Caiman passive output mod revealed

[chrism]

Elna Silmic II - 47uF 10V

• Clean, low distortion. Not the most transparent. Light bass. Leaky - caused power amp to go into protection!

Nichicon Muse bipolar - 47uF 16V

• Nice clean mid, very clean, slightly light bass

Nichicon Muse KZ - 47uF 25V

• Very promising, delicate and clean midrange, extended detailed treble, extended but neutral bass

Rubycon CE bipolar 47uF 16V

• Good clean midrange, less forward than KZ, full bass but not quite as extended

So far it's between the KZ and the Rubycon so I'll put more hours on them both. More caps to come...

Nice one but the caps will need a week or so running time as they will change quite a bit especially on the transparancy front.

Regards

Chris

[MartinT]

Nice one but the caps will need a week or so running time as they will change quite a bit especially on the transparancy front.

Agreed, Chris. I wanted to do a quick elimination and am now putting hours on the Rubycons having already put hours on the KZs. I will then compare them more thoroughly.

I next have Sanyo Os-Con polymers and Wima film caps due to arrive. I'll publish an updated table when done.

[HighFidelityGuy]

I'm still really enjoying the Nichicon Muse bipolar caps in my setup. I haven't compared them against anything other than the active output yet but they are quite a bit more transparrent and clean sounding than that and the slight harshness I detected in the beginning has gone now that they are run in more. They've had about a week of heavy use now and have really opened up. The dynamics are simply breathtaking. I listened to my favourite band Explosions In The Sky last night who specialise in sudden dynamic changes and even thought I knew it was going to sound good I was still blown away by the sheer power and emotion. It's the closest I've ever got to a live performance by this band. I simply cannot express how happy I am with the sound I'm now getting from my system. It's very nearly perfect to my taste. I'm going to try a few more caps soon but these Muse bipolars are going to take some beating. If the Muse KZ and Blackgates are as good as some people are saying then I may be pleasently supprised.

Thank you very much for this mod Stan, I'm a very happy man indeed.

PS. If you've never heard Explosion In the Sky, get on Spotify and listen to Yasmin The Light. If you've done the passive output mod and you have big speakers and amps then prepare for a big smile. It's breathtaking stuff.

[NRG]

The FK's have had sufficient time on them now to start forming an opinion.

Their presentation is smooth and detailed in comparison to the standards(STD). The STD ones are more 'raw' and seem to lack the same amount of detail but after careful listening I think its the way its presented that differs.

The STD ones suit rock music better, there's an edge to electric guitar and vocals, these are pushed towards you away from the 'speakers...the presentation is very solid between the 'speakers and has more bounce, more drive...

The FK's on the other hand have a more diffuse presentation, very smooth, detailed and sweet bordering on polite IMHO, the same rock music played on them lacks the same drive and vocal intimacy the sound stage seems flattened and spread wider.

However, they gain on female vocals and simple recordings where their more delicate presentation is more suited, their ability to convey vocal emotion is really good, hairs standing up on the back of the neck stuff...

So its a tough one to choose at the moment, I'll give the FK's more hours to see if they develop more....or I may just fit a switch so I can flick depending on my mood!

[AndrewR]

The mod is fantastic, but I reckon I can do better (for my tastes) than the FKs - which are not really ideal when I am still using the relays and would have to have the PC up and running continuously to keep the FKs warmed up.

I have on order a surprise choice of capacitors and will only say that they are used by two of my favourite brands - Linn (their LK series amps) and Heed Audio. They are not designer and have even seen other forum posts recommending that they are swapped out of the Musical Fidelity X-Cans, but they should give me more body to the bass and less in the way of warm-up issues.

Also they'll be going into my Maplin CB radio supply (uprating the 2200uF to 4400uF) along with some better diodes (as used by 47 Labs in their Gaincard). This is a good supply, but feel that my original 7520 supply was better (more solid and responsive sounding) even with my MuRatas. Hopefully these changes will nose the power supply ahead.

I may later try some Rubycon ZAs, Panasonic FCs and Nichicons.

Andrew

[MartinT]

I have on order a surprise choice of capacitors

Do tell!

The Rubycon CE bipolars are really coming on song now. They have the best soundstage depth and the bass has filled out and extended very well. They are good at bringing to my attention subliminal detail. Nice.

[leo]

I removed a pair of 47uf 16v grey Rubycons from the op-amp board and currently have them in use for the passive mod, tbh these are doing a good job so far imo . Do they better the BG FK's ? dunno yet but so far so good
I can say I think the Rubycons are better than the 10uf plastic films, 47uf Nichicon FG , 47uf Axial Tants, 10uf dipped tant, 33uf Panny FC's I've tried.
so far
BTW all these caps had been well used before

[leo]

I've seen cheap Jamicons used in a lot of Heeds products

[leo]

The FK's have had sufficient time on them now to start forming an opinion.

Their presentation is smooth and detailed in comparison to the standards(STD). The STD ones are more 'raw' and seem to lack the same amount of detail but after careful listening I think its the way its presented that differs.

The STD ones suit rock music better, there's an edge to electric guitar and vocals, these are pushed towards you away from the 'speakers...the presentation is very solid between the 'speakers and has more bounce, more drive...

The FK's on the other hand have a more diffuse presentation, very smooth, detailed and sweet bordering on polite IMHO, the same rock music played on them lacks the same drive and vocal intimacy the sound stage seems flattened and spread wider.

However, they gain on female vocals and simple recordings where their more delicate presentation is more suited, their ability to convey vocal emotion is really good, hairs standing up on the back of the neck stuff...

So its a tough one to choose at the moment, I'll give the FK's more hours to see if they develop more....or I may just fit a switch so I can flick depending on my mood!

Thats great Neal ta! I should have the used Blackgate standards tomorrow (hopefully) so look forward to trying them

[StanleyB]

Has anyone managed to compare the Caiman with the latest mod against anything else? Or is the mod so gripping that you nobody has bothered to even attempt a comparison? I need the research data for long term R&D purposes .