Any Digital Impressions of the Caiman yet?

[lovejoy]

Rich (Lovejoy):

What are you listening to? What kind of music?
What are you listening on? What amplification and speakers?

I'm listening to all sorts, last night for example was a bit of a 'rock out' night with some Rage Against the Machine, Ministry, Sepultura, which later moved into the more folksy moods of Richard Thompson and Frederick Stanley Star. Some Neil Young along the way and a bit of Electronica - Goldfrapp, Tunng, Massive Attack.

Today has been Radiohead, Fiona Apple, Joanna Newsom and lots of Radio Paradise whilst I'm working just to get the Caiman running in nicely.

What am I listening through? Well, my Macbook Pro is connected to the Caiman, and then normally that would be going through my Musical Fidelity A3.2 pre-power combo and into a pair of Mark I Shahinian Arcs, but today I am warming up an Aiwa 8700 amp which is crackling a little in one channel at the moment but other than that is sounding quite lovely.

[Labarum]

I'm listening to all sorts, last night for example was a bit of a 'rock out' night with some Rage Against the Machine, Ministry, Sepultura, which later moved into the more folksy moods . . .

I haven't a clue about any of that stuff, and would probably run a mile rather than listen to it!

But it is fascinating to note we have made almost identical observations while listening to very different music.

[StanleyB]

I am warming up an Aiwa 8700 amp which is crackling a little in one channel at the moment

A bit of contact spray like THIS.

Nice amp by the way. An overlooked gem from the Ol' Skool. I rate it above the TRIO KA-9100, Pioneer SA-9800, and Yamaha CA-1010, which are all from the same era of collectible Japanese vintage integrated amps.

Stan

[Labarum]

Are you prepared to tell us how many Caimans are out there, Stan?

[StanleyB]

Are you prepared to tell us how many Caimans are out there, Stan?

Just a few. It's a one-off show piece, outside the price range I feel comfy in. I don't expect a rush for the Caiman, since not everyone needs the majority of its features. I reckon it will mainly attract those who have a very revealing system.

Stan

[Labarum]

Lack of two optical inputs might be an issue for me, and I have yet to explore that USB input. Want to try it with Foobar in WASAPI mode.

http://community.whathifi.com/forums/t/130557.aspx

If that's as good as S/PDIF it might change the way I listen, but I do like my Squeezebox.

Step at a time.

[Gazjam]

Mine on the way as I type!
Post impressions later.

It's a home brew job, 4562 m5/6 mod, with wolsen dac and maplin psu/meaty power lead at 12v.

Will listen to varied range of stuff.

[Gazjam]

Mine on the way as I type!
Post impressions later.

It's a home brew job, 4562 m5/6 mod, with wolsen dac and maplin psu/meaty power lead at 12v.

Will listen to varied range of stuff.

[Spur07]

damn,

everyone jumping onboard and I'm so tempted!!

Keep the review coming lads

[Gazjam]

Recieved mine hand delivered Friday night from Tirna Elelctronics (the guys who modded the 4032 Op Amp?)
They are less than an hour from where I live, so wanted to make sure the upgrades went ok and get my opinion of the sound.
*Talk about great service!*

We sat for an hour or so comparing the Squeezebox Dac to the Wolfsen'd 7520, talking about the improvements over the stock 7520, squeezebox's and audio in general.
Good guys, good people. Very happy to help, but what struck me most was the genuine feeling of wanting to do a good job and make sure I was happy with their work.
Highly recommended for the other solder-phobics like myself wanting to upgrade their 7520's.

Anyways, the improvements over the stock 7520.

I've not done any serious listening as I'm busy with Project stuff and I'm running it in over the weekend, but even from cold its very apparent this is something else entirely from the stock 7520.
It just sounds...."more". Clearer, deeper bass, more realism, its all there.
It makes the Squeezebox Dac sound flat and like a toy, the Caiman sounds more high end, with more of everything you could think of.

What struck me in particular was the bass depth and timing. Music just hung together and "boogied" better than before. I had felt the 4562 with the stock Dac chip was perhaps a wee bit less full in the bass than I would have liked, but the timing and sense of "being there" made up for it.
The bass is back big time, its deeper and much tighter. It helps the music motor along and its easier to get the "point" of whatever music your listening to.

Thats my initial findings from sitting with the Tirna guys, and an hour or so last night.

More to follow after a few days of burning in.


*EDIT*
Bloody Sods law!
I get my Dac upgraded and my Amp decide's to throw a hissy fit!
The right channel is cutting out every now and again and I have to turn the volume up for it to kick in again.
Sounds like a classic dry joint, but the timing of it is pure pish!*



*(Pure Pish = Quite annoying: Another one of those Scottish phrases I use from time to time..... like bawbag)