Caiman+Gator v Benchmark DAC1 - initial impressions

[worrasf]

The Benchmark DAC1 is a stunning DAC for the money – some would say a true giant killer
(http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/benchmark/dac1.html)
I have been using one with my Cyrus CD Xt se/PsXR for a goodly while and have been/continue to be amazed by it’s clarity, detail and bass control.

I have also been a great fan of the Beresord DAC’s (see my review http://www.avreview.co.uk/review/reviewProductReviews/mps/rpn/9465/prod/Beresford-TC-7510-audio-DAC/rcn/52/rgn/6/v/1/sp/#1361)

– at the price point surely nothing to compare. The Caiman is a great improvement in all areas over the earlier TC-7510 IMHO and with the upgraded PSU is also a giant killer. But, to my ears lagged behind the Benchmark DAC1 in terms of detail and overall musicality and so I have been using it with my Wadia 170i (shortly to return from Audiocom having had a full work over and TeddyDock PSU) and my DVD player.

Enter the GATOR board for the Caiman and the game has changed:)

Stan sent me a GATOR a few days ago and even I had no problems swapping it in in 15 mins. Straight from cold I could tell this was a significant upgrade to the standard Caiman in terms of detail and dynamics. After 3 or 4 hours of playing/warming up it just got better in every way. The sound stage blooms and has better 3D presentation, PRaT is spot on (to my tastes) and I am definitely hearing more layers/detail. I now find myself preferring the Caiman+Gator to the Benchmark. I would hesitate to say one is “better” than the other but while accepting it’s all pretty subjective the Caiman+Gator has (nearly) all the qualities of the Benchmark but it “sounds more like vinyl” whereas the Benchmark has the “digital” sound. I guess what I mean is the music is fuller/warmer – not as “in your face” but again it’s very subjective.

The only area to my ears that the Benchmark wins over is in bass extension. Deep piano chords (Einaudi’s Nightbook is a good example especially after seeing a live performance to compare) the Benchmark goes lower and reproduces deep harmonics better than the Caiman+Gator. However, I understand from a post by Stan that the addition of a couple of capacitors to the Gator board will take the bass down lower.

At the end of the day in my system there is precious little to choose between the 2 DAC’s and I find myself preferring the Caiman+Gator over the Benchmark. The only significant difference is the price – by my calculations even with upgraded PSU you can buy 3 Caiman+Gators for every Benchmark DAC1 so if that’s not good value for money I don’t know what is.

For what it’s worth I am using digital coax cables supplied by Mike Homar which are the best I have heard and an absolute steal at the price he charges.

Steve

[HighFidelityGuy]

Very interesting, thanks Steve. :)
Have you done any other mods to your Caiman or is it stock other than the Gator board?

[worrasf]

Thanks Dave,
No - stock Gator board - used the opamp from the original pcb although just purchased an AD826 from Stan as I'm likely to use the headphones on the DAC more now.

Having chatted with Stan my comments about it being a bit "bass light" compared to the Benchmark are almost certainly due to it still being new and needing some burn-in time.

Had a cheeky thought though - having removed the "void if warranty removed" sticker on one of the case screws I suppose my warranty has been Gatored :doh:

Regards
Steve

[HighFidelityGuy]

I Steve, I meant have you done any other mods to your Caiman, not the Gator. :)
I'm guessing that you haven't based on your comment about the waranty void sticker. If that's the case I bet a fully modded Caiman + Gator + linear PSU would probably blow the Benchmark out of the water. :eyebrows:

Hopefully the Gator will improve in the bass department as it burns in as Stan has suggensted. :)

[worrasf]

Ah I see. :doh:
No, not done anything to the Caiman other than the Gator. I'm a great believer in high quality PSU's and have gone down that road with all the other kit (Origin Live, TimeStep, PSxR and latterly a TeddyDock for the Wadia 170i) - I've only got Stan's upgraded PSU which I presume is a switch mode unit - what is curent thinking on the "best" linear PSU for the Caiman?

Steve

[Covenant]

The other Caimen mods that Dave referred to are well worth considering. I have had many of the caps in mine replaced and fitted the Murata regulators. A 15v linear supply with Super Teddy regulator completes the picture.
It does sound rather good ATM.
The only thing thats worrying me is if Stans new dac will be compatible with my PSU. In other words, I would like Stan to make it 15v as standard!

[HighFidelityGuy]

Ah I see. :doh:
No, not done anything to the Caiman other than the Gator. I'm a great believer in high quality PSU's and have gone down that road with all the other kit (Origin Live, TimeStep, PSxR and latterly a TeddyDock for the Wadia 170i) - I've only got Stan's upgraded PSU which I presume is a switch mode unit - what is curent thinking on the "best" linear PSU for the Caiman?

Steve

I think the SuperTeddyReg based supplies have come out as some of the best but I'm not sure if anyone has compared one of them against something like a Paul Hynes. Both Paul and Teddy make exceptionally good supplies but even something like a Maplin linear supply will probably provide better results than the standard smps. Saying that, upgrading the regulators to Murata or NewClassD versions makes a big difference when paired with a linear supply. The two mods just seem to compliment each other. I'd say the regs and linear supply will provide quite a big improvement. The other mods such as caps around the DAC chip usually produce a much smaller improvement.

Tirna Electronics offer the mods at reasonable prices if you don't fancy it yourself.

I can't wait to get my Gator fitted, I've just had too many other things on recently. My Caiman has the full set of mods done, including SupperTeddyReg supply, so Gator should push everything to the next level. Unfortunately when I did the passive mod I removed the pin headers that the Gator board sits in to make more space for big poly caps. Hence the reason I've not just dropped the Gator in. It'll take a bit more work in my case. :doh:

I really like the sound I'm getting at the moment with the passive mod in place but I am missing a little punch and drive that the Gator should fill in with it's active circuitry. :eyebrows:

[worrasf]

The other Caimen mods that Dave referred to are well worth considering. I have had many of the caps in mine replaced and fitted the Murata regulators. A 15v linear supply with Super Teddy regulator completes the picture.
It does sound rather good ATM.
The only thing thats worrying me is if Stans new dac will be compatible with my PSU. In other words, I would like Stan to make it 15v as standard!

Revealing my thickness to one and all :eyebrows: what's the nominal voltage of the Caiman? I ask because it may be that one of the Teddy PSU's will fiit the bill - I'm awaiting Mark Bartlett at Audiocom to return my Wadia 170i after a full upgrade and a TeddyDock PSU and so if one of the other Teddy PSU's is the right voltage I might get one at the same time.

Steve

[Reid Malenfant]

15V DC input ;)

There are two internal regulators, one is 12V DC & the other 5V DC :)

[worrasf]

Thank you

[magiccarpetride]

The Benchmark DAC1 is a stunning DAC for the money – some would say a true giant killer
(http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/benchmark/dac1.html)
I have been using one with my Cyrus CD Xt se/PsXR for a goodly while and have been/continue to be amazed by it’s clarity, detail and bass control.

I have also been a great fan of the Beresord DAC’s (see my review http://www.avreview.co.uk/review/reviewProductReviews/mps/rpn/9465/prod/Beresford-TC-7510-audio-DAC/rcn/52/rgn/6/v/1/sp/#1361)

– at the price point surely nothing to compare. The Caiman is a great improvement in all areas over the earlier TC-7510 IMHO and with the upgraded PSU is also a giant killer. But, to my ears lagged behind the Benchmark DAC1 in terms of detail and overall musicality and so I have been using it with my Wadia 170i (shortly to return from Audiocom having had a full work over and TeddyDock PSU) and my DVD player.

Enter the GATOR board for the Caiman and the game has changed:)

Stan sent me a GATOR a few days ago and even I had no problems swapping it in in 15 mins. Straight from cold I could tell this was a significant upgrade to the standard Caiman in terms of detail and dynamics. After 3 or 4 hours of playing/warming up it just got better in every way. The sound stage blooms and has better 3D presentation, PRaT is spot on (to my tastes) and I am definitely hearing more layers/detail. I now find myself preferring the Caiman+Gator to the Benchmark. I would hesitate to say one is “better” than the other but while accepting it’s all pretty subjective the Caiman+Gator has (nearly) all the qualities of the Benchmark but it “sounds more like vinyl” whereas the Benchmark has the “digital” sound. I guess what I mean is the music is fuller/warmer – not as “in your face” but again it’s very subjective.

The only area to my ears that the Benchmark wins over is in bass extension. Deep piano chords (Einaudi’s Nightbook is a good example especially after seeing a live performance to compare) the Benchmark goes lower and reproduces deep harmonics better than the Caiman+Gator. However, I understand from a post by Stan that the addition of a couple of capacitors to the Gator board will take the bass down lower.

At the end of the day in my system there is precious little to choose between the 2 DAC’s and I find myself preferring the Caiman+Gator over the Benchmark. The only significant difference is the price – by my calculations even with upgraded PSU you can buy 3 Caiman+Gators for every Benchmark DAC1 so if that’s not good value for money I don’t know what is.

For what it’s worth I am using digital coax cables supplied by Mike Homar which are the best I have heard and an absolute steal at the price he charges.

Steve

Hi Steve, I read your comparative review with interest, because I too am a big fan of Gatorized Caiman and have found out that it is capable of proudly standing shoulder-to-shoulder with many of its older, more expensive brethren.

My question regarding your Caiman: how much has it been in use before you put the Gator board in?

The reason I ask is because I found out that Caiman does need a lot, and I mean a lot of burn-in time before it can reveal its true capabilities. Especially in the area of deep bass reproduction. I was keeping my Caiman on a constant burn-in for weeks on end, and was detecting continual improvements with each passing week. In my experience, this DAC goes through several stages of noticeable improvements, especially after hitting a few remarkable milestones. The first milestone I've noticed was at about three days of constant burn-in -- that was the first moment when I heard the DAC blossom and open up.

Following that, after a week or so of constant burn-in, the DAC took the overall sound to the next level, with extended bass and smoother highs.

But it wasn't until almost a month of constant burn-in that I've started noticing a monstrously revealing transparent soundstage that this DAC can offer. So, in my opinion, this DAC needs lots of time to mature in your system.

Once there, and fitted with the mandatory Gator board, it is indeed a formidable force to recon with, as I keep reading on my friend's faces a look of astonishment when they come over and listen to this cheap DAC which doesn't lag in any way behind the ones they're using, but have paid almost ten times more.

[MartinT]

"void if warranty removed"

An interesting concept :)

[MartinT]

what is curent thinking on the "best" linear PSU for the Caiman?

The SuperTeddy works extremely well with mine.

[MartinT]

15V DC input ;)

There are two internal regulators, one is 12V DC & the other 5V DC :)

As I remember it, the original op-amp reg was 10V. Replace them with high quality 12V and 5V regs of your choosing (I use the Dexa New ClassD regs), replace the reservoir cap with a fast poly and you can push the input voltage to 16V as I do.

[CanDAC]

Hi Steve,

As a former Benchmark owner myself, I can relate to your story. The difference with me was that the Caiman outperformed my DAC 1 virtually out of the box. It just seemed more musical and provided greater detail. Since then, I've done all the Tirna mods plus the Gator. They aren't even in the same league now. I just keep waiting with eager anticipation for the next goodie Stan has up his sleeve!

[StanleyB]

As I remember it, the original op-amp reg was 10V.
That's the TC-7520. The Caiman uses a 12V reg.

[MartinT]

That's the TC-7520. The Caiman uses a 12V reg.

Ah yes, thanks for reminding me.

[RochaCullen]

Hi Stan,

How much is it to order the fully loaded Caiman, i.e., with Gator and PSU?

Nathan

[worrasf]

Hi Steve, I read your comparative review with interest, because I too am a big fan of Gatorized Caiman and have found out that it is capable of proudly standing shoulder-to-shoulder with many of its older, more expensive brethren.

My question regarding your Caiman: how much has it been in use before you put the Gator board in?

The reason I ask is because I found out that Caiman does need a lot, and I mean a lot of burn-in time before it can reveal its true capabilities. Especially in the area of deep bass reproduction. I was keeping my Caiman on a constant burn-in for weeks on end, and was detecting continual improvements with each passing week. In my experience, this DAC goes through several stages of noticeable improvements, especially after hitting a few remarkable milestones. The first milestone I've noticed was at about three days of constant burn-in -- that was the first moment when I heard the DAC blossom and open up.

Following that, after a week or so of constant burn-in, the DAC took the overall sound to the next level, with extended bass and smoother highs.

But it wasn't until almost a month of constant burn-in that I've started noticing a monstrously revealing transparent soundstage that this DAC can offer. So, in my opinion, this DAC needs lots of time to mature in your system.

Once there, and fitted with the mandatory Gator board, it is indeed a formidable force to recon with, as I keep reading on my friend's faces a look of astonishment when they come over and listen to this cheap DAC which doesn't lag in any way behind the ones they're using, but have paid almost ten times more.

I've had the Caiman about a year but I suspect in that time it's probably had little more than about 100hrs use so I reckon lots of improvement to come.

Steve

[maniac]

The SuperTeddy works extremely well with mine.

Hi Martin, are you using some DYI linear PS with SupperTeddy regulators? I was browsing thru Teddy Pardo power supplies, but none seems to be ready-made for Caiman (15v).

Or if I should put it in other way - is someone selling Caiman compatible power supply with SupperTeddy regs or simmilary good PSU ? :)

Thanks!

[chrism]

Hi Martin, are you using some DYI linear PS with SupperTeddy regulators? I was browsing thru Teddy Pardo power supplies, but none seems to be ready-made for Caiman (15v).

Or if I should put it in other way - is someone selling Caiman compatible power supply with SupperTeddy regs or simmilary good PSU ? :)

Thanks!

Have a look at the dual PSU I made for my Caiman on the Drawing Board thread. It has adjustable Avondale regulators and you can remove the internal regs in the Caiman.

Nice easy to do project that does not cost lots but well worth the effort.

Regards

[maniac]

Have a look at the dual PSU I made for my Caiman on the Drawing Board thread. It has adjustable Avondale regulators and you can remove the internal regs in the Caiman.

Nice easy to do project that does not cost lots but well worth the effort.

Regards

Hi Chrism, you mean probably this one, right? http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9144

I'm thinking of something "less invasive" now :) I've just a 2 weeks ago fitted Muratas and Elnas and would not like to get rid of Muratas now :) Also too much messing with power seems to me like calling for a trouble like baking my precious Caiman ;)

But somehow I have a feeling that Muratas would like to have better PSU to really shine.
I'd rather buy some "finished product" linear 15V power supply and connect it to Caiman's power inlet.

Currently the only finished product's I'm aware of are:

http://www.fidelityaudio.co.uk/beresford_psu.shtml (quite pricy)

http://www.maplin.co.uk/3v-15v-adjustable-25-30a-max-linear-power-supply-30391?c=so&u=strat15 (quite ugly and big for livingroom :) )

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Tomas, i'd invest in one of these chap (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/13-8V-DC-Regulated-Mains-Power-Supply-Unit-XM20W-3A-/320631012898?pt=UK_ConsumerElectronics_SpecialistR adioEquipment_SM&hash=item4aa718fe22) ;) There is a thread on here somewhere where a certain Mr Beresford adjusted one of these to 15V to power the Caiman :)

Maplin 3Amp 13.8V supply, you don't need more than 1.5A at the end of the day ;)

Just found the thread for you Tomas (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5893) :) All the best fella..

[chrism]

Yes I started with the Maplin's Benchy when I had a 7510 early last year. It does give better results than the switchmode power unit but it's regulator is really basic.

Worth ago but recommend that you consider building one. You could build a single version of mine and set it at say 15.5v. If you ring Les he will supply you the main bits for not a lot of dosh. Just ask for the parts that I listed and add a case and switch / fuse of your choice.

Best to take out the Caiman's 10,000 cap though if you do go for it as I found over smoothing deadens the sound a little.

Regards

Chris

[MartinT]

Hi Martin, are you using some DYI linear PS with SupperTeddy regulators? I was browsing thru Teddy Pardo power supplies, but none seems to be ready-made for Caiman (15v).

Hi Tomas

I ordered a SuperTeddy module from the man himself. I made a linear power supply from transformer, bridge rectifier and smoothing cap, feeding the ST set for 16V output and put it all in a nice box. Here's my original post with pictures:

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showpost.php?p=118006&postcount=9

[paul_cz]

Hey Martin,
as I'm also started to grab together bits an pieces for a PS: Did you order the reg from Teddy as the 'normal' 1A version or did you specify a higher current as mentioned on his page?

Cheers,
cz

[MartinT]

Hey Martin,
as I'm also started to grab together bits an pieces for a PS: Did you order the reg from Teddy as the 'normal' 1A version or did you specify a higher current as mentioned on his page?

I ordered it to pass 2.5A.

[paul_cz]

... thanks for Info!
cz

[worrasf]

OK - I've had the Caiman+Gator for about a week now and it's really bedding in - the hoped for increased bass has arrived and it's just getting better.

Tonight I hooked up a new 15v linear PSU (http://evingar.www.idnet.com/ebay_listings/nnd151515.pdf) - this was £42 off Ebay so it was bought as a "punt" - well it's just taken the Caiman+Gator to a new level :stalks:

Bass has gone so low you now feel it not just hear it - there is more space around each instrument/voice - and more clarity and definition to plucked strings and piano phrasing - soundstage is now much more 3D and stable - all for £42 :)

Thing is - I've also ordered a Teddy Pardoe PSU from Audiocom as I didn't actually expect this one to work - it will be really interesting to see what (if anything) I get for an extra £180.

I am now seriously considering selling my Benchmark DAC1 (I've already moved it into the second system with my Quad 67 - 33/303) and although I'll take a hit on the resale I can buy a Gatorised Caiman from Stan and use my 2 linear PSU's and (maybe) have a bit of change left for some music purcahses :)

Steve

[MartinT]

Nice one, Steve. It's amazing how much difference a linear PSU makes, isn't it? Those Lambda units look nice for a ready-made solution.

[StanleyB]

A few people have sent me a PM or email to ask where they can get the same Gatorized Caiman as Steve's. I have temporarily added it on my sites in the actual ordering page. Just select from the various drop down boxes which bits you need added to your Caiman. It will shorten the time between email and PM replies hopefully :).

[maniac]

Thing is - I've also ordered a Teddy Pardoe PSU from Audiocom as I didn't actually expect this one to work - it will be really interesting to see what (if anything) I get for an extra £180.



Hi Steve, i'm really currious to hear your comparison of those two linear PSUs from totally different price range. I'm now in the situation considering if to go for budget PSU or one of Teddie's PSUs for Caiman with muratas mod.

Looking forward for your review :)

[Butuz]

Hi Steve, i'm really currious to hear your comparison of those two linear PSUs from totally different price range. I'm now in the situation considering if to go for budget PSU or one of Teddie's PSUs for Caiman with muratas mod.

Looking forward for your review :)

Yes you are not the only one. Looking forward to finding out whether the extra £180 makes any difference!!! I would suspect the law of diminishing returns to apply, i.e switched to cheap linear = big improvement, cheap linear to expensive linear, not so much.

Butuz

[worrasf]

I'm hoping to get the Teddy PSU from Audiocom in the next week or so and will report findings after a few days of comparison - my gut feeling is that my £180 might have been put to better use as the cheapo one is just so much bang per buck.

My Cyrus CD XT se started playing up last night - skipping tracks in the middle of CD's - just spoken to my dealer (Audio Republic in Leeds) and taking it in tomorrow so hopefully will be sorted soon - in the meantime will use my Quad 67.

Steve

[StanleyB]

It's not important whether you use a SMPS or Linear PSU with the Caiman. What is important is the ripple voltage of the supply.

It's coming up to five years since I was made redundant from my previous place of work, and that will release me from my agreement not to use any R&D findings I carried out at that place for five years. So I am free to further develop a power supply filter for low current applications. If it works with the Caiman I'll probably offer it for sale. The ripple voltage on my last prototype was less than 2mV and noise was less than 100micro Volts. So well worth trying to see how it will perform in this case.

[worrasf]

Interesting Stan. The quoted ripple on the cheapo psu was max 3mV down to 1mV RMS (don't know what the specs on the not so cheap one is) - I expect there's more to it than that (isn't there always) but I'm certainly impressed with the improvement for such a small outlay.
Regarding confidentiality - it's OK Stan you can tell me - I'm a doctor :lolsign:

Steve

[StanleyB]

I have been playing around with the PSU regulator/filter design of mine and I am completely bowled over. It accepted any DC input up to the max 30V of my variable bench power supply. So the normal 15V max input of the Caiman was easily bypassed with this little box of tricks of mine :). But more impressive was the ripple and noise figures that I could see on my scope. On the 1mV settings the ripple and noise were within the graticule.
The next step is to do some long term listening tests and further tweaking.

[Covenant]

I use a linear PSU with Teddy-reg on my Caimenized 7520 so know the sonic benefits.
Will this get incorporated in your next power supply or will it be an add on box?

[Tim]

Well after a very helpful telephone call to Stan, I have just ordered myself a Caiman + Gator upgrade. I will update you guys when it arrives, as to what I think.

Great forum by the way :)

[Werner Berghofer]

Steve,

I am definitely hearing more layers/detail
this is exactly also my impression. I’m a happy user of two TC-7520 DACs and a Caiman DAC, placed in different locations throughout my flat. To my ears the Caiman performed best, but when using my AKG K701 headphones plugged into the Caiman I missed a certain punch, power, volume, bass and space.

Since I like listening to music with my headphones a lot, I considered adding a Musical Fidelity V-DAC and a V-CAN headphone amp combination, but I hated the idea of two additional boxes and two additional power cords and power plugs. Then I read about the modified Caiman and the K701 specific tweaks.

Knowing that the various StanDACs offer by far the best value in their price range, last week I ordered a Caiman Plus (no need for USB connectivity in my setup) with Gator PCB. Being aware that I use AKG K701 headphones, Stanley generously offered to implement the K701 modifications. Yesterday in the morning the unit was delivered to my home.

Out of the box the improvements in the headphone section were impressive. There’s more power, punch, the sound stage appears wider, even the resolution – already excellent in the standard Caiman – feels more detailled and clear. The separation between the left and right channel seems to be better now. Keeping in mind my budget, as far as I can tell this specific Caiman delivers the best signal to my headphones, which are known to be hard to drive. For my taste there’s enough bass to be heard – something which other critical reviewers of the K701 headphone claim to be a weak point of these cans.

I plan to upgrade the other Caiman with the Gator PCB and the K701 specific mods. Since I’m a complete idiot when working with my hands I’ll ship the Caiman DAC to Stanley and ask him to do this delicate task for me.

Sources used for my first tests: Apple Macbook Pro and Apple Mac mini, Caiman Plus directly connected via optical cable and wirelessly streamed via Airport Express, ALAC 44.100/16 bit playback from the latest version of iTunes. In case anybody is interested in the tracklist I used: it is updated in real-time and can be found on my Lastfm profile (http://www.last.fm/user/wberghofer).

Please excuse my occasional bizarre English; it’s not my native language.

[Tim]

Well I spoke to Stan as mentioned on Tuesday afternoon and later the same day ordered a Gatorised Caiman. It arrived as promised at 9.30 this morning, nicely packaged and felt a little heavier than I was expecting.

I planned to plug it in and leave it sit warming for a few hours before doing anything, but temptation got the better of me, so I hooked it up to my PC (using only a bog-standard USB cable) and plugged in my HD650's.

Now I have nothing to compare this to, in relation to other Beresford DAC's, so cannot judge what has improved with the Gator upgrade - but straight out of the box, not even warm and I am mightily impressed. Very good build quality, which exceeded my expectations. I have only listened to Allison Moorer's 'Duel' and her acoustic version of 'Crows', now I have Eric Bibb spinning, playing 'Diamond Days' and all I can say is it's jaw droppingly good. Plenty of punch, but the detail and resolution is particularly good . . . in fact I am hearing something I have not noticed before, I can hear what sounds like Eric tapping his foot in time with the beat. It's also a much warmer sound than I was expecting, in fact at the moment I'm grinning :) I can't wait to burn it in and hook it up to my main system. I know I'm probably still on a bit of a high after seeing Tina Dico last night, but it's times like this, that I realise why I love music so much.

Many thanks Stan, without doubt a 5 star product and excellent service (I may have to buy another one of these for the bedroom!).

Tim

(Win7 Music Server playing 44100Hz/16 bit .flac files using foobar2000 - headphone dial at 1 o'clock)
I kept going and my first plays were extended somewhat!

Allison Moorer - Duel, acoustic Crows
Eric Bibb - Diamond Days
Dixie Chicks - Wide Open Spaces
Blackfield - Blackfield
The Decemberists - The King is Dead
Mahler 5's adagio - Rattle BPO
Otis Taylor - Clovis People Vol. 3 (Ain't no Cowgirl is particularly good)
Joe Bonamassa - Sloe Gin
Jolie Holland - Catalpa
a selection of SIA
Diana Krall - A Night in Paris
and finally Ray LaMontagne - Trouble
. . . everyone a winner :)

[worrasf]

Hi Steve, i'm really currious to hear your comparison of those two linear PSUs from totally different price range. I'm now in the situation considering if to go for budget PSU or one of Teddie's PSUs for Caiman with muratas mod.

Looking forward for your review :)

My Teddy Pardoe 15v PSU arrived today courtesy of Mark at Audiocom (please see my post on the stunning improvement Mark made to my Wadia 170i - also with a Teddy PSU).

The question was would the extra dollar I laid out be a worthwhile (or any) difference to the cheapo linear PSU I bought earlier?

Answer: - Er let me think :scratch:


Yes :lol:

Unbelievable improvement I'm just blown away now by the Wadia (upgraded) and the Caiman+Gator now both with Teddy Pardoe linear PSU's. The difference over the cheap PSU is not subtle :stalks:

All the benefits I earlier reported with the linear PSU over the standard SM are there but in spades. Stan has made the point that it matters not if the Caiman is powered by a SM or linear source it's the ripple and noise that counts - well I dont know the specs of the Teddy unit but I can tell you it blows the other PSU's out of the water.

So what's the difference? Well more of everything except "noise" - silences are dark black. The entire soundsatge has opened up even more - full, musical, enjoyable, foot tapping are the words that come to mind. There is more air/space around performers, presentation is a little more forward but not in your face. A little more top end detail - Thea Gilmore's vocals are sublime but as always (IMHO) the killer is the improved bass detail/layers - notes that you swore were just single drum kick or bass string plucks turn out to be 2 or 3 hits/notes - just very fast and close together - the new PSU reveals the truth by resolving this detail :)

IMHO if you get a Caiman+Gator (and you really should) then get a Teddy PSU or you wont really hear what Stan's DAC can do - which is simply to make your digital source sound better than you ever heard it before.

Before anyone asks - no, I have no links/conflicts of interest with Stan Beresford or Teddy Pardoe (or anyone elso come to that) but boy they know how to make good kit.

Steve

[Tim]

Could you give a little more detail/links so I can look into this. I have found both the Teddy Pardo website and Audiocom, but not sure which actual product you are referring too?

Thanks

[chapter three]

What Teddy Pardo supply are you using? I can't find anything on his website that looks suitable. Is it something that Audiocom modify to suit the Caiman?

edit: weird, someone else just got in before me with the same question...

[worrasf]

Could you give a little more detail/links so I can look into this. I have found both the Teddy Pardo website and Audiocom, but not sure which actual product you are referring too?

Thanks

Hi - I ordered mine from Mark at Audiocom - who got it direct from Teddy in Israel - suggest you contact Mark direct (01646 650046) and I'm sure he will sort it for you.

It looks exactly the same as the TeddyDock he sent me for the Wadia 170i but is 15v not 12 v

Regards
Steve

[StanleyB]

For those of you on a more realistic budget, keep an eye out for my PSU spike and noise buster ;).

[Tim]

For those of you on a more realistic budget, keep an eye out for my PSU spike and noise buster ;).

Will do Stan, maybe you can send me one with my next Caiman ;)

[worrasf]

For those of you on a more realistic budget, keep an eye out for my PSU spike and noise buster ;).

It really is very very good Stan :)

Steve

[StanleyB]

I am not stopping anyone from also forking out £200 for the power supply you bought.

[worrasf]

I am not stopping anyone from also forking out £200 for the power supply you bought.

I meant the Caiman+Gator is very very good :)

But IMHO it only realises it's true potential with a really good external PSU and of the ones I've tried the TP is brilliant - but I agree it's not cheap.

Would love to try your new "PSU product" when available

:respect:

Steve

[Tim]

I am not stopping anyone from also forking out £200 for the power supply you bought.

Goodness, well that won't be me! That's around 60~70 CD's on Amazon Marketplace..... I'm more than happy with your Caiman at the moment Stan.

[Lee Henley]

One for Stan here, are there any future plans to bring out a Dac with balanced outputs?

[MartinT]

One for Stan here, are there any future plans to bring out a Dac with balanced outputs?

I've asked Stan severals times.

:popcorn: