QUAD 909 with Caiman DAC Pre

[cmsajith]

I am having Caiman DAC with inbuilt PRE AMP. Can it be used with QUAD 909 PowerAmp? Will it be a matching combo?

I have the option for NAD C270 and QUAD 909. Which one is the best?

 

[gopi]

Sajith,
I had the Beresford 7510. I had to say the pre is not a substitute for a proper separate good pre amp. I used it to feed my Quad 12L Actives. When I used another headphone amp as a pre (Musical Fidelity X Can V8) the difference was huge - note that MF was 30k while Beresford was less than 10k. So, you can use it as a temporary solution, but definitely no point in upgrading the amp to be held back by the pre. Caiman might have a better pre than 7510, but still I doubt that it can serve the purpose. Quad 909 is a very well rated power amp. I haven't heard the specific Quad and the NAD model, but my bet would be on the Quad, particularly when you are driving the Quad 22L2's. The synergy should be very good with the Quad. But, invest in a good pre. And given a choice of investing between pre and power, I think a very good pre with average power amp might be a better choice than an average pre with a great power amp. Thats a generalization I agree.

 

[tharun]

Sajith , The quad 909 is definitely a beautiful sounding amplifier, but be prepared to spent on a good pre amplifier. The caiman will do no justice to the quad 909 , even the quad 99 pre which I used for a short period was not up to my expectation. This is just my opinion. there should be more expert comments from our senior members.

 

[cmsajith]

@ cmsajith :

Quad 909's INPUT
Sensitivity : 0.775 volts for full rated power (i.e. 140 wpc at 8 ohms)
Impedance : 20,000 ohms

NAD C270's INPUT
Sensitivity : 1.1 volts for full rated power (i.e. 120 wpc at 8 ohms)
Impedance : 20,000 ohms

As far as using the Beresford Caiman to drive either of the above amplifiers DIRECT, you stand a BETTER CHANCE with the Quad 909 since the Input Sensitivity of the Quad is 30% greater than the NAD. And as their input impedances are identical, its only the better sensitivity that will actually help you here.

However - I doubt whether the Caiman actually possess proper low impedance drive circuits of the nature that's required to drive Power amps. Plus, on top of that, the use of very low cap interconnect is a MUST for minimal losses.

Sorry, but don't think the Caiman will do any good for you. Also, the output off the DAC need to be at least above 3 volts with output impedance well below 100 ohms, the lower the better with sufficient current to push thro' the interconnect all the way to the power amp. Those Headphone OUT won't do any justice!

I am slightly confused on the statements "Input sensitivity for full rated power : .775volts" and "the dac voltage output should be more than 3volts". Could you please clarify?

Caiman is only a temporary solution, later I will be investing in a proper PreAmp.

Edit: Stanley has confirmed the Caiman outputs 2V RMS and Impedance : 1K ohms.


- Which is the best matching Pre-Amp for Quad909? One of my friend was suggesting not to go for 909 since it requires to invest atleast a 40K to get the performance of 909. Instead he was suggesting NAD, It will give a better SQ than 909 with a 20K PreAmp. Is it so?

- What are the other best options (similar performance as 909)?