Caiman passive output mod revealed

[Ali Tait]

It's not used for critical listening anyway
Clive,just to play the Sky box through.Does sound very good doing this though.

[apmusson]

Wow.

I have been absent from the forum for a few months (distracted by holidays / work / kids - no excuse - i'm sorry) and have been enjoying my caiman (murata regs/ linear Maplin PSU / DAC and Opamp Board cap upgrades) very much. It was a bit of a shock to see this thread with so many posts in it from you guys.

Anyway I read every page of the thread and was very intrigued by the positive comments on this mod by nearly everyone so yesterday I ordered some Nichelon KZ caps to try it for myself. They arrived about 2 hours ago, I fitted them, plugged my Caiman in and stuck a CD playing on repeat. I know I should be waiting before listening etc etc but I had to have a sneak peak.

Wow. The Caiman is an amazing DAC in stock form (performing well above its price point), it improves with the regs, DAC caps and linear PSU. It has jumped again with this mod. I think that it may be the one that provides the biggest improvement???

Ade

[Ali Tait]

Yep,agreed,it really lifts the performance IMO.

[MartinT]

Now that I've put 48+ hours on them I gave the ClarityCap 1uF coupling caps a proper listen. I used my Sony Blu-ray player as a CD transport with co-ax into the Caiman, comparing with my Ayre C-5xe MP universal player. This is a massively unfair comparison!

The Caiman does very well indeed, especially in the midrange where it almost has the fine detail and transparency of the Ayre and in the treble where it has a similar level of non-harshness. Only in the bass is it a little light in comparison, although the ClarityCaps are better at bass resolution than the Rubycons, if not weight. Overall, this combination transport and DAC at around £500 punches well above its weight and is not at all embarrassed. I'm not about to sell my Ayre but I could certainly live with the sound the Caiman makes. For Sky HD and Blu-ray duties it is superb.

I may buy a pair of 2.2uF ClarityCaps and see if I can fit them in the case. I will probably solder them in rather than use the sockets in the end. That could be my final configuration.

[StanleyB]

That could be my final configuration.

Are those your famous last words?

[RoboCopper]

Now that I've put 48+ hours on them I gave the ClarityCap 1uF coupling caps a proper listen.

Hi MartinT,
What is the voltage rating of the cap ?
Where did you get it from?

Regards
Rob

[Ali Tait]

Give them longer Martin,I found they take quite a while to settle down.

[MartinT]

What is the voltage rating of the cap ?
Where did you get it from?

ClarityCap ESA 1uF 630V £5.10 each from http://www.hificollective.co.uk/

[MartinT]

Give them longer Martin,I found they take quite a while to settle down.

I certainly will - they're getting a diet of Sky MTV HD every night when I go to bed.

[MartinT]

Are those your famous last words?

I just know I'll regret typing that