Which DAC?

[admin_exported]

Hello,

l would be very grateful as to peoples opinion on the merits of the Cambridge Audio Dacmagic & the Beresford 7520.

l'm seriously considering using a laptop as the source & would be looking to invest in one of the above. l also believe that the Beresford lends itself to upgrading the op amps, which also makes for a significant improvement; if so how much?

Thanks.

 

[plastic penguin]

Mmmm - I'm not totally convinced of the merits of DAC's. Course they have their place and are worthwhile in certain systems. DAC's obviously need decent transport to get the best from them.

The best way is to test it against a top quality budget CD player and decide for yourself.

(Oh dear, think some of the more leaned colleagues could lynch me for these comments).

As always it is a personal opinion - nothing more.

 

[Craig M.]

the beresford also has the advantage of a headphone amp and can be used as a pre into active speakers/power amp.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

plastic penguin:
Mmmm - I'm not totally convinced of the merits of DAC's. Course they have their place and are worthwhile in certain systems. DAC's obviously need decent transport to get the best from them.

The best way is to test it against a top quality budget CD player and decide for yourself.

(Oh dear, think some of the more leaned colleagues could lynch me for these comments).

As always it is a personal opinion - nothing more.

PP, I think that the best transport is when it's not there - ie lossless files direct to the DAC. Have you tried it this way?

To the OP. I don't think you will do anything but smile when you try either the Beresford or the DacMagic.

 

[Anonymous]

plastic penguin:

DAC's obviously need decent transport to get the best from them.

Not a problem in a PC-based system (which the OP intends on using) - as the data being streamed is bit-perfect

 

[Craig M.]

also depends on what speakers you are going to use and your own sound preference. to me the dacmagic is warmer sounding, and this could be desirable or not depending on partnering equipment.

 

[the record spot]

I think both will be good cost effective means of providing you with a good sound for your music, but bear in mind that the running costs of a laptop, particularly if you plan on longer term, all day listening will mount up on the electricity bill, moreso with a PC.

You might also want to consider a backup drive as an easy "disaster recovery" solution in the even your main source keels over for whatever reason. Some stick with using their existing CD collection as the backup, which is fair enough, but that all depends on how happy you'd be spending time re-ripping to your laptop all over again if you have a large physical CD collection.

 

[idc]

Hi chesterfieldhouse. What music are you into? The Beresford and DacMagic get so much attention on the forum other DACs often get overlooked. If you listen to a lot of classical, jazz, vocal music or if your taste is for a detailed sound then consider the V-DAC as well.

 

[Anonymous]

Also try the Musical Fidelity v-dac.

 

[chebby]

If someone says Beresford TC-7520 then a whole bunch of people (with Gerrard at the fore) will question their sanity, demand that you do a comparison, then question your sanity if you prefer the Beresford.

What can I say?

I prefer CD replay from my Nait CD5i than Apple Lossless files replayed via my Beresford TC-7520 DAC.

But the Beresford holds up extremely well doing everything else and 'everything else' is extremely important (Freeview radio, internet radio, BBC iPlayer, DVD sound, iTunes downloads, Youtube and all my archived material like old radio plays and documentaries etc) given that all that stuff outweighs CD replay by about 3:1 in terms of time spent listening.

The CD5i (now) retails for about £895 and the Beresford £185 so you can see how much I had to spend to get a CD player that sounds noticeably better to me.

I have a lot of respect for the TC-7520, listen using it many hours a day and know that it can sound better with lossless ripped CD files than budget CD players up to about the level of something like a Rega Apollo where the Beresford starts to lose out a bit. (The TC-7520 with my laptop slayed an Arcam CD17 during an Arcam A18/CD17 demo a few months ago!)

All this is probably true of the DacMagic in the right system but I happen not to like it's character. Many do though, so I cannot help you by telling you definitively that one is better than the other.

Yes the opamp upgrade is easy (LM4562NA in my case) and can easily be swapped with no soldering skills necessary.

[Edit. Lots of people including Gerrard updated whilst I typed and he recommended both DACs!! Sorry Gerrard. I take it back.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

chebby:
If someone says Beresford TC-7520 then a whole bunch of people (with Gerrard at the fore) will question their sanity, demand that you do a comparison, then question your sanity if you prefer the Beresford.

What can I say?

I prefer CD replay from my Nait CD5i than Apple Lossless files replayed via my Beresford TC-7520 DAC.

But the Beresford holds up extremely well doing everything else and 'everything else' is extremely important (Freeview radio, internet radio, BBC iPlayer, DVD sound, iTunes downloads, Youtube and all my archived material like old radio plays and documentaries etc) given that all that stuff outweighs CD replay by about 3:1 in terms of time spent listening.

The CD5i (now) retails for about £895 and the Beresford £185 so you can see how much I had to spend to get a CD player that sounds noticeably better to me.

I have a lot of respect for the TC-7520, listen using it many hours a day and know that it can sound better with lossless ripped CD files than budget CD players up to about the level of something like a Rega Apollo where the Beresford starts to lose out a bit. (The TC-7520 with my laptop slayed an Arcam CD17 during an Arcam A18/CD17 demo a few months ago!)

All this is probably true of the DacMagic in the right system but I happen not to like it's character. Many do though, so I cannot help you by telling you definitively that one is better than the other.

Yes the opamp upgrade is easy (LM4562NA in my case) and can easily be swapped with no soldering skills necessary.

[Edit. Lots of people including Gerrard updated whilst I typed and he recommended both DACs!! Sorry Gerrard. I take it back.

No worries Chebby. I'm quite open to people trying whatever they like. As you know, I love the DM but I realise the Beresfords must be very good too.

 

[Anonymous]

Well thanks to you all for the response & opinions.

As l've got older musical musical tastes have become extremely diverse.

l've recently got into Spotify & the idea of just diving in to listen is a major motivator to the laptop/dac route.

Thanks again.

 

[manicm]

Brian123:plastic penguin:

DAC's obviously need decent transport to get the best from them.

Not a problem in a PC-based system (which the OP intends on using) - as the data being streamed is bit-perfect

Not through USB its not - although a very good DAC with a USB interface can minimise jitter/artifacts. You're probably talking Benchmark and above.

Not to say USB playback is not good - others here swear by them - I'm just saying technically its output is not bit-perfect.

 

[Anonymous]

manicm:Brian123:plastic penguin:

DAC's obviously need decent transport to get the best from them.

Not a problem in a PC-based system (which the OP intends on using) - as the data being streamed is bit-perfect

Not through USB its not - although a very good DAC with a USB interface can minimise jitter/artifacts. You're probably talking Benchmark and above.

Not to say USB playback is not good - others here swear by them - I'm just saying technically its output is not bit-perfect.

Yes, probably should have worded myself a bit better - what I meant was that the data that gets ripped from the CD to the hard drive is bit-perfect, unlike a CD player which doesn't have that luxury due to having to operate in real-time.

 

[Anonymous]

That's what I used to think, but further research reveals that's not the case. ÿIt's true, though, that they can't retry endlessly as ripping software can.

 

[Craig M.]

well said tarquin, with all this talk about only pc/mac being bit perfect, i was suprised to find out most cdp's are too. check benchmarks site for confirmation.

 

[idc]

manicm:Brian123:plastic penguin:

DAC's obviously need decent transport to get the best from them.

Not a problem in a PC-based system (which the OP intends on using) - as the data being streamed is bit-perfect

Not through USB its not - although a very good DAC with a USB interface can minimise jitter/artifacts. You're probably talking Benchmark and above.

Not to say USB playback is not good - others here swear by them - I'm just saying technically its output is not bit-perfect.

How is USB not bit perfect? I am just asking out of genuine interest as this is the first time I have read such.

 

[chebby]

All I know is that CD sounded better - played as lossless iTunes files from a laptop through a DAC - than any player I had ever owned (or heard on demo) with the two exceptions of a friend's Rega Apollo and my recently acquired Naim CD5i.

Oh yes. That is with USB.

[Edit.] Ok three exceptions. Sorry. I almost forgot the Naim CD5X and that was an order of magnitude better again (partnered with a Naim XS amp).

If I were you I would get the DacMagic or TC-7520 anyway. Your £185 or £230 (or whatever) will be a great little investment and very useful even if you choose to continue playing CDs on a CD player. So many other fun things to use it for other than just lossless ripped CD replay.

Freeview/Cable radio alone makes a DAC worthwhile as a stunningly good alternative to FM radio with more choice and no necessity for a tuner or to install a rooftop FM aerial. (That alone can cost the same as the DAC.)

DACs have far more uses than just an alternative to a CD player, but that one 'application' is all that ever seems to get discussed.