Beresford DAC

[Labarum]

Bought one of those boxes. Amazing transformation!

 

[wonko]

Hi Labarum,
I've read a bit about these on the audio forums - what are you comparing it to / using it with?
BRs

 

[overtime]

Just put mine in and the improvement is so profound that even the mrs commented

 

[overtime]

real-time posting

 

[overtime]

Wonko,
I only put mine in because I blew the tweeters out of my hi fi speakers. I was connecting analogue out on the sound card direct to the amp and a half-pulled lead (screech) blew the sodding things. The DAC was to stop it happening again.

Sound quality is loads better than Audigy 2 analogue output to hi fi. I can tell you more about the spec of my hi fi if you want

ps my sig is out of date!

 

[Labarum]

Hi Labarum,
I've read a bit about these on the audio forums - what are you comparing it to / using it with?
BRs

The Beresford is optically linked to a Virgin Media box and either a Shuttle PC or a MacBook Pro (either works as well)

It plays into a Quad 77 Amplifier driving a pair of Quart 980s Loudspeakers - large German tower speakers that, though ageing, will compete with the best.

The Beresford beats the analogue output from the Virgin Media box by a very large margin (expected.)

The Beresford beats the Quad 77 CD player by a very significant margin when playing FLAC files of the same CDs. How it would measure up against the latest Quad 99 CD player I cannot say.

The Beresford beats an Audigy (24/96) sound card by a significant margin when playing FLAC files ripped from CDs.


When playing

http://www.gimell.com/recording-Allegri-Miserere-Palestrina-Missa-Papae-Marcelli.aspx

Studio Master Pro 24bit/96k FLAC

It is extremely clear, but I don't hear any dramatic improvement over CD quality. The insertion of the Beresford DAC makes a much bigger difference. I am looking for a 24/96 Classical Piano recording to compare.

 

[wonko]

Thanks for the replies. And I feel your pain overtime...

I'm wondering if it would be a worthwhile improvement over the internal DAC in a Squeezebox 3 playing mostly flac files into an aging but decent setup of homebrew pre-amp, Rotel RB991 power amps, B&W 603s2 and REL storm 3 sub... The SB3 sounds very good - not as good to my ears as my CD but the convenience wins every time.

At circa £120 (?) it might be worth a punt. Alternatively there is the DEQ2496 that can do room correction...

 

[Labarum]

I have read that the Beresford improves the Squeezebox.

 

[overtime]

My only disappointment with the Beresford is that it is so diminutive; it's only about the size of an old VHS cassette. Not sure where to put it as it is not hi fi size.