[CADCAM]

  I just got my upgrade chip, will post what I think of it later and post screens of the insides of the BMKII.

Great! I will be waiting to hear your impressions!

 

[DreamKing]

BMKII internals:

 
Chips (top one is the new firmware, SFW2):

 
SFW2 firmware installed:

 
 
Impressions (take with grain of salt because this isn't a direct A/B comparison considering the time it takes to install the chip is longer than echoic memory):
 
Sounds a bit better to me. Bass has more texture, is more dynamic. The slight grain in the treble I could hear before (BMKII glare I've seen other people talk about) is eliminated. 

 

[CADCAM]

OK just got around to ordering the upgrade chip for my Bushmaster MKII. I already have the previous upgrade chip as it came with the unit. I'm really impressed with the Beresford equipment and it's my go-to setup with IEM's. The gain knob is a great feature to have. The BM MKII sounds fantastic now but hopefully this will make it sound even better! I'll post opinions after it comes in and I have a chance to give it a good listen.

 

[richard51]

  BMKII internals:

 
Chips (top one is the new firmware, SFW2):

 
SFW2 firmware installed:

 
 
Impressions (take with grain of salt because this isn't a direct A/B comparison considering the time it takes to install the chip is longer than echoic memory):
 
Sounds a bit better to me. Bass has more texture, is more dynamic. The slight grain in the treble I could hear before (BMKII glare I've seen other people talk about) is eliminated. 

i had exactly the same experience with this upgrade ,subtle but there...

 

[CADCAM]

OK so got the chip in and installed. I must say this isn't a subtle upgrade IMO it has a rather large impact on how the bass is presented. It's cleaner and more defined. It's still early but highs may be reduced just a smidge while mids and upper mids are much better at resolving detail. It changed the sound for me in a pretty impactful way. At first I missed a bit of the very top end but the detail and bass are amazing! I am using the Bushmaster as a DAC only and running a Capella as my amp. Still have a lot of listening to do but I give this upgrade a serious thumbs up.

 

[Stan P]

So, I figured I'd resurrect this thread to pose my Headphone Volume control question, partly as a nod to these great DACs. Still have and love my Bushmaster MKII and Caiman MKII DACs. Honestly they are so good I have no desire to go down the upgrade rabbit hole. I just started using the Bushmaster MKII for my dedicated headphone amp (HD6XX and AKG K701/Austria) and it seems I recall mention of setting the headphone volume control knob at 4'oclock for 300Ω headphones vs using is as a volume control. So, is that the consensus? Set the Bushmaster's control knob for impedance matching and then control volume via computer software?
Audirvana - Macbook Pro (optical out) - Toslink - Bushmaster MKII

 

[Chris J]

So, I figured I'd resurrect this thread to pose my Headphone Volume control question, partly as a nod to these great DACs. Still have and love my Bushmaster MKII and Caiman MKII DACs. Honestly they are so good I have no desire to go down the upgrade rabbit hole. I just started using the Bushmaster MKII for my dedicated headphone amp (HD6XX and AKG K701/Austria) and it seems I recall mention of setting the headphone volume control knob at 4'oclock for 300Ω headphones vs using is as a volume control. So, is that the consensus? Set the Bushmaster's control knob for impedance matching and then control volume via computer software?
Audirvana - Macbook Pro (optical out) - Toslink - Bushmaster MKII

Hey there,
just turn the computer software volume up full, control the headphone volume with the volume control on the Bushmaster.
Turning down the software volume is usually a bad idea. Typically you are truncating the data word length, somebody with more computer savvy can explain the problem with turning down the software volume better than me.
Chris

 

[Stan P]

Hey there,
just turn the computer software volume up full, control the headphone volume with the volume control on the Bushmaster.
Turning down the software volume is usually a bad idea. Typically you are truncating the data word length, somebody with more computer savvy can explain the problem with turning down the software volume better than me.
Chris

Thanks for the quick reply, Chris. That 100% Computer Volume thinking is how I use the Squeezebox (then control the volume with my receiver) so it makes sense to do the same with the BMKII. Happy Listening! Stan