Caiman II With Asynch-1

[Darren Cotter]

Hi

With a Caiman II, if you are using the USB input, would it be better to add an Asynch-1?

Regards

Darren

[StanleyB]

If you want to play 192KHz audio files you'll need the ASYNCH-1. But for anything up to 96Khz I would stick to the regular USB input on the CII, especially when combined with the super firmware.

[Lee]

Over the weekend I installed the new Superfirmware into my two Caiman II's. The sound is now even more "live" and it was very fine before. I can hear more of the ambience of the recording. Voices are now exceptionally clear, even in my lively living room the clarity now seems to cut through the reflections of the living room. Strings are present with texture and harmonics. Piano is dynamic, top to bottom. I have two Caiman II's, so was able to compare original to SuperFirmware and there really is no contest in the sound. Percussion is scary good. Only one caveat I've found, which goes along with Stan's initial caution in his post about the SuperFirmware. When I use AirFoil on my Mac Mini to stream via AirPlay to my bedroom system through an old MacBook, there are tiny breakups every few minutes. I will continue to see what if anything can be done to stop this happening, but as far as I am concerned the improvement in sound quality is well worth the switch from original to Superfirmware! As long as I run directly to using USB or optical it works perfectly in both systems. Thanks Stan!!!

[Darren Cotter]

Hi Stan

I do have 192khz files, so I'll use the Asynch I was using on my Bushmaster II.

Where do you get the new firmware?

Regards

Darren

[Jankoff]

Got the Asynch I, for use with a PC and a decent setup, including hi-end preamp with DAC, Cambridge Audio power amp, decent Tannoy satellites and decent subwoofer. Stan advised me to use the USB power. A cable less, wife happy. Using it in place of the M2Tech HiFace Evo, which needs the clock and the battery power supply to play at its best (I have them and I know how they perform). The Asynch I had some rough edges at the beginning, now smooth enough. Sound signature different from the HiFace Evo but totally satisfying for me. Interestingly, the Evo, itself small, is physically much bigger than the Asynch I. Once again, :thumbsup: :yay:
Good justification to put the Caiman into the wish list as well.

[wee tee cee]

I had not realised that the USB had been upgraded with the firmware. Pulled the USB out of the v link and plugged it into the CM2-what a numpty I am!!!

Sounds majik-just opens up the sound niceley.

Nice one Stan....

[Theadmans]

...I know there are a lot Squeezebox Touch users out there - don't be put off by the Caiman II USB specs of 24/96 only ......

.....Stanley informs me that the Caiman II with the Squeezebox Touch does 24/192 as the Squeezebox is Linux and isn't limited by Windows drivers.

My recent upgrade from Bushmaster II to Caiman II (on Anker Battery power) results in more extended bass, better sound stage and more analogue like sound !!! :):)

[StanleyB]

I can get the USB to work at 192 as well with MediaMonkey, but I haven't figured out yet to get it to be consistent. When it goes wrong the sound plays back at about half the speed...
Foorbar and JRiver recognize seem to use a lookup table for the USB chip however, and display an error condition however. This is when used in exclusive and event mode.

[Jankoff]

Some days ago while a disk was spinning in my PC drive, suddenly a blast was heard (bomb-like, on a smaller scale). Turned out that the dvd drive had burst the dvd disk into hundreds of smaller or larger pieces. I had not even heard something like this was possible. Bought a bluray burner to replace the dvd drive. What good use - audio-wise - can I now put the bluray to? I know there are bluray disks with concerts and I also read that there was a standard called bluray audio. I post this question here because the PC with the bluray drive has the Asynch-1 hooked on it. Any ideas? Thank you in advance.

[mrboonmee]

I had some issues with the Asynch-1 with PC/Win7 at first.

PC does require a driver and the Schiit Gen2 1.16 works excellent for me.
http://schiit.com/drivers

I also had a problem with Intel gigabit NIC driver causing latency issues. took Intel a long time to fix them. until recently anything after 19.5 caused a huge latency issue.
http://www.thesycon.de/eng/latency_check.shtml

works perfectly, no pops or dropouts. 24/192 files etc.

I am in the market for new headphones. heard quite a few and haven't hit the magic one yet. Beyer T1 or T1 Gen2, HD800S, etc.

[StanleyB]

There are some new drivers for the Asynch-1 on my website, plus a revised set of instructions. See the thread at http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?42898-Beresford-Asynch-1-updated&p=725112#post725112