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View Full Version : Confusion in the Hi-Fi World review of the Beresford 7510??



twelvebears
05-08-2009, 07:59
Sorry if this has been posted/commented on elsewhere, but WTF was going on in the cuurent issue of Hi-Fi World?

First they state they are reviewing a 7510 but show pics of a 7520, and THEN they say it costs £186?

Confused? I was!

jandl100
05-08-2009, 08:31
The same point has been raised on the Wigwam forum - D Price esq responded saying it was an editirial gaff - it was a 7520 that was reviewed.
Mind you, the whole review sounds like a gaff :mental: - I've owned a Benchmark DAC and I'd rather listen to a Beresford any day! :smoking:

Marco
05-08-2009, 08:38
What do you expect when they used Sugababes as a test track? ;)

No wonder the Beresford was considered as "clinical"... It merely highlighted the sheer awfulness of the recording (and music)!

What readers of a serious hi-fi magazine listen to that guff? :mental:

Marco.

StanleyB
05-08-2009, 09:08
My focus is on the customers who are looking for every bit of detail in the music. Warts and all, just like it sounded on stage or in the recording studio.

There is of course also a market for other DACs that are incapable of such level of performance in terms of extreme accuracy. And there are music lovers who don't want the whole truth from their music.

Stan

jandl100
05-08-2009, 09:14
And there are music lovers who don't want the whole truth from their music.

Stan

That's very true. I'm a warts and all kind of listener and have always admired Stan's DACs, but a good friend of mine much prefers to listen to an undifferentiated wash of sound. I doze off after a while listening to music on his system ..... :scratch:

Marco
05-08-2009, 09:29
Stan,

Your approach is the only way as far as I'm concerned.

From reading David's review, it seemed obvious to me that the V-DAC (considered superior to the Beresford) was tailoring the sound in some way to make it 'nice' - that is not true hi-fi.

When you design something which has genuinely high resolution, then the limitations of the partnering system will always come under scrutiny.

I'm not saying that the system used to review the Beresford wasn't up to scratch, but I've heard the TC-7520 on a few occasions now and "clinical" is not how I would describe it.

I can't comment on the Benchmark, as I've not heard one.

The other thing I would say is why does MF gear ALWAYS get rave reviews these days in all the mags? In my experience, most of it sounds shit!

Marco.

daveyboy
05-08-2009, 09:49
Each to their own really but I can understand on how some types of music someone would want it to sound "nice".

Spectral Morn
05-08-2009, 10:00
Stan,

Your approach is the only way as far as I'm concerned.

From reading David's review, it seemed obvious to me that the V-DAC (considered superior to the Beresford) was tailoring the sound in some way to make it 'nice' - that is not true hi-fi.

When you design something which has genuinely high resolution, then the limitations of the partnering system will always come under scrutiny.

I'm not saying that the system used to review the Beresford wasn't up to scratch, but I've heard the TC-7520 on a few occasions now and "clinical" is not how I would describe it.

I can't comment on the Benchmark, as I've not heard one.

The other thing I would say is why does MF gear ALWAYS get rave reviews these days in all the mags? In my experience, most of it sounds shit!

Marco.

Not having heard the most recent examples, but based on the last few years, I would say that the road MF have gone down is the wrong one. I have told them so too repeatedly. I could list their failures which were predicted by myself and someone else I worked with then.....but I wont, we all know what bombed.

The Nu-Vista,Tri-vista series were very good, as was the 308 series and the original X can series but past glories are not enough IMHO.

The new approach is based on vanishing levels of distortion and a fetish for correct power, nothing wrong with that in principle, but IMHO/E this has stripped away the soul of the music and has left a very cold sound. I stopped liking MF about 4 years ago. The incessant model changes, have also devalued the brand too, again IMHO.

It would, however be great if they could find their mojo again as high quality sound for low cost, is something AoS champions.


Regards D S D L

trailer
05-08-2009, 10:17
I always take a "crap recording", (not the Sugababes by the way), if I'm going to have a listen to some kit. Just taking along your favourite seems a bit pointless to me.

The Vinyl Adventure
05-08-2009, 16:53
i can see why people would want a hifi to sound "nice" but i dont get the thinking!

a wise hifi enthusiast asked me once "if you whack a snare with all your force, is it a pleasant sound" the reply is obviously "no" .. his respose was "well if someone is makeing a peice of music and whacks a snare really bloody hard then he/she has does it for a reason... why deny that person thier reasoning? thats how they wanted you to hear it, so thats how you should hear it!"

i wholeheartedly agree with him!

daveyboy
05-08-2009, 18:22
I agree with you on that point but that's only one aspect. Some music is just purely produced driven by the need to compress and compress. If however you like that music, you can be turned off if it's too revealing. Don't get me wrong I have recommended the Beresford to dozens of people still waiting for my commission which I don't think is going to come ;), but still I can see why you might want to keep the warts at bay.

Marco
05-08-2009, 18:32
Hi Davey,

That's all fine and dandy, but such an approach does *not* constitute as high fidelity, which I presume is what members of AOS would always strive to achieve with their systems. This is after all a specialist audio forum ;)

I would also contend that anyone who enjoys listening to commercialised plastic dross, such as the Sugababes, also qualifies as a non-music lover! :eyebrows:

Marco.

daveyboy
05-08-2009, 18:48
Ah what can I say, I am torn between wanting to hear music in all it's glory and wanting to smooth over the not so nice bits. I wasn't implying I like suga babes by the way lol. Although I do like a wide variety of music so perhaps I shouldn't laugh too much at the implication of liking the suga babes

Beechwoods
05-08-2009, 19:30
I would also contend that anyone who enjoys listening to commercialised plastic dross, such as the Sugababes, also qualifies as a non-music lover! :eyebrows:

Don't listen to him chaps. I for one am proud to pop my 'Best Of The Boy Bands' double CD occasionally. OTT production but big smiles all round! As with everything; variety is the spice of life!

Please note that this is in no way meant to be a defence of the Sugarbabes, who've been crap ever since the ginger one left!

Alex_UK
06-08-2009, 20:28
Hey, several correspondents on The Times/Sunday Times even put Britney Spears' "Blackout" into their top-10 albums of 2007, so there's no shame in loving a bit of cheesey pop! (I just blame it on the wife!)

And anyway, Heidi from Sugababes is well fit so I'd buy the album just for the pictures! ;)

Alex_UK
06-08-2009, 20:41
OK, sorry, but Sugababes digression coming up... this is the God's honest...

Living back in Norwich "between wives" around 7 years ago, I adopted the habit of going to bed listening to Radio 1 - very often John Peel's show. I remember one night being amazed that he was playing Sugababes "Round Round" - after it finished he said (imagine those deep tones) "I have absolutely no idea who or what that is as it's a white label with nothing written on it, but I rather like it" - to this day I am still not sure whether this number-1 single from a couple of years previous had completely passed him by and he did genuinely like it, or if he was pulling our collective legs, or maybe even making an oblique point about music snobbery - but if the great man liked a Sugababes track, who are we too argue?!

Apologies for the OT post but had to share that!:)

To redeem myself, my vote goes to "warts and all" reproduction of the recording, which if my first few days withe Beresford Caiman is anything to go by is what you get. Right, off to find my (sorry the wife's, ahem) Sugababes CDs, let's see how bad they really sound!

Beechwoods
06-08-2009, 20:51
And anyway, Heidi from Sugababes is well fit so I'd buy the album just for the pictures! ;)

Oh dear...

Hot
Siobhan Donaghy, founder member of Sugarbabes, successful solo artiste.

http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/aos_images/beechwoods/7ec291b978311825a2c6221b1000a5d6.jpg

Not
Heidi Range, johnny come lately, ex member of Atomic Kitten and erstwhile bandmate of Kerry Katona.

http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/aos_images/beechwoods/heidi_range.jpg

:lolsign: :lolsign:

Sorry. Very very off topic. But great thread-drift...

Alex_UK
06-08-2009, 20:54
Fair play, what can I say, I like blondes! :eyebrows:

Marco
06-08-2009, 20:56
Living back in Norwich "between wives" around 7 years ago, I adopted the habit of going to bed listening to Radio 1 - very often John Peel's show. I remember one night being amazed that he was playing Sugababes "Round Round" - after it finished he said (imagine those deep tones) "I have absolutely no idea who or what that is as it's a white label with nothing written on it, but I rather like it" - to this day I am still not sure whether this number-1 single from a couple of years previous had completely passed him by and he did genuinely like it, or if he was pulling our collective legs, or maybe even making an oblique point about music snobbery - but if the great man liked a Sugababes track, who are we too argue?!


Each to his or her own I guess, Alex :)

I've never liked 'girl-band' pop - right from when Bananarama first appeared on the scene!

Although that didn't stop me from enjoying a few 'boy-bands' in the 80s, such as Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran or Kajagoogoo, to name but a few ;)

But for some reason the music (pop/chart stuff) girl-bands produce always seems, to my ears, to be infinitely cheesier and less attractive to listen to, although visually the performance may have a rather different appeal :eyebrows:

Marco.

Alex_UK
06-08-2009, 21:05
I'm going to have to be careful here, I could end up with a reputation for liking frilly girly things! ;) As you say Marco, each to his own!

Anyway, I bought HFW today, purely to read the article, so the error hasn't done any harm, any publicity is good publicity as they say!

StanleyB
06-08-2009, 21:35
Anyone got the technical specifications and dimensions?

Alex_UK
06-08-2009, 21:44
Anyone got the technical specifications and dimensions?

Stan do you mean for Avril Levine or from the Hi-Fi World article? I'll gladly let you know anything you need from the article, but I'm a bit wary of googling the former!

daveyboy
06-08-2009, 23:20
Some of those photos are :eyebrows: i think the hi fi element has got lost in this thread lol

MartinT
07-08-2009, 08:24
I saw The Bangles supporting The Police last year at Hyde Park and they were surprisingly good.

snapper
07-08-2009, 18:52
I prefer this young lady



http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y198/davhar/MIS09.jpg