Beresford 7510 MK 6 Mini Review/comparison - Page 11

Are you guys talking about the Audigy2 ZS or the ZS Notebook?

Just an update on the modification...with the mod in place, I'm really pleasantly surprised with its performance. The DAC chip in the Beresford is not too highly regarded, and while sound has as much to do with implementation as it does chip selection, it is sometimes hard to overcome the more humble starting point.

There are a couple of points of improvement I've noticed up to now. Bass is more focused with more low level detail and more presence at the extreme low end. Instrument seperation also improved a good bit, as well. The soundstage is overall more pleasing and natural. I'm impressed.

For the price, I'd say it's definitely worth it. Giant killer? I don't really think so, but it's definitely deserving of praise. I could be perfectly content with it in my system, I think (until the next upgrade-urge hit, of course ).

Regarding the Presonus...audio memory is always a sketchy thing, but I'm pretty sure I prefer this unit to the Presonus. The beresford strikes me as more refined and faster, resulting in more resolved sound. The Presonus still has something pleasant going on with it that I don't hear in the Beresford, but I'm fairly sure I'd still pick the latter out of the two.

The ZS Notebook sounds much better than the ZS PCI, and the Beresford sounds much better than the ZS Notebook. To say that the TC7510 sounds worse or the same as the ZS PCI/Notebook means that the person's settings are incorrect. You gotta enable "SPDIF Passthrough" and/or "BitAccurate." To confirm that those settings are in place, simply play a video file through WMP and if you hear nothing, you have correctly done your setting. Music can be played through Foobar using the Kernel Streaming plugin.

if all goes well I just might get to give it a listen before you do!

Now spliffy don't go sheddin' big crocodile tears when soloz2 tells you that my 'Epic Opus' mops the floor with your Beresford.

He's going to be listening to both our DACs before we do.

Yeah.. Its the new FOTM like the heed.. With ppl blowing it out of proportion as giant killers.. Remember when the Heed was comparable to the HR-2.. & having plants when the Bed first came out stating that it would blow away my DAC1 & sounds better then 2,000 DACs!! I know people want great deals, but the Bedford isn't in the class or zip code of a DAC1/Lavry10/Stello100. Yes, a good DAC for the money. Entry level audio gear.

There are numerous comments and individual tests all over the net where people have tested the Beresford against a cheap or high-end DAC. Wadia, Linn, Chord, you name it. And guess what: the Beresford came out with quite impressive results in just about every case. How much do the Wadia, Chord and Linn DACs cost by the way? U$2000 plus, or level entry prices?
I too would feel upset and defend my purchase tooth and nail if I had just spent U$1000 or more on a piece of hifi, only to find that something a mere fraction of the price makes my expensive purchase a bad decision.

Most expensive stuff are mere objects of desire, with perceived value for money in order to justify their purchase. If you break down the features that the Beresford offer, there isn't a single level entry or midrange DAC with matching features! Like the 4 inputs, more than acceptable headphone amp, advanced power supply design in the MK6 ( the Virtual DC one, which has now been causing excitement on another forum), excellent customer service, quick shipment, value for money price.
Now, name me any other DAC or DAC manufacturer anywhere in the world who can match all those points. Not a single one at any price! If that's level entry, God helps the DAC market if and when Beresford decides to go a bit more upmarket. And when more people start paying better attention to his coax cable and how that too is unbelievable value for money, he'll shake out the overpriced offerings we all have been stuck with for years. Whilst we all have been debating his DAC, the cable people have been smart enough not to try to take on his cable in terms of value for money and technical construction.

To be perfectly honest, pretty much any budget DAC gets rave reviews comparing it up against the big boys and coming out as "good values". Zhaolu, MicroDAC, DAC-AH, Musiland, etc and etc. I don't see the Beresford as anything groundbreaking, just hyping itself over the competition in the price range for some sales.

This is like watching a late night infomercial.

What part is hype? The sound quality, the facilities, the customer service? Whilst we can all debate the ins and outs of our personal taste with respect to what we hear coming from a DAC, amp, speaker etc., you can't get away from the fact that over and over again the Beresford customers mention on forums and his ebay feedback how good the service is, how quick they get a reply on their questions, and how feature packed the DAC is. A digital input selector and good headamp would easily add an extra 100% price mark up on any of the budget DAC you mention. Buyers are not stupid, even if they don't air their views in public. A dissatisfied customer will say so, no matter how much a product is hyped or advertised. Since I bought my 1st TC-7510 I have seen a steady stream of other DAC lobbyists taking issues with the TC-7510 specifically. And not just on head-fi. Conclusion? It must be a brilliant piece of kit for a small company like Beresford to attract so many attacks. Let's not kid ourselves: the (mainly Chinese) competitors must have bought samples of the Beresford by now, listened to it, and taken it apart. Such tactics are part and parcel of any industry. The world is full of fake copies of many goods coming out of China etc. Snag for the copy cats is that you can only buy this DAC direct from the manufacturer! And adding extra input selection and a better headphone amp would take even the cheap Chinese DACs way out of the budget price range. Allied to that is the fact that many mods are given away for free or added to the next version out, unlike other DACs that rely on a parallel market of mods and cons. It is bound to hurt some people that the Beresford breaks the mold in terms of real value for money, irrespective of how well you rate it sound wise.

i don't think any of those comments are directed at you...

Uh oh I struck a nerve! Easy David you know I just had to play the bigger penis game! Only because there are lots of bigger ones than mine on here.

Oh and for a guy on a budget you've had some pretty high end systems buddy. K1000's, Darth Boobies and now the Stax. There'll be no sympathy here my friend.