Caiman vs. Bushmaster

[Caber10]

This may be a question for Stan , however any thoughts and experiences would be helpful. I have a Caiman with a Gator board that I am using to drive a Quad 33 preamp that in turn drives a pair of 303s driving ESL 63s with Gradient subs. It sounds absolutely stunningly good however the Caiman only has 1 toslink which is a bit of a shame as I am using a CD with an optical out and also a Chromecast Audio for Spotify and Radios 3 & 4. I just got hold of a Bushmaster which has 2 toslink inputs. Sadly this sounds a lot less clear and has substantially less bass. The Bushman is a 1.3 revision board and the firmware chip has a single red dot rather than a number so I guess is probably original firmware.

Are there any mods that can be done to the Bushmaster to get the same kind of sound quality that I am getting from the Caiman? I note there are a couple of different firmwares available if I understand the Beresford.me website correctly, BMI-Serum and BMI-10 or are these the same? Also there are the Venum board mods. I am a little hesitant at soldering SMD components though happy enough with old fashioned wire leg devices:) What is the consensus on the order in which to do and value of each of these mods and how close are they likely to get to the sound of my Caiman with Gator or what changes or differences would there be between the sounds of these two DACs.

Another question, Currently I am driving the DAC into one of the radio inputs on the Quad 33 using attenuated leads that I got to drive my CD player into this input. I have the option of the lower sensitivity tape input and will shortly have an unattenuated cable for that or to drive into the radio input. Currently the Gator seems reasonably well matched to the attenuated input, are there any specific mods or port choices that might make what is already excellent even better?

Whichever DAC doesn't get used in the main system will be used in the secondary system predominantly for another Chromecast into a Yaquin MC100B driving CELEF PE1, a system which also sounds much better than it should do considering the age and cost of the equipment!

Looking forward to everyone's thoughts:)

Kevan

[mikmas]

I have used the 33/303 combo quite a lot over the years in original and modified form and although I can't comment on the Beresford Dacs (having only had experience of one of Stan's very early models) I can offer the following.

I have extensively modded my 33 and this might be a step too far for you .. but as an absolute minimum I would upgrade the 33 using the excellent (and cheap) Dada package:

http://www.dadaelectronics.eu/shop/quad-upgrade-kits/quad-33-upgrade-and-revision-kit

This would make the sensitivity of the inputs much more amenable to modern devices (such as Stan's) without really affecting the Quad signature sound that makes the 33 such a joy (if you are as much of a fan as I am ;) ) and without resorting to attenuating cables - which I always found to be disappointing and a faff to use.

Quite happy to detail the other mods I did ... but a bit late now and off to snooze ;)

[StanleyB]

The TC-7520/7520SE/7520SEG with the legendary Gator board was updated and the new DAC turned into the TC-7535 Caiman SEG. The Bushmaster I and II and the Caiman MKII are without the Gator circuitry. So they don't have that same delicious analogue sound that the Gator circuit delivers.
Saying that, there have been a couple of mods to make the BMI and BMII sound warmer, and adding the Dorado takes it to a completely new level.
If you have a Bushmaster MKI, I do an upgrade package for that for just £40, which includes Royal Mail special delivery return postage. You can add the Dorado plus charger as an additional upgrade at a total cost of £100, postage etc included. It seems like a lot of money now, but after you have heard it you'll agree it was money well spent. Prices quoted are for AoS members obviously.

[Caber10]

Stan,

I will definitely go for the Bushmaster upgrade. As I said the board revision is 1.3 so I need bits for that. The problem with the Dorado is that I doubt I would be satisfied with one if it makes such an improvement! I can't really afford £200 just now:eek: Is there a purchase link for this on your website for the upgrade to the Bushmaster or how do I order this?

I think I need to look at the whole low voltage issue across both my systems. Apart from the DACs I have wall wart supplies for the Chromecast audios, for a Graham Slee phono stage, a Chromecast for the video projector and doubtless more future devices. Have you thought about a bigger system wide version of the Dorado with multiple 5V outputs, 12V and 15V outputs for the increasing plethora of USB and SELV powered devices or is there another solution possibly battery based that might help resolve the likely nasty mains and LV noise all the wall warts produce?

Thanks

Kevan

[StanleyB]

Stan,

I will definitely go for the Bushmaster upgrade. As I said the board revision is 1.3 so I need bits for that. The problem with the Dorado is that I doubt I would be satisfied with one if it makes such an improvement! I can't really afford £200 just now:eek: Is there a purchase link for this on your website for the upgrade to the Bushmaster or how do I order this?
It's £100 for the upgrade and the Dorado package, not £200 :).
PM me and I can work out with you when to send the DAC to me for the upgrade. You don't have to lift any soldering iron. I'll do all that for you.

[Theadmans]

Regarding the problem of only having one toslink optical input - I used to use one of these toslink switches (with no obvious disadvantage to the sound quality):-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-Way-Optical-Toslink-Splitter-Switch-Selector-Digital-Audio/372320142159?epid=16004393377&hash=item56b002834f:g:DYMAAOSwOFBaizyI:rk:2:pf:0

...means you can connect both the CD player and Chromecast Audio to the one optical socket on the SEG.

[Theadmans]

BTW I did NOT insert the emoticons in my previous post (guess the board is picking up something from my hyperlink).

[Caber10]

Adam,

Thanks I hadn't considered that.I have ordered one to see if it works without degrading the signal. I am always suspicious of fibre to fibre junctions as they are bound to attenuate the signal to a significant extent!

Thanks!

[dave2010]

Adam,

Thanks I hadn't considered that.I have ordered one to see if it works without degrading the signal. I am always suspicious of fibre to fibre junctions as they are bound to attenuate the signal to a significant extent!

Thanks!I have a couple of those, and they seem to work OK. Re the attentuation you mention, I doubt that you'll notice it. The only problem with those units is the size - they are quite large, though it would be possiible to make significantly smaller ones using different technology - perhaps using electronics to do the switching (and that could even be operated remotely), but they're good as an alternative to having to conect and re-connect fibre links each time you want to use different kit.

[Antinchip]

Stan,

I have a BMII dating from January 2014 with Firmware upgrade 2. Can the upgrades you mention at post No 3 be done to the BMII also? If so I might be interested in this with or without the Dorado. I still use the Anker battery.

Many thank.

Cheers

Anthony

[Antinchip]

Stan, you have PM.

Cheers

[Caber10]

So a bit of an update and a question!

I have had the Bushmaster and a Dorado back from Stan for a while. There is no question for me that the best combination for my main system is the Gatorised Caiman with the Dorado. Tons of detail and clarity that I like but some find a bit ott. The Bushmaster is much calmer and is now quite happy in the second system.

I have , however been experiencing some weird behaviour from the Caiman. I was getting a distinct mains type hum but only when there was music playing. Between tracks it was silent. This also happened on radio via the chromecast where it was much more annoying. I tried all the combinations of DACs and Dorado as well as swapping the chromecast for another but the hum just disappeared once I started swapping stuff about. The only issue now is that the Caiman won't produce any sound from the CD player! The CD is working fine with its analogue out and the digital lead has a nice red glow at the end and hadn't been disturbed during the swap outs as it is through an optical switch into the Caiman. So I am really confused as to what is going on, any advice as to what to try next would be much appreciated!

Thanks

Kevan

[Caber10]

So a bit of an update and a question!

I have had the Bushmaster and a Dorado back from Stan for a while. There is no question for me that the best combination for my main system is the Gatorised Caiman with the Dorado. Tons of detail and clarity that I like but some find a bit ott. The Bushmaster is much calmer and is now quite happy in the second system.

I have , however been experiencing some weird behaviour from the Caiman. I was getting a distinct mains type hum but only when there was music playing. Between tracks it was silent. This also happened on radio via the chromecast where it was much more annoying. I tried all the combinations of DACs and Dorado as well as swapping the chromecast for another but the hum just disappeared once I started swapping stuff about. The only issue now is that the Caiman won't produce any sound from the CD player! The CD is working fine with its analogue out and the digital lead has a nice red glow at the end and hadn't been disturbed during the swap outs as it is through an optical switch into the Caiman. So I am really confused as to what is going on, any advice as to what to try next would be much appreciated!

Thanks

Kevan

Doh!

Strike that CD does work if you plug all the optical leads into the correct holes!

[wee tee cee]

Try the chrome cast with a power bank.....amazon do a 20000 mha POWER ADD one for £20.

Get another switching supply out the chain.

The Dorado on 15v with the seg is superb....have yet to try it with my caiman mk2.

Can the Caiman mk2 take 15v or is it 12v only?

[Caber10]

Well folks the hum is back:( I have tried all permutations of available power supplies and I still get the same thing. The sound is really a clean sine wave and happens on my CD player as well as the chromecast the intensity varies reducing over half an hour or so of playing but the really wierd thing is the silence when there is no signal such as on pause with spotify or between tracks or at end of a CD.

I am really beginning to think it is something to do with the Caiman unless anyone has other suggestions. Could it be some interaction between the Caiman and the quad 33? currently it is on an attenuated lead into a radio input.

Help!!!!

Kevan

[mikmas]

Well folks the hum is back:( ............Could it be some interaction between the Caiman and the quad 33? currently it is on an attenuated lead into a radio input.

Kevan

Have you tried the Caiman through the Tape input on the 33 ?
If you set the screws on the Tape board to the middle position (recommended by Quad for higher level outputs such as CD) you should be able to use a 'normal' lead.
I used to use this in preference to attenuated leads before I updated my 33.

Maybe worth it to see whether the hum dissappears - otherwise contact Stan Beresford for his advice :thumbsup:

[StanleyB]

Have you used the Earth connection on the Caiman to connect a grounding wire between DAC and amp?

[Caber10]

Mikmas and Stan,

Currently the CD is running direct to the tape input I can swap that and the Caiman this evening to try. I have not connected the earth to the amp I can try that as well, though this problem happened a few weeks after I started using the Caiman with the Dorado!

I'll let you know the result of this evenings experiments!

Kevan