Beresford Bushmaster DAC Reviews

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Originally Posted by StanleyB

I consider that a very condescending statement Gaz. I do listen to other kits, but at the same time I let others listen to products that I am working on and get an added perspective on the looks, feel, and the way it sounds.
Your suggestion implies otherwise, which is not what I expected from you. It demonstrates a preconceived idea on your part which I hope is only limited to this instance and not to people in general who do not see things in the same light. I would be worried if this is a particular character trait that you exhibit in general.

I have offered my comments with regard to the difference between my design and other ones available on the market. I don't generally offer my opinion on reviews and how i feel about the conclusions drawn up afterwards. Nor do I defend the implementation of my design against the way other manufacturers have implemented theirs. It's for the buying public to decide what kind of listening experience they are after. All I can do is to highlight how my design is put together and what solutions customers can expect to find when following my route. I am not trying to copy the signature from anyone, or trying to artificially create a signature in the first place. The BM is not about creating a signature, but about offering an unadulterated reproduction of the analogue output from the D to A processor used in the design.

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I think Gaz meant that as a general statement to folk reading this Stan, it wasn't specifically directed at you.

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Originally Posted by Ali Tait

Aye, that crossed my mind too Neal. There was no pre used for the comparisons, just straight into the Rega amp.

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That may account for the apparent lean presentation...

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Originally Posted by StanleyB

I consider that a very condescending statement Gaz. I do listen to other kits, but at the same time I let others listen to products that I am working on and get an added perspective on the looks, feel, and the way it sounds.
Your suggestion implies otherwise, which is not what I expected from you. It demonstrates a preconceived idea on your part which I hope is only limited to this instance and not to people in general who do not see things in the same light. I would be worried if this is a particular character trait that you exhibit in general.

I have offered my comments with regard to the difference between my design and other ones available on the market. I don't generally offer my opinion on reviews and how i feel about the conclusions drawn up afterwards. Nor do I defend the implementation of my design against the way other manufacturers have implemented theirs. It's for the buying public to decide what kind of listening experience they are after. All I can do is to highlight how my design is put together and what solutions customers can expect to find when following my route. I am not trying to copy the signature from anyone, or trying to artificially create a signature in the first place. The BM is not about creating a signature, but about offering an unadulterated reproduction of the analogue output from the D to A processor used in the design.

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Stan you misunderstand.
This wasn't directed at you mate, just a general comment about the benefits of getting together and listening to other kit.

No preconceived ideas or bias here, honest Guv. :)
As I said earlier, we all listened with an open mind.

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Originally Posted by Ali Tait

Aye, that crossed my mind too Neal. There was no pre used for the comparisons, just straight into the Rega amp.

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remember though we listened with the valve pre/power amp as well...

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Originally Posted by NRG

That may account for the apparent lean presentation...

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Yes, that's what I was thinking. I may ask Bernie to pop round with his sometime so I can try it here connected to the Pre 3. That'll provide plenty drive.

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Originally Posted by Gazjam

remember though we listened with the valve pre/power amp as well...

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Did we? Can't remember.. :doh:

yeah..
we thought it might be interesting to plug the BM back in.

Ah yes, I remember now, and it still sounded brighter in the mid. It's still worth trying Bernie's in my system if he's amenable. That'll prove whether there is something not right with Brian's.

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Originally Posted by MartinT

Nope - Touch with standard PSU (for the moment - new one coming soon), Bushmaster running from 12V battery. Co-ax connection into Input 3. Running EDO and all unnecessary add-ins disabled. Standard Logitech Media Server with a variety of file formats on a W7 desktop machine. Cabled ethernet connection.

No hardness, just superb detail.

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What EDO version are you running? I've heard that the latest version (0.7) brings audible degradation to the SQ. Correct?

Sorry I'm late to this thread guys , been working all day .Firstly I would like to thank Gaz for inviting us into his home and provding me with food , copious amounts of coffee , and a very interesting day. And also thanks to Ali for giving us access to his excellent and interesting valve amps and DAC. I have to say that I agree with everything that Gary and Ali have written in their excellent reviews. Alis' valve DAC was indeed excellent through the Rega Brio R and came into its' own when used with the valve amps.
I think the Rega DAC , for a cheaper and commercially available DAC was a pretty close second . In my opinion the fully specced Caiman did sound pretty good in the scheme of things. The Bushmaster did not sound as good , to my ears , on the day. One thing that has been niggling me all day today was the fact that the Bushmaster had been given around 96 hours of use / burn-in. Perhaps Gary will correct me if I'm wrong here as we had to use his system since my laptop simply would not work with the Bushmaster. Was this enough burn-in ?
This may or may not be a relevent point . The bottom line was that we all came to more or less the same conclusions on the day using all four DACs on two different systems , solid state and valve.
Brian.

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Originally Posted by brian2957

Sorry I'm late to this thread guys , been working all day .Firstly I would like to thank Gaz for inviting us into his home and provding me with food , copious amounts of coffee , and a very interesting day. And also thanks to Ali for giving us access to his excellent and interesting valve amps and DAC. I have to say that I agree with everything that Gary and Ali have written in their excellent reviews. Alis' valve DAC was indeed excellent through the Rega Brio R and came into its' own when used with the valve amps.
I think the Rega DAC , for a cheaper and commercially available DAC was a pretty close second . In my opinion the fully specced Caiman did sound pretty good in the scheme of things. The Bushmaster did not sound as good , to my ears , on the day. One thing that has been niggling me all day today was the fact that the Bushmaster had been given around 96 hours of use / burn-in. Perhaps Gary will correct me if I'm wrong here as we had to use his system since my laptop simply would not work with the Bushmaster. Was this enough burn-in ?
This may or may not be a relevent point . The bottom line was that we all came to more or less the same conclusions on the day using all four DACs on two different systems , solid state and valve.
Brian.

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hi Brian,
I wanted the Dacs to be on as even a keel as possible so had my Tivo box running through the BM 24/7 from Friday round 8pm through to Tuesday late morning when you arrived.

The Rega was still running in as well.

Burn in could be a factor, who knows.

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Originally Posted by J-PG

Tobi, habe alles ausgeschaltet, sogar spotlight. Es gibt keine Veränderung!

Tobi, I disabled everything, even spotlight. The problem still remains!

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For Windows Users - if youre facing dropouts please check first if youre Latencys are alright:

http://www.heise.de/download/dpc-latency-checker.html

If not, there is some process/device blocking.

Are you using MacOS Lion, Snow Leopard or Leopard Paul?

Hi mate , I was thinking more of the Bushmaster versus the Caiman which had many hours of use . This is perhaps a moot point since I was unable to burn the Bushmaster in for any length of time on my system.
Brian.

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Originally Posted by brian2957

Hi mate , I was thinking more of the Bushmaster versus the Caiman which had many hours of use . This is perhaps a moot point since I was unable to burn the Bushmaster in for any length of time on my system.
Brian.

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I don't think it could factor in, because in my case I have my Caiman on burn-in for more than two years and still it sounds bleached, anemic, and two dimensional next to the Bushmaster with only around 48 hours or so of burn-in.

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Originally Posted by magiccarpetride

What EDO version are you running? I've heard that the latest version (0.7) brings audible degradation to the SQ. Correct?

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I'm using 0.5 and will leave it alone as it works. Can't comment on 0.7.

Lots of opinions of Stans previous stuff benefiting from some burn in.
I found it with my 7510 and my Caiman.

All 4 dacs were good, none were poor on the day.

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Originally Posted by Gazjam

Lots of opinions of Stans previous stuff benefiting from some burn in.
I found it with my 7510 and my Caiman.

All 4 dacs were good, none were poor on the day.

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I wholeheartedly agree. Just wondering.
Brian.

I just received my BM yesterday, so its got less than 20 hrs burn-in but I must say that so so far I prefer the sound of my passive modded Caiman. I am using the stock PSU with the BM comparted with a tweaked Maplin linear CB-Radio PSU with the Caiman.

The BM is more analogue sounding and but lacks the soundstage and highs and lows of the PM Caiman. In my system the BM still sounds a little harsh. The BM output is much higher than the passive modded Caiman, which might also be a factor. My poor old Linn Kairn pre-amp could not handle the output of the Gator board but the BM does not seem to be distorting like it did with the Gator.

I am using EDO 0.7 with the SBT before and after.

I am just hoping it gets more rounded with some more burn-in... I might try the Maplin PSU to see if that makes a difference.

Give it time, Alastair. Both burn-in and power supply make a difference.

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Originally Posted by Alp

I just received my BM yesterday, so its got less than 20 hrs burn-in but I must say that so so far I prefer the sound of my passive modded Caiman. I am using the stock PSU with the BM comparted with a tweaked Maplin linear CB-Radio PSU with the Caiman.

The BM is more analogue sounding and but lacks the soundstage and highs and lows of the PM Caiman. In my system the BM still sounds a little harsh. The BM output is much higher than the passive modded Caiman, which might also be a factor. My poor old Linn Kairn pre-amp could not handle the output of the Gator board but the BM does not seem to be distorting like it did with the Gator.

I am using EDO 0.7 with the SBT before and after.

I am just hoping it gets more rounded with some more burn-in... I might try the Maplin PSU to see if that makes a difference.

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That's exactly what we found.

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Originally Posted by Alp

I just received my BM yesterday, so its got less than 20 hrs burn-in but I must say that so so far I prefer the sound of my passive modded Caiman. I am using the stock PSU with the BM comparted with a tweaked Maplin linear CB-Radio PSU with the Caiman.

The BM is more analogue sounding and but lacks the soundstage and highs and lows of the PM Caiman. In my system the BM still sounds a little harsh. The BM output is much higher than the passive modded Caiman, which might also be a factor. My poor old Linn Kairn pre-amp could not handle the output of the Gator board but the BM does not seem to be distorting like it did with the Gator.

I am using EDO 0.7 with the SBT before and after.

I am just hoping it gets more rounded with some more burn-in... I might try the Maplin PSU to see if that makes a difference.

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If the active Caimen was overdriving the pre input of the Kairn then the BM will do the same, the outputs are standard line level 2v. If the Kairn can be overdriven by a standard 2v line level input then its not up to much or could be faulty.

Great wee review chaps. Would have been very interested to have to heard Ali's audio note in the fray-nicest dac I have heard so far.

Don't have it any more mate, it's been moved on.

To me. :eyebrows:

I'm very happy with it too. :)

Actually, I'd like to compare it with a Rega DAC. :scratch:

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Originally Posted by Canetoad

To me. :eyebrows:

I'm very happy with it too. :)

Actually, I'd like to compare it with a Rega DAC. :scratch:

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Shame you couldn't make it Bernie, had a good session and you could have brought the Dac down!

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Originally Posted by Gazjam

Lots of opinions of Stans previous stuff benefiting from some burn in.
I found it with my 7510 and my Caiman.

All 4 dacs were good, none were poor on the day.

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This may be asking too much, but any chance you guys could post the list of songs/tracks you've used during your evaluation of the DACs?

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Originally Posted by magiccarpetride

This may be asking too much, but any chance you guys could post the list of songs/tracks you've used during your evaluation of the DACs?

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Uhm, ok see if I remember some of them...

Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges - Side By Side: Track = Stompy Jones
Beth Rowley - Little Dreamer: Track = Beautiful Tommorow
Richard Thomson - Rumour and Sigh: Track = Mystery Wind
Eric Bibb - Just LIke Love: Track = Wrapped up in her Arms
Lambchop - Is a Woman: Track = The New Cobweb Summer

there were a few more but these were the main ones.


What are you thinking Alex? :scratch:

Bernie,
I ordered a battery pack for the BM, you remotely interested in taking it off my hands when it arrives.
Tony

* UPDATE * Oups I just realized you didn't ask everyone for their evaluation tracks of the BM :)

My tracks (all 16bit / 44.1 Khz):

Bass Performance:

LCD Soundsystem - Dance Yrself Clean
James Blake - Limit To Your Love
Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise

Vocal Performance:

Rainald Grebe - Die Fete
Rainald Grebe - Es Ist Gut
Kinderzimmer Productions (Unplugged from the "Over and Out" Album) - Mehr Oder Weniger
Hildegard Knef - Die Herren dieser Welt

Overall Performance:

Iron & Wine - Walking Far From Home
Radiohead - Codex
Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma

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Originally Posted by wee tee cee

Bernie,
I ordered a battery pack for the BM, you remotely interested in taking it off my hands when it arrives.
Tony

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I've already ordered one for myself, otherwise I would have. :doh:

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Originally Posted by Gazjam

Uhm, ok see if I remember some of them...

Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges - Side By Side: Track = Stompy Jones
Beth Rowley - Little Dreamer: Track = Beautiful Tommorow
Richard Thomson - Rumour and Sigh: Track = Mystery Wind
Eric Bibb - Just LIke Love: Track = Wrapped up in her Arms
Lambchop - Is a Woman: Track = The New Cobweb Summer

there were a few more but these were the main ones.


What are you thinking Alex? :scratch:

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Great, thanks Gaz. I was thinking running the same programme through my Bushmaster and Caiman, to see if I could replicate your impressions. However, as of yesterday, my Bushmaster started morphing into something I once again don't particularly like. This seems to be the result of a constant diet of burn-in I'm feeding it (the bloody thing keeps changing its overall makeup as it burns-in). At this point, I once again prefer the Caiman; I'll wait some more to see if the additional burn-in will get the Bushmaster back to where it was a few days ago (i.e. very assertive, authoritative, with a lot of slam, torque and kick; right now it sounds once again wimpy, mellow, polite to a fault, and almost timid).

If that assertiveness and lack of manners return, I'll try to replicate your side-by-side comparisons, as I was quite intrigued by your findings;)

We used those tracks, but we also listened to as wide range of other stuff, both 24/96 and16/44.1.

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Originally Posted by magiccarpetride

Great, thanks Gaz. I was thinking running the same programme through my Bushmaster and Caiman, to see if I could replicate your impressions. However, as of yesterday, my Bushmaster started morphing into something I once again don't particularly like. This seems to be the result of a constant diet of burn-in I'm feeding it (the bloody thing keeps changing its overall makeup as it burns-in). At this point, I once again prefer the Caiman; I'll wait some more to see if the additional burn-in will get the Bushmaster back to where it was a few days ago (i.e. very assertive, authoritative, with a lot of slam, torque and kick; right now it sounds once again wimpy, mellow, polite to a fault, and almost timid).

If that assertiveness and lack of manners return, I'll try to replicate your side-by-side comparisons, as I was quite intrigued by your findings;)

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No bother Alex.

As Ali said we listened to a wide range of stuff, those are the ones I remember!
Not sure if EXACTLY the same songs is needed though?
Maybe best to keep your listening consistent through the next couple of days - whatever you listen to - so you can best compare any changes?

Someone reported great sound after 20 hours or so so not sure about burn in..but you never know.

good luck!

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Originally Posted by NRG

If the active Caiman was overdriving the pre input of the Kairn then the BM will do the same, the outputs are standard line level 2v. If the Kairn can be overdriven by a standard 2v line level input then its not up to much or could be faulty.

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Thanks for the comment. This is my third StanDAC. The 7510 was fine and so was the stock Caiman. It was only Gator which overdrove it - Stan kindly accepted a return. I don't think it is the problem with the BM.

I am still pursuing the burn-in trail but after 30+ hours it seems to be going backwards rather than forwards - mushy like you and others have reported on the burn-in thread. I don't think the auto-select is a great success.

Still doesn't make sense, should still be line level output or very close to it....anyhow, mine does not sound mushy, never has...quite the opposite in fact...

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Originally Posted by wee tee cee

Bernie,
I ordered a battery pack for the BM, you remotely interested in taking it off my hands when it arrives.
Tony

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Tony,
I think I posted earlier in response to Neil (NRG) that I would like first refusal on his battery and charger if he wanted to move it on. The same applies to yours if you get rid, but I only want one ;) .
Cheers,
Dave.

CAn any 12V battery be used?

Am just wondering what the powering a 'virtual battery PSU' with a real battery is all about, why it should sound better.

Is it about power delivery or is the virtual battery bit not as virtual battery as hoped so is still letting noise in?

I'd imagine that many SLA could deliver more instant current than a lot of switchmode PSUs..

(or could it be a case of people thinking that battery supplies are always best no matter what, ignoring the realities of chemical reaction noise etc etc?)

Batteries are still quieter than PSUs (especially switched mode ones) and offer lower output impedance.

Edit : Hold that thought I may have been a bit too hasty! @DaveK,Yes its yours, but if another comes up go for it, I need to do some more listening......

I don't mean to thread cr@p here, but if you're getting such vast differences in sonics, it could well be your ears changing from day to day (they do you know :)) and possibly humidity and temperature differences in the room affecting the speaker cone surrounds (10 degrees of difference makes a heck of a lot of difference to bass damping) and also humidity affects transmission of the sound itself to a degree. These things in themselves are much larger, you may find, to any change on the DAC..

As I said, sorry to cr@p on the thread, but I feel I should make these comments above before you all disappear into hyperspace on this.. :)

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Originally Posted by DSJR

I don't mean to thread cr@p here, but if you're getting such vast differences in sonics, it could well be your ears changing from day to day (they do you know :)) and possibly humidity and temperature differences in the room affecting the speaker cone surrounds (10 degrees of difference makes a heck of a lot of difference to bass damping) and also humidity affects transmission of the sound itself to a degree. These things in themselves are much larger, you may find, to any change on the DAC..

As I said, sorry to cr@p on the thread, but I feel I should make these comments above before you all disappear into hyperspace on this.. :)

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^ This!

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Originally Posted by DSJR

I don't mean to thread cr@p here, but if you're getting such vast differences in sonics, it could well be your ears changing from day to day (they do you know :)) and possibly humidity and temperature differences in the room affecting the speaker cone surrounds (10 degrees of difference makes a heck of a lot of difference to bass damping) and also humidity affects transmission of the sound itself to a degree. These things in themselves are much larger, you may find, to any change on the DAC..

As I said, sorry to cr@p on the thread, but I feel I should make these comments above before you all disappear into hyperspace on this.. :)

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wot he said.

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Originally Posted by DSJR

I don't mean to thread cr@p here, but if you're getting such vast differences in sonics, it could well be your ears changing from day to day (they do you know :)) and possibly humidity and temperature differences in the room affecting the speaker cone surrounds (10 degrees of difference makes a heck of a lot of difference to bass damping) and also humidity affects transmission of the sound itself to a degree. These things in themselves are much larger, you may find, to any change on the DAC..

As I said, sorry to cr@p on the thread, but I feel I should make these comments above before you all disappear into hyperspace on this.. :)

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+1 from me - I have a bit of a cold at the mo and everything sounds different. Even the wife sounds less screechy than before :lol:

Sniff... ;)

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Originally Posted by DSJR

I don't mean to thread cr@p here, but if you're getting such vast differences in sonics, it could well be your ears changing from day to day (they do you know :)) and possibly humidity and temperature differences in the room affecting the speaker cone surrounds (10 degrees of difference makes a heck of a lot of difference to bass damping) and also humidity affects transmission of the sound itself to a degree. These things in themselves are much larger, you may find, to any change on the DAC..

As I said, sorry to cr@p on the thread, but I feel I should make these comments above before you all disappear into hyperspace on this.. :)

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Oh sh1t!! - that means everyone in Scotland is b*ggered before they start :lol: .
Bit damp darn 'ere in God's county ATM as well ;) .
Cheers,
Dave.

Bit overcast but nice n sunny here north of the Wall.. :)

*EDIT*
Thunder and rain now, bugger.

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Originally Posted by DSJR

I don't mean to thread cr@p here, but if you're getting such vast differences in sonics, it could well be your ears changing from day to day (they do you know :)) and possibly humidity and temperature differences in the room affecting the speaker cone surrounds (10 degrees of difference makes a heck of a lot of difference to bass damping) and also humidity affects transmission of the sound itself to a degree. These things in themselves are much larger, you may find, to any change on the DAC..

As I said, sorry to cr@p on the thread, but I feel I should make these comments above before you all disappear into hyperspace on this.. :)

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That's a valid argument, however if it were to hold true, it would also hold true for the Caiman, wouldn't it? So how come with the Bushmaster I keep getting different performances as the DAC keeps burning-in, while when I switch to Caiman, its performance remains steady?

Riddle me that!

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Originally Posted by Gazjam

Someone reported great sound after 20 hours or so so not sure about burn in..but you never know.

good luck!

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I did get great sound from the Bushmaster at around the 40+ hours milestone. However, later on it started morphing again, so now it appears to be back to the more mellow persona.

I remember experiencing a very similar roller coaster ride with the Caiman two years ago. It took its sweet time before it settled into its normal persona, and now it's as sturdy as a rock. Very reliable, very predictable.

I'm not jumpy at this point, as I still believe that additional burn-in may help things settle down. I'm just discussing these symptoms with my fellow Bushmasterians, to see if it's something that would be typical (or not).

Is it deemed wrong/unfair to share one's listening impressions here? If yes, why is it unfair?

Well...mine is here.
It sounds outstanding right out of the box.
If there is more to come, then whoop de doo.
Where on earth has all that detail and bass come from?

..oh, and by the way I really like that even the packaging has stepped up a gear. Might help to carry it round as a portable system.

Actually, I may even get another one eventually as part of a new portable system.

Very very nice.

How does it compare to your other thingamajiga Steve?

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Originally Posted by magiccarpetride

That's a valid argument, however if it were to hold true, it would also hold true for the Caiman, wouldn't it? So how come with the Bushmaster I keep getting different performances as the DAC keeps burning-in, while when I switch to Caiman, its performance remains steady?

Riddle me that!

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Apologies, I must have done it again and mis-understood you. Are you saying that the Caiman remains constant throughout all this in direct comparison, yet the Bushmaster changes in comparison by the day?