26yo's Dorado and Caiman SEG impressions

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06-11-2018, 18:41
Silent

26yo's Dorado and Caiman SEG impressions

I was given a Dorado PSU and Caiman SEG DAC on loan for a while to test in my headphone rig by another member here and have a few layman impressions.

I currently use:
DAC: CA DAC Magic+
Amp: Capella
Cable: Fisual Pearl Optical
Front End: MacBook Pro (2013), Clementine, FLAC
Headphones: HD700s
Power supply: Default + Tacima CS929C/BP

Replacing the CA DAC with the Caiman was an improvement enough (I've had it in my set-up before) but powering it with the Dorado was yet another step-up.

As far as I can tell & hear it's a very simple improvement. Songs I know very well were a lot clearer, but not any brighter. There seemed to be no colouration added or removed from the way the system sounded before. There is far more clarity with voices, especially female. There was a change in the bass but I can't pin point it, most likely because I don't know the ins and outs of "bass" but I can say for certain it was a benefit, not a drawback.

All in all I will be buying one. I'm going to assume I'll hear very different results when I use it with my DAC Magic+ but I'm confident it'll be worth it.
07-11-2018, 10:25
Pepperamip

Hi Nick, the Dorado has obviously been desgined by Stan for use with his products but I see no reason why it can't be used with similar success with non beresford products. Maybe just bare in the mind that the gains may not be so great with the Dac Magic. Hopefully it works out well! Report back with your findings.

I've ordered my Dorado Seg-30 Firmware today.
07-11-2018, 10:36
StanleyB

The maximum current flow from the DC input socket to the Dorado circuit has been limited by me since I have nothing similar to go by as far as reliability etc is concerned. But if someone can let me know what sort of current the power supply of the DAC Magic etc specifies on their AC/DC transformer, I can design a suitable version of the Dorado for those DACs. I am already working on a Pi version at the moment.
07-11-2018, 13:44
Silent

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pepperamip

Hi Nick, the Dorado has obviously been desgined by Stan for use with his products but I see no reason why it can't be used with similar success with non beresford products. Maybe just bare in the mind that the gains may not be so great with the Dac Magic. Hopefully it works out well! Report back with your findings.

I've ordered my Dorado Seg-30 Firmware today.

I'm preparing myself for the jump to be limited by the DAC Magic plus haha but I'm in the market for a new DAC to use solely with my headphone rig and keep the DAC Magic for my HI-FI so it'll probably be the SEG I'll be looking at.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk
07-11-2018, 13:46
Silent

Quote:

Originally Posted by StanleyB

The maximum current flow from the DC input socket to the Dorado circuit has been limited by me since I have nothing similar to go by as far as reliability etc is concerned. But if someone can let me know what sort of current the power supply of the DAC Magic etc specifies on their AC/DC transformer, I can design a suitable version of the Dorado for those DACs. I am already working on a Pi version at the moment.

Hi Stan,

I'll attach a photo here (of the PSU for the DAC Magic+) when I get home! :)

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk
07-11-2018, 20:12
Silent

Quote:

Originally Posted by StanleyB

The maximum current flow from the DC input socket to the Dorado circuit has been limited by me since I have nothing similar to go by as far as reliability etc is concerned. But if someone can let me know what sort of current the power supply of the DAC Magic etc specifies on their AC/DC transformer, I can design a suitable version of the Dorado for those DACs. I am already working on a Pi version at the moment.

This help?

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...07467638b5.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1ff63dae94.jpg

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07-11-2018, 21:24
StanleyB

Thanks. Very useful. Expect a PM at some stage ;).
08-11-2018, 11:27
wee tee cee

Nick,
Great to see you on here,glad you enjoyed the loan.

Stan supplied the seg firmware/linear psu with the dorado i was confident you would be suitably impressed.

great to get a perspective from you and Matt....younger ears with different musical tastes.

always good to get another set of ears corroborate what you are hearing.
08-11-2018, 11:28
wee tee cee

Stan,
Have you considered doing a bundle....seg with firmware/psu/dorado?
08-11-2018, 11:32
StanleyB

Quote:

Originally Posted by wee tee cee

Stan,
Have you considered doing a bundle....seg with firmware/psu/dorado?

It's already on my website. The latest revision of the SEG already has the SEG-30 firmware. So that's another bit of saving.
08-11-2018, 11:34
Silent

Quote:

Originally Posted by wee tee cee

Nick,
Great to see you on here,glad you enjoyed the loan.

Stan supplied the seg firmware/linear psu with the dorado i was confident you would be suitably impressed.

great to get a perspective from you and Matt....younger ears with different musical tastes.

always good to get another set of ears corroborate what you are hearing.

What you gave me is exactly what I need for my headphone rig. I'll be purchasing very soon!

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk
08-11-2018, 11:40
Sherwood

Stan,

have you considered a one box SEG with Dorado and linear power supply built in?
08-11-2018, 11:42
wee tee cee

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silent

What you gave me is exactly what I need for my headphone rig. I'll be purchasing very soon!

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

Great news...when you get it i will show you how to adjust the gain to suit your 700s.
08-11-2018, 11:51
Silent

Quote:

Originally Posted by wee tee cee

Great news...when you get it i will show you how to adjust the gain to suit your 700s.

I'd welcome that, I was lost with all those dials haha

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08-11-2018, 16:10
StanleyB

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sherwood

Stan,

have you considered a one box SEG with Dorado and linear power supply built in?

It is already on my website as a package. The latest SEG even has the SEG-30 firmware already installed.
08-11-2018, 16:20
Sherwood

Quote:

Originally Posted by StanleyB

It is already on my website as a package. The latest SEG even has the SEG-30 firmware already installed.

Stan,

I can see the bundle but I meant having all the components in a single case. With all my components the wiring setup is like a fettuccine dish!

Geoff
08-11-2018, 22:00
Silent

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sherwood

Stan,

I can see the bundle but I meant having all the components in a single case. With all my components the wiring setup is like a fettuccine dish!

Geoff

Maybe try a DIY solution. I picture a box with the front missing (so you can access power buttons and volume controls etc) and holes in the back for a few centimetres of cable to come out of. Your cable excess would sit in the box, out of sight

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08-11-2018, 22:15
Sherwood

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silent

Maybe try a DIY solution. I picture a box with the front missing (so you can access power buttons and volume controls etc) and holes in the back for a few centimetres of cable to come out of. Your cable excess would sit in the box, out of sight

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

I was thinking of a more radical approach involving an internal linear power supply to feed the Dorado. I think this would be something that many Beresford fans would go for. Super SEG so to speak!
08-11-2018, 22:38
Silent

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sherwood

I was thinking of a more radical approach involving an internal linear power supply to feed the Dorado. I think this would be something that many Beresford fans would go for. Super SEG so to speak!

It would certainly be cleaner for a pro to build a device like that but there's something to be said for a homemade solution too.

I'd jump at a Super SEG! haha

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09-11-2018, 07:35
Pepperamip

Well thats the name sorted :)

Stan, for the 5v 'Dorado' I believe you are working on will this be a one box implementation?

i am about to pull the trigger on a 5v linear psu but i may hold out if your new design is the only box I'll need to power my rpi/digione.

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