Gator aid. Or how to get the most from your Gator.

[Alex_UK]

OK - so my Gator is essentially the "Mk2 prototype" - and is certainly fine into my Creek amp, the Mini-T and Audiolab 8000S I have also tried - no distortion at all.

I don't believe there is an issue with Gator Mk.2, so Stan, please reconsider.

[magiccarpetride]

Anything with dynamic piano in it.

That sounds serious. I have tons of tracks with dynamic piano on them, they all play beautifully through Gatorized Caiman. So it definitely is not the DAC alone!

(off topic, but speaking about dynamic piano, I've recently purchased Michel Petrucciani's "Promenade with the Duke" CD -- fantastic solo piano performances, tracked/recorded in a most interesting way -- definitely worth giving it a listen. And oh yes, super dynamic performance, from the deepest bass to the crispiest highs, and beyond, with all the overtones beautifully captured by what sounds like a microphone that was placed INSIDE the piano -- memorable experience)

[Gazjam]

OK - so my Gator is essentially the "Mk2 prototype" - and is certainly fine into my Creek amp, the Mini-T and Audiolab 8000S I have also tried - no distortion at all.

I don't believe there is an issue with Gator Mk.2, so Stan, please reconsider.

Yeah..
a bit of a harsh reaction, especially considering I went to pains (a few times) to point out IT WAS JUST IN MY SYSTEM and the Gator board I borrowed worked fine in a friends Dac.

Stan's just being a bit of a drama queen

[mervinb]

I shall try to find some of the tracks that people have reported problems with, and see if I can recreate the distortion on my setup. I know that some of the Norah Jones tracks are dodgy in their production, and even with a TC-7510 I can hear those recording defects. The Gator would make those defects even more noticeable.

In the mean time, anyone who prefers the original PCB to the Gator(s) that they bought can get in touch with me by email and I shall take the Gator back from you.

FWI Stan, my Gator is fine, including on the Norah Jones tracks. I have observed this cd causing some discomfort with other cd players and dacs.

I wonder if you can confirm if I have a mk I or II? It was recently purchased, and shipped from Taiwan to Singapore. If mk I, it might just be possible that the additional supply coupling I applied to the Gator board might have helped avoid clipping on loud tracks?? It's just a guess.

It would be a pity to retire the Gator option...

[chapter three]

I've been doing some extensive listening with the Mark 2 Gator. The distortion is now almost non existent. I guess this leads me to think that gain is the problem or maybe it wasn't sitting correctly in the socket as noted in another thread here. The Mark 1 is still no good in my system. I think the distortion on the Mark 1 manifests itself more clearly on recordings that have "space" in them - hence Norah Jones, Peyroux etc. On hard rock it's difficult to pick up amongst (intentionally) distorted guitars etc.

I wonder whether a bit of glue stuff on the gator to seat it properly might help. the original pcb had it after all. Is that possible?

[Puffin]

Anyone heard from Leo?

[Alex_UK]

Gazjam - you're PM box is full...

[Gazjam]

sorted!

[Alex_UK]

sorted!

So it is!

[StanleyB]

There are two separate issues here. One is the overload distortion resulting from the higher gain on the now sold out MK1, and the other is a distortion noticed on certain recordings.

Judging by the amount of email queries I have received, people are getting confused by some of the things written in this thread over the last week. So I spent a few days contacting a couple of people in order to find out more. What I have figured out so far is that those who ordered the Caiman with the Gator already fitted by me have not noticed any problems.

It's not clear if that's a coincidence, or if it is something else. But I shall start offering the Gator ready fitted to the Caiman as the only option, or as a mod done by me if the DAC is sent back. That way I can exclude/correct any problems that might have cropped up during fitting. It will obviously cost people who want to try the Gator in their standard DAC a bit more, but that could be a good thing.