Stan's New Dac - any reviews yet?

[Labarum]

I think PRAT is achieved from simply fast, accurate and adequately powerful electronics moving fast, accurate, nondistorting full-range speakers to mimic the PRAT of the artists recorded on the tape. NO easy task, mind you!

Agreed. If there is a tape!

Fast and accurate. As I was saying: look to the margins. Can the system follow when cymbals or tympani are bashed? What happens to the last dying detail of a vibrating string as the volume sinks through the noise floor? How does the system maintain phase integrity? This is all science and technology.

But the science of how and why a bow makes a difference to the sound of a stringed instrument beats me. It must, surely, be something to do with the rigidity of the bow - one particular wood has been found to do the job best - pernambuco.

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/violintro.html

http://www.theviolinsite.com/violin_bows/index.html

[kalozois100]

Hi Kalozois - to start a new thread, you go to the forum you want - say, Abstract Chat, and click the 'New Thread' blue button at the top left

Cheers

[jandl100]

I believe it is possible (and I've heard the effect with my own ears) that certain equipment through judicious component selection and implementation of such can allow the ear to perceive better pitch and timing (pace, rhythm or whatever) by ensuring that this aspect of the musical performance is more faithfully reproduced.

I've got quite strong views on the PRaT business, especially as it refers to Naim systems.

I've done fairly extensive listening to some Naim kit and was able to directly and immediately compare it to more 'standard' non-PRaT gear.

Yes, the Naim did PRaT superbly, and while it was playing I thought to myself "Yes, I can definitely see a decent Naim system in my future". The same electronic/rythm&blues track was then played on the other system. Wow - dullsville, man. Definitely a Naim system in my future!

But some nicely recorded classical piano was then played on the Naim system - and suddenly the cunning trick was laid bare. What the Naim PRaT effect actually is, imho, is a deliberate thinning out of the mid- and lower-bass, so as to not-so-subtley enhance the projection of the midrange. What you are actually hearing is deliberate modification of the music to make it sound more impressive on some types of music.

That's why I loathe Naim kit so much.

Some kit (including Stan's excellent DACs) allows you to hear the pace and excitement of the music without deliberately distorting the tonality of the music. You can have it both ways!

[kalozois100]

Some kit (including Stan's excellent DACs) allows you to hear the pace and excitement of the music without deliberately distorting the tonality of the music. You can have it both ways!

Yeah Jerry i can now understand where you are coming from.
I agree with Stan's dacs allowing you to have it both ways but I would add at a bargain price!!

[StanleyB]

Yes, the Naim did PRaT superbly, and while it was playing I thought to myself "Yes, I can definitely see a decent Naim system in my future". The same electronic/rythm&blues track was then played on the other system. Wow - dullsville, man. Definitely a Naim system in my future!
[]
Some kit (including Stan's excellent DACs) allows you to hear the pace and excitement of the music without deliberately distorting the tonality of the music. You can have it both ways!

And that explains to a large extent why so many NAIM owners now have my DAC in their system.

[Labarum]

And that explains to a large extent why so many NAIM owners now have my DAC in their system.

It just means they have finally grown up, Stan.

[kalozois100]

While this a very interesting discussion, I'd love some comments on the topic of the thread. I'm yet to receive my 7520 and wonder. ....

1. Anyone compared it to Cambridge DAC Magic? Or Zero DAC? Or to any NOS DAC?

2. Has anyone compared the performance of 16 bit/44.1 input to the 7520 via USB vs. SPDIF?

Thanks folks,

Kurt

Hi there
I see your a fellow linn owner. You ' ll get some stick for that on this forum but you get used to it. Man your in for a treat with the TC-7520. Apparently has better output stage performance than TC-7510 a top headphone amp and usb. I have recently had the TC-7510 modded so I ll stick with that and see how it goes.
My best friend has a dacmagic that he bought for 300 euro my TC-75106/3 was 120 euro.
We compared the two on my system and the dac magic seemed better in that it had a smoother air-ry almost haunting sound Whereas the TC-7510 was a bit harsh and struggled with fast beat music. The experience inspired
me to upgrade the 7510 6/3. I also bought a new maplin power supply at 50 euro to feed the tc-7510 at 13.5v.
It is now a TC-7510 6/4 with LM4562MA op-amp to replacing the NJM4558.
I now prefer the beresford over the dacmagic because i now hear the difference that upsampling to 192khz produces and it deceives(this is purely subjective interpretation for all those upsampling fans) the listener into hearing more detail that is not really there. I prefer the tc-7510 at 96khz and it impressively defining every instrument and vocals. It just feels more authentic and life like and nearer to the concert type experience that every audiophile aims for. Tight bass, silky smooth trebles and inviting mids.And a stage presence to die for. And goose pimples.... theres' plenty of them now!!....
....and the 7520 from the reviews sounds like a lion unleashed from its cage!
My friend has since ordered a new opamp burson at 114 euro to upgrade the dac magic!! He wonders if he was hasty to do this but I guess the upgraded tc-7510 inspired him to do so. I wish him well to achieve better audio.
My dac doesn't have usb but from what i've read you cannot get higher than 16 bit 44.1khz signal and since I now have 24 bit 96khz i prefer that to what i had before. My music collection is mainly LP and CD and have little in the form of flac or mp3.
I understand you wondering if you've gone for the right dac and i want to reassure you that i think you have. Just burn it in for at least 100 hours before making any assessment of its capabilities. The beresford plays amazing sound with the linn components I have and I'm sure it will too with your set up.

[Marco]

Nice reviews, guys - keep it up!

Marco.

[trailer]

It just means they have finally grown up, Stan.

I'm a great fan of Naim amplification but not of their CD (even though I have one) and their speakers (which I don't have).

Maybe it's just that the Beresford DAC and Naim amps go well together.

[Derro]

Ok ..... I have held back long enough and think that its now time to pass comment on the new Beresford 7520 DAC. It has now been running in for over two weeks, 24/7 and has definitely refined its sound and is now more precise and smooth, articulate and dynamic then it was the first day or two. In the initial stages I did not do any serious listening, but only enough to get a handle on its inherent sound signature. Forget about a burn in period of 24 - 48 or even 100 hours... it needs much more than that and I suggest 12/14 days and it starts to really show just what it is capable of. Choice of interconnect, as always, will have a bearing on the final result.

I have been using the Apogee Duet, or Apogee Mini DAC up to this and I decided that the DUET was better, despite it being considerably less expensive than the Apogee Mini DAC - The Apogee having replaced a KingRex DAC in the past and the computer is an Apple MacBook running iTunes 8.0.2

Two systems were used in two different rooms and consisted of a pair of Walton Audio 300B mono block S.E.T. amps driving my own high efficiency speakers, both reflex and open baffle and/or Soliloquy 6.3 or Spendor BC1.

So now, how does the Beresford 7520 stack up against the Apogee?

Well, after considerable time and some pretty intense listening sessions using every type of music, classical,chamber, pop, jazz, folk, acoustic - there is a clear winner for me between these. The Beresford is everything I could wish for in a DAC in terms of sound quality. Beautiful midrange and top end and a bass line that is tight and punchy and deep. There are no nasties, sibilance or edginess to be heard in this DAC and makes no difference if you use optical or USB, the results are equal. I should also point out, as others have mentioned, yes, MP3 files do sound better and very listenable now through this DAC! When something is "right" there is actually very little you can say about it! Its much easier to write about something when it is not right.

A DAC that has four inputs offering you USB, optical or SPDIF, that has two outputs including a variable one, along with a great headphone amplifier that WILL drive my Sennheiser HD650, is in itself a lot to expect from a DAC and certainly at this price it is amazing! OK, the casework is only what I would call "reasonable" and it does the job ..... but I am sure that if this was packaged in a fancy case with thick milled metal facia and trick feet and esoteric styling and an elitist brand name, it would cost many many times the current price and make no difference to the sound. In the future I can see myself re-housing it in something more t my liking. This is actually going to be a nice little project to make what I would consider a better chassis/cabinet for it.

Derro