Beresford Bushmaster DAC Reviews

[magiccarpetride]

Yes I don't dispute that & makes sense that the Bushmaster is a better DAC, but I was interested when you said: "After listening to Caiman for several days, I've gotten accustomed to its sound, and grew to like it. Started even suspecting that maybe there aren't any substantial differences between Caiman and Bushmaster."

I think it is almost impossible to compare kit from memory rather than what you ended up doing, which is comparing them side by side.

Gotcha!

[HarshaDS]

Magiccarpetride,
I was wondering what issues you had with the Bushmaster with North American power supply. I'm in New York and any information that helped you get things running smoothly would be greatly appreciated.

Harsha

[magiccarpetride]

Magiccarpetride,
I was wondering what issues you had with the Bushmaster with North American power supply. I'm in New York and any information that helped you get things running smoothly would be greatly appreciated.

Harsha

According to the Bushmaster creator (Stan), the eprom inside the box can potentially get confused when operating under North American electrical power standards (different voltage). It may make a decision to shut down, thinking that something's wrong with the power supply (Stan, I apologize if I've paraphrased you incorrectly, but this is my understanding gleaned from our correspondence).

To remedy that glitch, Stan recommended I unsolder and flip one minuscule component (I forget if it was a resistor or a capacitor; anyhow, Stan supplied me with very specific and precise instructions on how to do it).

I did it, and voila! -- the problem got fixed!

[ozbrit]

I received my Bushmaster yesterday to go between a generic BD player (Soniq)/an android media player and our Cambridge Audio 340A SE stereo amp. Both have a digital coax connection.

I started out with one of my favourite Floyd CD's - Animals. Plenty of interesting sounds with that. The first couple of mins took me aback, the treble was out of control, a shrill sound I'd call it plus lacking in bass. Now I like my amp to be set as intended, so treble and bass controls at midday, I prefer a neutral sound, in fact many of my guests comment that it's not bassy enough for them, whereas for me bass is only part of the story.
With the bushmaster I had to set the amps treble at quarter to and bass at quarter past to make it musical. But after an hour or so, the DAC settled down a bit and now I've normalised the bass & treble.

This DAC replaced a real cheap $30 Fiio d3, which I had to have to play the media players audio via the analogue amp. The only subjective test apart from with the ears is the Fiio v BD player DAC and the Bushmaster v BD Player DAC. The generic BD player has RCA leads direct to the amp and CD's played direct to the amp sounded better than they did when converted by the Fiio. Now the Audio sent via the Bushmaster has a definite edge over the audio using the BD players internal DAC.

Now I'm listening to Paul Simons - "Take me to the mardi gras" and it sounds nice. Maybe I'm adjusting to the sound or is it the settling down/burning in improving things?

Will report back in a week or two and tell you all what I think then.

[StanleyB]

The BM needs a few days to burn in before it settles down.

[falcoron]

have one, and must admit i only bought it as;
1, i needed a dac as i sold my last one to fund a pre amp buy.
2, out of sheer curiosity after talking to Jerry
3, its o cheap and cute looking why not?

Now i have had time to let i burn in and love wht it does, no nasties and i find i just get on with listening to the music and not a component.
I have had a chance to compare it with a few others and it hands down thrashes the MF m1 dac is async doo da what ever its called. I mean it really does sound ten times better.
Also heard it against an Audio note kit dac which is very good and the BM was as good in every way which is a real compliment as i know what components are in that kit and it was built without compormise and cost a lot of money.
So pound for pound its a cracker, will it be my last dac? probably not as im a habitual box swapper.
Well done Stan, your the man!

[Søren]

I recieved my BM Thursday, so it should be run in by now.

I am very impressed with it. Bass is very good. Midrange is truly impressive. Very open, without being bright at all. Voices in particular, are fantastic. Tonal colours are very good.

Soundstage is very good too. With good live recordings you can "feel" the hall, and the musicians and audience. I have not heard digital do that so convincing before.

The highs are nice and smooth, if the recording allows it.

I think BM is in another league than my M2Tech Young.

Stan, if this is a mini statement, i can`t wait to hear the real one.

Back to those voices --------------------->

[jandl100]

have one, and must admit i only bought it as;
1, i needed a dac as i sold my last one to fund a pre amp buy.
2, out of sheer curiosity after talking to Jerry

I have had a chance to compare it with a few others and it hands down thrashes the MF m1 dac is async doo da what ever its called. I mean it really does sound ten times better.
Also heard it against an Audio note kit dac which is very good and the BM was as good in every way which is a real compliment as i know what components are in that kit and it was built without compormise and cost a lot of money.
So pound for pound its a cracker, will it be my last dac? probably not as im a habitual box swapper.
Well done Stan, your the man!

Yay - what a fab review, Ron.

The BM is a cracker of a DAC, innit!

I recieved my BM Thursday, so it should be run in by now.
...... Soundstage is very good too. With good live recordings you can "feel" the hall, and the musicians and audience. I have not heard digital do that so convincing before.

I think BM is in another league than my M2Tech Young.

Yep, it's the imaging that really gets me. And it just gets better as the BM runs in over a month or two -- it beats ANY other digital I have ever heard in that respect. Nothing comes close, and I've auditioned or owned DACs/CDPs up to 138x the cost of the BM.

[bilbobaggins1958]

Strange one this, as I am writing a review and I've just sold the Bushmaster after only a month! But...there's a reason, and I have nothing but high praise for the Bushman, it is excellent. I managed to snaffle a Quad 99CDP for a very good price which made the need for an outboard DAC redundant.

Eqpt used: Pioneer PD9700/classic ipod via Onkyo ND-S1/BT vision box (for radio) into the Bushman, then into Myryad MI120/MA120 bi-amp driving Tannoy Eyris 2 floorstanders. First port of call is the bottom end - excellent, almost Naim like in the way leading edges of notes start and decay with precision, very analogue, very impressed. Slightly better than the Quad 99CDP for that precision in the bass department, to my ears at least. My Tannoys have supertweeters which will highlight any weakness in the source, and I have to say the Bushman was just lovely at the top end, smooth without any harshness. The mid-range and overal musicality of the Bushman also shine through, with all the CDs I threw at it, from rock to folk, classical to swing, electronic to spoien word (by the way, listen to Radio 3 through the Bushman, its fab!) Honestly, it really is hard to fault, and at the price it is a total no-brainer for anyone needing a DAC for whatever reason.

So, having bought the Quad to replace the new Bushman, am I pleased? In short, yes. But mainly because it is a one box solution and all my digital imputs can be controled from the Quad remote. Is there a marked superiority in sound from the Quad compared to the Bushman? No, absolutely not. I prefer the overall sound of the Quad, but not by much, and the Quad is a very well respected and reviewed £999 machine compared to £170 for the Bushman...work it out for yourselves.

[icehockeyboy]

Strange one this, as I am writing a review and I've just sold the Bushmaster after only a month! But...there's a reason, and I have nothing but high praise for the Bushman, it is excellent. I managed to snaffle a Quad 99CDP for a very good price which made the need for an outboard DAC redundant.

Eqpt used: Pioneer PD9700/classic ipod via Onkyo ND-S1/BT vision box (for radio) into the Bushman, then into Myryad MI120/MA120 bi-amp driving Tannoy Eyris 2 floorstanders. First port of call is the bottom end - excellent, almost Naim like in the way leading edges of notes start and decay with precision, very analogue, very impressed. Slightly better than the Quad 99CDP for that precision in the bass department, to my ears at least. My Tannoys have supertweeters which will highlight any weakness in the source, and I have to say the Bushman was just lovely at the top end, smooth without any harshness. The mid-range and overal musicality of the Bushman also shine through, with all the CDs I threw at it, from rock to folk, classical to swing, electronic to spoien word (by the way, listen to Radio 3 through the Bushman, its fab!) Honestly, it really is hard to fault, and at the price it is a total no-brainer for anyone needing a DAC for whatever reason.

So, having bought the Quad to replace the new Bushman, am I pleased? In short, yes. But mainly because it is a one box solution and all my digital imputs can be controled from the Quad remote. Is there a marked superiority in sound from the Quad compared to the Bushman? No, absolutely not. I prefer the overall sound of the Quad, but not by much, and the Quad is a very well respected and reviewed £999 machine compared to £170 for the Bushman...work it out for yourselves.

Bushmaster! not Bushman!