Any Digital Impressions of the Caiman yet?

Well guys my caiman is now about 60-70 hours burned-in i know its not up to 200 hours yet but i thought i give it another go with the NAD542. This time i make sure that the caiman gets a spot at the power conditioner as well to make it a level playing field.

Gone are the slow and veiled of my first impression with the caiman. The sound now are much brighter and transparent than before although the vocals seems to take a step back than before to let the soundstage open up. Right now i would say the sound is a tad brighter on the neutral side, it kinda reminded me of the benchmark dac bright sound which can be a good and bad thing.

One weird thing about the caiman is that when i use it in conjunction with my computer i seem to notice a sound (lasted about a half a second) coming out of the box everytime i start/switch music tracks. I wonder what that sound is, maybe its also related to the small click and pop sound i get out of the headphone amp everytime i start/switch tracks as well. But what could be inside the caiman box that can produce a sound :scratch: i am thinking maybe its the clock syncing everytime you start/switch tracks maybe

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Originally Posted by sum1

Gone are the slow and veiled of my first impression with the caiman. The sound now are much brighter and transparent than before although the vocals seems to take a step back than before to let the soundstage open up. Right now i would say the sound is a tad brighter on the neutral side, it kinda reminded me of the benchmark dac bright sound which can be a good and bad thing.

One weird thing about the caiman is that when i use it in conjunction with my computer i seem to notice a sound (lasted about a half a second) coming out of the box everytime i start/switch music tracks. I wonder what that sound is, maybe its also related to the small click and pop sound i get out of the headphone amp everytime i start/switch tracks as well. But what could be inside the caiman box that can produce a sound :scratch: i am thinking maybe its the clock syncing everytime you start/switch tracks maybe

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Nice news ! This sounds more like my own impressions of the Caiman.
I'm quite confident that the "tad bright on the neutral side" will be a souvenir when the burn-in process will complete. At least mine doesn't have it anymore. :cool:

Sorry, I don't know why the signal-lock produces a click with your computer, as it doesn't do it with my SB3... yep, it sounds like a signal-lock, for sure.

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Originally Posted by sum1

One weird thing about the caiman is that when i use it in conjunction with my computer i seem to notice a sound (lasted about a half a second) coming out of the box everytime i start/switch music tracks. I wonder what that sound is, maybe its also related to the small click and pop sound i get out of the headphone amp everytime i start/switch tracks as well. But what could be inside the caiman box that can produce a sound :scratch: i am thinking maybe its the clock syncing everytime you start/switch tracks maybe

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A muting relay. Normally, DACs and CD players costing less than U$2000 use muting transistors since they are far cheaper than relays. But muting transistors produce distortion, so I use muting relays. Cost ten times or more than muting transistors, but quality comes at a price if you want the best.

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Originally Posted by StanleyB

I use muting relays.

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Does that mean an electro-mechanical relay, Stan? A solenoid moving metal contacts? Or is it a reed switch in a coil? I am guessing enclosed contacts make for more reliability.

If anyone wants to know, they are going to have to buy one of my DACs and take it apart to find out:). My products are full of trade secrets Brian. I am not going to make it any easier for my Chinese competitors to figure out how to copy my ideas.

My impressions of the new power supply are positive. It adds a bit of weight to vocals and upper bass which is what I thought was missing with the stock Caiman. There's also a slight improvement in instrument and vocal separation with slightly more stage depth. Because of this it is more engaging and enjoyable to listen to. Well done Stan. :)

Glad that you noticed it right away Neal:).
I am well known for coming up with products that are distinctive with their clear night and day approach, instead of imaginable subtle differences. I didn't want to invest time and money into the Caiman DAC and the matching power supply unless it was well worth the extra effort. Even the embossed 'Beresford Caiman' print on the PSU has no equal in terms of style and finish on any PSU from anyone else for less than a ton:smoking:.
To sub-quote one of my competitors: I don't just go and buy a third party power supply to hook up to my DAC. Why cut corners on something so important at that sort of price:mental:? My customers deserve a lot more respect than that, even if they have to wait for the end results for a few months to show up.

And my unique trademark money back guarantee applies to even the Caiman power supply:). If one can't hear an enjoyable noticeable difference, one can have a refund.

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Originally Posted by StanleyB

A muting relay. Normally, DACs and CD players costing less than U$2000 use muting transistors since they are far cheaper than relays. But muting transistors produce distortion, so I use muting relays. Cost ten times or more than muting transistors, but quality comes at a price if you want the best.

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Its really nice to see relays, far better than those crappy muting transistors you see in most gear

Thanks fellas could I also ask what in your opinion do you think is the biggest improvement i.e. is it the highs, the soundstage? the definition of notes? etc

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Originally Posted by daveyboy

Thanks fellas could I also ask what in your opinion do you think is the biggest improvement i.e. is it the highs, the soundstage? the definition of notes? etc

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It's the feeling of being there, when listening

Ron