When compared to the $345 HRT Music Streamer II+, the TC-7520 offers slightly less refinement and low end body, and although it’s quite fine on its own. I’m not sure if the difference is caused by the PCM1716, 24/96 D/A chip, or the circuit design. The stock PCM1716 which is quite a down-spec from the typical 24/192 chips used on similarly priced products like the WM8740 (Cambridge DacMagic), or the PCM1794 on the HRT Music Streamer II+ Of course the selling point with the TC-7520 is that it offers far more connectivity than the HRT Music Streamer for a lower price point, and should the need to upgrade arise, the Beresford can be upgraded in a step-by-step fashion to allow your wallet to recover.
$279 stock – NE5532 opamps, PCM1716E 8x oversampling DAC chip.
$349 – upgrade to LM4562 opamps.
+$75 for upgrading to WM8716 DAC chip
+$125 for THS4032 opamps
+$150 for Burson discrete opamps to either the line stage or head-amp section
+275 for Burson discrete on both line stage and head-amp section.
As seen on the pricing list, you can upgrade to the the LM4562 opamps and roughly fall at the same price point as the HRT Music Streamer II+.
The headphone amplifier is quite fine to compliment the DAC. With the HE5LE, the amp cannot sustain the needed current that the hungry orthodynamic driver demands on high volumes, but it’s quite okay for medium to low level listening. Anyway hungry headphones such as the HE5LE really require a beefy amplifier and so the Beresford shouldn’t be blamed for distorting when paired with the HE5LE. The sound is quite clean, having a direct access to the signal from the DAC unit, and like most other built in amplifier on desktop DACs, the amp is quite fine to handle some IEMs and easy to drive headphones.
The TC-7520 represents a fairly unique combination of features at an equally unique price point. Most of the recent DACs I’ve reviewed are either on the $300+ or the $100+ price bracket. The TC-7520, is very attractive for $279, and its versatility in having both S/PDIF and USB inputs (not available on the HRT MS2+), and a built in headphone amplifier (not available on the Cambridge Audio DacMagic).
Gears used for review:
Headphone: Hifiman HE5LE
Amplifier: Matrix M-Stage
DAC: Beresford TC-7520, HRT Music Streamer II+
Transport: Acer Aspire One laptop, Onkyo ND-S1 Ipod Transport
Professor00179
hmm… looks good. Very nice and objective review (if you could ever say 'objective' about some review). The DAC itself seems to be very good unit, but those 'upgrades' are not. op amp change for that high amount of money is beyond my limits of acceptance, hehe. Also the size is rather big. Definitely not for me.
Mike
Thanks Professor.
Professor00179
BTW: Did you have any experience with Styleaudio Ruby2? Seems to be priced closely to the Dr. DAC2 DX and Matrix Mini-i though I can not find many reviews and opinions.
Mike
Nope, Professor. Haven't tried the Ruby2. Last time I checked with Styleaudio, they haven't replied to their emails for a while.
Micro
Those op-amps prices are way out there buddy, considering better can be had for less… even free.
Also in your upgrade path are there any specific reason why you chose WM8716 over WM8741, when WM8741 is a superior DAC chip used in Gamma 2 and can be had for a mere 13 bucks at Mouser.
Mike
Hi Micro, I'm merely listing the upgrades as listed by Beresford. 🙂
Professor00179
Thanks.
Jim
The OpAmps seem a bit high, but on the other hand that includes them installing all of the upgrades with warranty included. The top upgrade is called the Caiman model and has some very high praise for it’s sound quality. I have tried the Music Streamer 2 and although sound quality was great, I did not find the additional cost to be worth the very slight increase if any, compared to my intergrated soundcard. I hear all the musical detail and quality that I could ever want directly from my P.C. Of course the digital amps I’m using to feed my passive speakers help with this a great deal, giving me no need for another DAC! Still I can easily see how the Music Streamers would be and attractive option for someone who can use one. With it’s sound quality, ease of use and low cost, it’s a no brainer!
Mike
Hi Jim, I'm surprised that you find the MS2 to be a "very slight increase if any, compared to my intergrated soundcard." Otherwise, thanks for writing!
Tim
Mike, how would you describe the quality of the Bresford built in headphone amp?
Was considering pulling the trigger on either the matrix mini-i or MS2/m-stage when i came across your review. I will be using this setup to drive a pair of grado 225i headphones. I guess I'm looking for something a bit warm, laid back with larger sound stage to balance out the 225i. It sounds like I'm trying to change the original sound of the Grados but I really love it. Just needs some refinement to it.
Since you've reviewed all 3 was wondering if you could help me with part of the decision making process…
Thanks for all the great reviews. Tons of great information here!
Mike
Hi Tim,
I would rather recommend the headphone outs out of the Dr. DAC2 DX or the Matrix Mini-i. The Beresford's headphone out is a bit weak in my experience.
The Dr. DAC2 DX even comes with op-amp rolling capability, so that should be a lot of fun. Unlike the Mini-i and the Beresford, the opamp on the Dr. DAC2 DX is installed in a socket. So you can buy some op-amps on ebay, open the casing, and replace it yourself.
Here is a link to the review:
http://www.headfonia.com/dr-dac2-dx/
.Sup
Interesting that I also have both the Aspire one and Onkyo dock you used for this test, Mike. One thing I noticed when connecting a DAC to the dock is its more neutral sounding with better and tighter bass while Aspire One with Win7 was really bright (much more neutral with win XP but still below Onkyo when it comes to neutrality).
Mike
.Sup, interesting. I use the linux version of the acer, and I've upgraded the stock Linpus distribution to Ubuntu netbook version. With the ALPA player, the fidelity is better than the Onkyo Dock. Definitely not bright, and on the contrary I'm getting more weight on the music. My only problem is reliability. The ALPA player is not very stable, and sometimes the data transfer has hiccups.
.Sup
Interesting for me as well. Are you using any usb>spdif converter Mike?
Mike
No such thing for me. The last one I bought, the Musiland, doesn't work with my Mac. 🙁
zsero
If you still have the Audinst around, it’s one of the best USB -> SPDIF adapters. It’s just a bonus function, but it has it. It has the same chip as the $70 Teralink box.
Mike
Thanks for the info, zsero.
Erminio Ottone
I have a Beresford 7520, but I'm not able to use it with my iPhone. Do I need an iPhone docking station and then I can connect the docking station to the Beresford 7520 ???
Svertel
Any thoughts on how this stacks up against Burson HA160D or other higher-end units?
Anonymous
The Beresford TC-7520 is generally a good DAC. But there are just other
better offerings for similar price.
Compared to the HA-160D, each DAC has its own plus and minuses, because
the sound signature is different. Honestly I don’t remember how the
Beresford sounds anymore.
Camote
what are the better offerings out there?
Anonymous
Try the HRT MS2+
http://www.headfonia.com/hrt-music-streamer-ii-2496-usb-dac/
Pavel
What DAC is Best for SoundQuality (not headphone out), Matrix Mini-i, Beresford TC-7520 or Beresford Caiman?
Thank you Mike for your reviews 🙂
Anonymous
The Matrix Mini and the Beresford 7520 are about the same, and I’ve never auditioned the caimans so I cant say.
Anonymous
Mike-
I have an O2 amp. How do I ensure that when I use this dac, that the O2 is being used and not the built in amp in the beresford?
Thanks for the review,
Ian
Mike
Hook up the O2 to the RCA analog out on the back. That should ensure you’re using the O2’s amp.