismantling the dac to carry out any further mods ,also had to cut a slot in the inner ffront chassis bt the power konb so as to be able to take out the board to carry out wire and socket mods and any future mos without any difficulty as stan,s dac is very well built bur arkward to dissasemble cnc output sockets large thus rca hole had to be enlarged.reassembled th eunit fed for three day a diet of loose ends where are you 80,s funk on repeat via headphones asennheiser hd 485.

fed by marantz ud5005 universal player via silver plated 75 0hm coaxial cable terminated in silver plated 75 ohm bnc plugs then connected to a khzoumo individual left and right shunt 48 step passive preamp silver wired single input feeding in turn ajren helder ta 2020 battery powered t amp feeding tony gee solo horn loudspeakers the sound sublime bass taught informative midrange informative imaging great can easily pick out individal instrument depth of imaging is outstanding makes passive caiman sounde two dimensional how technology has come along teble shimmering detailed no harshness easy to folow hi hats sound real information never heard befoe even on discs i know well all the above is with the bushmaster fed via battery you may ask why change the sockets and wiring did this to the caiman dac and elicited an improvement on the bushmastereven more so as a great design i believe is being strangled via the wiring from the sockets both in and out from the board (sorry about my little pet hate even on equipment costing hundreds of pounds same awful wiring to sockets) .So thta aside a great dac i would happily recommend to anyone trying to get value for money and a good sound to boot the inputs are enoghe for my requirements .well done stan.thanks

MartinT
19-08-2012, 18:53
Well, I parsed those paragraphs several times and utterly failed. Don't you use punctuation? Also, we're still waiting for your name.

aleman
19-08-2012, 19:11
bushmaster arrived today played for four hours did not sound to bad however stans,s dac needs to be run in .had to modify as my sources have bnc sockets stripped bushmaster replaced input rca with silver plated bnc sockets wired with teflon covered pure silver wire rca outputs also changed for silver plated cnc rca sockets silver wired also earth lug modified rivet replced with a screw thus only need to solder the wire leading to the earth tag which will help when furthet dismantling the dac to carry out any further mods ,also had to cut a slot in the inner front chassis by the power switch so as to be able to take out the board to carry out wire and socket mods and any future mods without any difficulty as stan,s dac is very well built bur arkward to dissasemble cnc output sockets large thus rca hole had to be enlarged.reassembled the unit fed for three day a diet of loose ends where are you 80,s funk on repeat via headphones asennheiser hd 485.

fed by marantz ud5005 universal player via silver plated 75 0hm coaxial cable terminated in silver plated 75 ohm bnc plugs then connected to a khzoumo individual left and right shunt 48 step passive preamp silver wired single input feeding in turn ajren helder ta 2020 battery powered t amp feeding tony gee solo horn loudspeakers the sound sublime bass taught informative midrange informative imaging great can easily pick out individal instrument depth of imaging is outstanding makes passive caiman sounde two dimensional how technology has come along teble shimmering detailed no harshness easy to folow hi hats sound real information never heard befoe even on discs i know well all the above is with the bushmaster fed via battery you may ask why change the sockets and wiring did this to the caiman dac and elicited an improvement on the bushmastereven more so as a great design i believe is being strangled via the wiring from the sockets both in and out from the board (sorry about my little pet hate even on equipment costing hundreds of pounds same awful wiring to sockets) .So thta aside a great dac i would happily recommend to anyone trying to get value for money and a good sound to boot the inputs are enoghe for my requirements .well done stan.thanks
sorry Martin my computer skills leave a lot to be desired please accept htis edited version of my post and the previous one.thanks Alrick LOVE

jandl100
20-08-2012, 06:21
Hey - remind me not to lend aleman any kit - I doubt I'd recognise it on its return! :lol:

Still, he seems to like what he's done with the BM! :)

StanleyB
21-08-2012, 10:48
Hi Alrick, any chances of some pics? Maybe you can start a Mod Your Bushmaster thread off. The rest of us will follow :).

magiccarpetride
23-08-2012, 16:51
Mine arrived today, so I thought I'd kick off a review thread. :)

I know that StanDACs need to run in, but just out of the box it's a stunner! :wowzer:

Stereo focus and fine detail is a step-up from what I have heard before - from StanDACs or anything else for that matter.

Delicacy, fine detail, articulation - all exemplary.

Blimey, Stan - at first listen, it's a stonker! :thumbsup:

I had some issues with my Bushmaster which were caused by the different voltage here in North America. Stan was great with diagnosing the problem and promptly supplying the solution, so hat's off to Stan's absolutely fantastic customer support!

But the point I'd like to make is that, while my Bushmaster was out of commission, I was forced to switch back to my trusty old Caiman. After listening to Caiman for several days, I've gotten accustomed to its sound, and grew to like it. Started even suspecting that maybe there aren't any substantial differences between Caiman and Bushmaster.

However, the moment my Bushmaster became operational again, and when I plugged it in, I sighed a huge sigh of relief -- the sound is sooo much better, so much more silkier and at the same time firmer and more authoritative. It is clear to me that Bushmaster is in an entirely different league, and cannot be touched by Caiman.

aleman
23-08-2012, 19:26
Here re a a few photo,s of the work done to my bushmaster.Please excuse the photo,s i have taken as have new phone and iam not used to it yet.Work is not as tidy as some have seen but was in a hurry stans nice well made casework hides my mistakes nicely.
Also dug up an old linear power supply that used to supply my pink triangle replaced all capacitors with poly prop capacitors missing link mains cable set voltage 15.5 volts ,sounds even better than the battery supply i had been using .just smoother informative and relaxed sound with my system.because i live in a little terrace the ability to resolve detail at low volumes(most of my listening ,tv watching done late at night)is also helpuful.Anyway iam shure there will be more mods done by people with more skills than me .

RoboCopper
23-08-2012, 19:31
Well done for the 1st mod! (as far as I know)

twickers
28-09-2012, 16:18
A couple of weeks ago, i was pondering on whether to get a new cdp or a dac to link up to my blu-ray player. One forum member suggested the bushmaster. And i can tell you it was advice much appreciated. :)

The ordering process is quick, and the customer service is top notch.

And the dac? straight out of the box it sounded great and after two days running in the sound has got smoother and sweeter, with more slam and depth to the bass. Something that i'd never fully appreciated was the depth of sound that you can get, and with this dac it's all there.

I know this dac has been out for a while and there of plenty of reviews here, for anyone who is relatively new to hi-fi like me and isn't sure how it would sound with a blu-ray player as the main source give it a go.

As stan says himself "now you know why i can afford to give a big grin guarantee".:D

Yomanze
29-09-2012, 09:36
But the point I'd like to make is that, while my Bushmaster was out of commission, I was forced to switch back to my trusty old Caiman. After listening to Caiman for several days, I've gotten accustomed to its sound, and grew to like it. Started even suspecting that maybe there aren't any substantial differences between Caiman and Bushmaster.

However, the moment my Bushmaster became operational again, and when I plugged it in, I sighed a huge sigh of relief -- the sound is sooo much better, so much more silkier and at the same time firmer and more authoritative. It is clear to me that Bushmaster is in an entirely different league, and cannot be touched by Caiman.

Absolutely. Auditory memory is especially poor, which is why if you are comparing kit you *must* have both with you! Moving a unit on and then trying to compare it to your existing kit is a fruitless task.

magiccarpetride
01-10-2012, 23:37
Absolutely. Auditory memory is especially poor, which is why if you are comparing kit you *must* have both with you! Moving a unit on and then trying to compare it to your existing kit is a fruitless task.

Not sure I understand what you're talking about. I have both Caiman and Bushmaster sitting next to each other. I can switch between them at will. I do not need to rely on my auditory memory, as I can hear them side-by-side.

Yomanze
02-10-2012, 00:06
Not sure I understand what you're talking about. I have both Caiman and Bushmaster sitting next to each other. I can switch between them at will. I do not need to rely on my auditory memory, as I can hear them side-by-side.

Yes I don't dispute that & makes sense that the Bushmaster is a better DAC, but I was interested when you said: "After listening to Caiman for several days, I've gotten accustomed to its sound, and grew to like it. Started even suspecting that maybe there aren't any substantial differences between Caiman and Bushmaster."

I think it is almost impossible to compare kit from memory rather than what you ended up doing, which is comparing them side by side.

magiccarpetride
04-10-2012, 22:06
Yes I don't dispute that & makes sense that the Bushmaster is a better DAC, but I was interested when you said: "After listening to Caiman for several days, I've gotten accustomed to its sound, and grew to like it. Started even suspecting that maybe there aren't any substantial differences between Caiman and Bushmaster."

I think it is almost impossible to compare kit from memory rather than what you ended up doing, which is comparing them side by side.

Gotcha!

HarshaDS
08-10-2012, 16:27
Magiccarpetride,
I was wondering what issues you had with the Bushmaster with North American power supply. I'm in New York and any information that helped you get things running smoothly would be greatly appreciated.

Harsha

magiccarpetride
09-10-2012, 17:00
Magiccarpetride,
I was wondering what issues you had with the Bushmaster with North American power supply. I'm in New York and any information that helped you get things running smoothly would be greatly appreciated.

Harsha

According to the Bushmaster creator (Stan), the eprom inside the box can potentially get confused when operating under North American electrical power standards (different voltage). It may make a decision to shut down, thinking that something's wrong with the power supply (Stan, I apologize if I've paraphrased you incorrectly, but this is my understanding gleaned from our correspondence).

To remedy that glitch, Stan recommended I unsolder and flip one minuscule component (I forget if it was a resistor or a capacitor; anyhow, Stan supplied me with very specific and precise instructions on how to do it).

I did it, and voila! -- the problem got fixed!

ozbrit
10-10-2012, 02:05
I received my Bushmaster yesterday to go between a generic BD player (Soniq)/an android media player and our Cambridge Audio 340A SE stereo amp. Both have a digital coax connection.

I started out with one of my favourite Floyd CD's - Animals. Plenty of interesting sounds with that. The first couple of mins took me aback, the treble was out of control, a shrill sound I'd call it plus lacking in bass. Now I like my amp to be set as intended, so treble and bass controls at midday, I prefer a neutral sound, in fact many of my guests comment that it's not bassy enough for them, whereas for me bass is only part of the story.
With the bushmaster I had to set the amps treble at quarter to and bass at quarter past to make it musical. But after an hour or so, the DAC settled down a bit and now I've normalised the bass & treble.

This DAC replaced a real cheap $30 Fiio d3, which I had to have to play the media players audio via the analogue amp. The only subjective test apart from with the ears is the Fiio v BD player DAC and the Bushmaster v BD Player DAC. The generic BD player has RCA leads direct to the amp and CD's played direct to the amp sounded better than they did when converted by the Fiio. Now the Audio sent via the Bushmaster has a definite edge over the audio using the BD players internal DAC.

Now I'm listening to Paul Simons - "Take me to the mardi gras" and it sounds nice. Maybe I'm adjusting to the sound or is it the settling down/burning in improving things?

Will report back in a week or two and tell you all what I think then.

StanleyB
10-10-2012, 05:33
The BM needs a few days to burn in before it settles down.

falcoron
10-10-2012, 06:51
have one, and must admit i only bought it as;
1, i needed a dac as i sold my last one to fund a pre amp buy.
2, out of sheer curiosity after talking to Jerry
3, its o cheap and cute looking why not?

Now i have had time to let i burn in and love wht it does, no nasties and i find i just get on with listening to the music and not a component.
I have had a chance to compare it with a few others and it hands down thrashes the MF m1 dac is async doo da what ever its called. I mean it really does sound ten times better.
Also heard it against an Audio note kit dac which is very good and the BM was as good in every way which is a real compliment as i know what components are in that kit and it was built without compormise and cost a lot of money.
So pound for pound its a cracker, will it be my last dac? probably not as im a habitual box swapper.
Well done Stan, your the man!

Søren
10-10-2012, 21:08
I recieved my BM Thursday, so it should be run in by now.

I am very impressed with it. Bass is very good. Midrange is truly impressive. Very open, without being bright at all. Voices in particular, are fantastic. Tonal colours are very good.

Soundstage is very good too. With good live recordings you can "feel" the hall, and the musicians and audience. I have not heard digital do that so convincing before.

The highs are nice and smooth, if the recording allows it.

I think BM is in another league than my M2Tech Young.

Stan, if this is a mini statement, i can`t wait to hear the real one.

Back to those voices --------------------->

jandl100
11-10-2012, 05:22
have one, and must admit i only bought it as;
1, i needed a dac as i sold my last one to fund a pre amp buy.
2, out of sheer curiosity after talking to Jerry

:whistle:

:D



I have had a chance to compare it with a few others and it hands down thrashes the MF m1 dac is async doo da what ever its called. I mean it really does sound ten times better.
Also heard it against an Audio note kit dac which is very good and the BM was as good in every way which is a real compliment as i know what components are in that kit and it was built without compormise and cost a lot of money.
So pound for pound its a cracker, will it be my last dac? probably not as im a habitual box swapper.
Well done Stan, your the man!

Yay - what a fab review, Ron. :eek:

The BM is a cracker of a DAC, innit! :thumbsup:


I recieved my BM Thursday, so it should be run in by now.
...... Soundstage is very good too. With good live recordings you can "feel" the hall, and the musicians and audience. I have not heard digital do that so convincing before.

I think BM is in another league than my M2Tech Young.



Yep, it's the imaging that really gets me. And it just gets better as the BM runs in over a month or two -- it beats ANY other digital I have ever heard in that respect. Nothing comes close, and I've auditioned or owned DACs/CDPs up to 138x the cost of the BM.

bilbobaggins1958
11-10-2012, 10:03
Strange one this, as I am writing a review and I've just sold the Bushmaster after only a month! But...there's a reason, and I have nothing but high praise for the Bushman, it is excellent. I managed to snaffle a Quad 99CDP for a very good price which made the need for an outboard DAC redundant.

Eqpt used: Pioneer PD9700/classic ipod via Onkyo ND-S1/BT vision box (for radio) into the Bushman, then into Myryad MI120/MA120 bi-amp driving Tannoy Eyris 2 floorstanders. First port of call is the bottom end - excellent, almost Naim like in the way leading edges of notes start and decay with precision, very analogue, very impressed. Slightly better than the Quad 99CDP for that precision in the bass department, to my ears at least. My Tannoys have supertweeters which will highlight any weakness in the source, and I have to say the Bushman was just lovely at the top end, smooth without any harshness. The mid-range and overal musicality of the Bushman also shine through, with all the CDs I threw at it, from rock to folk, classical to swing, electronic to spoien word (by the way, listen to Radio 3 through the Bushman, its fab!) Honestly, it really is hard to fault, and at the price it is a total no-brainer for anyone needing a DAC for whatever reason.

So, having bought the Quad to replace the new Bushman, am I pleased? In short, yes. But mainly because it is a one box solution and all my digital imputs can be controled from the Quad remote. Is there a marked superiority in sound from the Quad compared to the Bushman? No, absolutely not. I prefer the overall sound of the Quad, but not by much, and the Quad is a very well respected and reviewed £999 machine compared to £170 for the Bushman...work it out for yourselves.

icehockeyboy
11-10-2012, 10:51
Strange one this, as I am writing a review and I've just sold the Bushmaster after only a month! But...there's a reason, and I have nothing but high praise for the Bushman, it is excellent. I managed to snaffle a Quad 99CDP for a very good price which made the need for an outboard DAC redundant.

Eqpt used: Pioneer PD9700/classic ipod via Onkyo ND-S1/BT vision box (for radio) into the Bushman, then into Myryad MI120/MA120 bi-amp driving Tannoy Eyris 2 floorstanders. First port of call is the bottom end - excellent, almost Naim like in the way leading edges of notes start and decay with precision, very analogue, very impressed. Slightly better than the Quad 99CDP for that precision in the bass department, to my ears at least. My Tannoys have supertweeters which will highlight any weakness in the source, and I have to say the Bushman was just lovely at the top end, smooth without any harshness. The mid-range and overal musicality of the Bushman also shine through, with all the CDs I threw at it, from rock to folk, classical to swing, electronic to spoien word (by the way, listen to Radio 3 through the Bushman, its fab!) Honestly, it really is hard to fault, and at the price it is a total no-brainer for anyone needing a DAC for whatever reason.

So, having bought the Quad to replace the new Bushman, am I pleased? In short, yes. But mainly because it is a one box solution and all my digital imputs can be controled from the Quad remote. Is there a marked superiority in sound from the Quad compared to the Bushman? No, absolutely not. I prefer the overall sound of the Quad, but not by much, and the Quad is a very well respected and reviewed £999 machine compared to £170 for the Bushman...work it out for yourselves.

Bushmaster!:ner: not Bushman!

bilbobaggins1958
11-10-2012, 12:00
OMG! hahaha! what a donut! Chucklin like hell here, can't believe I did that lolol Well spotted....not! lolol

oldson
11-10-2012, 18:17
my current dac uses twin WM8741 chips, which i believe are "supposed" to be superior to the ones in the bushmaster (please correct me if i am wrong). does this mean there is no point in me trying a comparison between the two units?

MartinT
11-10-2012, 21:31
There's more to a DAC than the main chip.

leo
12-10-2012, 22:43
Exactly! the design is as important as the components used.

NRG
12-10-2012, 23:28
Stan is a clever whatsit...he's made mine sound better than it did before :eyebrows: but he's a bit coy as to how :D First class customer service, thank you Stan, its appreciated. :cool:

lemon
16-10-2012, 10:02
What is acoustic comparison between Passive Caiman - Bushmaster?

Have someone listen both of them?

MartinT
16-10-2012, 10:32
Yes, I have both. The Bushmaster has considerably finer detail, bigger soundstage and more extended bass. I would say they are much closer in dynamic capability, but the BM wins in microdynamics.

lemon
16-10-2012, 11:35
Thanks Martin for the answer.

I guess, you had equation output level between the two devices (the one has 1.1Vrms and the other has 2.0Vrms) before listening?

Otherwise the Bushmaster higher output will give more extensive and better low frequencies & microdynamics.

- Sorry for my english :rolleyes:

MartinT
16-10-2012, 12:07
I don't do A/B testing like that, Manolis, so the relative levels make no difference. I listen extensively to a component in order to evaluate it.

Now that the Caiman is connected to my PC, I can still hear its traits quite clearly.

NRG
16-10-2012, 12:58
Second what Martin said. Will also add there's greater texture and separation to the presentation vs passive Caimen...

HarshaDS
23-10-2012, 11:25
Hi Gents,

After having read 90 odd pages of chit chat about this DAC I too jumped in and ordered the Bushmaster from Stanley myself. My initial worry about voltage issues in North America were allayed by MagicCarpetRides reply in this forum and a call to Stanley directly just to make doubly sure. It came very quickly to NYC to my suprise, others have mentioned the speed of delivery but it is truly astonishing. Mr. Beresford is actually a magician as his mystical powers work on both the transformation of digital input into glorious analogue signal for my tube amplifier and equally the transportation of parcels from the other side of the world.

Long story short, it arrived, I immediately plugged it in replacing a Music Hall 15.2 which managed to force feed my amplifier overly etched highs and a lifeless bottom end. My initial impressions were very promising as there was now BASS but the highs were still quite fatiguing after listening for 45 minutes or so which made me think of the need to burn in the DAC (yes...I read that thread too :rolleyes: ). I fed it a constant diet of Pandora and my iTunes library turning the amp on every now and then to see if things had changed, though I would not call that critical listening it certainly seemed to be sounding better. Finally after 11 days or approximately 260 hours of constant burn in I sat down to critically listen.



My musical tastes are somewhat eclectic though it tends to be mostly contemporary jazz with electronica and classical thrown in for good measure. My reference CD's (in fact very slowly all of them) are being ripped to 24/96 FLAC files which I now had plugged in and ready to go. Sophie Milman was first up to bat, she started singing and every instrument was placed precisely on a sound-stage before me, the double bass was distinctly focused and not dissolving into the lush warm background of sound. Her voice was separate but not disconnected from the piano and other instruments, she was singing "There's Something in the Air Between Us".....it felt very intimate, I didn't want to mention Sophie to my wife....she wouldn't understand :o .

Next came James Taylor's "October Road"....amazing detail, wide enveloping sound-stage and the lower harmonics that made the hairs on my arm stand up. Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Melody Gardot, Keith Jarrett, Adele, YoYo Ma.... At this point I had cancelled my plans for the rest of the day and I had a single malt in hand....it helps me listen better... :eyebrows:


I'm pretty sure you've heard it all before but I was always taught to give credit
where credit is due. Mr Beresford, I think to the naysayers that equate price to quality you should repackage the Bushmaster in a solid Titanium/aluminum/stainless-steel CNC'd block. Charge them several grand for the privilege of owning your product and add another 50% on top of the price for burning in.



Ooopps....sorry, I'm waffling, So let me say in conclusion before I get banned for waffling. An amazing product that if the new owners listen to the far wiser members on this forum, who have gone through the process of learning how to get the best from it, will be happy with a superior product for a nominal outlay.

My scotch has run out...the sun is coming up and in NY and I must go to sleep. I shall not write anything so long again in the future.

Harsha :cocktail: :goodnight:

synsei
23-10-2012, 11:36
My scotch has run out...the sun is coming up and in NY and I must go to sleep. I shall not write anything so long again in the future.

Harsha :cocktail: :goodnight:

Oh please do, that was excellent and most entertaining ;)

DaveK
23-10-2012, 13:33
Oh please do, that was excellent and most entertaining ;)

I could not agree more!!:) . That's what I call a review - well done!

DuncanHynes
04-11-2012, 22:11
Harsha, thanks for your take on the Bushmaster, mine is on it's way very soon. I too was unsure of the price/quality wall we often put up in electronics and prestige of brand name in the same light. I am just hoping there are no voltage USA 110 issues. Are you ok in NYC? Terrible storm.

Cans
07-11-2012, 13:48
Hi everyone,
I'm 2 hours into listening to the bushmaster. The sound I've come to expect from my mdac , imod and young dac has been replaced by this meticulously controlled deeper sound. I expected a harsher sound. I was simply not realising I could achieve this through the Bushmaster. Every track has been a joy. I have not yet tried my Audeze LCD2'S. I have been using my Denon AHD2000'S.
Each of the tracks has been a revelation. I have put up a mini review but I am getting a feeling that I can articulate what I like about this product.
The bass is what appealed to me. I like a deep bass. This is the best bass I have heard. I have many hours of listening to my Young Dac and the Mdac and the Caiman gatorised. But I'm hearing rich deep notes which are still leaving space for the rest of the mix.
Listening to Firestarter , the punch and slam is the most obvious thing about that track to me. It has been changed into a precisely controlled deeper experience but leaves more room for the rest of the mix to introduce itself . The separation is what I have been looking for.
Keith's voice does not cut through the swamping bass like I have come to expect . Instead I can hear his voice in a new way which is richer.
Babylon is a track which never fails to move me. The start is a swirling warmth which shimmers from left to right and leaves an afterglow as guitar and percussion continue the track forward. On the Bushmaster I am seeing a bottomless well of sound which took my breath away.
In the upper ranges there is a beautiul clarity which has enhanced the acoustic guitar and percussion without swamping anything.
I am not without criticism of hifi products. The mdac is too harsh but has fine detail . The Young is elegant and effortless listening. The imod is rhythmic but closed. The dacmagic plus was what I was looking for until I listened through the headphone output which was lacking.
This is what I have been wanting. I bought this product because it would enable me to listen to good quality music in the motorhome without setting up my generator. I have a battery pack on order and will update when I get that with my thoughts.
Whether people who read this think that I am suffering from a false impression due to the fact it's new , all I can say is ; that doesn't matter to me. The music overcomes any negativity and invites you to share in an experience you won't forget.

DuncanHynes
09-11-2012, 05:17
I have my DT880 Pro's 250Ohm and my BM that only took 4 days to get halfway around the world. I am still waiting on a decent (hopefully) TOSlink cable that's floating somewhere in my domestic postal system so all I have now is a total POS cable from MonoP.com. My motherboard doesn't have coax out only optical S/Pdif, sigh. Even still on that horrible cable where the ends were polished with a chainsaw this DAC/AMP has really put a smile on my face along with my Beyerdynamics. This is the first attempt I've ever made at buying nice audio equipment that would be above the norm. For me, spending $500 is a lot on anything, but I was so determined to at least taste what higher end stuff could offer. I am burning in both on music in a loop and it's easy to say headphones and the BM DAC sound better after even a few hours fresh out of the box. I know it will only improve over a few weeks of use. Music has always been a joy for me and now I can hear songs all over again. Thanks guys for the Bushmaster reviews and opinions, and thanks Stanley for making it so good.

Søren
09-11-2012, 15:13
A bit OT, and not meant to start a debate.

David (DuncanHynes), if you read this article, you will probably not worry about "only Toslink" anymore http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/toslink-interconnect-history-basics

I am shure you will be even more happy with The Bushmasters SQ, when you recieve your HQ Toslink.

DuncanHynes
10-11-2012, 01:30
Thank you Soren, that was the best article yet on TOSlink. The one I ordered is quartz glass but I saw at the end it stated 'even mild bending' affects lesser quality cables. I'll take care not to do that with my setup. Anyway, I do like the BM a great deal and the sliver looks cool!

Søren
10-11-2012, 08:32
You`re welcome David :). I have tried to use Musical Fidelity V-Link with The Bushmaster. USB, and both Toslink and Coax. But i think the "pure" Toslink connection sounds much better. I use 5m Blue Jeans Cable Toslink. It is actually very good. Wide bandwith 40Mhz/50m. But i need to use it with a miniplug adapter, so i have ordered a Lifatec glass cable http://www.lifatec.com/toslink2.html

I don`t know if it will sound better, but it will make me feel better.

DuncanHynes
09-12-2012, 23:36
Did you ever get that Lifatec cable? Did you get the white or the stainless steel jacket? I have to get one, they are made in USA it seems and look awsome. I ordered several Amazon cables from manufactures and the 'polished' ends are a joke, sent each one back. Even under 6x magnification it was apparent that no attention to detail was given at the plant. Under 10x I could see ridges and pits in the surface. :doh:

Søren
10-12-2012, 20:31
Yes, i got it, the white one, and it is very well made. Very nice metal connectors. I don`t think you will be disappointed.

Clean, clear, detailed sound.

perbra
11-12-2012, 09:48
Yes, i got it, the white one, and it is very well made. Very nice metal connectors. I don`t think you will be disappointed.

Clean, clear, detailed sound.
Hi, I ordered the same white cable after reading Søren's post. I don't know what kicked in, the placebo effect whatever, it now sounds better that with the coax. Thanks Søren for advise.

franz159
07-01-2013, 15:18
.... Once I manage to add a variable output on the BM I shall be able to retire my analogue preamp for good.

My decision is already taken, I'm going to buy the BM.
However, in an attempt to gather as much info as possible in advance, I'm going through all the 80+ pages of this thread.

Since I'm planning to go "active" sometime this year (the idea being of buying a pair of Event Opal if budget will allow) I was immediately intrigued by the idea of a BM with variable output.

However, I'm also counting on what Mr. Stanley said some posts ahead of this one, in this very same thread: that it will be a couple of years at least before an updated BM version will be released.
Am I understanding correctly?

Thanks
franz

franz159
07-01-2013, 15:56
I use an older DACMagic and Touch and I compared each for DAC and I can say that if you compare a standalone DAC to the internal DAC in the Touch and you can't tell the difference then you should definately move on. The DACMagic was far better than the internal Touch DAC. If I didn't have them side by side I may not have seen such a stark difference but being able to switch and listen within a few minutes proved that while the Touch DAC works fairly well the external DACMagic just sounded a lot better.

My experience was toatlly different doing an A/B comparaison between the SBT internal DAC and a CA Dac Magic Plus, the "plain" SBT was just more musical and less harsh in treble and not "metallic" as the CA sometime was.

However I'm pretty sure this was dependent on the rest of my chain, namely a Kingrex Pre and Kingrex T20U.
I'm saying this because I still use (and very happy in term of SQ) when using the very same Dac Magic Plus in a different system (old Denon DR365 AMP + B&W CM5).
So my small experience is that audio systems should be listened to "holistically"!

Best
franz

franz159
08-01-2013, 08:05
Ordered my BM yesterday.
Now I'm impatient to start burning it in.

In the menatime I spent a good part of last night to finish reading the 99 pages of this thread.

Thanks guys for all info and suggestions.

franz159
09-01-2013, 21:49
I received my BM today.

http://www.francescomoretta.com/foto/varie/bushmaster/index.php

The first impression is very good, definitely a good step forward compared to the internal dac of my Squeezebox Touch!

I will add some more meaningful comment once "burn-in" operations will be completed....

franz

attilio7
10-01-2013, 04:30
Great photos, the Bushmaster looks like a quality product, with very professional packaging. It looks great with the rest of your gear :)

Looking forward to your comment about SQ.

Biagio De Simone
11-01-2013, 00:09
Hello Francesco he will not be disappointed, I'm glad you came the Bushmaster, Stan is always very fast. Beautiful photos. :)

MartinT
11-01-2013, 13:00
Nice photos. It's odd seeing black ones as mine is silver.

glenann
19-01-2013, 12:24
The first impression is very good, definitely a good step forward compared to the internal dac of my Squeezebox Touch!

I will add some more meaningful comment once "burn-in" operations will be completed....

franz

I too have a BM with an SBT. It really is very good. I have had mine since November and have run it more or less continuously. I would say that there have been gradual improvements right up until the last couple of weeks! I think after 2 months its finally run in... Of course your experience might be different, but bear with it...

rxjr
30-01-2013, 00:36
Received the unit today. Wow. Fast Shipping. Hooked up unit and it sounds good out of the box. I actually bought it for my audiophile husband Rex. He registered on the AOS forums, but couldn't seem to post. You can see his systems in the welcome section. He has a tip for you and everyone else that may be interested. Here it is: Giant Killer Amp: Qinpu A6000 MKII tube amp. Replace Chinese Tubes with 2 GE 5670 ($5.00 each) GE 5670 5 star ($25.00 ea) Western Electric 396a ($50.00 ea) or the ultimate tube: bendix 6385 (very rare: $175.00 ea) which he uses. Sound goes from very good to great to stunning. available at Amazon for $279.00 or cheaper at Ebay. For a rechargeable battery pack, the Mili Power King 18000 mah or incredicharge 18000 mah with outlets for 9-12 v, 5 v or 16-19 v. at amazon. He has it hooked up to the bushmaster using 9-12 v outlet and there is a huge improvement in slam and dynamics. For cd listening, He uses a radioshack optimus cd 3400 as transport, powered by a Custom Dick Sequerra PS1 battery powered supply. Try these cd recordings: Reference Recordings Reference Jazz and/or the Chesky Jazz sampler and prepare to be amazed. Thanks again for a great product.

MartinT
30-01-2013, 07:40
Thanks wife-of-Rex. I haven't heard of Qinpu but they look interesting. Available here on eBay for £152. Watch the voltage rating of 220V though!

Mr.Ian
30-01-2013, 10:01
Thanks wife-of-Rex. I haven't heard of Qinpu but they look interesting. Available here on eBay for £152. Watch the voltage rating of 220V though!

£92 on Taoboa

rxjr
30-01-2013, 18:52
Our Qinpu A6000 MKII has 110 volts ac for USA. Read the highly positive reviews of this little powerhouse at Amazon.com. It is loud and fills our 20 x 20 ft family room with ease. For the silly price of less than the cost of high end interconnects, this item is a no brainer.

pros: tube swapping to a GE 5670 ($5.00 @ ebay) is a must to hear what this thing can do. Although I believe this is a hybrid unit, using tubes for it's input with a solid state output, ALL the positive virtues of tubes are there: non-fatiguing sound, large, wide soundstage, pinpoint imaging, air around instruments, well defined instruments and vocalists (you can hear deep into recording), strong tight bass.

cons: only puts out 16 wpc into 8 ohms, 25 wpc into 4 ohms. However, these are very LOUD watts. headphone socket located in the back and is always active, with or without speakers connected.

Synergistic match for the Beresford Bushmaster, which I received Jan 29, 2013 and am still breaking in; but at present sounds really good out of the box.

The Bushmaster connected to my Incredicharge 18000 mah rechargeable battery pack really slams with loads of micro and macrodynamics. Outstanding bass and treble extension. Very clean presentation.

So for the adventurous among you, Amazon also has a 30 day no questions asked return policy on the Qinpu A6000 MKII. I can state with a high degree of certaintly that the sound improvements you hear from this little amp will be so far above and beyond what you will ever get even from $1,000.00 and up interconnects. Prepare to be amazed. So the questions is? What are you waiting for?

By the way, I bought 2 of these Qinpu amps. That's how much I like them.

Rex

chrism
31-01-2013, 13:28
Is it February 1st tomorrow or April 1st? ;)

Regards

Chris

Alex_UK
31-01-2013, 14:13
I must admit, we are wondering if Rex has done a "Victor Kiam" and the Qinpu is his "Remington moment"... I'm sure Rex will put us straight. ;)

MartinT
31-01-2013, 14:46
Victor Kiam - there's a name from the past!

Alex_UK
31-01-2013, 15:23
...And I must say Mrs Rex has an amazing knowledge of Rex's gear - mine wouldn't even know how to turn it on and the only tubes she knows are toothpaste or cosmetics ones. And as for a "Custom Dick Sequerra PS1" I shudder to think what she would think to do with that! ;)

StanleyB
31-01-2013, 16:02
Quite a number of people have informed me that the Bushmaster brought an extra dimension to their valve amp, so I am not entirely surprised with the comments that Rex so enthusiastically made. It's still reasonably moderate compared to some of the ecstatic emailed feedback comments I have read. Some included pictures whilst one was a "full length" youtube essay with some expensive gear as supporting cast.

rxjr
31-01-2013, 18:47
My regular system: Qinpu A6000MKII tube amp with bendix 6385 tubes, M&K v1b and s1b subs (2) digital reference configuration, beresford bushmaster, grado sr60 and sony headphones, french made battery dac,audio alchemy dac in a box, apple ipad 3 for music streaming via pandora, miccus bluebridge bluetooth rcvr, knuconceptz 10 gauge spkr cable and krystal interconnects, radio shack optimus cd 3400 as transport powered by custom dick sequerra battery power supply. for movies: sony ps3, creative labs DDTs 5.1 decoder, Klipsch 5.1 spkrs.

My reference system: Apogee Diva speakers, Nakamichi Dragon Cassette deck, Audire Forte amp for Hsu subs (2), Perreaux preamp, tuner and 500 wpc amp capable of 5000 peaks when pushed, kimber cable rca and interconnects. sony ps3, logitech z5500 for movies. Modded Pioneer PL 1000 with Straight Line Tracking Tonearm. Heavily modded electronic x-overs for Apogee Divas and Hsu subs.

Above is a listing of my current equipment.
My regular system, when purchased new, cost me approx $2,500.00.

My reference system cost me approx $30,000.00, about the price of a BMW sports sedan at that time.

Victor was right. My wife is not thoroughly aware of all the brand of equipment I use and its functions. That was me talking. However, she is highly aware of the high cost and expenditures involved this crazy equipment upgrade adventure I have been on since 1975; starting from Japanese brands such sansui, pioneer, kenwood, marantz, teac, akai, to u.s. brands like marantz,bose, dbx, etc... to my current configurations as listed above. My apologies to brands I have long forgotten during this upgrade process.

My reference system gives me the following: 3d Pinpoint imaging so good you can tell the height of the various performers, even their distance from the main microphones. Soundstage so wide and so deep, it appears to go beyond the confines of my living room, sometimes 30 feet out into the street. Sounds even seem to emanate behind me, depending on the recordings. Accurately reproduces all kinds of music, from Jazz to rock to soul, even hiphop. Badly recorded or canned music will be revealed, warts and all. The Apogee Divas are considered to be one of the Best Speakers in the world, even to this date. Stereophile, The Absolute sound, other hi-end mags all agree, and so do I. Extremely difficult to drive, wimpy, underpowered amps need not apply. Hence, it is powered by a 150 lb. 2 man lift, Perreaux Amp with a minimum of 500 wpc capable of 5,000 wpc peaks when pushed. The Nakamichi Dragon, renowned as the best cassette deck in the world, is so dynamic and clean sounding, so free from hiss, and other analog foibles, that the sound seems to emanate from a well recorded and decoded digital source.

My regular system, started life as an attempt of mine, to get into video 5.1 sound reproduction. Tired of the ever increasing cost of High End components, and their ever miniscule improvements vs cost increases, I decided to venture into modestly priced but good performing audio equipment. See the current prices on high end equipment lately: $150,000.00 on a Dan D'Agostino amp, Speakers costing $20,000.00 and up. This madness had to stop. I had to get off this train. My only regret was passing up on Audio Note Speakers and Cary Single Ended 300B monoblock amps which a dealer was willing to sell to me for cheap, but alas, my wife finally put her foot down, said no, and that was that. And so ended my audio adventure for the time being. So, yes, my wife may not know all the brands and functions of my various pieces of equipment, but she is well aware of the cost and ever increasing piles of audio gear, no matter how hard I try to hide them from her (don't we all do this).

Compared to my reference system, my regular system gives me very good to excellent imaging, pinpoint at times, depending on recordings, wide but not so deep soundstage, accurate reproduction of various kinds of music, non-fatiguing sound, good to great micro and macro dynamics, loudness and slam; I can still tell the difference between well recorded and badly done recordings, foot tapping tempo and pace, and overall enjoyment of the music. Overall, I judge my regular system to get me to about 80% of my reference system, which I consider extremely good, especially considering the price differential of these 2 systems.

Currently,I am always on the lookout, for reasonably priced, excellent performing gear, but don't tell my wife that.

Enter the Qinpu A6000 MK II: As stated in my previous posts, this little amp gave me, lots of musical enjoyment, for its obviously ridiculous low price. High End performance, this good, for so cheap, is an understatement. for those who fawn, and ooh and aah, at the latest, overrated and overpriced, power plugs, muti-thousand dollar cables and interconnects, this baby will forever, change your perception, of what sanely priced, good music is all about. Transformative, maybe. Epiphany, maybe. Only you and your ears can decide. Mine have. (Be sure to read the reviews on Amazon.com from audiophiles and non-audiophiles alike, and form your own conclusions).

Enter the Beresford Bushmaster: I purchased the Bushmaster, based on the great and sometimes not so great reviews (there will always be detractors), here on the AOS Forums. Sanely priced, I decided to give this one a go. Here's what I found:

Great sound out of the box; no digital nasties; smooth, non-fatiguing sound. Wide reasonably deep soundstage, palpable 3d imaging, excellent reproduction of musical timbres, great slam and pace (my dog jumped out of the couch on one cut of the reference jazz recordings), good micro and macro dynamics, great musicality, enables me to hear into the recordings, instruments sound live and real in Jazz at the pawnshop cd; I could go on and on, but to my ears, Stanley Beresford, has achieved a minor, if not major, miracle with this unit, considering its extremely affordable price. Nuff said.

For those of similar minds, like me, who are tired, of the non-stop, ever increasing costs, but extremely miniscule improvements, in sound quality of our hobby, the Qinpu A6000 MKII and the Beresford Bushmaster, are components, that are so great sounding, that I daresay, have destroyed the myth, that to get great sound, you have to have an inexhaustible bank account or a trust fund. Dare I say that for me, these two components, have accurately defined, what this hobby, for me, is all about. High end sound, sanely priced for the common man. Keep the music keep playing.

rex