jandl100
02-07-2012, 09:53
That's a long title for a thread. :)
Perhaps I should have called it the MG BOTWS BM PSU. :scratch: :D
Anyway, Mark seems to have come up with a very handy little package here - and a very cost effective one, too, an approach which always gets my attention!
As many will know, I've been totally bowled over by the astonishing sonic capabilities of the Beresford Bushmaster DAC. But the best can always be improved on - and that's exactly what the power supply accessories that I have tried have achieved.
First I bought one of the cheapo Chinese battery PSUs. I liked what it did - call it a 15% sonic upgrade overall. Some folks feel it thinned out the BM sound ... yup, OK, but it also gave it a bit more articulation and rez, I thought.
Sadly, the wallwart charger very soon failed. Ah well - it was cheap, and it showed there were improvements to be had on the power supply front.
I then planned on getting the well-received S-Booster from Mark Grant. 30 squid - worth a go. On to Mark's website I went to buy one, and I saw the "BOTWS" gadget - an S-Booster hardwired to a linear PSU. All for £115 delivered. :rolleyes: Damn - I couldn't resist! :eyebrows: So I ordered one of those instead. :)
The BOTWS is a cunning amalgamation of Mark's cheap but well received S-Booster doo-hickey (technical term), it reduces ripple and noise on the supplied power.
The PSU itself is a linear device. Full details can be seen via Mark's website, linked at the end of this review.
The two devices separately have received very positive reviews in a couple of the better UK hifi mags.
It's not that pretty, it has to be said ...
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii114/jandl100/DSCF7825.jpg
But I think it looks quite neat, in situ, and can easily be hidden away entirely if you wish - there are no controls to be fiddled with.
Here it is in my system looking purposeful and functional next to the BM DAC ...
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii114/jandl100/DSCF7829.jpg
So, what does it do for the sonics?
- First and foremost, in-room presence. The BM sound is substantially more musically alive. To be perfectly honest, I've been lucky enough to have some wonderful kit in my system, and some of it has sounded bloody marvellous. But the MG PSUed Bushmaster is easily the best sound I have heard.
- 3D imaging. Well, my system is good at that anyway. But with the MGed BM it's just amazing. Really. I've been playing CD after CD, many of which I am very familiar with - and I've not heard 'owt like this before in terms of holographic imaging. It's the best I've ever heard, anywhere, and not by a small margin.
- Resolution. It's the smaller scale music that really shines here. A CD I am very familiar with - it's one of my 3 or 4 standards which I always wheel out when I'm evaluating kit. Solo lute sonatas by Silvius Weiss - volume 1 in Naxos's ongoing series. The delicacy and speed of the plucked strings in a realistic ambience of a small acoustic space - it easily sorts out the wheat from the chaff for me. I laughed out loud when I put this CD on to play - I have never heard it like this before. I was there, in that hall. Truly exceptional.
- Vocals have that very special presence that marks out an exceptional system. Mouth, throat, chest - some components accentuate one aspect more than another. For me the MG/BM hits the spot. As a result, and combined with the extremely high resolution on-hand, the emotion of the performance is given 8-lane freeway access to your living room.
- Bass - deep, controlled, really tummy-wobbling slam. Mind you, a bit of tummywobbling is easier for some of us to achieve than others .... :eyebrows:
- Tonality - the treble is a lot smoother than the standard SMPS that comes with the BM. Tbh, that sounds a bit brash now that I've heard a BM fed with better power.
If all that sounds like a "hifi extravaganza" then you couldn't be more wrong - it's the music that comes first with this system. It's just so very very natural.
Can it get better than this? Of course it can! :lol: But this is an astonishing level of fidelity, imo.
12V and 15V versions of the MG BOTWS are available - I have both at the moment at Jerry Towers - having ordered the standard 12V model, Mark kindly sent me the 15V version as well, to try out.
Mmmmm .... not a lot of difference to my ears. :scratch:. I think I can probably convince myself that the 15V version has a little extra bass control and 3D imaging presence and, yes, I think a slightly smoother but better resolved treble. Maybe. It's very close. But I'll be keeping the 15V version! ;)
There are other linear PSUs around, but the other one specifically aimed at the BM DAC is quite a lot more expensive. But it is in a prettier chassis, which is nice. And probably it has its own technical merits. Is that one good? Almost certainly! Is it better than the MG BOTWS? I've no idea - I've not tried it. But I can say that Mark Grant's BM PSU is a bargain and a half, imho - it raises the excellent sonics from the Bushmaster DAC substantially. I called the cheap Chinese battery a 15% sonic upgrade - the MG BOTWS PSU has to be close to a 100% sonic upgrade. It really is that good! Amazing. Thanks Mark. :thumbsup:
http://markgrantcables.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=76_77&products_id=412
Perhaps I should have called it the MG BOTWS BM PSU. :scratch: :D
Anyway, Mark seems to have come up with a very handy little package here - and a very cost effective one, too, an approach which always gets my attention!
As many will know, I've been totally bowled over by the astonishing sonic capabilities of the Beresford Bushmaster DAC. But the best can always be improved on - and that's exactly what the power supply accessories that I have tried have achieved.
First I bought one of the cheapo Chinese battery PSUs. I liked what it did - call it a 15% sonic upgrade overall. Some folks feel it thinned out the BM sound ... yup, OK, but it also gave it a bit more articulation and rez, I thought.
Sadly, the wallwart charger very soon failed. Ah well - it was cheap, and it showed there were improvements to be had on the power supply front.
I then planned on getting the well-received S-Booster from Mark Grant. 30 squid - worth a go. On to Mark's website I went to buy one, and I saw the "BOTWS" gadget - an S-Booster hardwired to a linear PSU. All for £115 delivered. :rolleyes: Damn - I couldn't resist! :eyebrows: So I ordered one of those instead. :)
The BOTWS is a cunning amalgamation of Mark's cheap but well received S-Booster doo-hickey (technical term), it reduces ripple and noise on the supplied power.
The PSU itself is a linear device. Full details can be seen via Mark's website, linked at the end of this review.
The two devices separately have received very positive reviews in a couple of the better UK hifi mags.
It's not that pretty, it has to be said ...
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii114/jandl100/DSCF7825.jpg
But I think it looks quite neat, in situ, and can easily be hidden away entirely if you wish - there are no controls to be fiddled with.
Here it is in my system looking purposeful and functional next to the BM DAC ...
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii114/jandl100/DSCF7829.jpg
So, what does it do for the sonics?
- First and foremost, in-room presence. The BM sound is substantially more musically alive. To be perfectly honest, I've been lucky enough to have some wonderful kit in my system, and some of it has sounded bloody marvellous. But the MG PSUed Bushmaster is easily the best sound I have heard.
- 3D imaging. Well, my system is good at that anyway. But with the MGed BM it's just amazing. Really. I've been playing CD after CD, many of which I am very familiar with - and I've not heard 'owt like this before in terms of holographic imaging. It's the best I've ever heard, anywhere, and not by a small margin.
- Resolution. It's the smaller scale music that really shines here. A CD I am very familiar with - it's one of my 3 or 4 standards which I always wheel out when I'm evaluating kit. Solo lute sonatas by Silvius Weiss - volume 1 in Naxos's ongoing series. The delicacy and speed of the plucked strings in a realistic ambience of a small acoustic space - it easily sorts out the wheat from the chaff for me. I laughed out loud when I put this CD on to play - I have never heard it like this before. I was there, in that hall. Truly exceptional.
- Vocals have that very special presence that marks out an exceptional system. Mouth, throat, chest - some components accentuate one aspect more than another. For me the MG/BM hits the spot. As a result, and combined with the extremely high resolution on-hand, the emotion of the performance is given 8-lane freeway access to your living room.
- Bass - deep, controlled, really tummy-wobbling slam. Mind you, a bit of tummywobbling is easier for some of us to achieve than others .... :eyebrows:
- Tonality - the treble is a lot smoother than the standard SMPS that comes with the BM. Tbh, that sounds a bit brash now that I've heard a BM fed with better power.
If all that sounds like a "hifi extravaganza" then you couldn't be more wrong - it's the music that comes first with this system. It's just so very very natural.
Can it get better than this? Of course it can! :lol: But this is an astonishing level of fidelity, imo.
12V and 15V versions of the MG BOTWS are available - I have both at the moment at Jerry Towers - having ordered the standard 12V model, Mark kindly sent me the 15V version as well, to try out.
Mmmmm .... not a lot of difference to my ears. :scratch:. I think I can probably convince myself that the 15V version has a little extra bass control and 3D imaging presence and, yes, I think a slightly smoother but better resolved treble. Maybe. It's very close. But I'll be keeping the 15V version! ;)
There are other linear PSUs around, but the other one specifically aimed at the BM DAC is quite a lot more expensive. But it is in a prettier chassis, which is nice. And probably it has its own technical merits. Is that one good? Almost certainly! Is it better than the MG BOTWS? I've no idea - I've not tried it. But I can say that Mark Grant's BM PSU is a bargain and a half, imho - it raises the excellent sonics from the Bushmaster DAC substantially. I called the cheap Chinese battery a 15% sonic upgrade - the MG BOTWS PSU has to be close to a 100% sonic upgrade. It really is that good! Amazing. Thanks Mark. :thumbsup:
http://markgrantcables.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=76_77&products_id=412