The Beresford Capella Headphone Amplifier

[jon1]

Plug the capella in to my main system using the preamp..WellThat is one excellent preamp leaving it in their for now ...How do you do it for the price stan?..BTW stan how about just a dac with out a preamp built in... and headphones?..Anything in the pipe line?




jon

[StanleyB]

Plug the capella in to my main system using the preamp..WellThat is one excellent preamp leaving it in their for now ...How do you do it for the price stan?

I am a mug .

..BTW stan how about just a dac with out a preamp built in... and headphones?..Anything in the pipe line?

Is there a market for such an item though? An excellent sounding one would easily cost more than the CaimanII to build. But current day expectations from that sort of price range expects just about everything to be included. But something have to give for that price. It's sound quality or feature packed. I am not into that kind of quantity sales to justify the R&D costs involved as far as adding features such as remote, DSD, etc. If it is built from a less complicated design it won't outperform the Caiman. And then there is the issue of USB. Not everyone needs it, but it adds at least 20% to the cost of a DAC.

[Canetoad]

I would have liked the option to order the Caiman II with a 2nd coax connection instead of the USB.

[Canetoad]

Stan,

Your mailbox is full. I'm trying to send you a PM.

[StanleyB]

Stan,

Your mailbox is full. I'm trying to send you a PM.

Sorted now.

[wee tee cee]

I use the Capella as an active pre in my set up...Its very good indeed. A few of the troops have heard it at my place and purchased one off the back of what they heard. I run it and my whole system on battery power.

It has proved to be a very good partner to a number of t amps and my valve monos.

[Jankoff]

With a great delay, the Fidelio, who was to marry the Capella (see my previous post), arrived yesterday. The day before it arrived, I read a review of it, just published, http://www.techradar.com/reviews/aud...1281316/review A rave review!
But let me tell you what happened before that.
Meanwhile I had to test the Capella anyway, and did this with a pair of old and inexpensive (compared to the Fidelio) headphones, Beyerdynamic DT331. I had used these for many years and knew what they can do - without a headphone amp, that is. From the first moment I hooked them to the Capella, their sound dramatically transformed to the better - as if I had made a significant headphones upgrade.
Yes! The Capella rocks! And the tweaks in the Capella proved very useful, especially as the DT331 turned out very difficult to drive.
Yesterday, after the Fidelio-Capella marriage took place, from the very start the duo provided everything considered of essence in hi-fi/hi-end: very good overall dynamics; punch and bang solid yet pleasant; good highs as well as lows - highs smooth enough, not fatiguing, bass deep and well defined; voices and instruments pleasant and true to life, very good separation between them; good staging; good overall detail. Whatever I can think of, you name it, the duo has it. The problem is, I cannot say which of the two devices offers more contribution to the sound - whether the amp or the headphones. Probably both in equal measure. Of course, what I am saying is about a state in which both devices are new, with practically no burning-in. And another necessary note. The test was made with a decent but inexpensive SACD player as an analogue source (special interconnect, of course), presently available. I know what will happen to the sound when I connect the duo to my first setup - see the sources below, plus quality amplification, all the special cables (digital, analogue, power), the power-cleaning device, the platinum wall socket, the special anti-vibration gadgets, etc. But this will be due to the setup.
In any case, I am completely satisfied. I realize I have made two very good purchases. Even if the sound of the duo remains the same after burning-in, I will continue to be completely satisfied. If it improves, well, you know ... Great news not to have to buy another similar thing. For some time, that is ...
Bravo, Stanley! Bravo, Philips!

[jon1]

With a great delay, the Fidelio, who was to marry the Capella (see my previous post), arrived yesterday. The day before it arrived, I read a review of it, just published, http://www.techradar.com/reviews/aud...1281316/review A rave review!
But let me tell you what happened before that.
Meanwhile I had to test the Capella anyway, and did this with a pair of old and inexpensive (compared to the Fidelio) headphones, Beyerdynamic DT331. I had used these for many years and knew what they can do - without a headphone amp, that is. From the first moment I hooked them to the Capella, their sound dramatically transformed to the better - as if I had made a significant headphones upgrade.
Yes! The Capella rocks! And the tweaks in the Capella proved very useful, especially as the DT331 turned out very difficult to drive.
Yesterday, after the Fidelio-Capella marriage took place, from the very start the duo provided everything considered of essence in hi-fi/hi-end: very good overall dynamics; punch and bang solid yet pleasant; good highs as well as lows - highs smooth enough, not fatiguing, bass deep and well defined; voices and instruments pleasant and true to life, very good separation between them; good staging; good overall detail. Whatever I can think of, you name it, the duo has it. The problem is, I cannot say which of the two devices offers more contribution to the sound - whether the amp or the headphones. Probably both in equal measure. Of course, what I am saying is about a state in which both devices are new, with practically no burning-in. And another necessary note. The test was made with a decent but inexpensive SACD player as an analogue source (special interconnect, of course), presently available. I know what will happen to the sound when I connect the duo to my first setup - see the sources below, plus quality amplification, all the special cables (digital, analogue, power), the power-cleaning device, the platinum wall socket, the special anti-vibration gadgets, etc. But this will be due to the setup.
In any case, I am completely satisfied. I realize I have made two very good purchases. Even if the sound of the duo remains the same after burning-in, I will continue to be completely satisfied. If it improves, well, you know ... Great news not to have to buy another similar thing. For some time, that is ...
Bravo, Stanley! Bravo, Philips!

Enjoy..







jon

[Gixer k6]

Hi, Could you give me some advice on what is the best way to power the Capella, I received one a few days ago and the standard power supply seems a bit cheap to be using it with this AMP, My question is could this be run off a Motorcycle battery and give better results, I did read about someone on hear that was using a bike battery but not sure who it is, I want to try to run it some way with a battery rather than spend on an expensive power supply, The battery I was thinking of using is a Honda cbr600rr which is 12volts, Could you give me ant advice.
Regard Neil

[Gixer k6]

Hi, Could you give me some advice on what is the best way to power the Capella, I received one a few days ago and the standard power supply seems a bit cheap to be using it with this AMP, My question is could this be run off a Motorcycle battery and give better results, I did read about someone on hear that was using a bike battery but not sure who it is, I want to try to run it some way with a battery rather than spend on an expensive power supply, The battery I was thinking of using is a Honda cbr600rr which is 12volts, Could you tell me if this would be worth using as a preamp with a Nad c325bee using the power amp
Regard Neil