Caiman passive output mod revealed

[DSJR]

The files are actually 24/192.
The red book CD is very poor in comparison.

I don't have either, just an unloved LP, but the original CD mastering may have been sh*te for all we know. Any attempt at "remastering" would hopefully have re-set the levels, eq and maybe a bit of sonic "seasoning" to make the old analogue master sound more "impressive." Look what was done to the Beatles masters to get the current sound - what we hear is certainly not a "flat" transfer, judging by what I've read on various interviews - Audiophools would be speechless in horror......

[Canetoad]

Well, I've put the 1.6uF Clarity Caps into my Caiman to replace the Tirna supplies Rubycons and the sound is a lot better. Bass punch is still apparent but tighter. Treble is so much smoother with these caps. They really sound good!

I've turned up the volume and listening at higher levels is a lot less fatiguing than it used to be with the Rubycons. The extra clarity is still there and there's real punch to the music. Honestly, this is the best I've heard music through my system. Hopefully they'll improve even more over the next few days.

One thing I do miss with this mod is the use of the headphone output. Once I have one of Stan's new output boards I'll be fitting these caps and installing it.

[Covenant]

Well, I've put the 1.6uF Clarity Caps into my Caiman to replace the Tirna supplies Rubycons and the sound is a lot better. Bass punch is still apparent but tighter. Treble is so much smoother with these caps. They really sound good!

I've turned up the volume and listening at higher levels is a lot less fatiguing than it used to be with the Rubycons. The extra clarity is still there and there's real punch to the music. Honestly, this is the best I've heard music through my system. Hopefully they'll improve even more over the next few days.

One thing I do miss with this mod is the use of the headphone output. Once I have one of Stan's new output boards I'll be fitting these caps and installing it.

Bernie, just be careful with the value of the capacitors. According to Stan the discrete board uses 47uf caps and I think you will be shocked when you see how much Clarity Caps are..........

[Ali Tait]

It may be that Stan has used that value as that is what he suggested initially,that value allowing use with pretty much any piece of kit.47uF CC's wouldn't fit inside the Beresford case anyway.

Bernie, since you're in the same town,if you fancy listening to some choons and a few beers sometime,let me know!

[Gazjam]

I wish you the very best of luck - you might need it.
OTOH if you're following a step by step instal guide from the Slim forum then it might just work.

I'm keeping my fingers and all idle apendages crossed for you mate.

ditto!

[Gazjam]

Ha! cheers mate.Yes I have the wiki downloaded.Some of it might as well be in Swahili though! Still,nothing ventured,nothing gained...

I can always ask Nick to sort out the mess afterwards.

Anyone live near me with linux knowledge?

haven't the foggiest....I'm an old DOS'ser turned windows guy

[TopBalcony]

The Caiman/7520 sounds so much better with the passive mod...a couple of questions...can other cdps/dacs benefit from this, and if so, why don't other manufacturers do this? Well, I did promise some daft questions when I joined !

[Puffin]

The Caiman/7520 sounds so much better with the passive mod...a couple of questions...can other cdps/dacs benefit from this, and if so, why don't other manufacturers do this? Well, I did promise some daft questions when I joined !

I have done this to 3 Dacs now. In my 3 I have just wired direct from the analogue out pins of the Dac chip. I also add some small value caps (2.2uf - 4.7uf) and if neccessary for impedance matching, a resistor on each channel tied to ground (by the way I was criticised on here for impedance matching to the pre-amp in this way. can't remember why now) It works for me ok.

[Ali Tait]

ditto!

Cheers mate!

[leo]

Glad to see others are trying out different caps I'm still finding the bass from the 10uf MKP2000 to be lacking, its warm sounding but light, gives a hint of being glazed over.

I gave a pair of well run in 1uf Multicap RTX's a try, those seemed quite promising after a warm up, very detailed with a hint of warmth, quite fast sounding but can lack body

I also have some 2.2uf copper Obligato's to try as well as some 2uf PIO Obligato's

The film caps are obviously a better cap than the electrolytics although funny thing is the films also have different signatures, you just got to try as many as you can guys until you find your preferred flavour I'm still on the hunt for the cap which adds least amount of flavour so if anybody has any idea's let us know