Caiman PSU

[Labarum]

Perhaps Stan means the Caiman supply allows the analogue circuitry more room to swing, but he has written a very odd sentence.

He will no doubt speak . . .

[Radiotron]

My Caiman PSU duly arrived this morning and installed for about 3 hours, so well warmed up. Now got the house to myself, so will give it a good thrash, but initial feeling is there is definitely an increase in bass weight - and generally just more of everything - an already ace product subtly improved and refined - thanks again Stan. (We'll see if the silver plated Figure 8 lead I've ordered makes any more difference when that arrives )

Thanks for your quick review. The PSU looks (or sounds) promising. Can't wait to get mine.

[SteveW]

I'm still hoping.
Guessing Stans been a busy man.

[HighFidelityGuy]

Here's my quick review of the Caiman PSU from my listening last night:

First I think it's important to mention than I've made a slight change to the opamps in my Caiman. The standard LM4562NA is still in the headphone socket but I've swapped the line out opamp for the LME4970HA. This is the latest version of the LM4562HA which is the metal can version of the LM4562NA. I hope that makes sense. Personally I haven't noticed any specific difference between this opamp and the original but it's supposed to be better quality so I've left it in for now. Other than that my Caiman is standard.

I first let my system warm up for a couple of hours playing some TV with the old PSU in place while I cooked and ate my dinner. I then listened to a familiar track a couple of times to get a feel for the sound. The track I chose was "Are you in" by Incubus as it's recorded very well and has quite a lot of detail and variation. This was played off my media centre PC where it's stored as an uncompressed WAV file. My PC is currently connected to the Caiman using a Mark Grant 4M SPDIF cable. While I was doing this I'd plugged in the Caiman PSU into a spare mains socket to allow it to warm up.

I then swapped to the new Caiman PSU and played the track again a few times. At first I didn't notice anything obviously different. Then as I listened further I started to become aware that the trebble was some how more noticeable. It gradually became apparent that I was hearing more fine detail in the trebble which was an unexpected improvement, as I was expecting most of the changes to be bass related. So I then focussed on listening to the bass. While this didn't seem to have changed much it did seem to have a little more detail to it as well, with the leading edges of the notes some how being clearer. This helped the overall timing and rythem and I found myself foot tapping along to the beat.

By this time I was really getting into the music and started trying out some of my other favorite tracks. The same improvements were apparent on every track I played. There was also something extra going on that I couldn't put my finger on at first. After some more listening I realised that everything had a more silky sound to it, especially vocals. It was as if everything had been dipped in melted butter. Yum.

All of these improvements were fairly subtle, it wasn't as though anything jumped out at me but that's a good thing in my opinion. It was just as if all the good points of the Caiman DAC had been tweaked further to give a few more drops of loveliness.

I should also mention that the sound improved over about half an hour or so. So I guess the DAC needs time to bed in with the new voltage. Probably due to the capacitors charging up more.

Anyway, I found all the changes to be positive with no extra boom to the bass or anything harsh which I think some people found using the Maplin 13.5V PSU against Stan's advice.

Great work Stan, you've created a monster!
I can't wait to do more listening tonight.

[Labarum]

My Caiman supply has just arrived. (Well it arrived yesterday while we were out, so we had to collect from the depot today.)

Installed minutes ago. Listening on Sony F1 headphones - full bodied sound and very pleasant. I will need to wait a few weeks to make a proper appreciation - till the unit is burned in and I have moved to Nicosia and installed my Quad and floorstanders in the bungalow lounge.

But sounds very nice on the headphones. Let's see what the next few days bring.

An observation: if the Caiman power supply kicks out 15v instead of 12v, a comparison should be made between it an another competent 15v supply. The 7510 sounds very different on 15v - but I would describe the 7510 on 15v as overblown, rather than full bodied.

Yes, with the new PSU the Caiman is full bodied without any hint of strain.

Edit after one hour: More "presence", whatever that means! Finding words for subjective qualities is always difficult.

Edit 2: Wow - that Piano made me take notice

Radio Swiss Classic
Jan Ladislav Dussek Klavierkonzert F-Dur Op.17
128kbps CBR, MP3 Internet Radio
http://zlz-stream11.streamserver.ch/1/rsc_de/mp3_128

Many members will know I turn to the piano to judge my system. The 128 KB/s MP3 stream I am presently listening to brought me up rather abruptly with a piano entry. Good stuff Stan. Radio Swiss Classic always seems to be better than the numbers would lead you to believe! Well I will have to wait a few weeks to hear this on my favourite speakers.


Thanks for the prompt service, Stan.

[Labarum]

Slightly off topic:

The mains lead for the recent Beresford power supplies is a fairly common item, and I have collected a few spares over the years. I have one cut down to two inches long with a new 13A plug on it (2A fuse). This I carry when taking my digital camera charger out of the house. I have been using it with the Beresford PSUs as it reduces the tangle of cables behind the telly! I don't need the length: I will cut another short mains lead.

[bergdus]

Got my PSU today (Dank Stan,)

first impressions, boomy not very defined bass, therefore missing the insane linear transparancy, closer to voices but a more narrow sound stage

listening both PSU,s A/B at this moment I do appreciate the non caiman psu more.

Maybe i'm to fast, to greedy, maybe it's also room acoustics,

regarding to Labarum's listening experience, it could be a matter of resetting on the new PSU. I'll leave the caiman PSU on the caiman for a couple of hours and then re-evaluate. Whatever happens I'm listening with a big smile since i've got the Caiman

Ron

[StanleyB]

Maybe i'm to fast, to greedy, maybe it's also room acoustics,

Send it back for a refund. I have outstanding orders for them, so no need to let it go to waste.

[Fi-Wi]

Got my PSU today (Dank Stan,)

Ron

What?! Shame on TNT to deliver to Nootdorp first before De Bilt!

Still in suspense.

[bergdus]

Sorry Bilthoven

Stan, game is not over yet

Ron