Caiman Mods

[StanleyB]

It was easy to foresee. The LM4562, THS4032, and WM8716 all experienced a similar shortage once readers of AoS around the world got wind of certain mods.

[Peter Galbavy]

Sounds a bit odd. Surely the manufacturers of this stuff, esp DACs, must do runs of 10,000 or more to make it economical. I guess speeading the supply across global distributors etc. does water this down somewhat...

[StanleyB]

Manufacturers don't manufacture such components without any orders. If I want 1K of the WM8716 IC it takes several weeks before Wolfson can deliver my own production run. The world wide 'off the shelf' stock might be less than 100 pieces at any one time. In years gone by, IC manufacturers would make huge quantities of chips, only to find them out of date or out of favour within next to no time. So now they are more careful.

[Carson]

I quick update on my impression of the upgraded regs...

Fitted them this morning and am listening to them as I type this out.
Since everyone loves photos, here they are in there home


First impressions are very good indeed. The noise level has dropped quite considerably and the amount of detail I can now hear and the stereo imaging/positioning of instruments is quite staggering. Don't get me wrong, the stock Caiman stunned me no end when I first heard it, but this is stunning me once again

I dont think I have quite the keen ear that many people on this forum do with regards to picking out differences, but this is certainly audible.

I seriously, cannot wait now to get this baby in its new home (my Caiman case project for those that dont know) when its finished and perform the final major (ish) modification.

[HighFidelityGuy]

I noticed similar improvements to detail and imaging/positioning after installing the regs and caps. The bass seemed a little reduced at first but that's gradually come back now as the new components have burned in. I'm now looking forward to trying some different opamps again to see how they sound. If I could just find a little extra sweetness in the mid-range I'd be a very happy man. That's about the only thing I'd like to improve a bit now.

[Gazjam]

Got my Dac upgraded by Jummy Dripps at Tirna yestrday, an hours drive away from me so I took the dac down myself...couple of hours later it was done.
Great service, good guy..highly recommended.

Anyways, plugged it back in yesterday and left it cooking overnight.
Regarding "burn in"...

Ive experienced myself this when fitting new OpAmps, and I wonder if this will be the case with the Rubycons and the Mutara Regs?

Sounds great just now, definately a step up, but wonder if theres more to come....


Thanks.

oh, just a random thought.
Are we nearing the point of diminishing returns now with the upgrades?

[StanleyB]

oh, just a random thought.
Are we nearing the point of diminishing returns now with the upgrades?

Looks like it. If the responses are favourable, I might consider adding some of the more affordable mods to the TC-7520.

[DSJR]

Stan,

I appreciate the Caiman is pretty affordable as is, but have you got together any upgrades for it that could be fitted before delivery, or even made standard now?

What is it that the modders actually want? I would ask for absolute truth to the source material, but it seems that others are about increasing/decreasing warmth, or adding more "deeeeetail" forther up.. I mean no disrespect to these modders, but I for one don't wish to put a spotlight on one frequency area, rather, I'd prefer an unstressed clarity over the whole range with a different "sound" (if there) with each recording...

[StanleyB]

From a commercial point of view I would rather add the mods to the TC-7520, instead of to the Caiman. The TC-7520 is put together on a production line, which saves cost, and would therefore only add a small proportion to the overal price I reckon.

The Caiman is tedious to build due to the various mods that need to be added 'by hand' to each one made. The one mod I would not consider adding is the Murata regs. They are not cheap, and by the time you add in production cost etc., the price at the point of sale would have shot up to a different price band. I would leave those bits as a mod.

It takes a couple of months to go from design to finished goods. So if we can come to a quick consensus, maybe we can have a production based prototype ready for testing in the summer, and the final version in the autumn/winter.

[Labarum]

The Caiman is tedious to build due to the various mods that need to be added 'by hand' to each one made.

I had not appreciated, Stan, that the Caiman was a hand modded 7520. (Modded by the man himself.)

I bought mine and have run it as I got it - well, when I got the new power supply, I ran it with that.

Sounds absolutely splendid to me, Stan, as you sent it to me.

I just enjoy the music.

You modders can mod all you like.

When Stan comes up with another very significant product I may buy it and sell my No 2 box - a 7510.

But for now, I just listen. I just enjoy the music.