Caiman vs. Bushmaster

[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

[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