5 star WHF review of Beresford Caiman in latest issue.

[chebby]

Page 16 of the latest issue, 5 stars, very complimentary.

You probably all know this already. Apologies if so.

Well done Stanley. Another good link for the website soon.

(The online version of the review will probably be up in a couple of weeks or so.)

My TC-7520 (with LM4562NA op-amps) is still doing a Sterling job.

[leo]

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=3404&page=56


Probably deserves a separate thread anyway:smoking:

[DSJR]

But it's not a Cyrus..... :scratch:

[aquapiranha]

But it's not a Cyrus..... :scratch:

Haha! you old cynic you. My thoughts exactly!

:lolsign:

[The Vinyl Adventure]

But it's not a Cyrus..... :scratch:

:lolsign:

[Alex_UK]

But it's not a Cyrus..... :scratch:

They're downsizing - Cyrus is too big these days, what with all the "Wendy Houses" we all live in now! ;)

[Themis]

But it's not a Cyrus..... :scratch:
;)

Although, I have to admit that the price difference between the 8xp and the 8xpd (the one with a dac included), is rather good price-wise.

[roob]

How much advertising space did Stanley buy?

[StanleyB]

How much advertising space did Stanley buy?
I am renowned for turning down request for payments to magazines and forums, if that payment is in any way going to be associated with getting better exposure and privileges. Just ask wigwam, PFM, and the ridiculous financial demands by head-fi amongst many. Naturally, my position on payments has not gone down well with some, who have then tried to cover their greed with accusations against me:lol:.
But I am pleased to let it be known that magazines like What HIFI and sites like AoS have never asked me for a single financial contribution of any sorts:).

[Gazjam]

Hi Roob.

4 posts in and your slagging established members?

tsk tsk :)

[Themis]

Naturally, my position on payments has not gone down well with some, who have then tried to cover their greed with accusations against me:lol:
Moreover, it's not easy to read between the lines, as evidence is carefully deleted.
Some posts remain, though. ;)

[StanleyB]

I let my products speak for themselves:). At the end of the day, those brand names who are willing to pay for pushed and subliminal advertising do end up charging a lot more for their product. If you look at the prices of a range of DACs on a worldwide basis, the consistency in pricing of my DACs compared to other brands is glaringly obvious. If I can do it, then who is paying the piper?

[Themis]

When you see the price of some USB->analog dongles, I have no wonder as to who is paying the piper...:eyebrows:

[lovejoy]

I bought this to read on my long train journey home today. Nice to see a good review of the Caiman, but as ever, What Hi-Fi? are rubbish on the details. Absolutely no mention (and I would presume evaluation) of the headphone amp. Considering it's the one piece of kit that has got me listening through headphones seriously for the first time in my life, I would have expected this to have at least been touched upon.

Shoddy!

[The Vinyl Adventure]

what hifi... shoddy... ... ...
at least they actually seem to have got something right
i have read some very odd reviews in that magasine recently

[Marktdac]

Whilst on the subject of What Hifi ,do u think they are biased to certain products?

Nothing to do with the Caimen ,but iv found that they always give Grado 5stars ,dont get me wrong never owned any of there products ,so dont know how good they are !.They are probably as good as people say

An example being IGRADO headphones which get 5 star , Sennheiser or AKG only get 4 even though they look better quality and better value for money

Yet u go on other webistes and the IGRADOs dont get the same treatment ,yes most say they are good ,but also tell u about more minus points and dont give max stars

Mark

[Peter Galbavy]

Advertising - with some notable exceptions - buys you good reviews in all magazines, print and online. I have had stand-up rows with well known computer rag writers who claim this is not so, but I have also worked at companies where the marketing dept negotiated exatly these kinds of deals. Editorial *is* over-ruled by the sales desk, like it or not.

[trailer]

http://www.whathifi.com/Review/Beresford-Caiman/

[tizer2000uk]

I actually quite like What Hi-Fi, I usually get the first impressions from them as they largely get it right at least to my ear. Take Grado's for example, I have 2 pairs of them (SR60's & SR325i Golds) and have to say their reviews are spot on, thats not to say that Senns and the other's don't make fine cans; they do, they just aint Grado's. Nothing else seems to dig as much detail from a mix like they do. That said I actually found the Caiman review to be a bit odd, almost like Stan had not crossed their palms with silver therefore they held back a bit in giving enough good praise of which I am sure it is due if the 7520 is anything to go by. It wasn't a bad review what with the 5 stars, they just held their punches a bit if you compare that review to other 5 star kit...

[StanleyB]

That said I actually found the Caiman review to be a bit odd,
Odd as it may seem, I am in full agreement with WHF. If I had reached the pinnacle of what can be achieved, there would be nothing else to strive for as far as DAC progression is concerned. But far from it. I am yet to experiment with duplexers, balanced outputs, filters, oscillators, passive and discrete configurations, just to name a few. Only after I have heard the results of such experiments could I say whether I have exhausted every possible bit of every byte in each word that is embedded in a digital audio signal.

[sburrell]

Nothing to do with the Caimen ,but iv found that they always give Grado 5stars ,dont get me wrong never owned any of there products ,so dont know how good they are !.They are probably as good as people say

An example being IGRADO headphones which get 5 star , Sennheiser or AKG only get 4 even though they look better quality and better value for money
I used to own a pair of Grado SR60s, and they were phenomenal. The bass was the thing that sticks with me, but on the whole they were in another league. Whenever I put them on I felt like I was being enveloped in a rich world of lush tones. *sigh* Miss them, I do…
As for Senn and AKG looking better quality/better value for money: The SR60s were very comfortable; I liked the retro design (the enclosures rose up and down on wee poles for height adjustment, and made you look as though you had wee antennas on your ears); the materials used in the headband etc. were certainly quite cheap and plasticky, but they performed well functionally. My belief (supported through listening) is that Grado had done the right thing by ploughing the majority of the value of the product into the sound quality. Kinda like Stanley with his DACs (no offence intended). :)

EDIT: BTW, I agree with the suggestion that WHF may have held back a little in their opinions (though I'll not suggest any reasons why). There are no superlatives in the text, surprising for a 5-star review; instead we have terms like "agreeable", "fine", "plenty of room" (where they could have used "loads" or masses") & "adept." On the whole there's almost a sense of begrudging respect, possibly further evidenced by terms such as "Fractionally short of punch and drive", "hint of dynamic reticence" (or was it? They waver here) and "[s]ome may hanker after a little more punch," (who? People whose opinion we should listen to?) which actually gain more strength due to the aforementioned lack of superlatives. And it's a very brief review, no? When I bought this mag years ago I was used to reading how the reviewer enjoyed the reproduction of various tracks, commenting on how various artists' voices were presented etc. Spartan, springs to mind.
But it's the five-stars that matter! :) Congratulations, Mr. Beresford :clap:

[Themis]

Grado's 60's have too much mid-bass... really too much. When you go back to reference headphones, the difference is enormous ! The SR60 are as imprecise in the mid-lows as the Koss Portapros...
As a result, they have a specific sonic signature that you can remember. At least, they have a reason to "like them of leave them". As far as I am concerned, I never got used to their over-exaggerated mid-lows.