Beresford Caiman Review

[anm]

headphone out, line out are must, and they fall in "output stage" side.
Inputs depend on the dac chip being used - USB these days is getting even more traction than optical/ coaxial.

 

[marsilians]

agree with anm that headphone and line outputs. These should be switchable via onboard switch as well as a remote. Apart from this, others have covered the feature set already.

The transport should support all lossless formats unlike some crap support from companies like PS Audio and CA.

 

[audiodelic]

One more really cool feature of the beresford/caiman is it can be used as a preamp with its variable rca outputs using the knob as a volume control.
For a pure 2 channel setup many can completely not use a preamp and plug the dac straight into the power amplifier ideally maintaining a simplistic chain of components. :yahoo:hyeah:

 

[anm]

I am not sure if Viren would be in "remote" camp. none of his equipments has a remote. Only remote in his system is the CDP remote that can pause/ mute/ play/ skip tracks, not even vol control.
I too thought remote is necessary, but I don't find it very important.
I am thinking of taking dac+headphone amp gadget to office, next to my comp.

regards

 

[gobble]

One more really cool feature of the beresford/caiman is it can be used as a preamp with its variable rca outputs using the knob as a volume control.
For a pure 2 channel setup many can completely not use a preamp and plug the dac straight into the power amplifier ideally maintaining a simplistic chain of components. :yahoo:hyeah:

You still have source + DAC + Power thats three making a "complex" chain. hyeah:

cheers

 

[audiodelic]

source can be almost negated since via usb/optical/coaxial it will only be supplying ones and zeros digital info to the dac. What ideally matters is the chain after the dac to the speakers which would all be in analogue. hyeah:

 

[Sachin]

As of now I have connected my Laptop to the DAC through the USB port and for this test I had to specially download few 320KBPS Mp3 files.

Are you able to play downloaded mp3 files from the Xtreamer.

 

[ashishkesarwani]

Are you able to play downloaded mp3 files from the Xtreamer.

Yes Xtreamer supports Mp3 format and plays them with ease.

 

[Sachin]

Sorry it was a wrong question. I wanted to ask whether the DAC plays well with Xteamer as source for mp3 songs. In fact i got my Caiman delivered just 2 days back and was still in the process of connecting to various sources and had difficulty in playing thru Xtreamer but later learned it was probably because of loose optical coonections at rear end. Now it seems to be ok.

Still in the process of learning the things and have just started enjoying my DAC.

 

[madbullram]

Sachin: If you can, can you try playing a FLAC through XT via the DAC and post your feedback. You can also make a mp3 of the same song and see if there is a difference between them.

 

[Sachin]

Will try this out and check the results soon.

 

[spirovious]

Sachin: If you can, can you try playing a FLAC through XT via the DAC and post your feedback. You can also make a mp3 of the same song and see if there is a difference between them.

Sorry,but just to add info-
Xonar D2X does better job with good MP3(even 128)Lets see how caimon works.

 

[nmurthyk]

Ashish,

How is the sound of Caiman after burn-in. Did you notice any difference.

Some people say there is a lot of diff before and after. Is it so?

 

[ashishkesarwani]

Ashish,

How is the sound of Caiman after burn-in. Did you notice any difference.

Some people say there is a lot of diff before and after. Is it so?

I was about to write about it today and now you have asked it, while I was listening to my system today in the morning, I noticed that there was a slight difference in the Vocals as this time it was sounding much louder also I could notice that the extra bit of brightness which was present earlier during the higher volume levels say -10db (from the reference level) was gone and I tested this out by increasing the volume level further to the reference level. I almost played my system for 2.5 hours in the morning and the whole session was foot tapping which really made my day and I am looking forward to go back home as early as possible and then again plunge into the musical session.

 

[Sachin]

Sachin: If you can, can you try playing a FLAC through XT via the DAC and post your feedback. You can also make a mp3 of the same song and see if there is a difference between them.

Have tried playing flac thru Xtreamer and mp3 of the same song with 128 bit rate, I could hardly find any diferrence between the two despite of repetetive playing the same number. However, there was considerable diferrence when the same track was ripped to 48 kpbs and were sounding like normal mp3 (probably it was too low bit rate) tracks. Need to get the right balance so as to get better compression of file and as well not loosing the sound quality. However, this DAC has given the sound quality that i have heard in a long time. I am using Beresford Coaxial and Otical cables for connections.

 

[heliumflight]

Sachin Welcome to the Beresford camp!

--
helium
Amp: Lyrita SET 2A3
Speakers: Vintage B&W DM4
Source: LG DVD + Beresford DAC
Cables: Lyrita's I.C & cables

 

[Sachin]

Sachin Welcome to the Beresford camp!

--
helium
Amp: Lyrita SET 2A3
Speakers: Vintage B&W DM4
Source: LG DVD + Beresford DAC
Cables: Lyrita's I.C & cables

Hi helium,
Thanks, this DAC is a gem and it is worthy buy.
Cheers.

 

[thevortex]

Sorry,but just to add info-
Xonar D2X does better job with good MP3(even 128)Lets see how caimon works.

I would love to know just how much better the Caiman is over a soundcard like the Xonar D2X or the Essence!

 

[jayad08]

I would love to know just how much better the Caiman is over a soundcard like the Xonar D2X or the Essence!

same here..
i recently bought ESI Juli and with the native ASIO i feel the sound is almost similar to what i hear during auditions (with a marantz CDP mostly).. but would like to get an opinion on sound quality for the price differencial (caimon almost double the price)

 

[cooltoad]

After lot of deliberations and confusion about what CDP to get, decided to gamble(no offence Stan) and order Beresford Caiman instead. This is my single biggest invesment in the hifi setup chain and hope it will turnout to be a worthy one. Thanks to our fellow members like Aashish and Helium and others.Keeping my fingers crossed till i get the delivery and will post my impression.

Initially thought i could use it as a headphone amp with my sansa clip and Grado but ot my initial disappoint after ordering (my fault ) i cant use it with the line out of mp3 players/ipod through headphone out as the DAC has no line-in.

Another doubt is my laptop has no digital out but i have a xfi usb with optical out. . So, with laptop to xfi through usb and xfi to caiman through optical , will it be too much in the chain or will it work? Any advice welcome.