Beresford Bushmaster DAC Reviews

[marflao]

What are you doing Stan? May I suggest that you sign up for a course in public relations as a matter of urgency, either that or employ someone to do it for you because it is definitely not your forté dude...

When someone interested in your product asks pertinent questions about its performance because they happen to live 3000 miles away and want to be as sure as they can that they are buying the right product, you do not get all defensive on their ass and launch personal attacks on them. Also, why are you so quick to accuse people of being anti-British when you are backed into a corner? It ain't cool dude and you of all people should understand that. This has the potential to damage your business Stan so please try to stay cool because it would be a terrible shame if you blew it simply because you cannot handle simple customer relations issues

+1.....totally second this.

[magiccarpetride]

Talking about terminology, I have a hard time grasping what "neutral" means, because it's used in so many ways.

The way I use the term 'neutral' is as follows: if I compare two audio components (say, two DACs), and I hear that one of them is apparently adding some coloration to the sound while that same coloration is absent from another DAC, I claim that this other DAC is 'neutral'.

Obviously, I'm speaking in relative terms, because I don't really have a reference point from which to claim the absolute, honest-to-god objective 'neutrality'. Yes, I am a musician and I do have musical instruments in my house, but to me it's impossible to compare the sound of the real instrument with the sound of a reproduced instrument -- I've never heard a system that could come even close to the real thing. Even the most ultimate audio system I've ever listened to is, to me, just a pale approximation of how live music played on good instruments actually sounds.

[alan47]

Please ignore all this crap Stan and concentrate on perfecting the usb version of the BM

[synsei]

Please ignore all this crap Stan and concentrate on perfecting the usb version of the BM

I'm sure the customer who caught the sharp end of Stan's tongue appreciates your support Alan. Whatever line of business one works in you just can't get away with treating your customers in that manner without risking some damage to your reputation. Take the blinkers off buddy and try reading through the relevant posts and you will see why I felt an urgent need to offer Stan some sound advice, for his sake and the sake of his business...

[Clive]

I have sympathy with Stan. Dealing with the public is tough, when this is in public too this results in the feeling of being under attack. Frankly some of the comments here don't help.

[myles]

I don't understand how something can be penalised for being too cheap! It might be old news but I had the first iteration of the Beresford DAC and although I didn't even buy it from Stan I had sterling service, a number of conversations about modding that wasn't going to make a penny for him.
Price, service and product...all boxes were ticked for me. This last days worth of conversation looks like a bit of a blip for Stan, perhaps a bad day or something.

FAO Highstream: I suggest you PM Stan and try to re-state your requirements and uncertainties again, it'll be worth it.

[StanleyB]

I'm sure the customer who caught the sharp end of Stan's tongue appreciates your support Alan. Whatever line of business one works in you just can't get away with treating your customers in that manner without risking some damage to your reputation. Take the blinkers off buddy and try reading through the relevant posts and you will see why I felt an urgent need to offer Stan some sound advice, for his sake and the sake of his business...

I didn't start this business to make loads of money, but to share my ideas on how some things can be built to sound excellent without costing the earth. Few in the industry would deny that I shook the DAC market to its core with the release of the multiple inputs TC-7510, and the use of surface mount components for much of the design. Many have entered/re-entered the market after seeing how successful I was with my alternative design and manufacturing ideas, and have more often than not surpassed me in terms of turnover.
I didn't start this business to make loads of money in the first place. Of course I'll continue designing things from a different angle and showcasing the end results. I am however not in the business to accept some wi(l)dely held views on many aspects of musical reproduction and equipment pricing, and I am not afraid to say so. My designs try to show otherwise where possible. But of course there will be people who are still stuck to the ideology that I don't pay much attention to. Staying quiet about it might be the norm for many businesses, but I am not from that school of thought. Otherwise I could be seen to give credence to those misconceptions, and thereby denying the end user the chance to pay less for more.

[synsei]

I have sympathy with Stan. Dealing with the public is tough, when this is in public too this results in the feeling of being under attack. Frankly some of the comments here don't help.

You are absolutely right Clive, dealing with the public is tough and not everyone can cope with it, hence my suggestion to Stan that he either signs up to a public relations course or perhaps employs someone to take care of that side of the business for him, thus relieving him to do what he excels at doing, which is designing stunning DAC's. I think he would be much happier without the stress of it all and his customers would benefit from not having to deal with a stressed out Stan

[synsei]

I didn't start this business to make loads of money, but to share my ideas on how some things can be built to sound excellent without costing the earth. Few in the industry would deny that I shook the DAC market to its core with the release of the multiple inputs TC-7510, and the use of surface mount components for much of the design. Many have entered/re-entered the market after seeing how successful I was with my alternative design and manufacturing ideas, and have more often than not surpassed me in terms of turnover.
I didn't start this business to make loads of money in the first place. Of course I'll continue designing things from a different angle and showcasing the end results. I am however not in the business to accept some wi(l)dely held views on many aspects of musical reproduction and equipment pricing, and I am not afraid to say so. My designs try to show otherwise where possible. But of course there will be people who are still stuck to the ideology that I don't pay much attention to. Staying quiet about it might be the norm for many businesses, but I am not from that school of thought. Otherwise I could be seen to give credence to those misconceptions, and thereby denying the end user the chance to pay less for more.

Stan please believe me when I say that I am not attacking you or your business. I really admire what you have built up and I admire you personally, but it concerns me when I see you laying into people who are asking perfectly legitimate questions about your products and how they operate. I could easily keep quiet about this if I didn't give a damn, but I do buddy. Anyway, that's my take on it. You are a big boy and you are quite capable of running your business as you see fit, but I do think you need to lay off the loud pedal a bit IMHO. This will be my last word on the matter, the rest is up to you...

[Xaval]

Martin, I know you mean neutral as a compliment, but to me it begs the question re both points I made. When I listen to a "neutral" Dac that makes a tonally accurate or even slightly bright recording sound dry, i.e., that is tonally low (E leans a little toward B sharp, so to speak), and there are plenty of audio components that do that to one degree or another while at the same time providing great detail, transparency, etc., then what does neutral mean? The question I always ask is, do singers sound like real singers and instruments sound like real instruments tonally - i.e., does it sound like (resemble) real music, not just some pieces of it?

In a way we are a bit on the same side of the fence. I can't pin point exactly what neutral is and probably few can. I wasn't there during the recording anyway... outside wierd peaks and coloration or distortion, the less you hear/feel them back to other equipment rig the more neutral the system may sound imo.
But to try answering your question I state with no reservation that voices do sound like voices - I'm not much into pop-opera, but about an hour or so ago I was listening to Pavarotti's Nessum Dorma on the 3 tenor in concert MFSL recording and... I shed a tear. Yup, that was a voice and the BM did it all. As to instruments the BM also delivers the goods. I'm playing Keith Jarret's Koln Concert now on ECM and that is a wonderfull sounding piano with air, attack, decay in a big room... the works.
Forget about the cost of the BM next with others if it bothers you for being on the cheap side. And yes, it can sound even better with linear PSU and sbooster thingy.