Hi, newbie here. Beresford DAC interested ;-)

[alpsessays]

Hi guys, just joined. I currently have an RME Babyface and a pair of HD580 headphones for both my recording/mixing and general listening. Recording and mixing is my main thing, but I'd love to get a better general setup at some stage, including a top vinyl system with valve amp. I'm looking to upgrade everything and came across mention of the original Beresford DAC in terms of budget upgrades on the gearslutz forums. I have plans for a top end ADC using an eval board from Texas Instruments (I already have a nice valve pre), but I need a better DAC also, hence the search. From searching on the net there seems to be general agreement that the Beresford - particularly the lastest Bushmaster MK II - is something of a no brainer at the price, since it sounds many many many times better than you would expect for £150 or so. I'd love to be to able to audition one but that's not really an option. I suppose what I'm really saying is will the Beresford Bushmaster MK II be a big step up from my RME converters

Cheers,

Chris

[synsei]

Hi Chris, welcome to AoS. The Bushmaster II is a superb DAC for the money and one which betters some DAC's at many times the price. It's worth mentioning though that there are several DAC's further up the chain which have a feature you may find useful. The Audiolab M-DAC and Rega DAC for example, both very capable units in their own right, have a digital output facility ;)

[alpsessays]

Thanks Synsei, unfortunately I'm on a limited budget hence the cutting of corners. The thing that appeals about the Beresford is precisely the fact that you get a DAC that is actually worth many times the actual price as you say, and is hopefully - one would think - better than my current setup. Another thing that appeals is the supposedly neutral nature of the Beresford given that there aren't any op amps in the chain. The other possible DAC I was looking at is the HRT Microstreamer, which has gotten good reviews for the price also.

Thanks,

Chris

[pjdowns]

Hi Chris and welcome to the forum :)