Which Dac for £200?

[ifor]

Also Wat cable do I need to connect aex to dac ?

toslink to optical jack. You get them on eBay very cheaply. I have two 10 metre ones that I no longer use.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/TOSlink-Digital-Toslink-Optical-electrosmart%C2%AE/dp/B008N15ON6/ref=pd_sxp_grid_i_0_2

 

[krish123]

Had a look at the bushmaster seems decent but isn't much of a looker . I wonder how it compares to the mf dac. Atm I'm leaning toward the mf. Any more insight regarding these two dacs ?

Thanks for the link to the cable m8

 

[theadmans]

Given that the What Hi-Fi review of the MF V90 states that it lacks excitement, that bass could be tighter and it is not very agile I am confident that the Bushmaster would be significantly better even off the mains. With battery power you are looking at the Bushmaster bettering DACs in the class of the Audiolab MDAC.

 

[DIB]

I own a Bushmaster MK II also. I have spent about £80 to buy an external 12V battery from Amazon. With this battery I can power both my Bushmaster and Squeezebox Touch simultaneously from battery power. This means you can banish 2 walwarts from your system - this gives a very nice improvement to the sound of what is already one of the best DACs under £1000.

I mistakenly tested a 12v PSU from my HDD on my Squeezebox Touch last weekend and fried it

. I've had to buy another SBT this week to replace it. Schoolboy error, I'm gutted.

.

 

[Cypher]

Given that the What Hi-Fi review of the MF V90 states that it lacks excitement, that bass could be tighter and it is not very agile I am confident that the Bushmaster would be significantly better even off the mains. With battery power you are looking at the Bushmaster bettering DACs in the class of the Audiolab MDAC.

WhatHifi was the only review that I read that wasn't that positive about the V90. Other reviews were much more positive...........

Have you read the Hi-Fi Choice review of the V90 DAC ?

You can only say that the Bushmaster is better after a comparison between the two dacs 😉

 

[theadmans]

Given that the What Hi-Fi review of the MF V90 states that it lacks excitement, that bass could be tighter and it is not very agile I am confident that the Bushmaster would be significantly better even off the mains. With battery power you are looking at the Bushmaster bettering DACs in the class of the Audiolab MDAC.

WhatHifi was the only review that I read that wasn't that positive about the V90. Other reviews were much more positive...........

Have you read the Hi-Fi Choice review of the V90 DAC ?

You can only say that the Bushmaster is better after a comparison between the two dacs 😉

Yes I did read the Hi-Fi Choice group test of the V90 - I stll have it to hand and I note it got 4 stars out of 5 for sound - but "kraftwerk was a bit sleepy sounding" and bass was disconnected. This echos what What Hi-Fi said really.

The V90 comes last in the group test (although it is the cheapest DAC at £200). I have not heard the V90 but I have compared the Bushmaster against an Audiolab MDAC. The Audiolab QDAC (cheaper cut down version of MDAC) came second in the Group Test and I know I prefer the Bushmaster to the MDAC so therefore I suspect the it is also well ahead of the V90. On battery power the Bushmaster moves even further ahead of the MDAC.

The V90 is no doubt still a fine DAC for £200 but that same £200 will buy an "exceptional" DAC in the Bushmaster II. True the Bushmaster is not as pretty but I think the difference in sound quality more than makes up for this. What you have got to remember is that the Bushmaster is not sold through Dealers so more of that £200 goes towards the components that matter - rather than the Dealer Margin and a pretty case.

 

[krish123]

Given that the What Hi-Fi review of the MF V90 states that it lacks excitement, that bass could be tighter and it is not very agile I am confident that the Bushmaster would be significantly better even off the mains. With battery power you are looking at the Bushmaster bettering DACs in the class of the Audiolab MDAC.

WhatHifi was the only review that I read that wasn't that positive about the V90. Other reviews were much more positive...........

Have you read the Hi-Fi Choice review of the V90 DAC ?

You can only say that the Bushmaster is better after a comparison between the two dacs 😉

Yes I did read the Hi-Fi Choice group test of the V90 - I stll have it to hand and I note it got 4 stars out of 5 for sound - but "kraftwerk was a bit sleepy sounding" and bass was disconnected. This echos what What Hi-Fi said really.

The V90 comes last in the group test (although it is the cheapest DAC at £200). I have not heard the V90 but I have compared the Bushmaster against an Audiolab MDAC. The Audiolab QDAC (cheaper cut down version of MDAC) came second in the Group Test and I know I prefer the Bushmaster to the MDAC so therefore I suspect the it is also well ahead of the V90. On battery power the Bushmaster moves even further ahead of the MDAC.

The V90 is no doubt still a fine DAC for £200 but that same £200 will buy an "exceptional" DAC in the Bushmaster II. True the Bushmaster is not as pretty but I think the difference in sound quality more than makes up for this. What you have got to remember is that the Bushmaster is not sold through Dealers so more of that £200 goes towards the components that matter - rather than the Dealer Margin and a pretty case.

Yes very valid comments . Wat is this mains supply u are talking of ? As standard how does it get powered up ? And what improves this further ? Where is the cheapest places to buy the bushmaster?

 

[Cypher]

Yes I did read the Hi-Fi Choice group test of the V90 - I stll have it to hand and I note it got 4 stars out of 5 for sound - but "kraftwerk was a bit sleepy sounding" and bass was disconnected. This echos what What Hi-Fi said really.

The V90 comes last in the group test (although it is the cheapest DAC at £200). I have not heard the V90 but I have compared the Bushmaster against an Audiolab MDAC. The Audiolab QDAC (cheaper cut down version of MDAC) came second in the Group Test and I know I prefer the Bushmaster to the MDAC so therefore I suspect the it is also well ahead of the V90. On battery power the Bushmaster moves even further ahead of the MDAC.

The V90 is no doubt still a fine DAC for £200 but that same £200 will buy an "exceptional" DAC in the Bushmaster II. True the Bushmaster is not as pretty but I think the difference in sound quality more than makes up for this. What you have got to remember is that the Bushmaster is not sold through Dealers so more of that £200 goes towards the components that matter - rather than the Dealer Margin and a pretty case.

What I meant was that you have to do a comparison between the DACS for yourself and not rely on what others (reviewers) have said about the DAC. Trust your own ears 😉

 

[theadmans]

The Bushmaster can only be bought direct from the manufacturer Beresford (that is partly why it is such good value as there are no Dealer Margins built into the price) :-

http://www.beresford.me/products/TC-7533.html

...and this is the external battery that Beresford recommend to be used with Bushmaster for significant performance gains over using the standard mains adapter :-

http://www.ankaka.com/incredible-20000mah-battery-charger-universal-portable-battery_p409.html

 

[Scissor_digits]

For my Bushmaster I bought the SBooster from Mark Grant Cables. It costs £27.50 and plugs in between the standard power supply and the Bushmaster although I recall reading on the Bushmaster thread on the Art of Niose forum last year that the power supply on the Bushmaster II has been improved so no additional or replacement upgrades are required

 

[colver]

I just picked up a Musical Fidelity x-24k for £115 in pristine condition. HOWEVER after speaking to many people the opinion is that the differencies between DAC's is so little that it almost doesnt matter what DAC you go for. The difference in sound from my cd player to the seperate DAC is almost nothing. £100 on fleabay should get you a decent used item. Colin

 

[krish123]

hi guys just to updateyou i have now purchased an AEX so shud get that perhaps on wednesday. As for a Dac i am now leaning towards the bushmaster mk2 version. Has anyone got this specific dac and tell me how it performs for them? Also does it make a difference whast toslink cable you buy to connect the aex?initially i will be just using rca connections to connect the aex to my amp and then play through airplay is that correct?

 

[ifor]

HOWEVER after speaking to many people the opinion is that the differencies between DAC's is so little that it almost doesnt matter what DAC you go for. The difference in sound from my cd player to the seperate DAC is almost nothing. £100 on fleabay should get you a decent used item. Colin

Do you really believe that all digital based systems sound the same?

 

[theadmans]

Good call to go for the Bushmaster MKII - you won't be dissapointed.

Stanley actually spent a bit of money upgrading the toslink sockets on the BM MkII (the sockets are a superior technical specification to the ones in the Mk I). I personally tend to use coaxial connections as sometimes I run as high as 24Bit 192Khz material on my Squeezebox Touch (Toslink can stuggle with 24Bit 192Khz). I am unfamiliar with the AEX and whether it has coaxial outputs - if not that you will have to use Toslink - in which case Stanley sells a very good quality cable :-

http://www.homehifi.co.uk/products/3618.html

I think you might also need a Toslink to Optical Mini Adaptor to fit the AEX :-

http://www.amazon.com/Toslink-To-Optical-Mini-Adapter/dp/B0002MQGRM

Also I would recommend you have a good read of this thread at Art of Sound to educate yourself about the Bushmaster MKII :-

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?27847-Bushmaster-Mk-II-(TC-7533)

Also don't forget that Beresford DACs tend improve with burn-in - I have noticed subtle changes in the sound of both my Bushmaster DACs over the first few weeks of ownership.

 

[krish123]

thanks for that info jus going through that forum now its a gd read. I think overall the bushmaster gives the best pound for pound performance and thats y i want to go for it. going to put an order in for a silver one soon.

 

[krish123]

hi guys jus thought id update u with my situation. iv purchased the bushmaster dac and so far am pleased with the sound. onl problem i have ias that when i stream via aex it cuts out quite a bit, but thats because i have a poor internet at home its a bit annoying. depending on how bad it gets i may hav to go wired. can u connect the ipod straight to the dac? i tried it brifly today with the lead i was supplied it has an adapter 3.5mm cable on the end of it but it didnt seem to work this way. any ideas y?

 

[ifor]

hi guys jus thought id update u with my situation. iv purchased the bushmaster dac and so far am pleased with the sound. onl problem i have ias that when i stream via aex it cuts out quite a bit, but thats because i have a poor internet at home its a bit annoying. depending on how bad it gets i may hav to go wired. can u connect the ipod straight to the dac? i tried it brifly today with the lead i was supplied it has an adapter 3.5mm cable on the end of it but it didnt seem to work this way. any ideas y?

the DAC would need to be "made for iPod".

 

[johngw]

HOWEVER after speaking to many people the opinion is that the differencies between DAC's is so little that it almost doesnt matter what DAC you go for. The difference in sound from my cd player to the seperate DAC is almost nothing. £100 on fleabay should get you a decent used item. Colin

Do you really believe that all digital based systems sound the same?

I don't think that's what he said.

 

[johngw]

hi guys jus thought id update u with my situation. iv purchased the bushmaster dac and so far am pleased with the sound. onl problem i have ias that when i stream via aex it cuts out quite a bit, but thats because i have a poor internet at home its a bit annoying. depending on how bad it gets i may hav to go wired. can u connect the ipod straight to the dac? i tried it brifly today with the lead i was supplied it has an adapter 3.5mm cable on the end of it but it didnt seem to work this way. any ideas y?

the DAC would need to be "made for iPod".

Indeed, you would need an iPod dock or DAC that can extract the audio in digital format from the iPod connector (not the 3.5mm socket). The iPod supports this, but Apple has locked down the functionality with licensing such that the dock / DAC manufacturers have to share part of the product revenue with Apple. Hence there are few units that support this. AEX is probably a better solution if you've got a unit already. Plug your DAC into your AEX and work on your Wifi reception...

 

[davedotco]

hi guys jus thought id update u with my situation. iv purchased the bushmaster dac and so far am pleased with the sound. onl problem i have ias that when i stream via aex it cuts out quite a bit, but thats because i have a poor internet at home its a bit annoying. depending on how bad it gets i may hav to go wired. can u connect the ipod straight to the dac? i tried it brifly today with the lead i was supplied it has an adapter 3.5mm cable on the end of it but it didnt seem to work this way. any ideas y?

the DAC would need to be "made for iPod".

Indeed, you would need an iPod dock or DAC that can extract the audio in digital format from the iPod connector (not the 3.5mm socket). The iPod supports this, but Apple has locked down the functionality with licensing such that the dock / DAC manufacturers have to share part of the product revenue with Apple. Hence there are few units that support this. AEX is probably a better solution if you've got a unit already. Plug your DAC into your AEX and work on your Wifi reception...

Absolutely, if you are streaming material that is on your iPod then the system is only using your internal network, the ouside internet should not be an issue.

Set up is important though, there are all kinds of issues to look out for. I set mine up so that the AEX is the only wi-fi reciever, connected via ethernet to the modem, the wi-fi on the modem is switched off.

I also use n band channels, 36 in this case because pretty much everyone else nearby, in my apartment block, uses the default channels which are usually g band, channels 1 or 12. My setup is very solid, though my network only has to contend with a laptop and an iPad at the same time.