The Seventy Nine Dollar DAC

[Sean Sullivan]

Hmm, tried the model number and nothing came up, and tried the source code and a $100 cable went into my cart.

[Chris Nighman]

Try 50-7774 thumbsup

[Jimbo]

Just got the box yesterday, and hooked it into the hifi. I'm using it for all my digital sources (CD, Satellite/XM, Airport).

Cool little unit, and sounds much nicer (stock) than the onboard conversion of the digital players/receivers.

I'm going to do the National opamp swap for kicks.

Jim, what audio market segment does the Burrbrown converter hit? All the proaudio stuff seems hooked on Cirrus and AKM.

Thanks for the headzup! thumbsup

[BOWIE]

How does the sound quality compare to typical pro-audio DAC's? Can you put it on the same level as as particular unit out there?

[Jimbo]

I'll do an A/B against my Metric Halo converters and post what I find.

[shaneoconnor]

i think i will buy this for my new ITB mix room.

there is no sync for my other converters, but if its just for monitoring, i can't imagine that would be a huge deal.... right?

[Jimbo]

This box is also known as the Beresford TC-7510. It seems to have made a bit of a splash in the audiophile world last year. However, the unit is no longer for sale under its Beresford brand.

You can find reviews of it. One guy even likes it more than his Benchmark DAC Beresford TC-7510 DAC - New kid on the block

Here's one that's a little more realistic [Review] Beresford TC-7510 MkII - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted by shaneoconnor

i think i will buy this for my new ITB mix room.

there is no sync for my other converters, but if its just for monitoring, i can't imagine that would be a huge deal.... right?

You don't need to sync the DAC when monitoring.

[macc]

This looks pretty good - does anyone know if it is available in the UK? I don't havea credit card and that company won't take paypal :(

[Jimbo]

BTW, the discount code still applies -- I just checked the MCM website.

[iomegaman]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

BTW, the discount code still applies -- I just checked the MCM website.

Thanks Jimbo, did you ever compare it to the metric halo?

I ordered the National chips as well coming on a slow boat from China...

What other mods would improve this? Recommend a different headphone chip?

thanxz

[Jimbo]

I still haven't compared it to the MH...sorry.

It's pretty far down on my list of things to do, especially since I'm not using it for recording work. For the Hi-Fi, though, it's been very, very good.

I don't believe there are any drop-in, replacement headphone amps available. I haven't, yet, performed the 4558 replacement, but I plan to soon.

[iomegaman]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I still haven't compared it to the MH...sorry.

It's pretty far down on my list of things to do, especially since I'm not using it for recording work. For the Hi-Fi, though, it's been very, very good.

I don't believe there are any drop-in, replacement headphone amps available. I haven't, yet, performed the 4558 replacement, but I plan to soon.

Well if you need a chip let me know, National is sending me 2 and I'll be glad to snaill mail ya one...once it gets here that is...just pm if you need it.

[Karloff70]

Originally Posted by Jim Williams

I'm lifting up the National LME49722 and putting in a couple of new ADA4898-1's on a Brown Dog so-8 dual to so-8 single adaptor. These are very good sounding opamps, new and very good specs. Report coming...

I've not found a pin compatible replacement for the 386 heaphone amp chips.
I also replaced those LED's with some Kingbrite blue, blue/green, red and green high output LED's. It lights up a dark room in cool colors.

All caps were changed to large value Panasonic FM types.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

Sounds interesting indeed....how would you rank this puppy next to a fireface AD? Meaning with Nationals or ADA chips......very curious if this might be a cheap as chips upgrade to my mix listening.....?

[shaneoconnor]

ok so i am sold, i will be getting one of these.

i still needa monitor switch and a mono fold down. how hard would it be to build a passive box that does that?

[theblue1]

Originally Posted by Jim Williams

I found a nice budget converter. It's the model 50-7774 from MCM electronics.

[...]

A bargain recommendation from Jim Williams! A nice surprise. I suspect a lot of us are looking to stretch our pennies, these days.

Thanks, Jim!

[manning1]

nice.
now if only one could get a nice A to D for recording to the daw,
at such a price..lol.

[Snatchman]

Could I bother one of you knowledgeable techs to put one of these DAC together for me?... ( but with AES conectors..)....eh

[Jaymz]

hmmmmmm.

I'm tempted to get one just to use in conjunction with my M-Audio Transit. It would mean I could go,

Laptop ---USB---> M-Audio Transit ---Optical---> 50-7774 ---1/8 Inch---> Littledot MKI headphone amp ---1/8 Inch---> DT880's

If anyone thinks that's a bad decision please say so. Would it be worth the improvement of D/A conversion from just using the Transit?

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted by Jaymz

hmmmmmm.

I'm tempted to get one just to use in conjunction with my M-Audio Transit. It would mean I could go,

Laptop ---USB---> M-Audio Transit ---Optical---> 50-7774 ---1/4 Inch---> Littledot MKI headphone amp ---1/4 Inch---> DT880's

If anyone thinks that's a bad decision please say so. Would it be worth the improvement of D/A conversion from just using the Transit?

Depending on your laptop you might be able to skip the Transit. Macs have optical out on the 1/8" mini jack -- you need an adapter. I don't know about Dell and other makes.

[Jaymz]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

Depending on your laptop you might be able to skip the Transit. Macs have optical out on the 1/8" mini jack -- you need an adapter. I don't know about Dell and other makes.

My current laptop has no optical out. I don't mind passing it through the Transit though, won't affect the sound quality I'd assume since it's all digital until it hits the 50-7774 DAC.

[Tibbon]

Sounds interesting. I'm willing to give one a shot. Wonder how it compares to a DAC-1 or even a Mackie 400f...?

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted by iomegaman

Well if you need a chip let me know, National is sending me 2 and I'll be glad to snaill mail ya one...once it gets here that is...just pm if you need it.

Thanks Omega Man!

That's a nice offer, and I'll let you know...

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted by Jim Williams

I installed the Analog Devices ADA4898-1 on a Brown Dog 031101A header and put it in.

Jim, are you using two AD chips on that BD adapter, or is the adapter just acting as a harness (for pinout compatibility) between the ADA4898 and the main board?

Thanks!

[iomegaman]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

Are you using two AD chips on that BD adapter, or does the adapter just acting as a harness (for pinout compatibility) between the ADA4898 and the main board?

Thanks!

I'm sorta following Mr. Williams here I ordered the browndog and AD parts today...still I wish there was good replacement for the headphone amp...I'll dig around myself...but I haven't gotten my DAC yet so I'm shooting in the dark til I see it.

[Jim Williams]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

Jim, are you using two AD chips on that BD adapter, or is the adapter just acting as a harness (for pinout compatibility) between the ADA4898 and the main board?

Thanks!

The 2 ADA4898-1 chips are soldered to the adaptor, then it's soldered down onto the pcb. It's a vertical mount adaptor, very clever. It fits well but I removed the tall 470 uf caps to make some soldering room for it. It also has pins for 8 pin dips on it as well.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

[jsaliba]

This may be a somewhat naive question, but would this $79 DAC be a significant improvement to monitoring through the built in converters on a DIGI 001?

[lukejs]

Supply and demand for ya..... did all you guys go out and buy this, or what ?

Jim, how much would you charge me to mod this like yours ? ( except for the LEDS and cosmetic stuff) Please pm if interested..

[lukejs]

would the fact that the outputs are -10 dBV and not pro level +4 dBV cause problems for me in my studio ? Would I have to buy an unbalanced to balanced gizmo and bring the levels up to +4 ? how do you incorporate a product like this into a pro studio ? If used for mastering, would you send the output through a preamp ?