Beresford TC-7520 DAC amplifier review - Controls

According to Beresford, the volume control for the line output also doubles as a variable gain control when using the headphone output.  Given this features, the unit can drive many different types of headphones from generic types to high end, high impedance versions.

We have nice clean lines and a modern look that will integrate with basically any PC system or home audio system.  The black and gold color scheme looks rather slick and when this unit is powered up we see bright blue LED's.  Let's take a closer look at the controls:

Front Controls

At first glance a very simple layout, offering simple power switch and selector switches for the rear digital inputs. We have selection for:

• 1. Coaxial S/Pdif input 1
• 2. Coaxial S/Pdif input 2
• 3. Optical S/Pdif input
• 4. USB input

Headphone Amplifier

The headphone amplifier on the TC-7520 can drive headphones with impedances from 24 Ù to 600 Ù making it very flexible in driving different types of cans from teh generic to the high end offerings. 

 The volume control for the variable line output actually doubles as a gain adjustment for different type of headphones. According to design information, the amp includes a current limiting circuit that protects against short circuit conditions.  The headphones amplifier also has its own swappable opamp which we will discuss later in the review.