[REVIEW] Beresford TC-7510 MKIII DAC (56k warning)
May 10, 2007 at 4:26 AM Post #151 of 273
I will be soldering back the original (size) capacitors onto the board in the coming few days and might experiment with different brands/class of these 10uF capacitors. Will report back when finished! I still recommend these smaller size capacitors over the newer ones (220uF) for headphone usage. MKIII all the way!
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May 10, 2007 at 6:57 PM Post #154 of 273
Quote:

Originally Posted by 33Leon /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I've been looking for a dac for a while now, so I grabbed one, The supplied power adapter gives out a horrible whine, so I'm using an adjustable regulated one instead, and it's not bad at all.

I had a little hiss check with the E500's and it's there, but really not that bad, I've heard far worse. It's at the same level from the line out's as from the headphone out with the pot turned down to nothing, turning the pot up doesn't increase the hiss at all. And with my normal high impedance cans there's nothing.

Right now I'm enjoying the headphone out to my 770's. But it definitely needs more burning
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Which version of the TC7510 do you have? Which style of adapter do you have? And yes, give it at least 30+ hours of burn-in, it will smooth out by a lot.
 
May 11, 2007 at 12:14 AM Post #155 of 273
Quote:

Originally Posted by feifan /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Were u kidding about cutting the cables open? If not, then how about taking pictures and sharing what u find? Like an autopsy. Ha!


I have now put the pics and the write up HERE so we don't end up discussing cables on the wrong forum.
 
May 12, 2007 at 5:34 PM Post #157 of 273
Quote:

Originally Posted by 33Leon
It's the MkIV version, although I can't find a single marking inside or out denoting it as such.

The headphone amp has about 50 hours on it now, It's a current monster, but it doesn't seem to be really able to get much of a dynamic punch out of my beyers, I'm sure that more current needy 'phones would fare much better. Plenty of detail. Pretty neutral except for a very slight hole in the low mids/upper bass, but it's a hell of a lot better than the headphone out of a £100 dac has any right to be.
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Unscrew the 4 screws on the bottom of the DAC and it will review the inside. Can you take a pic and let us know? As I've stated before, I think the new capacitors have something to do with the missing of upper bass, thus losing the "punchiness" I associated with the MKIII.

PS. I see a Wii-mote there in ur pic, having fun with it eh?
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May 12, 2007 at 9:03 PM Post #159 of 273
Quote:

Originally Posted by 33Leon /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Overall
Close-up of headphone section
(Camera phone is playing nice again. Evil thing.)

Those op-amps are dual LM386, but the chip scrubber did a good job on the rest of the silicon.
I sense a power cap mod coming along whenever I get the chance, but I don't get much time for this sort of thing these days. Same reason why that wiimote has a thin coat of dust on it :/



Ah yes, the caps have indeed been changed. I will write an impression next week of the smaller sized caps once they get here.
 
May 13, 2007 at 1:47 PM Post #160 of 273
I have just received the Beresford Mk4. First impressions are mixed (while using my DT880) compared to my EMU 0404 PCI:

Pro's : Bass is alot tighter and more prominent, highs aren't so ear-bleeding (I can actually listen to Alanis Morissette now), detail is excellent. Mids are also alot more noticed.

Con's : Soundstage seems to have died off
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the sound is alot more forward than before, which is sad because I really liked soundstage. Hopefully burn-in will change this. Build looks a bit flimsy with the PSU connection. This is not a good looking DAC
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More to come after burn in.
 
May 13, 2007 at 8:16 PM Post #161 of 273
Quote:

Originally Posted by maxxy /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I have just received the Beresford Mk4. First impressions are mixed (while using my DT880) compared to my EMU 0404 PCI:

Pro's : Bass is alot tighter and more prominent, highs aren't so ear-bleeding (I can actually listen to Alanis Morissette now), detail is excellent. Mids are also alot more noticed.

Con's : Soundstage seems to have died off
frown.gif
the sound is alot more forward than before, which is sad because I really liked soundstage. Hopefully burn-in will change this. Build looks a bit flimsy with the PSU connection. This is not a good looking DAC
smily_headphones1.gif


More to come after burn in.




Are you looking for a bling-bling DAC with red, blue, and green flashing LEDs?
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On a more serious note, I agree with your criticism on the soundstage of the MK4, it does seem to have muffled a bit over the older version.
 
May 13, 2007 at 8:26 PM Post #162 of 273
I think it's a shame... I really like soundstage and was actually what I was looking for. I have mailed Stanley about this issue - if it doesn't resolve itself then I will sadly return the DAC.
 
May 13, 2007 at 11:04 PM Post #163 of 273
Quote:

Originally Posted by maxxy /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Con's : Soundstage seems to have died off
frown.gif
the sound is alot more forward than before, which is sad because I really liked soundstage. Hopefully burn-in will change this. Build looks a bit flimsy with the PSU connection. This is not a good looking DAC
smily_headphones1.gif


More to come after burn in.



I agree that the looks are not even worth mentioning. I keep mine out of sight in an enclosure. But then again there aren't many DACs in that price range that I'd really want to show off. DACs like the CIA VDA•2, Paradisea, etc. are more stylish but cost four times as much as the Mark IV. About the sound stage I can't really say because this is the first DAC that I've owned. I did a power cap mod and for now am content, although not ecstatic, with what I have. What changes were made in the Mark IV that affected the sound stage? Doesn't make sense to me that Stanley would want to play around with what appeared to be a winning formula. Did someone complain "Hey Stanley the sound stage on this thing is way too big - do you think you can shrink it a bit next time 'round?"
 
May 14, 2007 at 1:22 AM Post #164 of 273
Quote:

Originally Posted by Turn&cough /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I agree that the looks are not even worth mentioning. I keep mine out of sight in an enclosure. But then again there aren't many DACs in that price range that I'd really want to show off. DACs like the CIA VDA•2, Paradisea, etc. are more stylish but cost four times as much as the Mark IV. About the sound stage I can't really say because this is the first DAC that I've owned. I did a power cap mod and for now am content, although not ecstatic, with what I have. What changes were made in the Mark IV that affected the sound stage? Doesn't make sense to me that Stanley would want to play around with what appeared to be a winning formula. Did someone complain "Hey Stanley the sound stage on this thing is way too big - do you think you can shrink it a bit next time 'round?"


No, but i think someone was saying how they prefer more bass in their speaker system.
 
May 14, 2007 at 6:15 AM Post #165 of 273
According to the MKIV information only the headphone section was changed to reduce the low impedance noise. That is separate from the line outputs. So we are mixing apples and peers here I believe, and making assumptions that the headphone signal path is also the same as the line output. They are not.
What Maxxy reports is a completely different issue. The EMU 0404 has received a mixed response with regards to its performance. Comparing the TC-7510 against the EMU and concluding the DAC has a smaller sound stage would suggest to me that someone is unable to comprehend the improvements to the music with the DAC. The greater exposure of detail in the music would no doubt give the impression of a reduced sound stage rather than an improvement in the detail and accuracy of the music if you are inexperienced with what to expect from a DAC. If you can hear a note or sound that you could not hear before, is that due to a narrower sound stage or a better resolution of the music? I guess we would have to dump all the audio stuff we bought if we noticed a more detailed sound compared to waht we had before
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Looks are in the eyes of the beholder. Do we want those retro look banks of switches and thick metal front plate with recessed LEDs? Not all of us do. And neither would I want a case that adds the same amount or more to the price of the basic DAC. That would leave nothing over to pay for the chipset, or we would have to settle for a more expensive unit. It is my ears I am trying to please. The flashy lights and case works that the Japanese designers forced on me was hardly ever backed up with a worthwhile audio improvement. At the same time the retro looks we get from China shows how far behind they are in terms of modern day design.
 

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