[rexirius]

Quote:

Stan will be releasing the MKII version of the BM very soon. Basically, he will be throwing in many mods into this new build like the Venom upgrade 

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Glad to see more people joining the revolution. Keep the feedback coming in!

 
And I'm only now beginning to enjoy mine! Got it a  few months back but was able to set it up only lately. Does anyone know if the MKII will have Stanley's advanced usb input already? 
 
After initial listen, the Bushmaster doesn't disappoint with either of my favorite headphones, the HE-500 and the AD2000X.
 

 

 

[Miss Tique]

 I having been reading the comments on the HD650 and owners say that the treble rolls off. I need better treble than that.
I emailed the company about the Bushmaster but they replied that they have stopped making the old one. I put my name down on the notification list for the new one. As far as I can tell it is the same DAC with the same input and output options. But the performance has been enhanced.
 

 

[xaval]

As far as Stan went public with the MKII is that this version should have the Venom upgrade as standard (not sure if the exact same components as the original one) and upgraded Toslink sockets. New PCB also. No USB as it should come out with the next gen Caiman... Price has not been disclosed but I expect it to be higher as better parts are used.
 
The new Toslink sockets sound promising as they would allow higher bandwidth and it's the input I'm currently using with the MacPro...

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

 
And I'm only now beginning to enjoy mine! Got it a  few months back but was able to set it up only lately. Does anyone know if the MKII will have Stanley's advanced usb input already? 
 
After initial listen, the Bushmaster doesn't disappoint with either of my favorite headphones, the HE-500 and the AD2000X.
 

 

Good to see this thread is still going! 
 
Yeah I thought it performed really well with the HE500's too. (sits nice on the violectric)
 
 
Also, looking forward to the mkII, I'll be watching this space for impressions 

 

 

[LingLing1337]

Stan's character is more than questionable but you can't argue with the product. I still miss my TC7520 with upgraded opamps at times.

 

[Argo Duck]

For sure. I think Stan has been over zealous in defending his products from real and imagined slights - like a too-proud father.

I still find the bushmaster remarkable.

 

[oldson]

AiDee
as a stagedac owner i have a question.
if you had to choose one of your four dacs to keep and sell the rest, which would you keep?

 

[Argo Duck]

Oldson - let me start from the other end.

Schiit bifrost would be gone first (note: have uber upgrade but not installing until I get time to review properly).

Next EE MiniMax (very clear detail from mid-midrange up; foggy lower down).

Stagedac is the obvious keeper (but see below). It is detailed, balanced and perhaps slightly restrained, except for a touch of added vocal presence (which I think is good microdynamics revealing fine expressive textures of natural voice rather than boosted presence frequencies). I find it works very well with my main speaker rig; SS and tube amps. All of these have different character and demand different things. This says a lot for the Stagedac's flexibility or probably neutrality.

However, the Bushmaster runs it real close. The brief comparisons I've done to date show they're similar in tonality (IIRC they use the same DAC chips). I haven't yet done a real shoot-out between the two. Informally, it is a stunning performer with excellent ability to separate different instruments yet render all the harmonic/timbral detail. My one reservation is that it may be overdoing this timbral information. I won't be sure until I do a decent A/B (might get time in a month or so).

I guess at this stage I would have to say it has a 50/50 chance of being the winner.