Stan's New Dac - any reviews yet?

[jandl100]

Just use a little blue paint to cover them.That'll tame the brightness.

... or little strips of black insulating tape - you won't see them from more than a foot or so away - and you can dim those pesky lights to your exact preference by varying the amount that each light is covered. Must admit that I do this on most of my kit as LEDs are generally too bright - it's also easily removable!

[Filterlab]

You guys may find it interesting and I compare it to the Musical Fidelity TRI-VISTA 21, so Filterlab may be interested in this aspect of the review. Sorry its long but believe it or not this is the edited version.

I'll have a read of that later Neil, many thanks.

I will be doing a follow up in a few weeks with the Maplins power supply and with a bit more run in as well. A comparison of the new TC 7520 would be nice at some point...Covenant would like me to do this.

Now that would be interesting, the Maplin power supply is generally regarded to be one of the best of its kind for the price point and above.

... or little strips of black insulating tape - you won't see them from more than a foot or so away - and you can dim those pesky lights to your exact preference by varying the amount that each light is covered. Must admit that I do this on most of my kit as LEDs are generally too bright - it's also easily removable!

Also one could use red translucent modelling paint, they'd glow a cool purple then, how many folk can claim they have hi-fi with purple LEDs?!

[theone999]

Just to say, I also love the blue LEDs mainly because the LEDs on my PC monitor and speakers are all blue as well

[Timbo]

Damn blue LED's! I suppose they'll match my T-Amp and my vision is usually so blurred it will not matter....

[apmusson]

Ok. I have had the 7520 for just over a week now and have been listening to it every day (and into the night too). It has impressed me very much. I have tried listening to many different kinds of music on the 7520 and it has coped admirably with everything I have thrown at it. In my earlier post I mentioned that I would be doing a comparison with a colleagues £1000 DAC in the near future to compare the audio performance. This is still the case. I spoke to my colleague today and he confirmed that his DAC is a Stello (approx 1 year old). I'll get specifics soon and will give you our impressions soon after the comparison.

I have been comparing the headphone output of the DAC with my Graham Slee Solo SRG (inc PSU1) on a regular basis. This has been very interesting. The Slee is a very well respected headphone amplifier. It has a richness to its sound that is very appealing. The 7520 headphone output is detailed. I can hear things in the music that I haven't heard before. Each time I swap between the Slee and the 7520 headphone amplifier I feel torn between the warmth and richness of the Slee and the amazing detail of the 7520.

If I didn't already own a headphone amplifier, I would be very happy with the 7520 as a DAC and headphone amplifier. As it is I am tempted to sell my Slee and just use the 7520 - it's that good.

Ade

[apmusson]

BTW. Headfi has a thread on the 7520 where someone compares the 7520 headphone output to a Lehmann headamp. He reaches a similar conclusion.

[theone999]

I have now received a 1/4 to 3.5mm adaptor and as such have started using the headphone amp.

Currently I use a pair of ACS T2 custom IEMs paired with a Cowon A3 PMP.

I can say that the headphone out on 7520 is better than the HP out on my Cowon A3. The improvements to me are deeper and better textured bass, wider and deeper soundstage, smooth clear vocals and a sound that is pleasant overall.

A general disclaimer about HP amps is that any improvements to the sound will be subtle, and as such do not expect to hear anything drasticly different at first; however the difference will be there and obvious should you downgrade in the future.

The fact that 7520 provides the extra quality which my T2s is able to translate into extra performance should be applauded. Especially given the very high performance of the T2s already. It's also good that the HP out seems balanced as it is. Thus perhaps saving the trouble of opamp rolling as I had a Xin portable amp several years ago where I had a choice of lots of different combos of the opamps I had. Some users would not appreciate the hassle of opamp rolling, so a good stock sound is a plus.

[Timbo]

Right, I got my 7520 from Stan this morning.
Nice little unit, it is my first DAC apart from the internals of a Sony QS MD player. I have tried it today with a Sony ES CD player as transport, a Toshiba Sd-510E DVD player and my PC through the USB input.

It's only had about 6 hours use so it is early days but I have found it reveals a lot more detail on DVD's and PC radio. The bass is much improved, but I am finding the top end a little strident.

The headphone amp is a cracking feature, I'm listening to John Martyn right now and it's magic.

People have said that it does improve with use and I do hope so as the top end is so manic right now. Will report back.

Tim

[StanleyB]

It's only had about 6 hours use so it is early days but I have found it reveals a lot more detail on DVD's and PC radio. The bass is much improved, but I am finding the top end a little strident.
[ ]

People have said that it does improve with use and I do hope so as the top end is so manic right now. Will report back.

Tim

I am not quite sure what you mean Tim. Anyhow, if it is not a suitable match for your system, just send it back at the end of the week for a refund. I have customers waiting for one to try out on their system.

Stan

[jandl100]

All of the Beresford DACs need at least a day's run-in to make them start sounding decent, ime. The improvements continue for a week or more, but for those first few hours you feel like sending it back - that would be a seriously bad move, imho!