Caiman passive output mod revealed

[MartinT]

Bernie - if you've not yet installed the Silmics, regs and linear PSU then I would hold judgement as all these mods improve detail while removing harshness. I don't find the Auricaps in any way bright, but the detail is marvellous.

[Canetoad]

Will do Martin. I've probably put the cart before the horse in this instance. I don't mean to be critical of the Auricaps. They do sound very good. On some songs the bass is thunderous!

[lemon]

If you proceed with a linear PSU, then will you need a new case.
Also, have you in your mind the 10 or 15uF MKP Obbligato Premium capacitors. They fit in a new case perfect and produce a marvellous sound!

[MartinT]

If you proceed with a linear PSU, then will you need a new case.

Why? I and several others have built an external linear PSU, merely replacing the switched mode one that comes with the Caiman.

[Rare Bird]

Why? I and several others have built an external linear PSU, merely replacing the switched mode one that comes with the Caiman.

Seperate boxes all over the place are a thing of the past imho..

[Reid Malenfant]

If you proceed with a linear PSU, then will you need a new case.

I think what this chap is saying is you'll need a seperate case to house the linear PSU inside of. Best not to have a 230V transformer exposed for all to touch

On that note i agree & i somehow very much doubt anyone could fit a linear PSU in the standard case along with the DAC itself

So it does make some kind of sense at the end of the day... Unless you feel like putting the Caiman in a bigger case & fitting a suitable PSU in there as well

[chrism]

Seperate boxes all over the place are a thing of the past imho..

Yep, my wife has a £50.00 Sanyo one boxer in the Kitchen and says "why do I need more"!

Chris

[vidago]

Hello,


I'm Sorry but writing in English is difficult for me, anyway I would like to give fedback regarding the mod suggested.


I'm living in a small studio and the acoustics of the room is quite complicated, currently my system consists of: PC »» TC7520 »» Marantz PM7003 »» ELAC BS244.

I was having the following problems:
- The bass was loose and exaggerated compared with the midrange.
- The midrange seemed unfocused, without detail and separation of instruments.

Even with my old speakers and amplifier it was the same problem, I tried several op-amp's but I was never completely satisfied with the sound, since I replaced my old amp and my DYI open-bafels by the Marantz and the ELAC speakers the problem became even more evident.

I was considering buying a new DAC, because I was convinced it was the weakest link of my chain (on the room acoustics I can't do anything yet).

A few days ago I decided to try this mod, I used a pair of Mundorf M-cap 0.1uf to bypass some ordinary 4.7uf electrolytics (Used parts from other projects) and I must say that the change is huge.

Now I have detailed and tight bass, the mid-range is focused and three-dimensional, alive and with excellent detail and separation of instruments.

The only problem is that before attempting this mod I had ordered some "M-Cap ZN" (some say it is one of the most neutral cap regardless of cost) but now I'm so fond of the sound that I do not know if I want to reopen the DAC.

This mod has saved me a lot of money, but more than that is allowing me to hear music again with pleasure and without being obsessed with the failures of quality when playing back and thinking about changing equipment.

Thank you all for this excellent forum

[StanleyB]

Hi Alexandre, nice to see you on AoS . I am glad that the passive mod has once again shown how great a mod it is for very little money.

[goody]

hi,
I had the passive mod done and is sounding very very good indeed.

I noticed that with no music playing into the DAC and the volume of my integrated amp is turn to the max, I can hear quite a lot of hiss from my speaker for both channel. But when I switch to another input of the amp, there is no hiss anymore. Could you please advise is the hiss coming from the DAC passive mod or not? Before the mod I think with the Opamp board there wasn't hissing...if I recalled correctly.