Caiman MKII - check if you hear the noise please

[mkrzych]

Hello,
I am owner of CMII for some time, but trying to get confirmation if my unit is faulty and something is going on with the implementation of the circuity around the input switching and/or microcontroller responsible for changing the DAC function probably or again, it's on my side. To already answer your quesitons - YES, I've contacted support directly, but so far without any clue of course, rather getting responses like send it back or "Maybe this DAC is far too advanced for you to understand. So as I said send it back and get something far simpler that you can play with". Because of that I would like to ask you guys who also purchased CMII to check the following please:

1. Connect the DAC over the optical or USB - doesn't matter I think.

2. I am using Macbook with A+/Decibel software and CMII is set up as fixed RCA on the front, right hand switch.

3. Play the music for instance silence generated in Audacity in 24/96 - link here if you wish.

4. When it's playing try to set up the volume control on you amplifier or even using the DACs headphone pretty high (be careful not to destroy your speakers if some spikes happen - check if you hear any strange noise going out of RCA or headphone out from CMII.

5. If not, try to hit/press for a while the function button to switch between different CMII modes - check if anything changed regarding the noise. In my case the noise is clearly audible, but if I change the mode to the state when both status LED and input LED are lit on, the noise pretty disappears. On any other position it generates below noise - recorded on my iPhone close to the speakers:

Without playing actually music, just connected to my Macbook, opened A+ and LED on the input dimmed off:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...ng%20music.m4a

And with music played and paused in A+ (volume pretty high on my amp) and the same CMII mode with LEDs dimmed off:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...d%20paused.m4a

DAC alone seems to be silent if disconnected from the computer and getting nothing for the inputs. The same is my Marantz amp, just to check if on high volumes it generates any noise when the volume is at max - nothing from my amp itself. I haven't notice it at the beginning because didn't have too much time to diligently listen to it and to get some late nite silence to be able to hear it.

I have tried both inputs optical and USB where the latter one is even worst! It never happened on 7520SEG which I used to own. This is question to all the Beresford users on the forum and nothing personal to the formal designers of this DACs. Maybe ONLY my unit is faulty somehow, maybe not or maybe it's something on my side. The same I've suggested to Stan to check on his side and if not audible than to exchange the units - without the success so far I don't want to send the unit back with hurry, because I really like its sound, but also would like to figure out what is going on and why it ruined my experience. If everything fail, than I will send it back, but this is at the end, because I will be without possibility to enjoy the music anymore.

Nothing else I can do and do not have time for clueless discussions trying to get my things done as well, working hard as it was pointed out on other thread.

Thank you very much for Your cooperation and Your kind help,
Krzysztof

[NRG]

If you take the analogue o/p of the MAC to your amp does it still make the same noise?

[mkrzych]

If you take the analogue o/p of the MAC to your amp does it still make the same noise?

I will check it, but this does not explain, why on certain DAC "modes" is more or less or almost none, doesn't it?

BTW, if I cannot hear anything like this over headphones connected to my Macbook, this pretty explain IMHO that Macbook is not a problem here I think.

[WAD62]

I have a Caiman MKII in my bedroom setup, and in short no unwanted noise at all

SB3 classic (with SBooster), Belkin Optical, Caiman MKII (maplins linear PSU/SBooster), MUSE M21 EX2/MUSE linear PSU, Mission 780SEs

[mkrzych]

I have a Caiman MKII in my bedroom setup, and in short no unwanted noise at all

SB3 classic (with SBooster), Belkin Optical, Caiman MKII (maplins linear PSU/SBooster), MUSE M21 EX2/MUSE linear PSU, Mission 780SEs

Thank you, did you try to check what I described? I don't have any LPSU, but could be also something related to it, any possibility to connect the stock PSU on your side?

[WAD62]

Thank you, did you try to check what I described? I don't have any LPSU, but could be also something related to it, any possibility to connect the stock PSU on your side?

I'll see if I can find it, but it could have gone the way of all wallwarts...one further thing I forgot to note is that all of the components are plugged into a Tacima mains conditioner...

I'm also using the fixed level output, I'll try the headphone test as I've not used that yet, it may be a pre/hp-amp thing...

[mkrzych]

I'll see if I can find it, but it could have gone the way of all wallwarts...one further thing I forgot to note is that all of the components are plugged into a Tacima mains conditioner...

I'm also using the fixed level output, I'll try the headphone test as I've not used that yet, it may be a pre-amp thing...

Thanks a lot, please let me know. I have CMII connected to the filtering power strip as all my audio gear and CMII is using the stock switched PSU. Before that, when I have 7520SEG nothing like this happened and all my gear - Marantz PM6004/CD5004 are dead quite itself. @NRG suggested that I may try to check analogue out from my Macbook, but when I connect my cans to it - nothing audible - dead silent when playing music or pausing.

BTW, that noise in not only over the h/p out, also over RCA - CMII set up to fixed outs.

[mkrzych]

One additional founding. The clicks together with the background noise are mostly audible on 24/96 files, redbook seems to be fine. There is small floor noise audible, but at max volumes it's almost to forget. For 24/96, besides this audible noise floor, clicks are also very audible on my side, as you can hear from files I posted here in the thread. Those clicks are present before the music starts playing and when it's paused. Mostly they stopped when the music actually is going on - I tried to catch them during the low classical passages etc.

[mkrzych]

Another similar description is here on Raspberry Pi MCU Forum with sound popping here http://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/vi...=8783&start=25 and here: http://forum.osmc.tv/showthread.php?tid=4573. It was resolved by firmware update and confirmed by the developers. Not know if it's related to my issue, but looks similar.

If you look at the waveform of the noise when music is paused it shows quite recurring pattern and closed up view looks like dropout with pulse response characteristic.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...rom_paused.png

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...eup_paused.png

[WAD62]

One additional founding. The clicks together with the background noise are mostly audible on 24/96 files, redbook seems to be fine. There is small floor noise audible, but at max volumes it's almost to forget. For 24/96, besides this audible noise floor, clicks are also very audible on my side, as you can hear from files I posted here in the thread. Those clicks are present before the music starts playing and when it's paused. Mostly they stopped when the music actually is going on - I tried to catch them during the low classical passages etc.

No noise at my end, but I only use red book FLAC...good luck