Mod your Beresford 7520

[fungke]

I've just recieved a pair of 4032s from Tirna Electronics on eBay, pre-fitted with the required cap and they fitted straight in without any problems. Fine on lid clearance too.

Sounding very nice.

Hi all,

I've just brought a 7520 and would like to try installing a pair of 4032s. I noticed the ones from Tirna Electronics on eBay which allow 'plug 'n play' installation.

The only question I have is which way around to install them. Tirna mark which is pin 1 but I can't see which is pin 1 on the socket.

If someone could point me in the right directon I'd be extremely grateful.

Thanks,
Andy.

[trailer]

Read through Leo's sticky thread in this section of the forum.

[apmusson]

Have you listened to headphones yet? I wasn't able to run a pair of 4032, as the HPA got very distorted. Always possible that my Senn 595s' 50 ohm impedance was too low for that config.

That could be the case. The 4032 sounds fantastic with my HD650's (200 ohm impedance). Sorry that I havent been very active for the past month, I've just moved house and had no internet.

Ade

[lingling1337]

Hey all, I ordered a THS4032 from Tirna last saturday, can't wait for it to show up! However, I'm already being tempted by newer technologies... I saw on the Beresford North America web page that there was an upgrade service ($75 to change out a damn socketed opamp). The only interesting bit, besides the incredible rates they are charging, was a tidbit about the possibility of offering an upgrade to discrete opamps. I emailed Jeff at Beresford NA about it and would like to post the transcript here:


Me: Just making sure I have this right, it is $75 plus shipping to swap in a new socketed opamp? Will you guys do a swap to a WM8716 DAC chip?

Me: I am also wondering about the discrete opamp modification. Is there any more detail that I can hear on that?

Jeff: Thanks for your interest. You are correct the fee for the upgrade is to swap out the opamps. Unfortunately we are not going to swap out the DAC chips at this time.

Jeff: The discrete opamp is 4 small boards arranged in a cube shape that does not use any integrated circuits, but uses
discrete components to do the job of an opamp. We use a 100 mm harness to be able to locate the opamp inside
case of the 7520. Due to the size you will have to choose whether you want the discrete opamp on the linestage or the
headphone amp. The other circuit will get the LM4562NA opamp upgrade.

Me:Can I get more information on the discrete opamp? model number or specs or something? And how much would it cost to get it installed into the head amp?

Jeff:We have not finalized a price yet, but expect it to be in the $150 range including shipping. We are not releasing specs on this unit.

Me: Do you read the ArtOfSound forums, where Stan and many other DIYers hang out? They have detailed many DIY mods for the TC7520, including opamp and DAC chip swapping. Will there be similar discussion on the discrete opamps? That is to say, will there be a way for DIYers to to do this sort of mod themselves without sending their DAC out to a Beresford location?

Jeff: I am familiar with the Art of Sound, and think it is a great resource. The service we are offering is based on our research of different opamps and their sound qualities. We are offering this service for customers that are not inclined to do this type of mod themselves
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________

That's the end of the line. Quite interesting stuff. I've posted this in hopes of sparking discussion about DIYing discrete opamps as I said in my emails.

[StanleyB]

Good old AoS, where priceless information is available for free...

In any case, the Caiman will only be available from one place.

Stan

[DaveK]

As regular readers of this forum already know, I know very little about such matters, but just in case it may be of some interest to more knowledgeable DIYers, does the following items have any relevance to 7520 modding?

http://cgi.ebay.com/2x-PCM1794-24-bi...ayphotohosting

Hope it's of interest to someone.
Cheers,

[lingling1337]

Good old AoS, where priceless information is available for free...

In any case, the Caiman will only be available from one place.

Stan

This Caiman... how are the innards different from the TC7520, aside from the WM8716 and new opamps?

[StanleyB]

This Caiman... how are the innards different from the TC7520, aside from the WM8716 and new opamps?

It's almost the same. Just read up on the various TC-7520 mods in order to build your own version of the Caiman. A few people have.

The 'original' TC-7520 design was built with those bits. That's why you can swap those chips over in the TC-7520 without any extra work, but you can't do the same in the TC-7510. The only extra change you need to make is to remove MLC5/6. Those are part of an analogue active filter circuit. The Caiman doesn't need any analogue active filters in its signal path.

As far as I know, the Caiman will be the world's only 64X oversampling DAC for HIFI consumer use, and possibly the only one without an active filter in the audio path as well. But I stand corrected.

I would only recommend the Caiman to people who have a quite good audio set up as far as amp and speakers goes. The added performance is far more enjoyable and noticeable when paired with better gear. The far higher retail price associated with the limited production run is also only likely to be appreciated by those who can afford not to be asking for a discount.

Stan

[chrism]

Good old AoS, where priceless information is available for free...

In any case, the Caiman will only be available from one place.

Stan

And don't forget the advertising of the goods is free as well!

Regards

Chris

[StanleyB]

And don't forget the advertising of the goods is free as well!

Regards

Chris

It depends which way you look at that. Other sites ask for money AND/or free samples. If one has to pay such a price, it is never clear whether the product is good or whether the shill sellers are making sure advertising revenues are rolling in.
At least AoS only allows outstanding audio components to be mentioned with regularity. Like the 103, 1200, etc. Just to name a view.

Stan