DAC for the future

Kevin

The BM3 is quality BUT extremely matter of fact the majority of our customers that have/had them preferred the the V2 model it was more engaging.

For the outlay grab a D70 or 90 in that category imho

Gustard x16.

Did you modify the X16 in anyway? Looks relatively cheap, compared to a D90.

I have the a18, it's basically the same building blocks, clocks, xmos, Bluetooth etc, just it uses the akm 4499 not the ess chip.

I had Tony replace all opamps in output stage and the LP filter.

The listening room here doesnt lend itself well to soundstage evaluation, once it gets past a certain width, but it's been good enough to decide the AT-ART7 sounded narrow.

I did not get that from the Topping D90 Alan brought here. The Topping is great value for the money and pretty much faultless. Alan and i were going to do a little SPDIF infused bakeoff between the Soekris and the D90 but that has been posponed.

If he wants to loan it out, i could do a bakeoff and see what happens?

I havent liked any dac with the Sabre chip, the AKM sounds better to me but again, it's all personal.

I would be surprised if ANY of the new DACs didn't sound like a decent upgrade on a Beresford though.

To be blunt:

I messaged Stan about his Beresford stuff about 3 years ago. He'd just released the SEG i think, and there was a wave of ChiFi DACs just entering the minds of the Western Audiophile. I won't paraphrase what he said because i can't be accurate enough to write it down, but it amounted to the same kind of feeling the Yanks must have had when the "Paul Revere's Ride" took place. (The British are coming, the British Are Coming!)

Although it was the Chinese that were marching upon our Audio world.........you get the idea.

I think we spoke before about the Beresford Alan had. I heard it, i gave it back in about 8 minutes. That included the installation, the listening of the track, then the removal. Iknow it wasnt a SEG, but i also know that it was bad enough to scar me for life and avoid them at all costs.

The Topping D90 is a different league of kit, as is the PecanPi & the Soekris to that initial exposure the the Beresford.

I'm not doubting the SEG you have is better than the one i heard, Or excellent VFM, but i couldn't bring myself to hear another one.

Well, that is pretty clear...

Quote of the week

I've just installed a RME ADI 2 DAC.
I was surprised to find it a significant upgrade on my much loved MyST R2R DAC which had been holding sway here.
It's a good'un, and you get all the eq stuff to play with.

Don't know if I'd go along with the dissing of Beresford. Back in the day, when I first heard an early incarnation, it was a revelation, shockingly beating my Mark Levinson DAC. (I'd bought the Beresford for a cheapo 2nd system). A guy buying some 5k rrp speakers from me didn't believe the dem music could be coming from the cheapo Beresford, he actually checked the wiring at the rear to make sure it was wired up!
I kept up with Beresford developments for a few years and enjoyed them. But then the cheap Chinese DACs started turning up and I was seduced by the dark side.... Actually it was quite a brightly lit, hyper detailed side, I've rather gone off them now, up to a Topping D70 and numerous others.
I've not heard a Beresford DAC for years, though.

That first YouTube review I linked mentions how good the D90 would be for electronic music 😉

Could be, it certainly doesn't come across as bright like a lot of the Chinese DACs do to me. I suspect it's neutral and folks have got used to a brightly lit kind of sound, which can make some music genres sound faster and more fun to listen to.

A daft question.
Is it worth me getting an MQA capable DAC?
I assume it works best with QoBuz and Tidal with there “master” quality streaming?
Does it actually make a difference?

Tidal are gradually moving it all to MQA though and some say it's crap if not properly decoded.

So if you subscribe to Tidal I'd advise getting the MQA version - even though it's just a scam.

I'll be interested in which one you prefer sq wise Cagey