magiccarpetride
01-04-2011, 18:06
OK, it's been three months (almost) since I've upgraded Caiman with the Gator board. Like many other patients in here, I'm loving the upgrade, and I've now spent enough time with this component to be in the position to give it some much deserved props (now that the ooohs! and aaaahs! of the initial emotional impact and the urge to exaggerate have died down).
This evaluation was also prompted by a friend who came over and brought his Eastern Electric Minimax DAC (EEM), at which point we decided to do a bit of comparative listening to see/hear if there are any substantial differences between two DACs.
The first thing that strikes you when you switch back and forth between the two DACs is very interesting (to me, at least): EEM appears to be somewhat lacking the front-to-back depth of the soundstage that the Gatorized Caiman opens up. This is ESPECIALLY noticeable with sounds coming from the far right and far left field (basically, those instruments/vocals that emanate from the speakers themselves, not from the space between the speakers).
Listening to Mike Oldfield's "Hergerst Ridge, Part II" for example, when the organ comes in from the right speaker, the EEM just plasters it onto the speaker's surface, so that the sound appears two dimensional, as if drawn on a flat piece of paper (although, in all fairness, with lots of intricate details).
Switch over to the Gatorized Caiman, and that same organ becomes hugely three dimensional. It appears slightly recessed behind the right speaker, with substantial volumes of air projecting behind and in front of it. You almost feel as if you would be able to stand up, walk up to the right speaker, and then circumambulate the organ.
That feeling is uncanny, and I believe it is this particular feature/capability that propels this little DAC into the true high-end territory. I'm not sure if others have had similar observations vis-a-vis EEM/Gatorized Caiman, but this palpable three dimensionality in the sound presentation can often be quite breathtaking and seductive.
All of the above, of course, in my own extremely subjective humble opinion.
And so my little rant ends here. The moral? If you like muscular, unapologetically realistic music reproduction, you ought to call Stan and order this reptilian object. Rant over!
Equipment used whilst evaluating two DACs:
- Belkin PF30 power conditioner
- iMac running Squeezebox server converting FLAC to PCM
- Logitech Touch (fully modded, CAT6A ethernet cable, analog outs disabled, USB disabled, screen disabled, jive disabled, wi fi disabled, buffer size reduced to 3,400), digital out via digital coax
- Caiman DAC (Gatorized) and Eastern Electric Minimax DAC (EEM)
- DPA 200s separates
- Nordost Magus power cable
- Nordost Blue Heaven 2 meters bi-wire speaker cables
- Magnepan MG1-IMP (fully refurbished and modded, WAF enabled)
- Dayton Audio ISO-4G Gold Isolation Cone Set under Maggies
This evaluation was also prompted by a friend who came over and brought his Eastern Electric Minimax DAC (EEM), at which point we decided to do a bit of comparative listening to see/hear if there are any substantial differences between two DACs.
The first thing that strikes you when you switch back and forth between the two DACs is very interesting (to me, at least): EEM appears to be somewhat lacking the front-to-back depth of the soundstage that the Gatorized Caiman opens up. This is ESPECIALLY noticeable with sounds coming from the far right and far left field (basically, those instruments/vocals that emanate from the speakers themselves, not from the space between the speakers).
Listening to Mike Oldfield's "Hergerst Ridge, Part II" for example, when the organ comes in from the right speaker, the EEM just plasters it onto the speaker's surface, so that the sound appears two dimensional, as if drawn on a flat piece of paper (although, in all fairness, with lots of intricate details).
Switch over to the Gatorized Caiman, and that same organ becomes hugely three dimensional. It appears slightly recessed behind the right speaker, with substantial volumes of air projecting behind and in front of it. You almost feel as if you would be able to stand up, walk up to the right speaker, and then circumambulate the organ.
That feeling is uncanny, and I believe it is this particular feature/capability that propels this little DAC into the true high-end territory. I'm not sure if others have had similar observations vis-a-vis EEM/Gatorized Caiman, but this palpable three dimensionality in the sound presentation can often be quite breathtaking and seductive.
All of the above, of course, in my own extremely subjective humble opinion.
And so my little rant ends here. The moral? If you like muscular, unapologetically realistic music reproduction, you ought to call Stan and order this reptilian object. Rant over!
Equipment used whilst evaluating two DACs:
- Belkin PF30 power conditioner
- iMac running Squeezebox server converting FLAC to PCM
- Logitech Touch (fully modded, CAT6A ethernet cable, analog outs disabled, USB disabled, screen disabled, jive disabled, wi fi disabled, buffer size reduced to 3,400), digital out via digital coax
- Caiman DAC (Gatorized) and Eastern Electric Minimax DAC (EEM)
- DPA 200s separates
- Nordost Magus power cable
- Nordost Blue Heaven 2 meters bi-wire speaker cables
- Magnepan MG1-IMP (fully refurbished and modded, WAF enabled)
- Dayton Audio ISO-4G Gold Isolation Cone Set under Maggies