Granted...

[StanleyB]

Mark Grant (http://markgrantcables.co.uk/) drove down to see me yesterday with a couple of items that would be of interest to TC-7520 and Caiman owners. The main one that caught my attention is a very well built and robust linear power supply, with scale tipping weight to match. I was very pleased to see Mark taking the time to first consult me on his plans to sell a replacement power supply for my DACs, and that the performance of the product was above expectations.

Mark and me went for a lovely lunch at an award winning local restaurant called Jakarta (http://www.jakartarestaurant.co.uk/)and owned by my mate Stuart. I would recommend Jakarta to anyone who is looking for a top Malaysian restaurant in London.

After Mark had left I sat down to try out his power supply against my own and the Maplin CB radio PSU. I also tried the passive mod and a couple of different opamps with the different power supplies. My main impressions are numerous, but all good. The Gatorized Caiman seemed to have acquired another level of performance, which was especially noticeable on higher volume levels.

My initial impression is that Mark could well have a winner on his hand. The noise floor was far better, making it possible for me to pick up details that I normally only hear when I run the Caiman on a modified laptop battery pack.

I don't wish to steal Mark's thunder, so I'll leave it to him to make any additional comments and answer questions on when the power supply will be available. But for any serious Caiman owner, the Mark Grant replacement PSU is currently the best power supply upgrade I have heard.

[MartinT]

Very interesting, Stan, and it shows how well the Caiman responds to low noise in the power supply as I know from using the SuperTeddy. However, the ST is not a particularly high current low impedance design so it would be good to know how a brute force approach works. The Gatorized version I guess would respond well because it uses the 12V line to give higher output welly than the passive version.

I shall be working soon on installing another PSU for the Caiman and will create a photo article to show progress. All will be revealed soon. You just can't have too many solutions for this great DAC.

Is the Gator board still available separately? I'd like to order one if possible.

[StanleyB]

The Gatorized version I guess would respond well because it uses the 12V line to give higher output welly than the passive version.
Don't tell anyone, but the Gator was modified at some stage to accept 15V directly from the power supply socket ;). So a low noise external power supply will help in getting a better dynamic range. I am working on a new mod to give the headphone more slam, by harvesting and storing some of that extra voltage till it is required for busy musical passages.

[MartinT]

Interesting, thanks Stan. I also see that the Gator is available from your website so I'll order one to experiment with against passive coupling.

[Mark Grant]

Mark Grant (http://markgrantcables.co.uk/) drove down to see me yesterday with a couple of items that would be of interest to TC-7520 and Caiman owners. The main one that caught my attention is a very well built and robust linear power supply, with scale tipping weight to match. I was very pleased to see Mark taking the time to first consult me on his plans to sell a replacement power supply for my DACs, and that the performance of the product was above expectations.

It was good to meet you Stanley.
Pleased the weight of the PSU is impressive and has a quality feel.
Asking for your opinion before advertising a product to use with your DAC's did seem the polite thing to do.


Mark and me went for a lovely lunch at an award winning local restaurant called Jakarta (http://www.jakartarestaurant.co.uk/)and owned by my mate Stuart. I would recommend Jakarta to anyone who is looking for a top Malaysian restaurant in London.

The food at Jakarta restaurant is amazing and the price for lunch is a bargain.

Look at the lunchtime menu here:
http://www.jakartarestaurant.co.uk/lunchmenu.html

3 course lunch menu for £7.45, :eek: not much more money than a 'lunch' at a drive through that would have been served on polystyrene and in a paper bag...

A link here to its location for anyone that's interested.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=NW9+6RS&hl=en&ll=51.588297,-0.251784&spn=0.000682,0.001184&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=21.225198,38.803711&vpsrc=6&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=51.588365,-0.25165&panoid=fJ8wNjKK6FQzbyr5INpXdQ&cbp=12,167.98,,0,18.14

A small restaurant that many people would walk or drive past without knowing what there missing out on. The best ones are always like that, small, no bling marketing, just superb food and service.

I liked the food and service :)


After Mark had left I sat down to try out his power supply against my own and the Maplin CB radio PSU. I also tried the passive mod and a couple of different opamps with the different power supplies. My main impressions are numerous, but all good. The Gatorized Caiman seemed to have acquired another level of performance, which was especially noticeable on higher volume levels.

My initial impression is that Mark could well have a winner on his hand. The noise floor was far better, making it possible for me to pick up details that I normally only hear when I run the Caiman on a modified laptop battery pack.

Excellent, its the little details that make the difference in a revealing system or with good headphones.


I don't wish to steal Mark's thunder, so I'll leave it to him to make any additional comments and answer questions on when the power supply will be available. But for any serious Caiman owner, the Mark Grant replacement PSU is currently the best power supply upgrade I have heard.

That's good to hear Stanley :)

For some clarity and to avoid any confusion, the power supply is designed and made by http://www.squeeze-upgrade.com

The first ones I tried where the 5 volt for Squeezebox products, this was excellent so I contacted squeeze upgrade to suggest a 15 volt version for Beresford DACs, they where already working on it and they are now available.

They are on my website in the power supply category here:
http://markgrantcables.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=76_77

A picture so show the size of the PSU in relation to the caiman DAC:

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx234/server9/forum-pictures/beresford-caiman-PSU-IMG_0233.jpg

[colinB]

Good to see they made an effort for CE standard.

[StanleyB]

Good to see they made an effort for CE standard.

It's a legal requirement if you want to import goods like this into the EU. But power supplies require additional approvals except CE. You have BSI, EMC, VDU etc. to also deal with.

[Fi-Wi]

Just 1 day after having bought a linear psu upgrade for my Caiman, I read the first post of this thread by Stan and feared I just missed the boat.

Good to read in Mark's post that Stan and Mark had tested the very same psu that I had bought from the guys of Squeeze-upgrade. :)

For what it's worth, I think their psu's are great. I already had one for my SB3and just bought one for my Caiman. They somehow do make a difference for the better!

Kudos for Wiebren Draaier (the owner/constructor of Sbooster/BotW psu) by the way who personally delivered the Caiman plug to my house at night after the wrong tip was accidentally delivered by a retailer. Now that is service!