[malldian]

So I recently took the plunge on the Denon headphones and they will be here in a couple days. Will the Beresford amp/dac be enough to handle them well? What would be a good amp to pair with them and the possible SR60's which I will buy in the future (just sold the 225s).

 

[wower]

Just a drive by nitpicking: The Denon headphone number is D2000. The AD2000 monicker is for an AT phone. You can change the title of the thread by double clicking it in the headphone amp forums view.

 

[malldian]

...thanks

 

[fraseyboy]

What generation is your beresford?


You should be fine though. Any amp probably wouldn't make much if any difference with the Denon's or the Grado's.

 

[malldian]

The latest i believe. Headroom says otherwise... any other opinions?

 

[Goh]

When I tried the D2000 with my Beresford, there was a low-level but audible hiss. It was one of the reasons I sold the D2000 and kept my K601, which had no hiss with the Beresford. Your experience may be different, since I'm not sure what the exact version of my DAC is: MK6 1, 2 or 3.

 

[ricmat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goh /img/forum/go_quote.gif When I tried the D2000 with my Beresford, there was a low-level but audible hiss. It was one of the reasons I sold the D2000 and kept my K601, which had no hiss with the Beresford. Your experience may be different, since I'm not sure what the exact version of my DAC is: MK6 1, 2 or 3.

did you tried it just as the DAC, or both as DAC and HP amp?

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goh /img/forum/go_quote.gif When I tried the D2000 with my Beresford, there was a low-level but audible hiss. It was one of the reasons I sold the D2000 and kept my K601, which had no hiss with the Beresford. Your experience may be different, since I'm not sure what the exact version of my DAC is: MK6 1, 2 or 3.

I had the D5000 with the beresford and didn't have any hiss. To the OP, I think the amp in the beresford is not that great to say the least. It is ok as a backup amp, but as soon as you can you should get a dedicated home amp. Even a mid-fi home amp should outperform it.

 

[ricmat]

and what do you think about the Beresford as a DAC only?

Quote:

Originally Posted by number1sixerfan /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had the D5000 with the beresford and didn't have any hiss. To the OP, I think the amp in the beresford is not that great to say the least. It is ok as a backup amp, but as soon as you can you should get a dedicated home amp. Even a mid-fi home amp should outperform it.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ricmat /img/forum/go_quote.gif and what do you think about the Beresford as a DAC only?

As a dac it is pretty good. It has a warmer tonality and is very musical. I want to upgrade to a stello or benchmark dac1 but I've just been satisfied with how it performs with all the amps/cans I've used with it.

 

[ricmat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by number1sixerfan /img/forum/go_quote.gif As a dac it is pretty good. It has a warmer tonality and is very musical. I want to upgrade to a stello or benchmark dac1 but I've just been satisfied with how it performs with all the amps/cans I've used with it.

thanks! that pretty much solves all my issues!

 

[malldian]

Ok, what amp would you suggest? And how do I find what exact version the Beresford is?

 

[Goh]

malldian, did you try the Denons with the Beresford headamp yet? I'd be interested to know if you can hear any hiss.

I would email Stanley Beresford for clues to the version number. You can probably find an email address at redirection page

As for amp, I tried out a CK2III amp from the Rockhopper Audio loaner program for over a week and found it to be an improvement over the built-in amp of the Beresford. It's a DIY desktop amp for $200-300 and is a good value that's been compared favorably to the Gilmore Lite. Although I could discern no audible differences between the Beresford and the CK2III while switching between the two, after using the CK2III exclusively for a week and then going back to the Beresford headamp, my music didn't sound as good anymore. So I'm inclined to think that adding the external amp actually made a difference. By the way, the Beresford was still used as a DAC when testing the CK2III. Hope this helps.

 

[malldian]

I hear no hiss at full volume and will contact him to find the model number.

 

[malldian]

According to the guy I bought it from it is the Beresford TC-7510 MK6/3.