Hey Stan,Quote:
Originally Posted by StanleyB
What impedences are you recommending?
Regards,
Nathan
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Hey Stan,Quote:
Originally Posted by StanleyB
What impedences are you recommending?
Regards,
Nathan
I got headphones from 25 ohms to 300 Ohms and I am happy to play them loud once I am in full swing. My HD800 at 300 Ohms and D7000 at 32 ohms are in their elements either way, but higher impedance cans are best if you don't listen at deafening levels.
Try both for size I reckon.Quote:
Originally Posted by loonytunes
My interconnects are priced at cost plus a bit of profit. But equivalent types of the same construction would easily cost 4 times as much.Quote:
Are the interconnect cables that you sell on your website high enough up the audiophile food chain to deliver the musical goods, or do I need to buy some 'bling' or invest in some rare earth metal such as palladium :)?
I use wave guides :eyebrows:.Quote:
Have you considered the deleterious affects (if any) of vibrations making there merry way through your DAC? Or do you use some super duper highly expensive isolation platform/feet (such as Vertex) when you assess your own equipment? You might already have damping material within the confines of you box.
Initial impressions of the Bushmaster:
1. Very good service from Stan; emails are replied very promptly and the package arrived next day.
2. After 48 hours warm-up (one doesn't need to burn-in all 4 inputs separately) the sound is smooth, accurate and with a noticeable bass extension (cf my Gatorised-Caiman). It also appears to 'free-up'' the lower parts of the mid-range too - an added benefit, these being much better defined.
3. Headphones: a difficult one as it appeared I changed my mind several times. I hadn't burnt-in this part of the Bushmaster initially.
I listened to J Warnes' "Blue Raincoat", and my favourite for testing SQ, live recordings of "Show-of-Hands" (esp. the "Blue Cockade" track). I tried comparing this to my Caiman and a separate Headphone amp - the M-Stage HP-1, using my Senns 598 and 650s.
a) The Bushmaster is better than the Caiman in all areas.
b) Bushmaster v. M-Stage using the 598s: almost indistinguishable, a little more sibilance on the M-stage; slightly better separation of instruments on the M-Stage.
c) Using the 650s. Again, very little difference. First impressions are that the Bushmaster goes lower but I think this is a bit of an illusion as it seemed to me later that the Bushmaster was seemingly amplifying this part of the audio spectrum more than the M-stage - rather than going 'lower'.
d) After another hour of burning-in and on further reflection I still find the M-Stage marginally smoother and clearer, the Bushmaster just a little 'boomy', but one has to admit that these differences are subtle and to some extent, a matter of of what one is used to and expects, as well as taste.
Overall I think that the Bushmaster's headphone amp is a wonderful extension to an admirable DAC.
Obviously the M-Stage was being fed by my Sugden A21a amp. Also please note that I'm 64 years old and thus have lost some of the HF end of the audio spectrum.
I'll post again if further burn-in alters my perceptions.
BW
Richard.
I shall have a look at that in more detail. But once I have a reasonable amount of feedback on the headphone section I can make a better judgement as to whether this is headphone dependent or whether I need to make any components adjustments.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bonky
Watching the England game via the bm and my hd-555,NICE !!! Rarely use headphones but I think I'll be using them more now,no harshness at all via the bm,it just keePs on giving!
Loads of detail,apparently the ref Plays with himself !!
This may not be useful, but in comparison with its costlier peers, the Gatorised Caiman sounded a bit lean and slightly lacking "expression." Nowt to complain about at all for the price, but rather than "booming," I suspect the Bushmaster might just be more like the very best and far more expensive (when new) since the better digital systems I've heard over the years have bass power and "expression" just not in cheaper products of yore. Just my tuppence worth obviously, but before people condemn the Bushmaster because of the extra bass it has, may I please suggest that this is perhaps a more accurate rendition of what is actually there in the source recording?
I think it might be the headphone caps that need burning in a bit more, but I cannot say for sure. I have to check a standard Bushmaster out. Unfortunately I have been messing about with mine and fitted some Silmic caps in the headphone section that I have left over from the Silmic Gator mod.
It's a fair point and well made. I was also comparing the headphone output with my speakers, and my recollection of the live performances (flawed I know this concept of aural memory!). However, when the 'boomy bass' muffles other instruments then I think I prefer the less boomy and more transparent sound.Quote:
Originally Posted by DSJR
As Stan says, it may need more burning-in yet. Make no mistake, this is a very good headphone amp.
BW
Richard
Edit: 24 hours of further burning-in - perhaps a little better - but I stand by my original comments with the Senn650s. I prefer them with the M-stage. However, it now seems a different story when I use the Senn598s. I prefer these when powered by the Bushmaster. The M-stage sounds too 'thin' in comparison, the BM being much fuller and with better bass.
I'd be interested if any other Senn owners find the same.
R.
I just noticed that the boomy bass is reported with respect to certain Sennheiser headphones. Having done a search on sites like head-fi it seems that boomy bass is not an uncommon experience with Sennheiser headphones, and many reports go back many years.
Stan quick question- are you building any of the Bushmasters which don't have a headphone/variable line out (ie just a dac with fixed out). I like using a separate pre amp with my caiman and rarely if ever use headphones. If such a dac was available, would there be an increase in SQ as there would be fewer electronics to power?
Cheers
No I am not. There are enough DACs out there without a headphone output to choose from.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike g
I believe the DAC is a fixed out, and the variable control is for the headphones only...Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike g
Arrived today. Can confirm that the Bushmaster still works hanging upside-down in the Southern Hemisphere.
This evening have been running comparisons against my (ungatorised) Caiman.
You'll have to take my word for it when I say I'm not usually one to gush about new gear - I'm very wary of the psychology of a new box purchase colouring initial opinions. I also don't profess to be an expert. But straight out of the box I'm so bowled over by this DAC I can't resist writing something now.
Mine is not a remotely high end system compared to many here (see below) but fair to say that it loves the Bushmaster. In fact given some of the more reserved comments above I feel I might be getting more out of it than some folk here with really high end systems - perhaps because there is significantly more room for improvement in my set up than those. Who knows?
By far the most compelling thing about the Bushmaster is how analogue it sounds to my ears. The digital sibilance, quite noticeable in my system previously, is all but gone. An understated warmth and presence that not at all fatiguing. Really very nice.
Other improvements: depth of the soundstage is significantly up as is stereo separation. Bottom end tighter, better controlled. More detail revealed in the music.
I'm looking forward to hearing how it evolves as it burns in and also to try the headphone amp.
I debated whether to make this purchase given I have a Caiman. I also worried, given my modest system, that I wouldn't notice any improvement. Absolutely worth it. A few hours in and I'm already recommending to my brother than he get one immediately. Call me a fan boy if you wish, I could not care less. This thing sounds unbelievably expensive and is as cheap as chips. Buy one.
Well done Stan. :cool:
Test tracks: All 16/44.1 CD rips.
Tord Gustavsen Trio - Blessed Feet
Codex - Radiohead
By this River - Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto
Red Right Hand (2011 Remaster) - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Lover's Leap - Bela Fleck & the Flecktones
Ragmuffin - Michael Hedges
Invisible Riverside - Ryan Adams
Hoochie Woman - Tori Amos
OK listened to a series of sources now at 16bit 44.1KHz, these being either FLAC on the Squeezebox Touch or CD's being played on the crappy LG DVD player acting as a CD Transport connected to TOSLINK2 using some optical lead I have had knocking around for years...Quote:
Originally Posted by webby
All I can say is that it doesn't seem to have any issues with your standard Redbook type files, has the same level of competence sound wise it does with your higher resolution files. Like for instance I am listening to The Art of Noise's The Seduction of Claude Debussy in CD, I am hearing excellent detail, soundstage and bass, in-fact I am uncertain if CD's still have the edge on the Squeezebox as a source and I will endeavour to do a analysis of this at some stage when everything beds in.
One thing though I am considering now... Is looking for a good 2nd hand CD Transport, instead of using this LG DVD Player for CD playback and upgrading my digital cables to something a bit more worthy of the set-up I have now.
p.s. I haven't had the time to really consider the Mains Cables R Us PSU upgrade I have just fitted today, but I guess this will be a good comparison as well with CD sources (if this makes sense).
Why bother using any CD Transport at all when Stan replied to me that the full potential of his DAC is realised through the Squeezebox Touch which you already own? It was specifically designed for media players in mind.Quote:
Originally Posted by Russell Turner
Because round shiny things can sound very good and are nice to have?Quote:
Originally Posted by loonytunes
A few hours on the headamp....its very good.
More bass than I am used to. Certainly worthy of direct comparison with my mf m1 headamp. Its continually improving.....my foot has been tapping an awful lot.
Given a couple of hundred hours I think it may turn out to something really special.
Tony,
which headphones are you using, and what’s their impedance?Quote:
Originally Posted by wee tee cee
Werner.
Werner,
HD650S,superlux 330,440,660 and 668b. They are all getting driven hard at just over the first quarter of the dial.....sorry dont know the impedance ratings.
Tony.
Hey guys, newbie here...at least to this forum. I've been looking at replacing my current DAC and came across this brand in different forums. I currently have a CA DACMagic and while I've liked it I've always felt maybe something else would sound better. My budget for now is $1000 or under. I've been looking at PS Audio DAC III, Schiit Bifrost, MF DAC1, Rega DAC, Monarchy (may be too old technology), Peachtree, and on and on.
Can anyone here compare the Bushmaster to the DACMagic? I'm not hung up on cost, if a DAC sounds great and it costs $250 it wouldn't bother me to purchase and use it. I don't have to be able to tell someone "I spent $2500 for my DAC"!
Also if any of you live in the US did you have extra duty and taxes or was the price on the website accurate (I understand their is an rate exchange).
Any feedback welcome.
Bobby,
I have a dac magic in my other system....Its very good. The Bushmaster is in a different league entirely. As a dac it has surpassed my mf m1 ....as a head amp it betters the mf m1/hpa combo at an eighth of the price. It is a bit special regardless of cost.
Regards Tony.
Tony, can you compare their sound to one another? My music seems a little bright sometimes and while not harsh I would like to get rid of the brightness.Quote:
Originally Posted by wee tee cee
I think that I should somehow build in an impedance selector, which will adjust the headphone gain accordingly. A 32 Ohms headphone needs less of a turn on a volume knob compared to a 300 Ohms headphone before they both produce the same output level in dB. But this in turn means that if you only need a quarter turn on the volume knob to be satisfied with the output level at full turn you'll probably go deaf if you maintained that level for too long.Quote:
Originally Posted by wee tee cee
I do listen to my HD800 at full blast on occasions, but I don't think that is good for my hearing... The air pressure levels produced by bass heavy tracks is truly head shaking. I know that many HD800 owners have reported that the HD800 is bass light, but not when used with the Bushmaster :eek:.
Brightness? Surely there must be something wrong there. Don't you get any bass out of your system when you play your music?Quote:
Originally Posted by edmondwolfman
I do get bass, it's just that sometimes with female singers or upper register notes it seems a little bright to me. I've read in a few places that the DACMagic can be a little bright and was thinking maybe changeing DACs might help.Quote:
Originally Posted by StanleyB
I use a Logitch Touch and stream flacs (and sometimes mp3s) from my Synology. A lot of my music is high res.
When I play albums that don't go through the DAC I don't seem to get that "brightness". Maybe it's not bright, maybe its a little hard on top...I'm not very good with describing what I hear:doh:
I was using Axiom M60v2 speakers with Titanium tweeters and I changed to Dana 640i's and that helped a lot but there is still just a bit of brightness on some music.
The Bushmaster was designed to deal with those kind of issues. It is not about changing DAC. It is about applying a known solution. Otherwise you could be changing DACs just about every month till you find a solution.Quote:
Originally Posted by edmondwolfman
I was testing the Bushmaster tomorrow (correction: I will be testing it yesterday).Quote:
Originally Posted by StanleyB
What I'm trying to say is that the postman attempted to deliver the Bushmaster today, he was at my front door at 11:10 am, but we weren't answering. This is what I just found out by checking the Canada Post site; time to go huntin' for the darn reptilian!
Same here . My teenage daughter was sleeping when the postman rang the bell at 12.30 PM today to deliver the Bushmaster. Excellent service from Stan as ever BTW. He did leave a calling card . So instead of getting the Bushmaster up and running it is lying locked up in the local sorting office:(
I will be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning banging on their door:D
Brian.
I can't believe that it shipped the day before yesterday from Taiwan and it arrived this morning in Vancouver???Quote:
Originally Posted by brian2957
The benefits of working in an office in a block with a Linda on front desk ... Parcels always arive when they are supposed to ... Not to mention then not arriving at home where this missis sees them first!
It didn't ship it the day before yesterday. Customers who previously expressed an interest in ordering a Bushmaster were sent a note and a Paypal money request last week Wednesday. Those who paid were then sent their order. UK buyers started receiving theirs on Thursday, and those outside the UK started receiving theirs this week.Quote:
Originally Posted by magiccarpetride
My BM arrived yesterday less than 24 hours after ordering - thank you Stanley - stunning service :)
Currently it's being fed a continuous loop from my iPod via Wadia 170i (Audiocom Signature) to let all bed in before I do any serious listening.
Steve
I had a DacMagic and compared it directly with a Caiman (modified). I found the DacMagic had a smoother delivery than the Caiman. The latter had slightly better bass and, overall, more detail (some of this would have been due to the mods made). I did like the sound of the DacMagic though. I thought it sounded a bit more analogue if you like. I didn't think much of the different filters offered though. Couldn't really hear much difference.
Now my new Bushmaster beats the modified Caiman by quite a large margin. Detail and soundstage is much better and bass impact is impressive. So, I'd say get a Bushmaster as it will easily outperform your DacMagic. :)
I might have to stick this somewhere on my site as well, but I considered it important enough to mention it here.
Many of you with a laptop and no USB output might be stuck as far as using the Bushmaster with your laptop is concerned. Well help might be at hand.
If your laptop has an express card slot then have a look if it is the wide version. If so, get one of THESE. It has an optical output, which goes up to 96KHz. I have one fitted to several of the laptops at home and at that price it is a far better and cheaper option than anything else that I have tried as an interface to the Bushmaster. I even used it with my Caiman, instead of using USB.
Or one of these if you have a USB port but no card slot:
http://www.mercateo.co.uk/images/pro...ine/89909d.jpg
http://www.mercateo.co.uk/p/560U-899...paign=Sonstige
I'm using one of these at the moment with no complaints.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-FANMUS...item3a60e98ee9
Brian.
or one of these (which im currently using)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3045/...cd73bbba5c.jpg
im just gonna say ooooooooo for now :)
Seeing as we are on the subject of recommending converters, can anyone recommend a low cost high quality USB to S/PDIF converter - seeing as Stan's DAC does not have a USB input (I don't think)?
I know you can get the Musical Fidelity V-Link, and Halide Bridge - but both seem a bit expensive (especially the Halide, although that does include the fancy USB cable..); unless of course you think it's necessary to splash out that sort of cash.
was going to recommend the Vlink II but then I saw you were looking for something cheaper - sorry!
I would have thought that a more direct connection to the main bus of the computer via a PCMCIA card etc would be better - avoid problems of USB altogether.Quote:
Originally Posted by MartinT
Better still, my latest laptop aquisition, some dual core Toshiba 13" jobbie, has the audio codec chip right there under the case in the corner with a s/pdif out on the corner leg. As it was being thrown out, I don't mind trying to directly wire up an output from that (maybe I could add in a small buffer externally) directly accessing a digital stream from the sound chip itself! I'd install a mini coax socket on the side with some coax cable linking to the pin and shield to earth (internal cable from an old wireless router).
Ignoring the delicate soldering job, any thoughts on that anyone? Will it work? Will I get a digital stream of ALL and any audio output from the laptop?
Out of interest, Stan, do you recommend optical for such things like laptops? Is noise on coax out from a computer interface ever a problem (or does your jitter busting magic mean it's not an issue)?
I can only go by my own tests and design criteria. And that is based around the use of optical and coax, which is why the Bushmaster has those kind of inputs. I know that some recent designs use galvanic isolation etc to kill the noise in those designs, but my method is cheaper and going by the listening tests that many of you have done so far it is also superior than the galvanic isolation method. To be able to hear the sound echo in the background when someone is singing requires a super duper quiet and clean signal decoding process. The Bushmaster passes that with flying colours.Quote:
Originally Posted by nat8808
Don't forget that the primary reason for the development of the Bushmaster was to be able to handle PC and media players, which are notorious sources of spurious noise. So when you use say a CDP or DVD you'll have an even bigger edge and added SQ.
After hearing the difference between a good DAC using a usb to SPDIF converter and dedicated USB I say it will give you good sounds but will not allow you to hear the full potential of the Bushmaster
I will just wait till the Caiman II as I am hopeful Stan will have come up with a good adaptive solution for USB
True. I was merely referring to the information on the http://postserv.post.gov.tw site, where it said that my package was dispatched from Taiwan on June 10, and arrived at my doorstep on June 12. That's amazing (to me), considering that if I try to ship a package to my next door neighbour, Canada Post will take its sweet time and it will probably arrive no sooner than a week later!Quote:
Originally Posted by StanleyB
Go figure...
My speed of delivery has been legendary for years so there is nothing to figure out about my commitment to customer service :). I have personally vetted a range of couriers etc and selected the fastest and most reliable ones. Did you know that in the UK I can even assure customers before what time on what day their parcel will arrive? Go figure that one ;).
Just out of curiosity (and I hope this will not seem as if I'm hijacking the thread), but has anyone been in the position to compare Bushmaster with the NAD M51 DAC? There's been a lot of hoopla recently surrounding this DAC, and some people I know have been lately raving about it. At $2,000 price tag, it is almost 10 times more expensive than Bushmaster, and I'm pretty sure I won't be coveting it, but still... Anyone heard these two DACs side by side? What's the conclusion? I'm asking because I'm curious about NAD's allegedly patented technology where they preemptively convert PCM signal into the DSD pulse or something. Suppose to give it a different sonic signature. True, or yet another high falutin' mumbo-jumbo?Quote:
Originally Posted by nat8808
So it's a double whammy! No, wait, a triple whammy:Quote:
Originally Posted by StanleyB
1. Ball-busting quality components
2. Competition-destroying affordability
3. Shockingly fast delivery
There's probably the fourth whammy (excellent after-purchase support), but I never had the need to try that one, so I'll take other people's word for it.
Impressive!
I suggest that you go and wire up the Bushmaster and re-acquaint yourself with your amp and speakers for a while. Then let us know if you are emotionally overcome by it all, or whether the experience has left you deflated ;).