Neil the preamp in the capella is excellent i use it in my main setup..as for the power supply use the one that you got with the capella.. that's all i use it works a treatQuote:
Originally Posted by Gixer k6
jon
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Neil the preamp in the capella is excellent i use it in my main setup..as for the power supply use the one that you got with the capella.. that's all i use it works a treatQuote:
Originally Posted by Gixer k6
jon
If you want one that looks expensive and is expensive, PM "Lurcher" on this forum. He builds a special Capella power supply to order. It's around £199.99. I got one and it is the last thing in performance extraction from the Capella.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gixer k6
Hi Stan,
I was chatting to a chap on Head fi and he told me he uses a Anker Astro Pro to run his amp and dac, but it states the output as 5v/9v/12v yet the one you supply is 15v, Is he using the wrong supply?
I have no idea. If the chap on head-fi says that it works fine for him, who am I to question him? I haven't got or tried an Anker battery myself, so any comments regarding its suitability or not would be pure guess work.
There are several posts even here that Anker Astro Pro 2nd Gen will work with Capella and CMII. I am using it with CMII and so far works like a charm on 12V. If you read the comments in the CMII guide it states that is optimised to be powered by battery on 12V.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gixer k6
Thanks for you advise but I have decided to try I repeat try and sell it,
The last two emails I sent to the seller he has just ignored, Also these have just been reduced so that has been a big help with regards to selling mine,
I have two questions about Capella:
1. Which of the controls on the front facia of Capella are normal pots and which rotary switches?
2. Does the Balance control have fixed center position? I mean kind of position that you can feel that's central moving the pot?
I hear a faint scratch when the Capella is used as a preamp from the volume knob when its position is past 1 o'clock. Is this as normal/regular (as per the owner's manual) as hearing the faint scratch from the gain knob in main headphone amplifier configuration? I'll add that the sound is irregular, it sometimes cannot be heard at any knob position.
I am planning to add capella to my system. I use cd player and digital player connected to caiman mkII and caiman connected to my pre amplifier. I have also tuner, cassette player and vinyl connected to my pre amplifier. In this situation how can I connect caiman to capella.
Can I use Single Phono to 2 Phono Sockets Audio Splitter from caiman 1 socket to capella and the other socket to my pre amplifier , or can I directly connect the tape output of my pre amplifier to capella.
You can connect the Caiman output to the Capella, and then the Capella output to the preamp. Or you can try a RCA splitter to connect the Caiman to the Capella or to the preamp, etc. I use the TC-7240 to do that sort of inter connectivity. One of its outputs goes to me amp, one goes to the Capella. The Caiman goes to one of its inputs. So I can connect the Caiman to the Capella or the amp.
My Capella arrived today (thanks Stan!),initially i tried to run both the Capella and Caiman off my old APC-20000
All i got was weak low quality sound from right ear cup and nothing from the left.
Then i connected the Capella to the supplied PSU and the Caiman to the battery and that solved the problem. Shame really, the battery ran my previous Bushmaster 2 and the present Caiman 2 without a glitch, the old Ankar battery i owned had the dreaded 'power down' because the Bushmaster draws so little power. It seems the Caiman 2 combined with the Capella is a little too much for this battery.
Great product, running the Hifiman HE-400 phones from the Caiman MK2 i had to turn the volume to between 12 o'clock and 1 o'clock position to get a decent level of volume, now i'm running them around the 10 o'clock to 11 o'clock position and they sound clearer and more focussed, and it seems i have gained a little extra bass definition.(Gain set approx 2 o'clock).
From what i've read, planar magnet headphones really gain from a headphone amp that has 2 watts or more of power output, the Capella has 4 watts?
I'd like a battery pack that has enough output to run the Caiman MK2 and Capella together, what do you guys recommend?
Yes it has.:)Quote:
Originally Posted by mkrzych
This should cover your battery needs.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...SIN=B00GSLRKJO
Thank you Stan. TC-7240 looks nice .In this option I need extra rca cables.Quote:
Originally Posted by StanleyB
cable 1 from caiman to TC-7240 input
cable 2 from TC-7240 out to pre amp
cable 3 from TC-7240 out to capella
Should I choose the same rca for cable 1 and 2 . Or it doesn't matter.
For the first option you mentioned , if I connect the Caiman output to the Capella input and capella out to my pre amp, soundwise does it make any difference than using TC-7240.
Thanks Barry, odd that this is 20000mAh same as my old Ankaka, but the Ankaka not capable of powering both?Quote:
Originally Posted by Kit1cat
I don't know about the Ankaka, I would think the Anker 2 would power both with no problem, the manuals for both say they support a 12v battery pack, any users confirm? I have used mine to power my Bushmaster and Touch at the same time with no problems, now using it with a Raspberry Pi and dac combination.Quote:
Originally Posted by Old George
For almost a year I have been listening from time to time to the Capella with the Philips Fidelio X2. Very happy. No problem. Great sound, coming from: Notebook + M2Tech Evo Power Supply + M2Tech Evo Clock High End Word-Clock-Generator + M2Tech HiFace Evo 24Bit/192kHz USB-Interface + Advance Acoustic MDA-503 + Capella + Philips Fidelio X2 (I am only referring to the headphone section of the setup). However, in the winter I live in another place where, because of my work duties, I am in front of a PC all day long. Here I use the following (slightly funny) combination: PC + M2Tech HiFace Evo 24Bit/192kHz USB-Interface + Philips CDR775 + Capella + Philips Fidelio X2, where the Philips CDR775 is used as a DAC feeding the Capella. No loudspeakers - until today. Today I decided I would also need loudspeakers. So I got a Tannoy Mercury VRi pair. I hooked them up to an old fine receiver just to check their sound. I was pleasantly surprised. So these days the Tannoy Mercury VRis will be hung over the two monitors of the PC - accompanied by a subwoofer, dug out from an old setup. I also dug out an old Cambridge Audio P500 power amp from another old setup and I will use it to fire the Tannoy Mercury VRis, whereby the Capella will feed sound to the Cambridge Audio P500. It's good to have a nice sound when working on the PC all day long - coming from BOTH loudspeakers and headphones. It is boring to uses only headphones.
To cut the long story short, in about a couple of days I hope to get settled in front of the PC with both the loudspeakers and the Capella in its capacity as both headphone amp and a pre-amp. And I will report the results.
I have a 1st Gen silver Anker battery which powers my Capella and Bushmaster MKII at the same time. It does power off though after 20 mins (so I added a grain of wheat bulb on a Y-Cable to cure this problem).
In fact my single Anker battery powers the Capella, Bushmaster plus Squeezebox Touch on 5v USB outlet !
BTW I believe the black 2nd Gen Anker linked to above can also have the 20 minute power off problem too.
It does appear that the problem is the Caiman (I only have BM so cannot test).
I think if I was you I would use your 2 batteries one for the Capella and one for the Caiman (I think I read previously that someone found separate batteries for each piece of kit sounds better).
I believe the gen2 one doesnt put out as much current on the 12 volt line as the gen1 which was about 4 amps, so if current is arequirement then the gen1 is the one to go for although its dearer
The Beresford products have a particularly low current draw, hence why the original one powers down and one has to artificially increase the current draw.Quote:
Originally Posted by struth
Yes I know, but folk might want to use it for other things too, that needs more current. The small bulb was the original method to stop it switching off. Dunno if there is a newer method. I used a linear psu when I had the capella
Looks like a 'damned if you do damned if you don't' scenario Adam, i had the 1st gen' Anker that cut out after 20 mins. The Ankaka (and it's various spin offs) don't suffer from this problem, but as i've previously stated it doesn't have the output of the Anker.Quote:
Originally Posted by Theadmans
Stan informed me that the 12 volt PSU supplied with the Capella is a low noise model that will power both Caiman and Capella in tandem. It looks like the solution is for me to purchase the 2nd gen Anker and have a two battery system if i want to squeeze a little extra performance from my kit.
Does anyone have the 20 minute power down issue with the second gen Anker battery?
The Capella sold very well in the last few days after I priced it at a special discount. I got hardly any left and I am now worried if I'll be able to get some more made up before Christmas. These erratic sales demands are a right pain at this time of the year.
I have the 2nd generation Anker Old George and can confirm I have never had any power down issues :) I tend to swap between the Anker (mainly use) and the supplied 12v battery supply every so often as they sound a little different. The Caiman and Capella are a dream to use (currently using DT 880 600 ohm cans) and never had any issues!
Dumb question time Rupert, so you have both the Caiman and Capella running off the Anker without the power down issue?Quote:
Originally Posted by Harvey13
That is correct Old George! I would say the maximum I have ever had it on for in one go is for roughly 5 hours and that never cut out :D
Cheers Rupert, that's £40 off to Amazon!Quote:
Originally Posted by Harvey13
As I said the other day, I was going to set up a system for my home PC (tight space in a small room) with the Capella in it. It's almost settled already. Source is HDD + PC with a special "DAC-UP USB port" (the motherboard is Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z97). Whether this "DAC-UP USB" port makes a difference soundwise, I don't know - and will be grateful for advice. Then a decent special (but not expensive) USB cable sends digits to the M2Tech HiFace Evo 24Bit/192kHz USB-Interface and then through a very good DIY digital cable to the Advance Acoustic MPP-505 digital pre-amp. The signal is then fed to the Cambridge Audio power amp and to the Tannoy VRi (good cables throughout). I like the Tannoys' sound very much! No subwoofer yet. But there will be one soon. Although charming in the highs and mids, without a sub the Tannoys are "half-alive". The Capella receives sound from the MPP-505 and transfers it to the Fidelio X2 headphones.
Opinions (mine, entirely based on personal experience):
- the Capella is great as a Headphone amp;
- the Capella is very good as a preamp (when used in the above configuration instead of the MPP-505). However, it cannot match a higher class preamp. I tried the Capella in my first setup instead of my valve preamp (price in the €500 range, good valves) to feed my hi-end power amps. The Capella is acceptable, but not in the valve preamp league;
- as mentioned here by others, the Capella as a preamp gives some hiss. Being a layman in the technical sphere but having a lot of experience with equipment and in listening, I know that the elimination of hiss leads to softness, loss of dynamics and bang, etc. while at the same time costing a lot of money to the producer. It is the case with my MPP-505. It costs €900 and has no hiss. My valve preamp mentioned above, costing twice less and having a hiss, blows the MPP-505 out of the water in terms of dynamics and bang. I have observed this in other cases as well, where expensive equipment with no hiss offers less sound than "cheaper equipment" with hiss. I prefer "cheaper equipment" :D :D :D with better sound, better dynamics and bang to more expensive equipment - with guaranteed softness achieved at a price. Hence, even with the hiss, the Capella is OK as a preamp in a less demanding setup, like the one described here.
- I am utterly convinced that the USB interface is extremely important and that it can offer immensely superior sound to that from a CD - DAC combination (unless the CD is exorbitantly expensive). Contrary to some opinions here, I think that the USB cable is extremely important. Using a standard £1 USB cable for audio is a joke. The German magazine AUDIO publishes ratings for USB cables. I followed their advice with respect to cables (in the lower end of the classification) and can re-confirm their estimates. I am not saying one must use a very expensive USB cable, but the sound difference between a £1 USB cable and a £20 or £40 USB cable is considerable (given that one has the other relevant quality components, e.g. clock generator, DAC, battery power supply, etc.).
- My experience with USB interface is relatively new. I first bought the highly rated M2Tech HiFace Evo 24Bit/192kHz USB-Interface. Was immediately blown away! Hooked up to my Advance Acoustic MDA 503 (with upgraded valves) it easily beat the Advance Acoustic CD-Transport combo. Then I added the M2Tech clock generator and the battery power supply - and .... do not want to hear any more of a CD player or transport as sources to a good DAC (unless a USB interface is unavallable :D).
Hence my questions (mostly to Stan):
- Why do so many people here seem to be unaware of the benefits of the HDD - USB interface - DAC route for the digits?
- Why is the Beresford ASYNCH-1 "reduced in price to clear"? New model coming? Or due to be discontinued because of low demand? Would be very, very surprised to hear the latter;
- Why is the Caiman not equipped with an asynchronous USB connection? Will a new Caiman model be? Asking because, having the Capella, the Caiman might also be of use to me as both a DAC and a preamp.
Thank you very much everybody (and Stan in particular) in advance! :pub:
Hi Krasimir,
too many questions, and they could be dangerous to answer..
As for the Capella hiss: check the power supply. It should say 12V. If you are using it with the 15V power supply from the Caiman, or with a battery pack that gives out more than 12V, the current buffer tends to draw more current. The extra current drawn under no load condition can cause the current buffer to sound a bit noisier. If you accidentally got a 15V power supply for the Capella as well, and you are not using a battery pack, email me with your address and I shall send you a 12V power supply instead.
Thanks, Stan! I will check again.
Hi.
I have a question about the powering down cycle of the Capella. When i turn off the amp, there's a short crackling noise. I just want to do if this can be harmful to headphones or speakers?h
Not from a small crackle.
What would the crackle be StanQuote:
Originally Posted by fourtetisburial