Stan's New Dac - any reviews yet?

[leo]

Its a shame there wasn't a Beta unit to be passed around say the 200+ post members, after a week you post it recorded onto the next person in line, everybody who tried it does a small write up

[trailer]

I'm finding it hard to fathom the change in tempo here.
A couple of weeks ago everyone was "gung ho" for the latest StanDAC. Now it's out(ish) there's a real sense of "maybe if"?

[Filterlab]

I'm finding it hard to fathom the change in tempo here.
A couple of weeks ago everyone was "gung ho" for the latest StanDAC. Now it's out(ish) there's a real sense of "maybe if"?

I hadn't sensed that myself to be honest, I think the 'if' questions simply encompass the specifications rather than the ability. The proof of the pudding in any hi-fi component is in the listening of course.

[Gazjam]

No, I hadn't picked up on that either...

The 7520 was never an option for me till now(ish) as I started hearing it was better as a Dac than the 7510 I'm currently using.

If it is significantly better, I'll be upgrading.

I can say the 7510 Mk6/4 I'm currently using is an amazing piece of kit, which along with my squeezebox is the best hifi purchase I have made in 20 odd years of this hobby. It is SO much better than my Cambridge 640V2 CD player (which hasn't even been PLUGGED IN for Months) its not funny.

Its a double edged sword for Stan, make a better product FOR NOT MUCH MORE MONEY and the original may fall out of favour a bit.

Still, its better to have a choice at two different price points - different markets for different pockets - not a bad thing in my book.

[Stratmangler]

Its a shame there wasn't a Beta unit to be passed around say the 200+ post members, after a week you post it recorded onto the next person in line, everybody who tried it does a small write up

A tad impractical methinks - approx 4 years Beta testing = Stan going bust and all efforts getting the unit to market become an expensive waste of time.

That said, I'd love to hear what a 7520 DAC brings to the party.

Chris

[StanleyB]

Indeed impractical. But I am doing at least my best to be different than the other manufacturers. One of them is that all my beta testers are getting the chance of a free upgrade to the new power supply when it comes out, as long as they pay P&P and return the old one.

I can understand that some may not quite appreciate the 50% price difference between the TC-7510 and TC-7520. But if you break it down, the TC-7520 too cheap in real terms.
1. £20 gives you a USB input that has a very low jitter, its own re-clocking circuit, and is the best sounding USB input on a DAC I have heard. I haven't had a chance to heard the DAC1 USB, so I can't comment on that one.
2. For an extra £10 you also get a headphone amp that will soon set the benchmark in terms of headphone amp output on any DAC. It is a cut down version of a headamp I hope to sell later this year at under £100. Right now that £20 HPA can hold its own against HPAs costing 10X or more.
3. £10 gives you a far more advanced output stage with opamps that can be replaced to taste if need be.
4. And for the remaining £10 in price difference you'll get a dedicated power supply that is not a wallwart.
So all in all, I have only added extra features that can compete with anything equivalent on any other DAC at a far higher price point. And I would challenge any other DAC manufacturer to add equivalent circuits at those low prices, let alone circuits that are oustanding in nature.

They say that the cost of diminishing returns were clearly demonstrated to be true when I introduced the TC-7510. Well, the TC-7520 was designed with the objective in mind that performance of each part could hold its own in terms of diminishing returns, and then add them all together in one box. That's the only way I could make sure I didn't break the rule of diminishing return.

The TC-7520 is high-end in performance, not high-end in price.

Stan

[Labarum]

Thanks for the clarification, Stan.

The analogue output stage can affect the sound considerably, so great to have that upgraded in the 7520.

Is the basic core DAC the same in both the 7510 and 7520? Have any better quality components been used in the core DAC of the 7520?

Of course this is all just a matter of detail - how it sounds is what counts.

[Martin J]

My first impression of the 7520 after about an hours use compared to my fully run-in 7510 Mk6/4 is:
- resolves the bass better but doesn't (yet?) sound as full as my 7510
- more life-like vocals
- overall sounds more accomplished (but I am struggling to find the words to explain why)
- seems to really like AC/DC, whenever they came up on shuffle there was a serious boogie factor apparent!

I still notice that some recordings sound a lot better than others. My CDS2 seems to be able to drag a good sound from almost everything. But thats a £6k device.

One minor criticism: the blue leds are very bright. I'd quite like to turn them down.

Looking forward to more listening.

Cheers,
Martin

[Filterlab]

...One minor criticism: the blue leds are very bright. I'd quite like to turn them down....

Well, if that's your only criticism then the DAC is boding well. I have to agree with your thoughts so far.

[Filterlab]

I like the blue LEDs.