DAC, which will be discussed today, fell into my hands in October last year and settled for a long time on my desk. Because of the trips, holidays, write about him all did not reach the hands. Finally, I decided to correct this misunderstanding. So, the first of two reviews about the Beresford technique, the review of the DAC .
This digital-to-analog converter was developed by the British audio engineer Stanley Beresford and contains many original ideas, which are rarely used in other products. The main feature of this model is the use of a special processor with proprietary algorithms for normalizing input signals. Asynchronous USB nowadays does not surprise anyone, but Caiman buffers data received by SPDIF, 1024 byte buffer does not bother even when working with not very high-quality digital signal sources. There was a place in the design for a digital signal receiver, a well thought out power filter scheme, a good headphone amplifier operating in the AB class.
The DAC tried to influence the signal at its analog stage as little as possible. The line output is made without separating capacitors, which allows the DAC to reproduce a frequency of up to 1 Hz (fans of movies and subwoofers will appreciate it). A low-frequency signal filter is made so as to introduce a minimum of distortion into the high-frequency range.
An interesting feature of the device is support for resolutions up to 32 bits and 768 kHz. You can feed this DAC both from a complete power supply unit and from a 12-volt battery (but I did not bother with it).
Despite a lot of interesting opportunities, the price of Caiman is very democratic, plus money for shipping, which, in general, very little on the background of other decisions.
Design and management
The box of the device is quite simple: brown cardboard without any special frills. Inside you will find the DAC itself, the power supply unit and the instruction manual. Everything is neatly packed in cellophane and fixed with foam polymer inserts.
The DAC itself was just a sight to behold. The case is completely metallic, black. There are options with silver and black front panels. The device is assembled very neatly for its price and looks much more expensive than its real value.
Traditionally, all controls are focused on the front and back panels. In front are: power toggle switch, LED indicator, 4 LEDs indicating the selected source, the source selection button, a multifunction control button, a switch to turn off the volume control of the line output, the headphone jack and the volume control.
On the rear panel there are connectors: 2 RCA output jacks, a proprietary connector I2C connector, USB input, coaxial S / PDIF, two optical S / PDIF, an optional ground terminal and a power connector (11 to 15 volts DC). The grounding terminal is a good idea, similar solutions are rare, but if you encounter a ground loop problem when connecting to an amplifier, this option will help you. In complete with the DAC is a good power supply, but those who wish can use a 12-volt battery of those that do for recharging laptops. Also, if you use a Capella D / A converter, you can use a single power supply for them.
Several observations about the usability of the device.
Volume control - smooth and noiseless, no audible imbalance of channels. The golden ring on the regulator handle dilutes the monotonously black color of the front panel. With the help of the switch you can choose whether this controller affects the line output or only the headphone output. If you connect a headphone amplifier or a preamplifier of your system to the device, the adjustment of the line output can be disabled, but if you want to connect directly to the "power", bypassing the "pre", the adjustable line output is very useful.
Numerous digital inputs make Caiman a convenient hub for your digital ecosystem, combining various sources of digital sound. The device can work in two modes - automatic and manual. In the first, he himself searches which of the inputs to include, in the second you select the modes using the selection button.
I did not quite understand the difference between the "cleaning" mode of the digital signal (as I wrote above, there are 4 of them here), but, in my hearing, the best is the number 3, although with the USB connection, the difference is somewhere on the perceptual boundary.
If you are annoyed by the LEDs, the DAC has a mode in which it turns off, as soon as it finds the signal source, it turns on the same Fn button.
In general, of course, one control button for such a device is not enough. Because of this, it is "hung" a lot of functions, which is a little confusing control. Although with the fact that these settings do not need to be changed every 5 minutes, and Caiman remembers them, it is enough to configure all 1 time and then you can use it.
In general, despite some old-fashionedness, this DAC looks much more expensive than it costs, and it always pleases.
Sound
The following equipment was used to listen to the device:
- MacBook Pro Retina Late 2013 as a source
- Audirvana Plus as a player
- Headphones ZMF Omni, Oppo PM-3, Dunu Titan 1, Dunu DN-2000J, Lear LHF-AE1d and others
- Beresford Capella and NuPrime DAC-10H in the role of amplifiers
- Entries in lossless format
I do not know exactly which chips are used in this DAC, judging by the scraps of data from the Internet - something not very top-notch from Wolfson, but abstracting from specific chips, the sound of Beresford was clearly a success. Caiman should be evaluated twice: as a pure DAC with a linear output, and as a harvester from the headphone output. Their sound is quite different.
For starters - a pure DAC. Very good, close to neutral sound, with a deep bass (if your system is capable of playing it back) and unhitching high-frequency, there is a small hint of darkness in the pitch, but it does not cause the effect of turbidity and lethargy.
Bass - not prohibitively high-speed, but sufficient for most parties, the study of texture is very pleasant, there is a good separation of layers. Particularly nice is the presence of the deepest bass, although this is perhaps only valuable for subwoofer owners, since the earphones can not adequately play out the infra-frequencies.
The middle is live, there is a slight anti-aliasing, giving a flow of musicality, but it does not conceal emotions and nuances. Working out the vocals - is good for this price, and the device is equally successful and male and female parties. The imaginary scene is deep enough, the width somewhere between medium and wide. Tools are qualitatively separated, their character is transmitted reliably.
The upper frequency range turned out to be "non-stressing". HFs are slightly overshadowed and perform an "auxiliary" role in the supply of the device. Because of this, the sound of Caiman is a little lack of airiness, but not critical. In this case, in conjunction with a bright amplifier / headphones, this DAC still can cut the ear of the RF-phob.
The headphone output is very different from the linear feed. There are deep low frequencies and the emphasis in the sound shifts towards the midrange and low HF. In general, the headphone amplifier here is made budget, although you can listen to it with pleasure.
The bass is not as deep as the linear output, there are small problems with speed, but not critical, in general, within the budget it can be considered good.
The middle frequencies in the headphones are slightly underlined, this adds a sense of "intimacy" to the sound, which is beneficial for some genres such as jazz and vocal music, but the brutal styles lose from this. The imaginary scene is average in width and depth, the separation of instruments is also quite good.
The HF at the headphone output is slightly larger than the linear output, but also does not have a record resolution. For the sake of justice, it is worth noting that this is a common problem of budget amplifiers.
In general, I would consider Caiman exactly as a DAC, its output to the headphones is a pleasant additional option. Roughly speaking, as a DAC, this device is more expensive than its price, but as a combine harvester - just somewhere at the level of competitors in the price niche.
Compatibility
If I listen to the Caiman MK II from a headphone amplifier, I would pick up V-shaped headphones, for example, DT Series Bikers (which range from 770 to 990) and similar "taste" solutions. For IEM to use this combine, of course, it is possible, although not optimal. When the amplifier is connected, the situation changes markedly, since the main pitch in the feed is transferred to the amplifier, and everything depends there for the most part on it. By the way, the Capella amplifier from Beresford is also very interesting, one of the following reviews will be devoted to it.
There are no special preferences for this DAC, but it is worthwhile to understand that the device belongs to the initial segment (although it plays more than its value), therefore it is not worth waiting for special miracles.
By tradition - tracks examples.
Rush - Distant Early Warning. Listening to Rush, I always wondered how three musicians can create interesting and diverse music for many years. Answer to this question I still do not have, but it does not prevent me from enjoying their work. A good Caiman midrange allows it to fully transfer all the nuances of such tracks.
Bjork - Lionsong. On this track Caiman shows itself in all its glory: a deep bass is contrasted with emotional vocals and a string section, creating an amazing meditation sound canvas, to which the delivery of this device is so well suited.
Steven Wilson - 3 Years Older. Music, which is absolutely impossible to listen to the background to something. Any attempt to listen to this Wilson album doing something along the way will lead to the fact that he will "slip through" the brain, absolutely not memorizing. Meanwhile, this is a very complex and multifaceted work, full of unexpected moves, just for its perception requires maximum concentration. Plus - a good equipment, in the role of a budget option which just shows itself very well Caiman.
conclusions
A very interesting device with an impressive potential for those who are looking for a good desktop DAC, combining stylish look, good sound and affordable price. I especially liked the connection of this device with the Capella amplifier, but without the amplifier the combine more than justifies its cost.
The article is based on materials .
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