Caiman plus Bantam Gold

[dave2010]

I have one of the 1st gen Caimans - with USB, 2 x coax and optical inputs, plus a Bantam Gold amp.

I have been reasonably pleased with this over several years, but a few times I have wondered about the setup. Recently I had occasion to use the high power mode (hold the volume knob in for about 15 secs until the light flashes and the unit powers off) and I wondered if it actually sounds better - which it shouldn't really. The connection fom the Caiman also has two options - Line level or Preamp mode.

Today I have wondered again about the SQ, though it could simply be that playing some CDs will not give good results on any system. A particular CD is from the set of Schumann piano music by Demus, which has been available cheaply at amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Schumann-Complete-Piano-Jorg-Demus/dp/B000W99IPM

The piano sounds a bit clangy at times. I wonder if anyone else has experimented with the four possible modes of driving a Bantam from a CD source, and also if the volume control settings are critical in some modes.

[brian2957]

Dave , I've had a Bantam Gold integrated and now run a Bantam Gold power amp . In my experience the lower gain setting does sound a little smoother with more body . What speakers are you using BTW . The higher setting does give more clout at the expense of smoothness . If you intend to keep this amp then you need to upgrade the PSU . I've used mine with a 12v car battery and Maplins 13.8v PSU , and both were excellent . If you have the funds I believe these take the Bantam Gold into another league altogether
http://www.custom-hifi-cables.co.uk/home/power-supplies/dc-power-supplies
I would have purchased one already if I hadn't bought a Power Inspired AG500 mains regenerator , which works very well .

[John]

As Brian says upgrading the PSU really is worth it

[Ali Tait]

Running from the Ankaka battery is better still IMHO.

[brian2957]

Aye forgot about that one Ali . Never tried it though .

[dave2010]

Dave , I've had a Bantam Gold integrated and now run a Bantam Gold power amp . In my experience the lower gain setting does sound a little smoother with more body . What speakers are you using BTW . The higher setting does give more clout at the expense of smoothness . If you intend to keep this amp then you need to upgrade the PSU . I've used mine with a 12v car battery and Maplins 13.8v PSU , and both were excellent . If you have the funds I believe these take the Bantam Gold into another league altogether
http://www.custom-hifi-cables.co.uk/home/power-supplies/dc-power-supplies
I would have purchased one already if I hadn't bought a Power Inspired AG500 mains regenerator , which works very well .Perhaps embarrassing to mention the speakers, though maybe not. I have several sets - but the ones currently connected are centuries old Sanyo Hi-Fi Ones, which are light on bass, but are very clear and tonally fairly neutral. There should be minimal audible distortion. You need to read the reviews from the dark ages to see that I'm not joking - they were the only speakers in tests which could take the peaks without significant distortion - but the reviews are hard to find on the internet. As I wrote - in the dark ages. The speakers were designed I believe by British designers, working for Sanyo - not the usual products intended for a mass market.

Another set I have are Goodmans Goodwoods, which give a more nasal coloured sound. These are also ancient - and one of the speaker units needs to be swapped over with a spare I have in a box. These are a bass reflex design, and on some records (sic) they give results which many other speakers won't do. On Keilberth's recording of the Flying Dutchman this might be distracting - but in the sailors chorus one really can hear and almost feel the stage moving up and down as the singers stamp and jump about. There were some KEF models which sounded similar, but with less cabinet resonance - but they cost a lot more.

I have heard other speakers I like as much, or better than these, but not many. A friend has some Monitor Audio, model BR5s which sound really good. Some Linn speakers I heard years ago in Harrods were very good, but even then they were over £5k. It's years since I heard Quad electrostatics - I certainly used to like them. Another friend has some seemingly very good kit, but unfortunately I've never heard it. He took the view that spending serious sums of money (I think £5-10k) for a system which would "see him out" was a good idea. Although I could perhaps spend that much, for various reasons, including other commitments, plus the fact that I go to a lot of live concerts, I tend to put my budget a lot lower. Probably the Monitor Audios I mentioned would be the best compromise between SQ and price and also they are not too big to cause domestic distress.

I have balked at the notion of replacing my speakers for several reasons. I have listened to some speakers in demo rooms. I have never been completely convinced that they actually sounded better than what I have already. Also, it's difficult to be sure that speakers will work well in a domestic environment, so I'd probably want to try some at home. Lastly, some of the larger models would possibly look huge in a normal house room, and that might upset others (!!!!) However, I would consider some like the Monitor Audios mentioned above.

Re the battery or PSU options for the Bantam - can these be done for (say) less than £30? I'm not sure that I really fancy having car batteries in the house - though I do have a car battery booster which contains a battery. Not worth getting things wrong, and blowing the amp up, though!
If anyone seriously uses car batteries, is it normal to have these on charge when they are not being used to drive equipment?

I am really sceptical about spending £155 on a PSU for the Bantam - that would bring the total cost up very considerably, and would it really be worth it? How would that compare with amps costing £1-2k?

[mr sneff]

Today I have wondered again about the SQ, though it could simply be that playing some CDs will not give good results on any system. A particular CD is from the set of Schumann piano music by Demus, which has been available cheaply at amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Schumann-Complete-Piano-Jorg-Demus/dp/B000W99IPM

The piano sounds a bit clangy at times. I wonder if anyone else has experimented with the four possible modes of driving a Bantam from a CD source, and also if the volume control settings are critical in some modes.

Years ago I spent a considerable amount of money upgrading my system to get a certain bright recording to sound acceptable rather than just accepting that it was a shit recording and buying another version, which would have been far cheaper :)

[brian2957]

You have to be careful about the speakers which you use with these amps . They need to be reasonably efficient or the amp will struggle , especially if you like to play your music at high volumes . It really is a worthwhile exercise to upgrade the PSU for your Bantam Gold because with a decent PSU or battery these amps are capable of exceptional SQ . The cheapest option for you Dave is one of these :
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/maplin-97w-dc-fixed-voltage-bench-power-supply-xm21x
I use one of these with my Bantam Gold power amp and it's a definite upgrade to the supplied PSU .

[Nigel]

I use a YUASA 12v intruder alarm battery as recommended a while back. Think it cost about £16 plus you'll need a charger, about £12 if memory serves me correctly. This outperformed the Maplin psu, which I still have, in my set up. Not heard the battery Ali mentioned, or Brian's regulated supply though.

[John]

For me using the Ankaka battery made things worse so might be hit and miss

[Nigel]

Just plumbed the Maplin back in. As Brian said, at around £30 you can't go wrong. It gives out 13.8v but you can up that a couple of volts by turning a screw (thanks Brian). I have mine set at 15v. Not much difference really. I seem to recall the supplied measured 15.4v.

[dave2010]

Reading these makes me wonder about the PSU or the battery options. If distortion related to power drain is an issue, perhaps the PSUs would be better, but can there be problems due to mains borne interference etc. From what's been written so far though, should certainly be no worse than the supplied PSU. I wonder if I can adapt the car battery booster which I have in the loft or garage - I'll have to look at the spec.

I'd probably also need a cheap device with a similar power plug to the Bantam, so that I could cut the end off and wire it into the battery or PSU.
Maybe there are sources for wired up plugs without having to pay a small fortune, otherwise I'd be inclined to cut wire off other kit. Lastly, my guess is that the Bantam would object if the power wires get reversed (some kit might detect this, and protect or correct) so I'd need to be absolutely sure before connecting up.

Would it also be worth adopting the same approach for the Caiman, while I'm at it? In that case I guess I could run both off the same power source. The voltage ranges seem to be the same.

[brian2957]

I would try something like this before wrecking a PSU http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2m-5-5-x-2-1mm-DC-Power-Plug-to-Socket-CCTV-Extension-Lead-Cable-007009-/191124040880?pt=UK_CCTV&hash=item2c7fe16cb0
The problem with the booster is that it may have to be plugged into the mains continuously which defeats the purpose of a battery .
Be very careful how you wire up the plug as you will damage the Bantam if it's wrong . There's plenty of information on the forum on how to do this .
I would check with Stan regarding the Caiman once you have decided which route you're going to take.

[dave2010]

Years since I thought about this kind of thing. Old fashioned conventional mains psus had a transformer to get the voltage into DC range, followed by a rectification circuit, then a more or less complicated smoothing circuit to get rid of the ripple - perhaps store the charge in a massive capacitor. Later psus used zener diodes to keep the voltage constant on the output. They would be good for maintaining voltage stability, but could introduce more switching noise. Modern switched mode psus are neat, and use high frequency switching, but presumably not considered good enough round here for really good results, though work for many applications.

It should be possible to create similar psus using batteries as the power source, rather than rectified mains, which would have the main advantage of removing any mains borne interference, and should eliminate any mains ripple from the AC supply. Would there be any significant advantage in having such a more complex psu, compared with simply using a battery. I'm wondering whether a large enough capacitor fully charged up would actually be better for the peaks than a battery. I hadn't thought about this before. Would lithium ion batteries be any good?

[brian2957]

Now you've lost me Dave :lol: Apparently the Lithium Ion batteries are the way to to here . As I've only used a car battery and a Maplins PSU I can't help you here . Hopefully someone who uses this type of power source with the Bantam will be along to give you some advice. Please remember though that all these differing methods of powering the Bantam will provide you with a very audible upgrade in SQ , so well worth exploring .

[wee tee cee]

I run two bantum mono blocks and a BM2 off a car battery. A car battery solar panel does most of the charging only needing a proper charge once a fortnight. The battery set up was explored in another thread (battery powered t amps). The sonic improvements are very noticeable both on speakers or cans. I have done all my DC wiring with old speaker cable which helped lower the impedance a bit. The battery route is well worth trying and wont break the bank if you find a local car parts supplier rather than a halfords etc. Bang for buck the best upgrade I have made. Stan will keep you right regards powering the caiman with a battery.