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Post by pauld on Feb 18, 2019 14:51:17 GMT
"and as the latest firmware has been written specifically to work with the supercap power supply" I'd really love to hear an explanation of how the firmware has been written to work with one voltage source vs another. That's real fairy tale grade industrial bullshit right there. Might be worth chatting to Stan. I am only going by what I have heard. I do not have a clue on a engineering or technical level. |
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Post by dsjr on Feb 18, 2019 15:16:31 GMT
Stan's a good geezer I reckon, but it does worry me a bit with all these updates and tweaks. A good DAC should be just that and 'audible' changes should easily be measurable (famous last words), so what the eff's going on?
Thinking about my passive preamp remarks above just now and not 'hearing' any insertion loss apart from the tiniest almost inaudible bit of level, and maybe linking this into some of the above DAC sonics, I wonder if *some* of the differences could be the output of the DAC possibly reacting with a low input impedance in the pre or power amp. For example, Rega Apollo and Planet CD players for example need to 'look' at a 47 - 50k load and I suspect many passive preamps need likewise for widest response? (I'm on very shaky ground here). the Linn LK2 series have something silly-low like 3k and an unsuitable preamp will slug the highs down at very audible sub 20k frequencies.
Probably nothing to do with this whatsoever, so excuse the thoughts if they're totally wrong.
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Post by pauld on Feb 18, 2019 15:19:28 GMT
Stan's a good geezer I reckon, but it does worry me a bit with all these updates and tweaks. A good DAC should be just that and 'audible' changes should easily be measurable (famous last words), so what the eff's going on? Surely it is what all good manufacturers do isn't it? Naim used to regularly bring out firmware updates for their streamers and then they went from the NDX to the NDX2 etc. isn't that just the same principle here? |
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Post by dsjr on Feb 18, 2019 15:57:52 GMT
I thought these firmware updates were to get them working, rather than 'improve' the sound (they were glitch prone I gather), but modern chips may allow other stuff to be changed. Naim seem to change their streaming models quite often now and older ones seem to depreciate more than the old separates. The market they sell to doesn't appear to mind, so I don't know any more...
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Post by pauld on Feb 18, 2019 16:54:30 GMT
Firmware updates can include fixes to glitches, but that isn't usually the case for the Beresford DAC's. He just updates the firmware to improve the sound, and usually on the back of feedback from customers.
My understanding is that the latest firmware was specifically developed to work with the Dorado supercap power supply, but I could be wrong given what Simon has said above.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2019 15:13:24 GMT
I am starting to like my SEG a bit better now it has the SW30 firmware and Dorado plugged in. It is much more to my taste.
I am two tracks in, and I am am not reaching out to change the source like I was earlier....
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Post by pauld on Feb 22, 2019 16:47:08 GMT
Good one, Cagey, I told you the SW30 and Dorado upgrade were worth it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2019 19:00:17 GMT
IMHO, I am not sure it beats the DAC in my PC, but it is much better.
It does not seem to work well with an optical input though?
Coaxial is much better, just using a Klotz MC5000 cable I had lying around.
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Post by pauld on Feb 22, 2019 19:20:44 GMT
Interesting that you say that, but I preferred optical over coax when I used mine with a CXC Transport.
Don't understand, how do you say you mean it beats the DAC in your PC but is much better?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2019 23:31:04 GMT
The SEG is better than it was, but I think the DAC in my PC is better still.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2019 10:40:21 GMT
I'm beginning to think the Beresford SEG lacks something. I'm wondering if the mods would make a fundamental difference or even a big PS in this case. I don't see the sound signature fundamentally changing. An obvious marker would be to try the ebay £5 Dac with and without PS. Any fairly expensive Dac that doesn't improve on this significantly should be rejected. I shudder seeing certain people paying £3K for a Chord upscaler. I'm sure there are far cheaper products doing something similar in one box. I need to get the Oppo back in the main system (lack of rack space) as I suspect it's got a much better DAC. BTW I found an inexpensive Optical cable sounds better than Mark Grant Coaxial. Actually same result on previous DAC.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2019 11:23:06 GMT
The Dorado and SW30 makes a big enough difference that you can hear it.
A back to back between the SEG and the upgraded Essence STX II shows no real difference.
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Post by pauld on Feb 23, 2019 19:04:25 GMT
I'm beginning to think the Beresford SEG lacks something. I'm wondering if the mods would make a fundamental difference or even a big PS in this case. I don't see the sound signature fundamentally changing. An obvious marker would be to try the ebay £5 Dac with and without PS. Any fairly expensive Dac that doesn't improve on this significantly should be rejected. I shudder seeing certain people paying £3K for a Chord upscaler. I'm sure there are far cheaper products doing something similar in one box. I need to get the Oppo back in the main system (lack of rack space) as I suspect it's got a much better DAC. BTW I found an inexpensive Optical cable sounds better than Mark Grant Coaxial. Actually same result on previous DAC. I guess all products have some limitation based on the budget that they can be sold at. The SEG is extremely good considering it relatively low price, but it can be significantly upgraded by different people including Stan if you want to move it onto another level, but none of that is cheap. I guess it depends on what you want in the end. Sound wise, some people have said that the SEG can sound a bit too warm for their tastes, and I could imagine if you already have a warm sounding system that adding a DAC with a warmer sound would probably tip the balance. It really is all about balance and what you want in reality, we are all different with different needs and different budgets. |
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