Caiman Mods

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Anthony's yer man for a PSU upgrade.

That was of course my first port of call... He's busy though int he

[Recoil]

I dunno which part it is that tirna have thousands of but if your trying to get the bits to do mods your self I'd give them a ring!

Since i live in Holland, i'm likely to get parts with such a low cost locally. I'm trying to look for photo's of the mod in which the Rubycons are visible in high-res, but without result.

Tirna asks 80 pound for just the parts.. I can buy the Murata's at 19 euro a piece, and the rubycons are (i guess) something like 1 euro a piece. That makes 45 euro against the 96 euro at Tirna.
If someone wants to look on his capacitors, then i'm a very happy guy.
(or a Farnell item number..)

[Gazjam]

HifidelityGuy (Dave) is your man for this....
He ordered the Rubicons and the Mutara's for the original Group buy on here.

[Gazjam]

Calling out to anyone who has the Wire/12K Resistor Mod done on their Dacs...?

I've upgraded mine to the Rubicon/Wilma/Mutara/Elna caps stage, and I love the clarity and micro-detail Im getting now...huge 3D soundstage too.

New mods always catch my eye though, and from what I've read the latest Wire/12K resistor mod adds to the bass and increases dynamic range....
Just the Dab for me in my system...although I would not want it at the expense of the clarity I now have with the Elna Slimic II's in place?

I'd really appreciate any comments from anyone who's had the latest mod done, with regard to the new mods effect on the overall sound of the Dac; particulalrly with regard to soundstaging and clarity.
Does increased dynamic range and bass = less openness in the soundstage with less clarity?
Always welcome more "thwack n thump" with my rock music ....but still want to keep it sounding open and airy for classical!


I know Stan said he recommended the latest mod only for those using their Dac as a Pre into a Poweramp...but has anyone tried it with an integrated like mine?
I Just wonder how much of a problem it would be really...
(I have the spec sheet on my amp if any figures are required? )


Thanks!

[Tony G]

OK chaps, its embarrassing (to me) question time - my "mod your Caiman beyond recognition" project was delayed for a couple of months from reading about it and ordering parts to now.
Getting ready to "do the business" I dug out all the parts that have arrived piecemeal from various parts of the globe and find I have a couple that I cannot recall why I have them

Amongst the bits I bought a pair of THS4032 opamps and adaptors, that is fine, but I also have a pair of 220pf polystyrene caps that I cannot remember why I bought.
I have trawled back through the whole thread (over a couple of days) and did not find (might have missed it) any reference to them - might they have been suggested for bypassing these opamps ? if so which pins to connect ?

I would be most grateful of any pointers here.

@jasper - the Rubycon caps you want are 47uf 16v non-polar, sorry do not know a part no, alternatively Nichicon Muse non-polar of the same specification can substitute. Normal polarised 'lytics will not do.

[leo]

I remember one of the mods on the 7510 was to upgrade the cap across the fb resistor in the output stage (220pf Wima) not sure what its for in the 7520 or Caiman

[StanleyB]

but I also have a pair of 220pf polystyrene caps that I cannot remember why I bought.

Those are for MLC8 and MLC9 on the audio PCB. The are either side of the headphone opamp. I have tried values of between 100pF to 270pF.

[Tony G]

Thanks Leo and Stan for the prompt responses.
I was beginning to wonder if they belonged to another project.
Have added the info to my "mod notes".

[fmzip]

Nice .

I've just placed my Elna Silmic II & Nichicon caps order with Parts Connexion but the Muratas are out-of-stock everywhere I look.

Would anyone have the the actual Nichicon and Elna manufacturer PN's for the capacitors which they've used?

I thought I read that the caps need to be non polarized but the Elna's are not listed as such:

http://www.elna.co.jp/en/capacitor/a.../pdf/rfs_e.pdf

[Carson]

The Rubycon's are the only non-polarized ones, the Elna's are standard polarized ones.