Music

Music

• Source:  Auzentech Forte 7.1
• Headphones: Sennheiser HD 595
• Amp: T-City Gizmo Class D
• Speakers: AV123 ELE525M
• Cables:
• S/Pdif Cable: Audio Quest VDM-Xi
• Spkr Cables: Ultra Link Matrix 2

 We usually try and audition many types of music to see how the signature produces various genres of music. Although the listed test tracks are below we also used the unit in day to day tasks to get a better idea of the signature this DAC produces.

NickleBack: Silver Side Up

Tracks: This is how your Remind me, Too Bad
This is how you remind me: this track while being guitar driven sounded very balanced and punchy on the TC-7520.  The 7520 produced an excellent soundstage for our monitors being both wide and somewhat deep. Instrument separation is excellent on this DAC allowing an easy to visualize soundstage.  No wash out or mushing to be heard.  The test unit produced excellent imaging and musicality.  

Too bad: the TC7520 does an excellent job of producing the low bass while still offering clear midrange and articulate highs.  Mids and trebles are very musical without being harsh or too bright.  The guitars have character without producing just a washed out distortion sound. The DAC produced an excellent layered sound and we were surprised at the multitude of subtle nuances heard in both tracks.

Both songs sound very balanced on the TC-7520 keeping the bass tight and strong while keeping it musical.

Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings

Tracks: Crossroad Blues, Hellhound on My trail.
These are re-mastered tracks and are rough in some places; they offer noise and other anomalies making them great test tracks.

Crossroad Blues: Although there is a noticeable noise in this track, the 7520 produced excellent timbre and tonality allowing Roberts guitar and voice to cut through.  Being just the vocal and guitar there are many subtle aspects that come through during testing that can be washed out on lesser sources.

Hellhound on my Trail: The TC 7520 allows a great deal of the emotion to come through in this track. This song offered good balance between the guitar and vocals and there are many subtle aspects which come through great on the test headphones.  The DAC offered some great toe-tap factor getting your foot and head bobbing while listening.

J.S BACH: The Best of J.S Bach

Tracks: Violin Concerto in A minor, Toccata and Fugue in D minor
Violin Concerto in A minor: This piece has some amazing violin and the TC-7520 does an excellent job of reproducing the timbre and subtle aspects without making it sound too gritty or harsh in the higher ranges.

Many audiophiles consider classical tracks to be the ultimate test for a playback system as they encompass every aspect you would want to test.

The DAC again produces its wide soundstage, allowing you to easily pinpoint the different instruments.  The piece becomes quite busy in many places and there is no washout or smearing you can still hear every instrument.

Toccata and Fugue in D minor: This track still remains a favorite test track, so busy and layered having multiple aspects.

We will admit we figured this would washout on the TC-7520 but No!  The 7520 produced everything in great style from the highs right down to the lowest bass. When auditioning this track using our Class D and monitors, the TC-7520 produced excellent bass response which sounds very controlled and articulate.  We heard a layered presentation with a wide soundstage.

We added some power to this track for testing, using the variable line output and turning the volume up.  The higher ranges of volume control can produce distortion but the TC-7520 was clear in the higher volume ranges.