[Wind Chaser]

Two weeks ago I switched out my source, an old Sony NOS with a Cambridge Sonata to transport my CDs to a Beresford 7520 DAC via coax.  The Beresford is said to be in the same league as the OPPO BDP-83SE.  That is the same OPPO unit Lexicon repackaged for $3500.  FWIW Stereophile ranked it (the OPPO) in the same class as the $28K Naim CD555 , the $6.5K McIntosh MCD500 and the $17K Meridian 808i.2. 

Fresh out of the box the old Sony NOS sounded much better; but a few days later the Cambridge Beresford system started coming to life.  After eight days of non-stop play the Beresford really opened up and left the Sony choking in the dust.  At this point I thought it would be interesting to see how the Beresford compared to the Sonata as a stand alone unit. 

The Sonata uses a Wolfson WM8716.  Having owned a number of Cambridge Audio CDPs and a DAC Magic I was expecting reasonable sound quality from the Sonata, but compared to the Beresford it sounded extremely dull and lifeless.  That surprised me but I wasn’t too disappointed because right from the start my intention was to use the Sonata only as a transport.

I haven’t heard the OPPO BDP-83SE, but it was on my short list.   According to the person here who recommended it to me, he said that the Beresford was 98% of his OPPO and every bit as resolving and detailed… although slightly darker.   At $279 delivered, the Beresford is considerably less than the OPPO.

If I were to upgrade from the Beresford I don’t know what too expect or how much better digital can get.  But at this point I doubt the average vinyl rig sounds much better than this.

[gary]

Damn... also has a headphone amp. this thing looks interesting.

[JeffBrown]

The Beresford reviewed in the June 2009 issue of affordable audio!  Check it out! 

Jeff Brown

[Letitroll98]

I like the sound of this unit a lot, but it must be noted it's a Chinese product rebadged by Beresford.  You can get it for less than 1/2 the Beresford markup from MCM, selling a TEC unit, who manufactures it for Beresford.  They sell and I have the TC-7510, an earlier model without the USB connection, and I second the rave review, great sounding after a reasonable break in period.  It uses a Crystal CS8414 receiver and a Burr-Brown PCM1716 96KHz/24 bit converter, a bit long in the tooth, but a great chipset in their day.  I don't think the 7520 differs other than a USB connection, which may make a difference for some.   

[Mariusz]

The Beresford reviewed in the June 2009 issue of affordable audio!  Check it out! 

Jeff Brown

Wouldn't mind taking it for a test drive or an AC tour

[Phil A]

I guess this is their site - http://www.beresford-dac.com/

[Wind Chaser]

It needs at least 10 days or 240 hours to break in.  There was a marked improvement between 200 hours and 240 hours.  I currently have just over 330 hours and I think it's beginning to stabilize.

[Phil A]

and here is the MCM unit - http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/50-7774&green=13236361506&utm_campaign=MyBuys&utm_medium=Recommendation&utm_source=hcat&utm_term=50-7774

[Wind Chaser]

I like the sound of this unit a lot, but it must be noted it's a Chinese product rebadged by Beresford.  You can get it for less than 1/2 the Beresford markup from MCM, selling a TEC unit, who manufactures it for Beresford.

Ouch!  Regardless I'm still very happy with mine.  Either way $279 or $108 + shipping, the unit offers incredible performance and sounds outstanding.  These are great days for audio.

[Phil A]

Ouch!  Regardless I'm still very happy with mine.  Either way $279 or $108 + shipping, the unit offers incredible performance and sounds outstanding.  These are great days for audio.

I concur.  I might order one down the road.  It's hard to go wrong for $108.  I wonder how it would stack up against my old (it's probably around 16 years old - I wasn't the original owner or even the 2nd) Micromega DuoPro DAC I have in the secondary basement system.  It still sounds great and they still command decent dollars on Audiogon when one pops up.  I don't use the basement system tons (most often for football games during the day on weekends) and the DAC still sounds good so I have not sold it.

[Wind Chaser]

I concur.  I might order one down the road.

FWIW, I've read a few reports from people who preferred the Beresford to the Benchmark DAC1.

[mjosef]

FWIW the wall-wart that ships with the MCM 7510 is a POS...the first step after purchasing the DAC is to find a better power source. Or just power it with a battery(12-14VDC).
Its a sweet sounding DAC and there are a few mods out there to take it up a notch or two.

[MLS]

I currently have the Maverick D1 (upgraded OP amps and JAN 5670 tube IIRC) which I bought for my computer system for my office rig but now it is connected to my SB Touch in my main rig replacing my Jolida CD player.  I have been looking for a new DAC so I could put the Maverick back in my office rig. 

How would you describe the sound of the Beresford?

I have been considering the Music Hall 25.2 to keep a tube in the mix and/or the Cambridge DAC Magic.

Scott

[Doublej]

I am not seeing a USB input on the MCM version. Did I miss it or does it not have one?

[Wind Chaser]

Beresford has a 15 day money back satisfaction guarantee.  It needs at least 10 days of constant play to burn in.  Mine has been running non stop for the past 15 days.  I would describe the sound this way... very clean and clear...  very deep and very wide...  combined with my new ultra amp, it sounds mighty fine indeed.  But it really needs to burn in.  Go to the Beresford website and read the review page for more info. 

Apparently the MCM doesn't have USB but from what I've read, according to that have tried the USB with Beresford, it doesn't let you hear the full potential of the DAC.  The coax connection yields the best results.

[Letitroll98]

I am not seeing a USB input on the MCM version. Did I miss it or does it not have one?

You are correct, I'm pretty sure I noted this in my post.  Beresford originally came out with the 7510, he didn't even change the model number when he rebadged it.  The 7520 adds USB, which does make a difference for some users.  I haven't found an outlet selling the newer model, but I haven't looked all that hard either.

Yes mjosef, there's a giant network in mods for this unit, mostly beginning with the power supply as you noted.  The analog output stage is next in line.  I think about a dozen sites have threads going on it.

And yes to Wind Chaser, from reports anything but the coax connection is suppose to suck, although I have only used the coax input so couldn't comment.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Has any one modded the op amps in the MCM version?

[denjo]

.. according to that have tried the USB with Beresford, it doesn't let you hear the full potential of the DAC.  The coax connection yields the best results.

Wind Chaser: there seems to be a shift towards USB being the better option. When properly implemented, USB should have the edge. I recently decommissioned by ageing SB3 and used my computer via source into a USB DAC instead. It sounded very, very good and I would venture to say, better than via the SB3 source. Anyhow, if your DAC has a USB input I would urge you to try it and hear for yourself if it sounds better.

[Wind Chaser]

Wind Chaser: there seems to be a shift towards USB being the better option. When properly implemented, USB should have the edge.

Not with this DAC.  From everything I've read going through the USB port isn't the strength of the Beresford.  It's there, but for whatever reason it doesn't sound as good as a coax on this particular unit.

[dave_c]

Another difference between the 7510 and 7520 is that the 7520 has socketed OpAmps which allows for some rolling of different OpAmps.  The 7510 uses and SMD opamp which makes it much more difficult to roll your own.