Mod your Beresford 7520

[trailer]

And the burning question is: Is the upgrade really worth the effort?

I will admit to being a bit sceptical and that the Wolfson DAC sounds "different" but not "better". The temptation IMO is to think the swap "must" be an improvement because it involved a lot of work, and it's not easy to revert back.

The popping is a bit of a worry though...

Ken

See above. If it was a socket job then I'd say it was another "no brainer". I had to give it a go though

[sponge]

See above. If it was a socket job then I'd say it was another "no brainer". I had to give it a go though

If it was socketed, I think we would all have tried it

The way you are describing the sound it seems to me the presentation is quite "forward" - More so than the stock DAC. I'm guessing it may just be a little too up-front for my K701's, and my ears.

However, thanks for having the b...s to try the Wolfson chip, you comments are much appreciated.

Ken

[StanleyB]

The way you are describing the sound it seems to me the presentation is quite "forward" - More so than the stock DAC. I'm guessing it may just be a little too up-front for my K701's, and my ears.

It sounds nothing like that with my K701's. Time, space and position exhibit a greater amount of clarity and certainty on my setup with the WM8716.

[sponge]

It sounds nothing like that with my K701's. Time, space and position exhibit a greater amount of clarity and certainty on my setup with the WM8716.

Yes, but time, space and position are relative (sorry - I couldn't resist ).

I don't want the sound to be any "brighter" than it is at the moment though. If it gives better depth, however, then that's fine. This is always going to be a case of "one man's meat is another man's poison".

Perhaps Trailer can expand on the 8716's sound signature...

Ken

[trailer]

Yes, but time, space and position are relative (sorry - I couldn't resist ).

I don't want the sound to be any "brighter" than it is at the moment though. If it gives better depth, however, then that's fine. This is always going to be a case of "one man's meat is another man's poison".

Perhaps Trailer can expand on the 8716's sound signature...

Ken

I'm going to give it a right good listening to tonight and I'll get back to you tomorrow.

[trailer]

Right as promised some findings:

I thought I'd have a listen to the 7520 with the 4032's as that is what was in it pre-Wolfson. Initially it is impressive but after a while it got a bit tiresome and not really good for late night listening. I had a thought that maybe I could try the old op-amp rolling trick again.
This morning I decided to give the op-amps ago:

LT1364: Less tiresome as the 4032's but with the same amount of detail.
4562's: Smoother with the same amount of detail and I thought these will do.
However, I still had a couple of 49720's to hand. I popped these in and they were even better. Smooth, detailed and VERY natural sounding. Not digital at all, very analogue.

I've been listening to Ryan Adams 29 CD (an old favourite) this afternoon with the 49720's and it really is a pleasure. I'll let them warm up again for couple of days and hopefully they'll get even better.

I'm guessing that the extra resolution(?) of the Wolfson with the 4032's was just a bit too much out there for long listening periods?

[sponge]

4562's: Smoother with the same amount of detail and I thought these will do.
However, I still had a couple of 49720's to hand. I popped these in and they were even better. Smooth, detailed and VERY natural sounding. Not digital at all, very analogue.

That's very interesting because I thought the 49720 was just a re-numbered 4562 - And is actually the same chip.

Comparing the WM8716 with the PCM1716 now that you are settled on an op-amp - Should I put the order in for a 8716?

Oh, and BTW - has the "popping" on the optical resolved itself - bit of an issue for me this as I use the optical most?

Sorry to go on a bit but as you can appreciate, swapping the DAC is not trivial and I want to be sure it's going to be woth the effort. I know Stan is all for it though, which counts for a lot.

Ken

[trailer]

The 49720s I have are the canned variety.
I haven't tried the optical again, but I'll give it a go later on.

[StanleyB]

I don't get any popping issues on my TC-7520 with WM8716.
I got a set of the 49720 from Simon (YP53 on ebay), and hope to try them over the weekend. He has bought a TC-7520 for opamp testing, so hopefully we'll get some more useful info from that direction.

Stan

[TeTsuo36]

Hi,

i ordered my 7520 today, can't wait for it to arrive!

Quick questions if i may?

My DIY Amplifier has no volume control, so i assume i will use the variable output to my amp?

Regarding changing opamps, is it the case that the headphone amp and variable output share the same opamp, so this for me will be one to change?

Finally which opamp is which, when i have the unit open?

Thanks in advance, Mark.