_Hardware_description_ On the front of the Beresford Caiman, there is a on/off button, four input selecting buttons, a headphone input and a volume knob which controls the headphones' and the variable (pre) outputs. On the back there are four digital inputs (2 RCA S/PDIF, 1 toslink and 1 USB) and two pairs of analog RCA outputs, one fixed and one variable. The dac costs 232£ including VAT and shipping (at purchase time, price may vary slightly later on). USB is Windows7 ready. Cool. Well, no AES/EBU digital input and no balanced analog outputs are included. But, taking into account that it offers a headphone class A amp, an USB input and a variable output, I can't ask for more ! In fact, I'm very satisfied that S.Beresford chose to include these particular features instead of the AES/EBU and the balancd outputs. It fits better my setup. Ok, let me plug the small dac to the Squeezebox Classic (no mods) plug the fixed outputs to the NAD (C-162) preamp, and on for the test. No burn-in needed, anyway I'm too curious to hear how it sounds, I'm ready for a quick review !
_Listening_session(s)_ I start with something simple: Keb'Mo's "Just Like You" album. The Caiman produced a clean and precice sound, not particularly warm, not cold and uninvolved either. There's enough bass and very controlled tremble, in fact, it sounds exactly as it should be... a bit too much "as it should be" even ! But wait a minute: this doesn't sound like a 200£ dac ! I quickly check my connexions : perhaps I'm still listening to the Northstar 192 dac ? No ?! That's really amazing ... I was almost sure that... oh well, nevermind. On for the next record. This time, I'll make it more difficult: a Live Stereo recording (a SACD hybrid) of F.Reiner & the Chicago Symphony Orchestra : Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. I've had this record for at least 35 years, I still have the Vinyl, I know exactly how it should sound. This time, I'll have a better idea. The recordig starts: Promenade... then Gnomus. Everything is there, exactly as it should be : the soundstage precision, the special recording, the instruments' special sound, everything ! I ended up listening to the whole record, I was really amazed ! This dac is a lot more than what its price tag pretends to be. I ended up listening to all my reference recordings, with increasing pleasure. R.Wyatt's "Rock Bottom", Santana's "Caravanserail", Prince's "Parade" and "Rainbow Children", King Crimson's "Larks' Tongues in Aspic", Philippe Léogé Trio (a private live recording in a near-by concert room), Lyle Lovett's "Pontiac", Porcupine Tree "Fear of a Blank Planet", EL&P, several good SACD hybrids (Dark side of the Moon, and many others), Linn recordings... and the list became longer and longer. I tried every single music type I had (and I own a few), it performed perfectly well. My listening pleasure was increasing accordingly. The Beresford Caiman decoded everything with an amazing ease. It never appeared harsh or too soft. Two friends of mine (hifi afficionados) who were there part of the time, stated that the Caiman had an analog sound. I believe that this is an over-statement: Caiman is a very honest dac. It sounds as any very good dac should sound with good recordings : precice, yet fatigue-free on long sessions. Analog gear has this particularity, but I believe that good digital gear (with low, controlled distortion) should be the same. And my friends know I'm very demanding with dacs, I can't stand certain distortions. The Caiman dac, never (I mean: not even once!) gave the impression of a blurred soundstage, whatever the recording. It never lost track of any particular note or instrument's physical position or specificity, regardless the number of instruments or their placement. And, finally, it never presented an artifact that wasn't already in the recording. I confess that honest is the main adjective that comes to mind when I think of this tiny (and so cheap!) piece of electronics. _Additionnal_testing_ I had planned of making an AB/X test between the Caiman and the Northstar 192 dac. I mean, I already did this for other dacs, why not this one ? I was eager about the result. According to my taste, the Northstar Desing 192 dac, besides its 10-year-old circuitry, is still one of the best sounding dacs costing under 2000. It was a real challenge, and a honor (for me) to AB/X test a dac with my reference one. So, on the next day, I plugged both dacs to the preamp, each with one digital outputof the same SB (a quality glass fiber toslink cable), carefully aligned both dacs' output (easy, they have the same), then started A/B testing them to try and catch each dac's special character. Having already carefully listened to them, I knew it would have been hard : they weere both very good. To my surprise, it was impossible to find any difference, not even a small one. Permuting the dacs, never an instrument moved a single millimeter on the soundstage, horizontally, vertically or in depth. Oh yes, perhaps, sometimes I had the impression that the Caiman sounded a bit more open on certain mid-low frequencies, a bit as if there was a slight reverb of some kind. But the difference (if any) was so rare, unprecice and fleeting, that I could never really fix it, however I tried. I also permuted the coaxial and the optical outputs to both dacs: no way... After two or three hours of careful listening I gave up. There was nothing to AB/X, finally : they were way too close. And this is a real performance, if you consider the quality of the Northstar dac. I also did the same simultaneous test between the fixed and variable outputs of the Caiman: there is no quality loss whatsoever. No noise, no additionnal distortion, nothing. They both sound the same. At one point, I even thought: perhaps my gear is not detailed enough for distinguishing the subtal differences should I try it with better amps or speakers ? Then, I realised the Caiman's price, and thought for myself: C'mon now, if I need 10000 gear -or more- to distinguish the differences between a 250-dac and 'whatever-else', then, there's no point. It's ridiculous. I did not do any serious listening through my ATH-W1000 headphones, but I promise I will one day. I want to make it clear: I listened to many dacs. I never listened to a dac costing under 1500 that sounded better than my Northstar, and very few managed to come very close. The ones that -eventually- managed to get close to it, according to my taste, they all costed over 1000. There were no exceptions. Until now. The Beresford Caiman decodes music. And what comes out of it's analog outputs is music, no more, no less. Hat's off to Stanley Beresford for producing such an affordable pleasure. Pros: -Astonishing quality for the price -Variable output with volume knob (you can't blow up your speakers when used directly with a power amp) -Class A headphone amp -USB input Cons: -When SB is powered on, it takes one second before the signal is locked into the dac. Subsequent album/song changes don't have this delay. -It is not given for free -You will have to hide it (and never mention it or its price) if your gear costs more than 2000 (which is my case) -It doesn't prepare my morning coffee Other components: NAD C-272 power amp, Sonus Faber Grand Piano Domus speakers, good cables. -- Themis SB3 - North Star dac 192 - Denon 3808 - Sonus Faber Grand Piano Domus ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Themis's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=14700 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=66216
_______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
