Jeez, and there is me thinking that I was one of the first to use this technology starting with the TC-7520SE. The MLC5/6 mod changes the waveform to push ringing away from before the transient edge to after the edge. A pity I did not see the potentials to make quick buck by offering to do the mod, instead of publishing the details on how to do it. I reckon it would have been worth at least £50 in each case.
Website: http://www.homehifi.co.uk
Website: http://www.beresford.me
Website: http://www.homehifi.asia
Presumably the Caiman includes this mod? Interesting.
The whole thing can easily be simulated in PSPICE, and then fine tuned by listening tests. I am aware that many manufacturers slap a massive price on even modest technical implementations that produce a modification of the audio signal.
There are four main methods of filtering that have been used by equipment manufacturers since the early 80's in the audio circuit of CD players. However, sometime in the late 80's the magazine Elektor published a major breakthrough in CD filter design that pushed all of the ringing from below 21KHz to outside that frequency. What was so striking about their design is that it did not cause any phase shift.
Website: http://www.homehifi.co.uk
Website: http://www.beresford.me
Website: http://www.homehifi.asia
There's more. Now that the player has been running for over a week, two things have emerged: 1) voice is brought forward, vivid and startling against an inky dark background with detail realistically placed in a three-dimensional soundstage; 2) the bass is both further extended and impactful with almost frightening ability to start and stop. I do have speakers to make the most of this (and a detached house), but the feeling of structural solidity to the music underpins it to an incredible degree.
I've learned to reel back over-the-top pronouncements when discussing hi-fi over the years, but I do want to say here and now that I've never heard better playback of standard CDs at any price.
Just wanted to share
One thing I learned with diy and fiddling with stuff, never be quick to judge a tweak until its had chance to run in a bit quite surprising how much difference just a little run in time can have
Cheers,
Leo
I totally agree. When I bought my first SACD player (the battleship Sony SCD-1), I was warned that it needed a full 200 hours of operation to give its best performance. They were right, it need that and more - it just kept getting better as new parts burned in.