Caiman passive output mod revealed

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Once in a while I hear the odd slight click.. They usually come in little groups of clicks then don't happen for a while....?

[Ali Tait]

Maybe the lack of muting causing this?

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Mine are only slotted into the sockets I took the active thing out of... I thought that meant the muting thing was still in there?

[MartinT]

Muting only happens between tracks. If you hear clicks during listening then it's errors in the data or original mastering.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

It's not happend again for ages now... And I can't remember which track it was on rumours I heard it... Il have to listen to it all through again sometime. I know something right is happening as I just realised I have just been listening to the music for the last 20 mins and forgot about the dac...

[Clive]

I've finally done the passive mod on my 7520. The only mod it had was a THS4032 opamp. For capacitors I used Obbligato 1uF, these capacitors are well used so burn-in really isn't needed. Transport is XP/Foobar/ASIO/USB.

The effect was very dramatic. Sound stage is much deeper, there's more bass and the bass is tighter. Treble is less splashy. Overall it sounds a heck of a lot less digital and more like my record decks, especially with regard to sound stage depth.

Hmmm, Wolfson next I suppose.

[drumlins4ever]

I've finally done the passive mod on my 7520. The only mod it had was a THS4032 opamp. For capacitors I used Obbligato 1uF, these capacitors are well used so burn-in really isn't needed. Transport is XP/Foobar/ASIO/USB.

The effect was very dramatic. Sound stage is much deeper, there's more bass and the bass is tighter. Treble is less splashy. Overall it sounds a heck of a lot less digital and more like my record decks, especially with regard to sound stage depth.

Hmmm, Wolfson next I suppose.

Thinking of going the wolfson route too but Im unsure if it would really make that big of a difference after the passive mod

[Clive]

Thinking of going the wolfson route too but Im unsure if it would really make that big of a difference after the passive mod

I must admit I'm unsure. The only aspect that betrays the 7520 passive as digital is a slight harshness on sibilants, this is a redbook trait I just about always hear. I worry that a Wolfson could make this worse due to greater clarity, or could it be smoother?

[Ali Tait]

Sounds good Clive,and the kind of sound I'm after.I'm waiting for some Obbligatos from diyhifisupply.

[Clive]

Sounds good Clive,and the kind of sound I'm after.I'm waiting for some Obbligatos from diyhifisupply.

Ali, if you get the same result I'm sure you'll be pleased. I can't imagine that any polarised caps can be as good, even BGs, though they may get close. Larger values such as 47uF I expect won't help either.

This sound is seriously good.....previously I'd stopped listening to my wavs as my record decks were not simply better but had a much more musical character. The main deck / arm / cartridge is close to being a £5k combination. The 7520 passive isn't disgraced, it's not as good but it's possible now to swap between them and not feel short-changed.