Where next from a Pioneer PD-S703 Caiman MkII?

[CageyH]

Whilst I am happy with the Caiman II for Spotify etc. I feel it makes very little difference to the output from my PD-S703 when used as a transport.
I have tried optical and coax cables between the two and just stick to the RCA now.


So the first question is, what is the weakest link?

The 2nd question, what would you do about it?

The digital system comprises of:

Spotify Premium/Pioneer PD-S703 to Caiman II.
Caiman II to Firebottle KIN.
Firebottle KIN to Firebottle Monos.
Firebottle Monos to Electricbeach FH3 with Batpure supertweeters.

[StanleyB]

Is it a stock MKII, or a GFU modded one?

[CageyH]

GFU modified.

[MikeMusic]

Caiman improved my Pioneer PDS-703

Bigger improvement when I added an Ankaka battery ot the Caiman
Blue Jeans digital cable

[CageyH]

Mike,

You are suggesting that the CD player is the weak link?
A better transport is a possibility, but what?

The Caiman II is already running from an Anker battery.

[MikeMusic]

Thinking more about the battery in the current set up. Didn't know you had an Anker.
There are better batteries and PSUs and better results will follow from what I read.
The digital sounds better to me than RCA with a Mark Grant / Belden digital cable
The rest I don't know !

[Markiii]

What I need of music are you playing?

[CageyH]

A variety of music, but no jazz, blues or classical.
More Muse, Keane U2, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits etc.

[CageyH]

Is the Cambridge Audio CXC any good?

[CageyH]

A little update.

I have a Hewlett Packard N36L ProLiant micro server sat around not doing much.
I decided that I would try to connect it up to the Caiman II to see if I could get the LG CD-Rom (could be DVD I can't remember) to work as a transport directly into the Caiman II via USB.
The good news is that it works, so I can transfer the entire music library across to the server.

Now I just need to install Spotify and iTunes and have a play over the next few days to see what I prefer.

[MikeMusic]

Look at a Pi for streaming Spotty and others then into the Caiman

[CageyH]

Thanks for the suggestion Mike, but I don’t see what a Pi would give me over and above my Micro Server?

[CageyH]

I have now set up Logitech Media Server on the server, with a softsqueeze player, using iPeng through my IOS devices, and I am very happy with it.
Best bit is that it has cost me just the price of the app.

When the novelty has worn off, I may look at improving things.

[MikeMusic]

Thanks for the suggestion Mike, but I don’t see what a Pi would give me over and above my Micro Server?

I'm no techie but I believe you will have a better sound.
Don't take my word for it though !

[CageyH]

Thanks Mike. I will investigate.

[CageyH]

How much of a step up from a Caiman II GFU is a supercap modified SEG?

[walpurgis]

Your PD-S703 is a nice player and a close relative to the PD-S505 Precision I use and I'm sure that with the right DAC the sound quality can be very good. I run a Monarchy Audio M22B DAC with mine and the combination sounds superb.

[CageyH]

I am happy to say that the Super cap SEG has made a nice difference.
There will possibly be a Caiman II up for sale shortly, although I may keep it as a pre-amp for a second system.