Which DAC?

[George Hincapie]

Me too! I shall be sure to let you know.

[George Hincapie]

I ordered a Caiman MKII last night. It should arrive tomorrow, so I shall let you know.

I won't be able to use it with my new NVA components until later this week/next week, but I can at least compare to what I have now.

[jammy395]

Nice one George, they're spoken highly of.

Let us know yer thoughts once settled in.....

[George Hincapie]

So the DAC arrived yesterday. I had just driven 700 miles in the previous 24 hrs and was very tired, but a new toy is a new toy so I got it out and had a listen.

First impressions are incredibly positive. Firstly the build quality is absolutely top notch. All of the switches and the dial have a very positive feel and move with clear feedback. Aesthetics is obviously subjective, but I am a fan. Very smart appearance.

I listened for 3 hours to both CD (via optical) and Tidal HIFI (via USB).

I first listened to one of my Mumford & Sons albums. The track 'Awake my Soul' is a favourite because of the voice harmonics. I like it to resonate in a particular way and it's a 'go to' track when I am testing changes in a system. What was immediately apparent was that the bass at the start was far more pronounced and projected with a real 'whoomp' that I have just never experienced before. The next aspect that blew me away was the clarity and separation between the voices and instruments. It was the effect I was hoping to achieve but struggled to articulate whenever I have been trying to explain it.

I then listened to a Ben Howard album on CD and the presentation was equally good. Finally, over an hour of streamed audio of varying genres. Amazing. Throughout, no headache or ear ache at all (as experienced with the M-DAC). Non-fatiguing and wonderful.

I am not into all of the flowery descriptions I often read associated with audio components, so forgive me if I put it in simple terms.

The Beresford Caiman MK II is a phenomenally good DAC. Frankly, it pisses all over the M-DAC which is 2.5 times the price. If you do not try one before buying another DAC then you're an idiot.

I can't even remember who recommended the brand to me from these forums, but whomever it was - sincerely - thank you! I am super happy.

P.S. It uses the Wolfson chip.

[wallace]

Glad you like it George,it is a big step up from his early designs. Sounds like i might have to upgrade from my Bushmaster now..

[George Hincapie]

They are £200 delivered at the moment Wallace - Christmas discount. Incredible value for money.

[_D_S_J_R_]

I remember a big hoo-ha on PFM about the supposed god who is John Westlake and his 'phenomenal' designs for PT and Audiolab. Firstly, I was never impressed with the PT DAC - and I did try several of the filter module options (couldn't he get it right first time?) and they always sounded weak and lacking somehow. My then resident AVI CD player peed all over it I thought. Come forward twenty years and he's doing the same with the M-DAC, using decoder chips not designed for audio and obviously having to do some firmware bodging to make them work. Like Stan's DAC's for a while, loads of messing around with firmware, but no sonic progress, the Audiolabs being described as above - uber-detailed but ultimately not musically satisfying, as the 'really important' detail was removed somehow.

I wish I'd properly known the big Sony CD playing boxes as the Doc has. I knew the 555ES, which was clear but clinical sounding a lot of the time and remember comments about the later '7' series models being 'warmer.' Actually, I suspect 'warmer' in this case was 'properly balanced' and it was the Marantz division of Philips that added all the golden syrup. Any visitors to the Doc's gaff may tale the Sony source for granted, but I assure you it does musicality, detail, live/dynamics and utter involvement by the bucketload. Why a certain person had his all but ruined in resale value by getting some twonks (now out of business and who obviously know far more than a team of digital designers at Sony) to butcher it by supposedly upgrading it - hmm - I'll never know, unless it really was to separate it from the units the great unwashed would buy...

[antonio66]

Just looked at the website, Caiman £166.66 is incredible vfm although I did not see anything regarding postage. Pleased you're happy with it George and I'll guess the sound will only improve over the next week.

[Fretless]

Glad to hear your first impressions of the Caiman, George, and that it trounces the M-DAC - seen as a leading design only a few years ago. It seems that the latest generation of DAC's have been improved to provide a clearer, more dynamic performance with a lower noise-floor.

A friend of mine has a Caiman - perhaps I'll give it a listen and compare it to the Hegel.

[Daniel Quinn]

So the DAC arrived yesterday. I had just driven 700 miles in the previous 24 hrs and was very tired, but a new toy is a new toy so I got it out and had a listen.

First impressions are incredibly positive. Firstly the build quality is absolutely top notch. All of the switches and the dial have a very positive feel and move with clear feedback. Aesthetics is obviously subjective, but I am a fan. Very smart appearance.

I listened for 3 hours to both CD (via optical) and Tidal HIFI (via USB).

I first listened to one of my Mumford & Sons albums. The track 'Awake my Soul' is a favourite because of the voice harmonics. I like it to resonate in a particular way and it's a 'go to' track when I am testing changes in a system. What was immediately apparent was that the bass at the start was far more pronounced and projected with a real 'whoomp' that I have just never experienced before. The next aspect that blew me away was the clarity and separation between the voices and instruments. It was the effect I was hoping to achieve but struggled to articulate whenever I have been trying to explain it.

I then listened to a Ben Howard album on CD and the presentation was equally good. Finally, over an hour of streamed audio of varying genres. Amazing. Throughout, no headache or ear ache at all (as experienced with the M-DAC). Non-fatiguing and wonderful.

I am not into all of the flowery descriptions I often read associated with audio components, so forgive me if I put it in simple terms.

The Beresford Caiman MK II is a phenomenally good DAC. Frankly, it pisses all over the M-DAC which is 2.5 times the price. If you do not try one before buying another DAC then you're an idiot.

I can't even remember who recommended the brand to me from these forums, but whomever it was - sincerely - thank you! I am super happy.

P.S. It uses the Wolfson chip.

you don't need flowery language , that is the kind of review I like a lot