View Full Version : Caiman MKII first impressions
Hello,
My CMII just arrived and already in place playing music. So far as quick as I was able to check if everything is fine here are my first impressions. BTW, thanks to Stan for perfect customer service and responsiveness.
1. I have late 2008 Macbook, but I cannot achieve anything than 24/44, 24/48 and 24/94 over the outputs. Doesn't matter if toslink or USB. However on USB Integer Mode in A+ is supported. Don't know why is that?
2. Over my speakers it sounds pretty good, but I didn't have too much time to do further listening - I will post when it's going on for a few days. Fixed output.
3. At fist quite BIG disappointment is the headphone out. It's dark so called with boomy bass and lack of the real double bass timbre when hitting the strings - it's like boom, but quite hard to distinguish what kind of instrument did this sound and is quite overwhelming. I hope it will change over time if this device really need some burn in time - if so how much? I am using Grado's 325is. Maybe I should leave them playing over few nites to see if it will develop further and open the air between the instruments? Sounds the same over TOSLINK and USB.
i know that I need more listening, but headphone out is worst than in my modified MKI 7520SEG - at least at first try.
Continuing…
The DAC has so called "tubish" sound meaning that there is not hint of the digital glassy timbres and there is something in the sound which attract so much - you can listen for hours and hours. Try for instance The Water is Wide by Charles Lloyd on redbook, sound like LP, but without any cracks and hiss.
Resolution is pretty good, but I think I need more time going through different records in different sampling rates and bit depth.
What is still disturbing me is the too much bass over the headphone out which makes the whole music presentation little bit muddy and boomy and sometimes boring without a real pitch and texture…
Regarding the sampling rates supported I don't know why is that, that the USB and TOSLINK has the same and for instance 24/88.2 is not supported. I guess the only think to get all possible resolution is using SPDIF/USB converter right?
Werner Berghofer
08-10-2014, 21:51
Krzysztof,
I don't know why is that, that the USB and TOSLINK has the same and for instance 24/88.2 is not supported.
this limit might be caused by the model of Macbook you’re using as well as the Mac OS X version. Did you check “Audio MIDI Setup” (usually located in the “Utilities” folder) to find out the maximum playback bit depths and sampling rates available on your laptop?
As a sidenote: Are you aware that a bit depth of 24 bit equals a S/N ratio of 144 dB and no DAC currently on the market — not to mention the other elements of a typical playback chain — offers a S/N ratio that huge? The maximum dynamic range on typical music recordings is around 60 dB.
Werner.
Canetoad
08-10-2014, 23:06
My CMII plays 24/88.2 from my Touch without any problems. I think it might be the MAC that is the problem. :)
Well, I can play 24/88.2 thanks to Audirvana upsampling, but in Midi setup I cannot see it available - neither using Toslink nor USB.
But this is minor problem.
On one of the threads I have found Stan's sentence that CMII is aimed to the music connoisseur who looks for concert hall clarity, detail and openness. Broad statement, but indeed kind of that concert hall experience it there for sure, but do you think that Venom upgrade gives that openness to the headphone out as well? It change the tonal balance of the music because more bass is presented, but maybe it is like it should be, not decided yet.
StanleyB
09-10-2014, 07:14
On one of the threads I have found Stan's sentence that CMII is aimed to the music connoisseur who looks for concert hall clarity, detail and openness. Broad statement, but indeed kind of that concert hall experience it there for sure, but do you think that Venom upgrade gives that openness to the headphone out as well? It change the tonal balance of the music because more bass is presented, but maybe it is like it should be, not decided yet.
I set the headphone output up on your specific order based on the headphone information that you provided. So your headphone output is not the stock output. But your overwhelming complaint about the bass is dully noted. I sent you technical information on how to reverse the changes to your specific order. If that doesn't help, by all means send the DAC back for a refund :).
But in general, this type of complaint does highlight the reason why I am preparing for the sale of a new kind of headphone amp design. No two customers have the same opinion of what a headphone output should sound like. Being able to adjust it to taste will be a great advantage.
I set the headphone output up on your specific order based on the headphone information that you provided. So your headphone output is not the stock output. But your overwhelming complaint about the bass is dully noted. I sent you technical information on how to reverse the changes to your specific order. If that doesn't help, by all means send the DAC back for a refund :).
But in general, this type of complaint does highlight the reason why I am preparing for the sale of a new kind of headphone amp design. No two customers have the same opinion of what a headphone output should sound like. Being able to adjust it to taste will be a great advantage.
Hello Stan,
Well, not so fast I am not going to send that DAC back for refund, since I didn't have too much time to listen to it :) Why my complain about the bass is dully noted? I will give it a chance, I have Grado 325is, so do you or other members could elaborate on the sound, meaning do you think (in your opinion) it should sound like this and this is realistic listening to acoustic jazz for instance? Just to have your opinion…:scratch:
BTW, Grado 325 has the frequency response like this:
http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=383&scale=40
Setting up the headphone out with Venom mod in which region it has the effect and by what amount of dB? As general SR325is offer already a broad (18Hz-24Hz) frequency response I think.
Hello,
I had a chance to listen more and over the fixed RCA, CMII sound AMAZING! Very crisp treble, huge amount of details and vibrant, resonant deep bass. Instrument attack top class together with they timbre - I have Dali's Mentor 2 with Marantz PM6004 amp. Do not have any complaint about the RCA out. Top class and in comparison to CMI much better resolution and openness.
However, headphone out is NOT in the same league. With Venom 4 upgrade it's dark with boomy bass on Grado SR325is - it's like you put the curtain between you and the drivers - annoying and I think for that cans it needs honest modifications - I am little bit disappointed because I expected much better clarity and the same vibrant not overwhelming low end frequency response with little bit more gain. Don't know why Stan did this upgrade by default for my cans, really don't know. And yet, it sounds worst in that case than on my moded 7520SEG CMI :doh:
Krzysztof, I quite appreciate your feedback and it's great you're having an overall good experience. Boomy bass and dark are things I've never heard about on a Grado 325. Those who don't like the Grado house sound usually complain of lack of bass extension or piercing higher mids. I'd suggets you follow Stans advice and reverse the mods to get you to base line. If you don't feel confident about doing the work, I'd wage that your local electronics guy can perform the procedure.
Stan will correct me, but I'm under the impression his headphone designs have very low output impedance - something within 0,1 or so. Being easy to drive the Grados don't even need a lot of current to do their magic. Do you have any other phones to work with? Grados are 32ohm so something higher than 100 or lower than 10 should sound "different". Have you tried listening with the Grados straight out of the Mac and how do they sound?
As for the hybrid digital out on your Mac, you're limited to 24-bit, 96 kHz. I'm an Audirvana fan and it can be finicky playing high resolution files - sometimes it crashes. But it sounds wonderful to my ears and redbook is just fine for me also.
Krzysztof, I quite appreciate your feedback and it's great you're having an overall good experience. Boomy bass and dark are things I've never heard about on a Grado 325. Those who don't like the Grado house sound usually complain of lack of bass extension or piercing higher mids. I'd suggets you follow Stans advice and reverse the mods to get you to base line. If you don't feel confident about doing the work, I'd wage that your local electronics guy can perform the procedure.
Stan will correct me, but I'm under the impression his headphone designs have very low output impedance - something within 0,1 or so. Being easy to drive the Grados don't even need a lot of current to do their magic. Do you have any other phones to work with? Grados are 32ohm so something higher than 100 or lower than 10 should sound "different". Have you tried listening with the Grados straight out of the Mac and how do they sound?
As for the hybrid digital out on your Mac, you're limited to 24-bit, 96 kHz. I'm an Audirvana fan and it can be finicky playing high resolution files - sometimes it crashes. But it sounds wonderful to my ears and redbook is just fine for me also.
It's really nice that someone already started to talk with me after some hours of silence, I appreciated it of course. I am Grado fan for a while, and what I can say about 325's is that they are not bright and lacking of bass as lots of people saying they are just honest, with almost flat response. Driven by the good source they're one of the best reference cans comparing the price to other ones - look at the frequency response I posted here. Of course I will try to the reverse, but buying the product it shouldn't like that IMHO for customer experience. I've asked Stan why he did that upgrade by default when I gave him information that I have 325is's - is it common based on the customer requests or what? Haven't got any response.
For the price that is exceptional DAC overall, but I really need headphone out sound like the RCA, crisp, detailed with resonant, vibrating and textured, realistic bass.
Reading Stan's post, apparently, he tuned the headphone out as per your reference to which headphones you'd be using. We all hear differently and our preferences are stricly personal. Reversing the mod should be your fix if you're not returning the DAC.
I gave the information about my cans, but haven't had any idea that DAC will be moded first. Second, if already done like that, does it mean that for Grado it's normal to mod? I would rather not modify and than if complaint do it, not vice versa because it will ruin customer experience already set up so high as in my case where the headphone out is VERY important.
CMII is built with solid chassis to eliminate potential vibrations. My favorite feature is ability to completely switch off any diodes when signal is coming to the DAC eliminating potential noise caused by LED's. The volume pot, however not ALPS, but seems to be good quality with smooth, nice feeling rotation. Infographics on the front faceplate could be better done, but are not so bad. Also I like the thing that by default the optical inputs are coming with the small plastic caps to protect them from dust. Under the chassis you have small, rubber foots - quite ok, but could be bigger in height. If you want however, you can add the foots like this:
https://shop.strato.de/epages/61924124.mobile/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/61924124/Products/L1
or this: https://shop.strato.de/epages/61924124.mobile/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/61924124/Products/HKS1
Ah, one thing more, power supply SMPS is small and AFAIR done on Stan's direction, but the DC side cable length can be shorter with better ( higher AWG ) wire - possibly with shielding.
Overall, except the headphone out which I am going to reverse the mod is exceptional value with true high end sound! Good job Stan!
I will post my feelings when come back after the mod reverse work soon.
Werner Berghofer
10-10-2014, 20:22
Krzysztof,
Infographics on the front faceplate could be better done, but are not so bad.
what are your suggestions for improvement?
Werner.
Krzysztof,
what are your suggestions for improvement?
Werner.
Well, first smaller fonts, especially for the LEDs description and fixed/variable switch. for the latter also much less spacing between the lines. In original CMI the front faceplate was bit better. Overall it isn't bad, but could be more pro looking.
bigmarty
11-10-2014, 17:07
:sofa:
Werner Berghofer
12-10-2014, 07:59
Krzysztof,
Overall it isn't bad, but could be more pro looking.
I have not seen yet anyone from the latest generation of the Beresford DACs “in person”, but according to what I see on the photographs on Stan’s website I have to agree with you.
Werner.
Krzysztof,
I have not seen yet anyone from the latest generation of the Beresford DACs “in person”, but according to what I see on the photographs on Stan’s website I have to agree with you.
Werner.
Yes, thanks. At the end the sound is the most important thing and this is stunning over the RCA. I hope when I reverse the mod I will get flat response for my Grado back and no boost will be present at any frequency range, I hope.
WIMA caps and resistors for reversing the Venom mod are on the way. I couldn't get SMD versions, so it will be regular ones with 2.5mm raster. I have tried several times to get used to the sound, but to me it's too mellowed and not so punchy without clear double bass string hit identification - yes deep, but because of its dominant it changes the overall tonal balance to more laid back with sibilants and high tones without the so called air on them.
At the beginning I will change to 33nF and 33kOhm - supposing that's the most flat configuration which won't change the original headphone response.
Well, first smaller fonts, especially for the LEDs description and fixed/variable switch. for the latter also much less spacing between the lines. In original CMI the front faceplate was bit better. Overall it isn't bad, but could be more pro looking.
Glad I am not the only one to think this Kryzstof, I did mention this on another forum but was taken to task over it. Like you I prefer the simpler and rather more intuitive look of the CM1 graphics (sorry Werner). I do not own a Caiman 2 (in fact I am banned from buying any Beresford products along with several other members here) so I suppose it will never affect me to be honest...
Glad I am not the only one to think this Kryzstof, I did mention this on another forum but was taken to task over it. Like you I prefer the simpler and rather more intuitive look of the CM1 graphics (sorry Werner). I do not own a Caiman 2 (in fact I am banned from buying any Beresford products along with several other members here) so I suppose it will never affect me to be honest...
Why are you banned as several other members here?!
I am an awkward customer... :lol:
Werner Berghofer
14-10-2014, 09:26
Dave,
Like you I prefer the simpler and rather more intuitive look of the CM1 graphics (sorry Werner) […]
no need to apologize. I was not involved in actually finishing the faceplate artwork for any of the Cayman or Bushmaster DACs. All I did was suggestions.
Werner.
Dave,
no need to apologize. I was not involved in actually finishing the faceplate artwork for any of the Cayman or Bushmaster DACs. All I did was suggestions.
Werner.
Oh, is there any discussion history about it on the forum? As I said in one of my posts, at the end the sound is the most important thing, but sometimes we need to deal with WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) as well :)
Werner Berghofer
14-10-2014, 10:00
Krzysztof,
Oh, is there any discussion history about it on the forum?
yes, there is; an endless long and winding thread with a certain level of hate and flames. One of my personal highlights was me being called an “arrogant a**hole” because I said it might be better if product design and typography were left to the professionals.
As I said in one of my posts, at the end the sound is the most important thing […]
Of course individual preferences are different, but for a visually and haptically oriented person like me the outside appearance of music reproduction gear I use daily is nearly as important as its tonal qualities. I think the performance one can expect from a device should be visually emphasized by the design of the housing, the faceplate and its overall build quality. Would not want to see or touch something in my home looking as if it had been assembled by a visually ambitious engineer in his garden shed.
Here are some examples of good sounding and looking gear I actually use in my home:
http://www.berghofer.com/photos/gear/headfun.jpg
Schiit Bifrost DAC, Schiit Valhalla headphone amplifier, Beyerdynamic DT 990 headphones
http://www.berghofer.com/photos/gear/phonitor_and_t1.jpg
SPL Phonitor 2 headphone amplifier, Beyerdynamic T1 headphones
http://www.berghofer.com/photos/gear/phonitor_2_front.gif
SPL Phonitor 2 faceplate
And here are two “Bushmaster” faceplate design variants I suggested in June 2012:
http://www.berghofer.com/photos/gear/bushmaster_1.jpg
http://www.berghofer.com/photos/gear/bushmaster_2.jpg
Werner.
Krzysztof,
yes, there is; an endless long and winding thread with a certain level of hate and flames. One of my personal highlights was me being called an “arrogant a**hole” because I said it might be better if product design and typography were left to the professionals.
Of course individual preferences are different, but for a visually and haptically oriented person like me the outside appearance of music reproduction gear I use daily is nearly as important as its tonal qualities. I think the performance one can expect from a device should be visually emphasized by the design of the housing, the faceplate and its overall build quality. Would not want to see or touch something in my home looking as if it had been assembled by a visually ambitious engineer in his garden shed.
Here are some examples of good sounding and looking gear I actually use in my home:
http://www.berghofer.com/photos/gear/headfun.jpg
Schiit Bifrost DAC, Schiit Valhalla headphone amplifier, Beyerdynamic DT 990 headphones
http://www.berghofer.com/photos/gear/phonitor_and_t1.jpg
SPL Phonitor 2 headphone amplifier, Beyerdynamic T1 headphones
http://www.berghofer.com/photos/gear/phonitor_2_front.gif
SPL Phonitor 2 faceplate
And here are two “Bushmaster” faceplate design variants I suggested in June 2012:
http://www.berghofer.com/photos/gear/bushmaster_1.jpg
http://www.berghofer.com/photos/gear/bushmaster_2.jpg
Werner.
I agree with you about the performance visually emphasized by the device look and feel. We should keep in mind however, that Stan's goal it to achieve with limited budget performance that normally would cost few time more. That is at least my feeling. SPL Phonitor's are one of the best headamps at the market, but not comparable in price with Stan's DAC's (much more expensive).
In one of the Stan's responses, he said that he don't expect so much sells like for original CMI because of the higher price and that CMII is meant for the music connoisseur, so I feel by heart that's his best effort to reach this goal. If it was true (only Stan can comment) I can live with the faceplate ;-) - I am very happy with the sound over RCA as said so far.
Venom Mod reversed, but actually in my DAC the Venom mod was never done, instead resistors and caps were different from that supposed to be.
Now, after removing that mess and cleaning the PCB the sound, especially higher tones got MUCH more air and spatiality! Bass is MUCH textured, meaning you can identify what instrument actually produced the sound - for me it is important for PRAT, where you can follow for instance the whole double bass line through the whole album.
What I can further examine and look at it is the gain and bass improvement - on my cans maybe it would be nice to get that bass little bit more punchy and powerful (Venom 4 mod?), but without loosing its texture. For the gain, I need to put volume pot around 50-60%, so I am not sure if it's OK from the S/N and THD perspective - maybe would be better to keep it around 30-40%? Don't know really where is the 0dB on this pot.
Stan used xDSL opamp from National Semiconductor which may be sign of the cleverness, since those have very good slew rate with good THD/Low Noise and are not so expensive than its OPA or AD brothers.
Overall very good product with much better sound than my previous CMI with Gator. As for USB, by the way, I couldn't see any galvanic isolation there, so to lower the noise while listening from the laptop I think it's better to use battery instead of keep laptop connected to the power source. I use TOSLINK, so I am automagically isolated.
Stan I wish you all the best.
Venom Mod reversed, but actually in my DAC the Venom mod was never done, instead resistors and caps were different from that supposed to be.
Now, after removing that mess and cleaning the PCB the sound, especially higher tones got MUCH more air and spatiality! Bass is MUCH textured, meaning you can identify what instrument actually produced the sound - for me it is important for PRAT, where you can follow for instance the whole double bass line through the whole album.
What I can further examine and look at it is the gain and bass improvement - on my cans maybe it would be nice to get that bass little bit more punchy and powerful (Venom 4 mod?), but without loosing its texture. For the gain, I need to put volume pot around 50-60%, so I am not sure if it's OK from the S/N and THD perspective - maybe would be better to keep it around 30-40%? Don't know really where is the 0dB on this pot.
Stan used xDSL opamp from National Semiconductor which may be sign of the cleverness, since those have very good slew rate with good THD/Low Noise and are not so expensive than its OPA or AD brothers.
Overall very good product with much better sound than my previous CMI with Gator. As for USB, by the way, I couldn't see any galvanic isolation there, so to lower the noise while listening from the laptop I think it's better to use battery instead of keep laptop connected to the power source. I use TOSLINK, so I am automagically isolated.
Stan I wish you all the best.
Regarding the bass punch, do you have access to a parametric EQ on the sound system? The punchiness IS there within the SR325 so a couple of nudges here and there around 100hz area should do the trick. It's best to attenuate everything else to avoid clipping actually.
As for the pot, I don't know how Stan implemented his analog solution, but I'd say most stuff out there past 50% is usually already amplifying sound and not attenuating, so the halfway point is the sweet spot. With logarithmic solutions you can certainly go past the 50%. On other implementations, sometimes it's better to push for 100% on the pot reducing gain on the input. Your ears will tell the difference.
On my venonmized BM1 I find my K501 and T1, for example, being pushed well past 12 oclock and all I hear is glorious sound.
After a bit of a hickup, I'm glad all is well now on the RCA and HO sides. It took you a bit to decide on getting the C2... all is well when ends well. Enjoy the music :D
Regarding the bass punch, do you have access to a parametric EQ on the sound system? The punchiness IS there within the SR325 so a couple of nudges here and there around 100hz area should do the trick. It's best to attenuate everything else to avoid clipping actually.
As for the pot, I don't know how Stan implemented his analog solution, but I'd say most stuff out there past 50% is usually already amplifying sound and not attenuating, so the halfway point is the sweet spot. With logarithmic solutions you can certainly go past the 50%. On other implementations, sometimes it's better to push for 100% on the pot reducing gain on the input. Your ears will tell the difference.
On my venonmized BM1 I find my K501 and T1, for example, being pushed well past 12 oclock and all I hear is glorious sound.
After a bit of a hickup, I'm glad all is well now on the RCA and HO sides. It took you a bit to decide on getting the C2... all is well when ends well. Enjoy the music :D
Thanks Xaval. On my device resistors for the opamp gain loop were soldered vice versa giving me cardboard kind of sound where, dry 2-dimentional with huge bass boost. Now I am on the stock params, but thinking to do Venom mod to go a bit down in the bass area. Hope it won't sound so bad as at the beginning?!
For USB it seems to don't have galvanic isolation, so maybe would be nice to do it outboard.
Tweaking sound goes both ways. I've spent countless hours modding stuff trying to play the better God part, trying to improve on the original design. Most of the time I've been humbled by poor results because the original engineer knows best. A few times I've been successfull though! The luck factor most certainly.
As for USB I think it's a money drain. I don't use it as it's way cheaper and simpler to use coaxial/toslink/AESEBU. On all my media servers, being Linux, OS X or Windows based I always use a good digital out as requisite with a nice PSU. I actually find it funny when people spend significant amounts of money on DACs, amps, speakers, headphones and cables and then cheap out on the "PC"...
If going the USB route I'd suggest doing the isolation/purifying thing with external boxes. You keep your gear "clean" and if the box doesn't work junt try another. USB wasn't designed to carry audio signals ant thre's too much stuff in the way that can go wrong, from poor hardware to sucky drivers. The original digital inputs/outputs are way simpler and looong tested and proven right.
Tweaking sound goes both ways. I've spent countless hours modding stuff trying to play the better God part, trying to improve on the original design. Most of the time I've been humbled by poor results because the original engineer knows best. A few times I've been successfull though! The luck factor most certainly.
As for USB I think it's a money drain. I don't use it as it's way cheaper and simpler to use coaxial/toslink/AESEBU. On all my media servers, being Linux, OS X or Windows based I always use a good digital out as requisite with a nice PSU. I actually find it funny when people spend significant amounts of money on DACs, amps, speakers, headphones and cables and then cheap out on the "PC"...
If going the USB route I'd suggest doing the isolation/purifying thing with external boxes. You keep your gear "clean" and if the box doesn't work junt try another. USB wasn't designed to carry audio signals ant thre's too much stuff in the way that can go wrong, from poor hardware to sucky drivers. The original digital inputs/outputs are way simpler and looong tested and proven right.
I am not using USB, but toslink. Maybe in the future. Do you have any suggestion for doing Venom mod with 22nF caps and 22K resistors?
I'm sorry but I'm not qualified to assess the effect of those components. I think Stan has posted sometime in the past what his recommendations were re the correct stuff to use as per impedance, maybe in the Venom thread?
Stan is a bit silent, but I'd think his head amp should be out this month with loads of knobs to play with. I'd go with that as the price announced was something çike 150 pounds if my memory serves me right.
I'm sorry but I'm not qualified to assess the effect of those components. I think Stan has posted sometime in the past what his recommendations were re the correct stuff to use as per impedance, maybe in the Venom thread?
Stan is a bit silent, but I'd think his head amp should be out this month with loads of knobs to play with. I'd go with that as the price announced was something çike 150 pounds if my memory serves me right.
I will look at the HA if released, but so far I prefer to have direct sound from my DAC without any EQ. It's been like that always. If the recording is bad, is bad.
I have quite interesting observation and calculation about the LMH opamp implementation in CMII. I even trued to calculate the gain loop reluctance and impedance for a given frequency.
On ny old CMI gatorized I have 22nF caps in the headphone section so maybe to get the same tonal balance on CMIi I should do the same.
StanleyB
19-10-2014, 11:34
Stan is a bit silent, but I'd think his head amp should be out this month with loads of knobs to play with. I'd go with that as the price announced was something çike 150 pounds if my memory serves me right.
A few things are keeping me busy. One is the recovery progress on a recent operation.
Yes the headphone amp is still scheduled to be £150 plus VAT(where VAT is due). I am actively working with the case manufacturer to make it look as desirable as possible within the confines of my own design style. I am disappointed by the general lack of effort that headamp designers have put into the look and practicality of headamps. I am trying to make a difference.
A few things are keeping me busy. One is the recovery progress on a recent operation.
Yes the headphone amp is still scheduled to be £150 plus VAT(where VAT is due). I am actively working with the case manufacturer to make it look as desirable as possible within the confines of my own design style. I am disappointed by the general lack of effort that headamp designers have put into the look and practicality of headamps. I am trying to make a difference.
Yes Stan, but there are plenty of HA on the market, so 150 pounds already set the expectations pretty high IMHO. Wil the case match your DAC devices?
Today I will go for Venom Mod for my CMII changing gain resistors to 10K from 6.8K I have now and to 22nF/22K for the frequency sensitive gain loop leg - now I have 33nF/33K. After that I will report back how it sounds - it will be tested on 32Ohm cans (Grado 325is). I have checked the values for the caps and resistors on my beloved old CMI with Gator PCB and those are indeed 10K/22nF/22K - so I hope it will sound as my previous DAC headphone section. Of course with different opamp, but it shouldn't be an issue.
Here is the Gator board from my previous CMI DAC:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/616481/Stary%20DAC.jpg
Hello again,
I've just done the Venom Mod on my CMII using 22nF/22K capacitors and resistors as well as 10K for the whole gain and you know what - the sound quality, especially the bass and midrange is back again! Deep, textured bass with resonant character for double bass in jazz trios and cellos in the classical music - everything is back now and sound awesome! Don't know why when my CMII arrived it was badly set up with mistakenly soldered elements, but now everything is fine.
One thing maybe as you know I have 32Ohm Grado cans and with 10K gain resistor the optimal volume position is exactly at half (probably 0dB?) - so around 10-15% less than in the previous set up where the resistor was 6.8K, but I think in the future I will change that resistor to 12K to get little bit spare room on the volume pot. It's not in hurry, but could be ideal at the end. It will probably change not only the whole gain with the same value, but also slope of the frequency response of my cans I guess taking into account change in the whole reactance of the gain loop and may change the overall tonal balance as well - good or bad I don't know
That's all I think. Maybe one comment, that because CMII did not have mute functionality I can hear some noise and cracks over the RCA outs when I pause the song on my Audirvana 2.0 player with faceplate LED blinks for that input (I use toslink) - it's weird, but so far I can leave with that. Maybe it is a thing of the player, system activity or CMII itself (the latter one I hope not).
If you have time to comment on some of my posts here, would be extremely kind and informative for all of us here on the forum. Thanks a lot.
Overall, it is indeed stunning achievement Stan. :clapclapclap:
sorry, but i don't understand, you have received a caiman mkII with wrong components and it sounded bad then you had to fix by yourself and now it's fine?
what is this venom mod?! and why a new brand dac needs this modifications?!
sorry, but i don't understand, you have received a caiman mkII with wrong components and it sounded bad then you had to fix by yourself and now it's fine?
what is this venom mod?! and why a new brand dac needs this modifications?!
Part of this question I prefer to leave without comment from my side. The second part about Venom the answer is here on the forum - you can deduct from it how the application is done: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?31818-Bushmaster-MKI-amp-MKII-Venom-4-ultimate-headphone-mod
StanleyB
24-10-2014, 08:19
Part of this question I prefer to leave without comment from my side.
I think that you should comment, especially since you have repeated that statement many times over and over again. So it must be bothering you terribly. I am sure loads of people want to read your comment :).
I think that you should comment, especially since you have repeated that statement many times over and over again. So it must be bothering you terribly. I am sure loads of people want to read your comment :).
As you wish Stan - now with your permission - and yes, it bothers me, since it shouldn't happen from the customer point of view. So, when I got CMII the resistors were soldered vice versa, meaning 6.8K was soldered in place of 22K - supposed 22K, according to your email Stan to me. But in fact it wasn't 22K, but 33K and caps weren't 22nF, but 33nF - meaning that at the beginning besides the fact the Venom mod has not been done and because of wrong place for 6.8K resistors, the sound of the headphone out was horrible. That's all about. I've got indeed information from you Stan how to change it back, but no words with excuse rather, if you don't like send it back. That's why it bothered me, but now I feel relief. Thanks God. :doh:
so Stan, is possible that also the other dacs you sell are assembled with the wrong parts? or it happened just in the case of mr .mkz ?
thanks
s
i would like also to ask to Kaczinsky what digital audio converter had before in his stereo setup (besides the beresford made) ?
thanks
s
StanleyB
24-10-2014, 09:14
As you wish Stan - now with your permission - and yes, it bothers me, since it shouldn't happen from the customer point of view. So, when I got CMII the resistors were soldered vice versa, meaning 6.8K was soldered in place of 22K - supposed 22K, according to your email Stan to me. But in fact it wasn't 22K, but 33K and caps weren't 22nF, but 33nF - meaning that at the beginning besides the fact the Venom mod has not been done and because of wrong place for 6.8K resistors, the sound of the headphone out was terrible. That's all about. I've got indeed information from you Stan how to change it back, but no words with excuse rather, if you don't like send it back. That's why it bothered me, but now I feel relief. Thanks God. :doh:
You told me which headphones you have, and I customized the headphone amp components based on the information that I have. But you mentioned that the modification had too much bass for your taste. So I offered you your money back or to set up the headphone section with the original production settings. But you asked if you could try to do the mod yourself, so I emailed you the values to try. Of course the stock component values and the ones i hand soldered in to do the mod are going to be different.
But you give the impression that the basic Caiman headphone output is faulty. Even taking into account any misunderstanding due to differences in our first language, it would be helpful to mention that you did not receive a stock unit, but one that had its headphone amp section modified. You give a bad impression to readers that you were badly treated by me and that I sold you a faulty unit that you were forced to repair by yourself. None of that is true. I offered you full email support and classified technical information on how to change different components to get a different sound. Now you yourself are using that information to experiment with the headphone output. I also offered you your money back, or the option of me reversing the mod. But that part of the story is lost on the readers unfortunately.
StanleyB
24-10-2014, 09:18
so Stan, is possible that also the other dacs you sell are assembled with the wrong parts? or it happened just in the case of mr .mkz ?
thanks
s
There is nothing wrong with the stock Caiman. This complaint is about a modified Caiman.
But it does show that carrying out modifications to the stock unit is something of personal taste. So I shall have to remove that from my list of things that I can do.
There is nothing wrong with the stock Caiman. This complaint is about a modified Caiman.
But it does show that carrying out modifications to the stock unit is something of personal taste. So I shall have to remove that from my list of things that I can do.
ok Stan, now you make it clear, thanks
cheers
s
You told me which headphones you have, and I customized the headphone amp components based on the information that I have. But you mentioned that the modification had too much bass for your taste. So I offered you your money back or to set up the headphone section with the original production settings. But you asked if you could try to do the mod yourself, so I emailed you the values to try. Of course the stock component values and the ones i hand soldered in to do the mod are going to be different.
But you give the impression that the basic Caiman headphone output is faulty. Even taking into account any misunderstanding due to differences in our first language, it would be helpful to mention that you did not receive a stock unit, but one that had its headphone amp section modified. You give a bad impression to readers that you were badly treated by me and that I sold you a faulty unit that you were forced to repair by yourself. None of that is true. I offered you full email support and classified technical information on how to change different components to get a different sound. Now you yourself are using that information to experiment with the headphone output. I also offered you your money back, or the option of me reversing the mod. But that part of the story is lost on the readers unfortunately.
That's all true Stan, except one thing:
Your words "I fitted 22nF. Change them back to 33nF" - that was not true, you have not fitted 22nF - it was 33nF.
Additionally - "[resistors]…can be 33K, or 39K if you want even less bass." - but those were 6.8K.
So, in my MODIFIED DAC according to information I've provided you what headphones I have, you didn't fit 22nF and resistors were soldered vice versa - that's clear I hope. So it was some mistake here, isn't it? That's why saying I set the headphone out based on your information bothered me, because I suppose you didn't test it after the soldering. If you did, you're able to hear that something was wrong. That's all.
Now I am probably bad customer, but after all, the DAC sounds fantastic!
I didn't say that basic (stock) CMII is faulty - in fact I don't have such kind of knowledge, because mine was modified by you Stan. If someone understood it like this, that's misunderstanding. What I am saying is only that it was modified, but badly - to my taste.
if you could answer to my question, i will be grateful , mr krzych...thanks
s
i would like to give a big thanks to mr.(polish surname impossible to write down) for his kind answer....
go on like this, great bloke...
walpurgis
25-10-2014, 17:12
I'm not sure what you are after Sergio. Ask questions by all means, but please don't demand answers or adopt a confrontational position.
After diligent listening, I have discovered something strange, described here: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?35018-Caiman-MKII-check-if-you-hear-the-noise-please
I've tried to investigate the problem, but without any clue and technical description. Maybe it is something on my side, but so far couldn't find anything wrong on my gear, software or wires.
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