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monkfish
01-04-2011, 09:09
Hi
Anyone using a Caiman as pre with valve power amp or mono's?.
At present I'm using a Caiman (not as pre) into a Yaqin MS-6V6, sounds great into Infinity reference 60's but I suspect more power would be worthwhile.
Also if there are any MS-6V6 owners out there I'm looking for info regarding changing valves and biasing, I have read that the MS-6V6 can be run as a pre or power but have no idea how to achieve this,
Regards
Jim

monkfish
11-05-2011, 07:20
Hi
Thought I would give this a bump in case anyone missed it first time round, I would be grateful for any help on the subject.
Regards
Jim

Yoga
11-05-2011, 08:32
Pretty sure Gazman is using a Gatored Caiman with Bantam mono's. Or possibly a Mini-T :¬)

Gazjam
11-05-2011, 09:48
Pretty sure Gazman is using a Gatored Caiman with Bantam mono's. Or possibly a Mini-T :¬)

Not yet...but I will be. :)

Currently using my Gator'd Caiman with a "loaner" T-Amp wired up with spit and chewing gum, but sounding pretty great.
Bantam Mono's next purchase to upgrade the amp side of things.

Not used the Caiman as a pre, but others have and I've read on here and elsewhere that you'd need to spend serious SERIOUS money to comfortably better it as a preamp.
No reason why it wont work as well with valves, but I'm sure others will pitch up with their direct experience.

Gaz.

Stratmangler
11-05-2011, 10:12
Not yet...but I will be. :)

Currently using my Gator'd Caiman with a "loaner" T-Amp wired up with spit and chewing gum, but sounding pretty great.
Bantam Mono's next purchase to upgrade the amp side of things.

Not used the Caiman as a pre, but others have and I've read on here and elsewhere that you'd need to spend serious SERIOUS money to comfortably better it as a preamp.
No reason why it wont work as well with valves, but I'm sure others will pitch up with their direct experience.

Gaz.

Not necessarily the case.
I was pretty happy using the Caiman as a pre in my setup.
My amplifier can be split into two section, pre and power, so I'd just split up the two sections and plugged the Caiman directly into the power amp.

When I change configurations around I'll often revisit a previous setup just to see whether what I'm hearing actually is an improvement.

I recently went back to some interconnects I'd previously used, and also tried the Caiman with fixed output back into the line in on the preamp.
The improvements with each reversion were not subtle.

The amplifier ?
A lowly NAD C320BEE.

slate
11-05-2011, 10:20
I am using my Caiman as a pre-amp; saw no reason to add yet another link in the soundchain, so it replaced my old Carver pre-amp.
Also connected my TV and Toshiba to the Caiman

Still no valves, but why not

Gazjam
11-05-2011, 11:36
Not necessarily the case.
I was pretty happy using the Caiman as a pre in my setup.
My amplifier can be split into two section, pre and power, so I'd just split up the two sections and plugged the Caiman directly into the power amp.

When I change configurations around I'll often revisit a previous setup just to see whether what I'm hearing actually is an improvement.

I recently went back to some interconnects I'd previously used, and also tried the Caiman with fixed output back into the line in on the preamp.
The improvements with each reversion were not subtle.

The amplifier ?
A lowly NAD C320BEE.

Expectation Bias Chris? ;)

Good call to always go back and check though....
When you tried the Caiman fixed into the Line in on the Nad, was it being used as an integrated or was there a poweramp somewhere?
ta.

Stratmangler
11-05-2011, 11:58
Expectation Bias Chris? ;)

Good call to always go back and check though....
When you tried the Caiman fixed into the Line in on the Nad, was it being used as an integrated or was there a poweramp somewhere?
ta.

Using the Caiman as a preamp brought a slightly different take on things, one that I initially found seductive.

Retracing my steps brought life, drive and vitality back to the sound.
The NAD is now back to it's original integrated configuration :)

Jonboy
11-05-2011, 17:37
I have used my caiman as a pre amp on a valve amps just to try, it worked ok but found the volume pot can be bettered, you still need something to control the output volume be it a pre amp or a cd player with its own output volume control, perhaps a simple passive pre amp in line

monkfish
12-05-2011, 08:34
Hi
Thanks for your replies guys, I will try my Caiman with valves when I can blag some for a demo. In the mean time I think I will Gatorize the Caiman and add a better power supply.
Regards
Jim