Caiman first milestone -- vanishing euphonics

[magiccarpetride]

I've finally hit the first milestone with burning my Caiman in -- I believe yesterday was the 200th hour of the burn-in. And that's the 'common wisdom of the crowds' suggestion with this DAC. So, I couldn't wait to give it a comparative listen (by comparative I mean to compare how it sounds now with the way how I remember it sounding a couple of days ago; I know, shady and iffy, but that's all I can go by).

I must say I got startled this morning when I began listening to it. I hear that the resolution has definitely increased -- it is now super easy to hear minute and minor details in the way cymbals shimmer and the triangles spin and the bells vibrate. Also, the layers upon layers of sound are now more discernible -- I can hear how the instruments and voices overlap each other, stepping on each others' toes, and yet they stay put, and you can lock into any of those and keep following them and you'll never lose them in the melange (which is invariably quite a challenge with less sophisticated audio components).

But the thing that made me really scratch my head is the sudden absence of euphonics! By euphonics I mean certain satin-like colorations that make certain tracks or passages so seductive and pleasurable to listen to. The lush seductiveness that I knew so well seems to have all of a sudden vanished now, to be replaced by this very controlled, very clinical precision and clarity. So where did the euphonics go?

Am I imagining things, or is that how this DAC is supposed and expected to evolve and grow on you? My suspicion is that I've reached the point where the Caiman is revealing some previously unnoticeable graininess of my power amp (DPA 200s). This wasn't prominent before, while I was using lower resolution DACs, and also while the Caiman was still going through its growing pains. Now that it's coming of age, it began its merciless crusade against any and all of the shitty components and settings and configurations in my audio chain.

Who knows, maybe the Caiman is now also revealing the sub par cabling and connectors in my system? I need some help and your prudent advice in these matters, please!

(Oh, btw, if you were wondering what's the second milestone with the Caiman, I think it's the 40 days burn-in that some experts advocate; god knows what will be revealed to me at that junction...)

[Themis]

My opinion is that the Caiman reveals the recording and mixing.

Try and see whether you have some "systematic" behavior (on all records) of the absence of "euphonics". If it's the case, perhaps there's something else to look at.

[Peter Galbavy]

Also, can you go back to BC (Before Caiman) with minimal other changes and see if the specific effect - regardless of other differences - returns ? i.e. plug your phono cables back into the CD players analogue outs.

[magiccarpetride]

My opinion is that the Caiman reveals the recording and mixing.

Try and see whether you have some "systematic" behavior (on all records) of the absence of "euphonics". If it's the case, perhaps there's something else to look at.

Oddly enough, everything got back to normal last night. Even more than that -- it's now back to normal PLUS much better resolution/soundstage! But the silky, velvety, satin-like lush quality of the sound which temporarily vanished yesterday morning is now back in the saddle in all its glory.

This little DAC keeps surprising me. It's constantly evolving and settling in. Is it truly the case that it will need its sweet 1,000 hours of burn-in before it stabilizes?

[magiccarpetride]

Also, can you go back to BC (Before Caiman) with minimal other changes and see if the specific effect - regardless of other differences - returns ? i.e. plug your phono cables back into the CD players analogue outs.

Gawd, tried it and I don't wanna ever do it again! It's unbearably bad and flat and shallow compared to the Caiman.

[Stratmangler]

Is it truly the case that it will need its sweet 1,000 hours of burn-in before it stabilizes?

Yup !
I reckon it was 2 months before mine became consistent in performance.

[Themis]

Oddly enough, everything got back to normal last night. Even more than that -- it's now back to normal PLUS much better resolution/soundstage! But the silky, velvety, satin-like lush quality of the sound which temporarily vanished yesterday morning is now back in the saddle in all its glory.

This little DAC keeps surprising me. It's constantly evolving and settling in. Is it truly the case that it will need its sweet 1,000 hours of burn-in before it stabilizes?

Tell me, Alex : I hope you never power off the Caiman ?
The unit needs more than half an hour, imho, to get stabilized.

Anyway, perhaps it is worth investigating in the mains issue.

[magiccarpetride]

Tell me, Alex : I hope you never power off the Caiman ?
The unit needs more than half an hour, imho, to get stabilized.

Anyway, perhaps it is worth investigating in the mains issue.

No, I never power it off, just keep pumping music through it 24/7. It seems to get better and better with each passing day (save for the glitch I've heard yesterday morning; luckily, it corrected itself).

[DSJR]

Lush and seductive is NOT a characteristic of the master grade files I've heard in my time. In fact, dry and precise is a bit more like it..

PLEASE, don't listen so hard, 'cos you'll start to imagine all sorts of non existant "faults" in your system and this is what feeds the "upgrade" syndrome which gets you nowhere.

Enjoy the MUSIC coming out of the system and as for interconnects, there are many good ones out there on fleabay for under £20, many of which actually perform very well. If you want something really special, try the Mark Grant HD cables.

Perhaps the next generation of Caiman will come on song straight away. I have deep suspicions of products that take "weeks" to stabilise......

[StanleyB]

Perhaps the next generation of Caiman will come on song straight away. I have deep suspicions of products that take "weeks" to stabilise......

I know that you are suspicious of my products, so what's new?
I mention in the instructions that the DAC requires burn in time. The caps manufacturer specifies it and there is nothing I can do about it. Hemp based audio caps are difficult beasts that take ages to form properly. Silmic caps are based on the same hemp material, and are also notorious for their burn in time.