Caiman Mods

[leo]

thanks leo....

drat...that wasn't the reply i was hoping for as i ordered them a week ago...

alright then....16v caps it is...

You got a multimeter Toad? you may be able to use a couple or more of the 6.3v BG's rather than waste them, I can't remember the voltages going to all those caps, if you measure the stock ones you'll know which maybe ok if that makes sense, long as the voltage is lower than say 6v, I personally like plenty of headroom regarding the caps max rated voltage

The 6.3v you have spare, well you could try them on the dacs 5v supply pins, BG N types are suited as both coupling or decoupling

[MartinT]

Ever seen an exploded electrolytic? Personally, I wouldn't risk the nice insides of the Caiman.

[leo]

Ever seen an exploded electrolytic? Personally, I wouldn't risk the nice insides of the Caiman.

Yes and also tants, not the prettiest of sights

[toad]

thanks again leo for the assistance...

i do have a MM...

i'll have a boo at those caps to see who is doing what....

where would the dac's 5v supply pins be located...?

[Stratmangler]

thanks again leo for the assistance...

i do have a MM...

i'll have a boo at those caps to see who is doing what....

where would the dac's 5v supply pins be located...?

This any use ?

http://www.wolfsonmicro.com/uploads/...nts/WM8716.pdf

Chris

[MartinT]

Ok, I've got the two Dexa regulators (+12V and +5V modules marked 'NewClassD') in place. Angled as shown, they just fit snugly inside the cover. They also feature tiny blue LEDs to show that they're working properly. Output voltages are spot-on using the Caiman 15V PSU. I have deliberately not performed the capacitor upgrades yet as I wanted to hear what the regulators do.

Listening to it now, the Caiman has improved focus (up to that of my Ayre C-5xe) and extended and growly bass (almost up to the Ayre's admittedly high standard). It sounds fab playing films and CDs from my Blu-ray player as transport. I cannot test Sky HD as I have no signal since my dish got clogged with snow.

Altogether a very worthwhile improvement and fun!

[chrism]

Hi Martin,

Nice work. How much did the Dexa's cost?

Can you detect much sound difference over the stock regulators?

Regards

Chris

[MartinT]

Thanks. They cost $39.95 each from Parts Connexion here:

http://www.partsconnexion.com/regulator_dexa.html

As I said, the main improvement is over focus, which is now extremely good. This gives very precise positioning in the stereo stage and a spacious feel with very low noise floor.

[MartinT]

Before I go ahead can I please confirm which are the four electrolytic capacitors to be replaced for just the fixed line level output?

[leo]

The 4 with red dots on, top and bottom left ones input to op-amp, top and bottom ones on right are op-amp output