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View Full Version : Beresford Caiman DAC -- second impressions



magiccarpetride
07-05-2010, 16:29
OK, Caiman has been burning in for 72 hours and counting, so I thought I'd give it a second listen. Whoa! In all honesty, I was totally blown away!

Scrap everything I've said before about Caiman (I complained how it sounded muffled and overly polite and subdued). After three days of burning in, this baby is finally starting to come to life.

First off, the highs; right out of the box, the highs were severely rolled off. Not any more! The highs have now opened up, and extend to a seemingly limitless highs. In addition, they are now supremely delicate. Even the quietest quiver of a high-pitched Tibetan prayer bell, or a synthesized bell, is now not only clearly audible, but also seems to linger on in its little space forever. On some tracks, what previously sounded like a single stroke of the high-pitched bell (or a triangle), now becomes discernible as three or more soft strikes. Uncanny!

Cymbals finally sound like real cymbals. I think this DAC is simply amazing for its price!

The bass -- it is now extended toward the fathomless bottom. It is now a presence, a beast, while at the same time not interfering with the mids and the high range sounds. On Stevie Wonder's "Blame it on the Sun" ("Talking Book") the bass is so deep, so warm and overwhelming, that I felt like I'm literally floating in the air. All the while, it is also incredibly musical.

Listening to "Talking Book" through the Caiman brought a renewed admiration for this otherwise overly familiar album.

The vocals -- David Clayton-Thomas's voice on "Hi-De-Ho" ("Blood Sweat and Tears 3", 1970) sounds incredibly present, and now I can clearly hear how he was striving to emulate Ray Charles. The hugely sounding choir backing him up is eerily present without ever breaking out into a loud and uncontrollable mess (the way strong choirs tend to do on inferior sound reproduction systems). Overall, a superb track superbly performed and sublimely reproduced through Caiman. Bravo, Mr. Beresford!

Same is true about Annie Lennox on "Waiting in Vain". Layered performance, lots of backing vocals buried deep into the mix, everything is now revealed with such panache, and a full sense of control (btw, this is by far the definitive version of Bob Marley's famous tune).

Weather Report's "Black Market" is a sonic adventure which I wasn't really able to hear and appreciate in its full glory until now. Just the way Caiman brings up and presents all these ultra dynamic percussion and drums is worth the price of admission. This record is one of the most carefully crafted dynamic performances, where the band progresses from quiet to super loud back to super quiet passages with ease. And of course, you need a superior system to be able to really hear what's going on there.

I could go on forever (as me and my wife had spent several memorable hours last night going through some of our favorite music). In the end, my hat's off to this DAC, I give it both thumbs up, and advise anyone who is not presently using an external DAC to order this little box. You won't regret it.

Stratmangler
07-05-2010, 16:32
Aren't you glad you didn't listen to the good bergers over on the Squeezebox forum - after all it takes time for your brain to adjust, right ?;)

Ali Tait
07-05-2010, 16:42
:lolsign:

Themis
07-05-2010, 17:06
Very nice preview Alex. Accurate, too. Congratulations ! ;)

magiccarpetride
07-05-2010, 17:07
Aren't you glad you didn't listen to the good bergers over on the Squeezebox forum - after all it takes time for your brain to adjust, right ?;)

Absolutely. I just can't believe what a difference three days make. It is a veritable brain tease.

Anyway, I'm leaving this baby constantly on. Burn baby, burn! See what happens 200 hours into the burn in game, and then all the way up to 1,000 hours! (do I see now some worried looks around here? no, seriously, I'll be fine, I'm just a bit overly excited about this DAC!)

magiccarpetride
07-05-2010, 17:10
Very nice preview Alex. Accurate, too. Congratulations ! ;)

I haven't even scratched the surface, but I didn't want to abuse your attention and overstay my welcome by getting down and dirty into the nitty-gritty. I'll just add one observation, something that I've never experienced before: the sound through Caiman is positively hypnotic!

If my daughter didn't have to go to sleep, I could've easily seen myself staying with this music listening session till the crack of dawn...

Covenant
07-05-2010, 20:37
Aren't you glad you didn't listen to the good bergers over on the Squeezebox forum - after all it takes time for your brain to adjust, right ?;)

I think it was Gazjam that started the thread on burn in on the Squeezebox Touch forum and I said it was a good point-I wish I hadn't bothered it caused so much grief. In the end I just dropped it. This is supposed to be a hobby for enjoyment but some people seem to forget that. Burn in is all in our minds, yea right ok....

Themis
07-05-2010, 21:16
Most Solid State bits are so bad sounding that no burn-in is noticeable... ;)

Alex_UK
08-05-2010, 14:45
I would hate to say "told you so" ;)

Glad its coming good for you.

magiccarpetride
10-05-2010, 16:41
I would hate to say "told you so" ;)

Glad its coming good for you.

No, you were absolutely right. Please see my third installment (The 'third impressions') for more recent updates. It's scary -- Caiman is now audibly improving with each burn in hour. At this point I'm in the position of not being able to even recognize all the familiar music I've enjoyed for many decades. Caiman is bringing all that into a completely new light. I'm rediscovering my music library!

Alex_UK
11-05-2010, 23:17
I'm rediscovering my music library!

That's what it is all about!