|
|
Post by Dave on Aug 5, 2014 9:37:05 GMT
Having experienced two of Stan's previous offerings (Caiman mk1 & Bushmaster) I'm sure the CII continues his legacy for producing fine sounding DAC's. I do have one small issue however although it is one of an aesthetic nature. I'm really not a fan of the graphics, for me they don't sit comfortably on the front panel. They are far too large for such a small facia IMO, which is a shame as otherwise the unit would look rather purposeful, perhaps even sleek if a more sympathetic design philosophy were utilised. As it stands the current artwork gives the Caiman II front panel the air of an industrial control module. Not to my taste, sorry...
|
|
|
|
Post by John on Aug 5, 2014 16:41:41 GMT
When you paying the bucks Stan charging I think its being a wee bit fussy to complain about font used on the design. The design about good honest value rather than high end aesthetics
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave on Aug 5, 2014 16:48:06 GMT
I understand that John which is why I said it is a minor issue. If my feedback helps to improve matters then everybody wins, surely  |
|
|
|
Post by ChrisB on Aug 5, 2014 16:55:42 GMT
Except for those who like the design!
(....sorry, couldn't resist!)
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave on Aug 5, 2014 17:01:15 GMT
Except for those who like the design! (....sorry, couldn't resist!) Fair enough Chris and yours is a good point. As I said, I'm not a fan of the icons per se (much prefer a bit of text with a nice font myself ) but my main issue is that they are just too large for the size of the panel. Maybe Stan could look into reducing the size of them on whatever software he used to design them to see if it balances out a little better. It's just a suggestion  |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2014 17:11:51 GMT
From a purely aesthetic perspective, I can't see anything wrong with it. It doesn't seem to be that big and the fonts chosen offer good legibility considering the size of the unit.
I suspect that if the font size were reduced then legibility might become an issue.
|
|
|
|
Post by ChrisB on Aug 5, 2014 17:20:05 GMT
Yes, if they were in text and made smaller you'd struggle with legibility, I'd think.
You just want a Krell power amp sized case Dave, go on, admit it!
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave on Aug 5, 2014 17:20:24 GMT
Here's an example of what I see: This is elegant, simple and does exactly what it says on the tin:
Each to their own though, these are just my thoughts on it and as always aesthetics have no bearing on the performance of the unit itself
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave on Aug 5, 2014 17:23:57 GMT
Yes, if they were in text and made smaller you'd struggle with legibility, I'd think. You just want a Krell power amp sized case Dave, go on, admit it!Hell no, my Classé DR5 was large enough for me and that was a bit of a beastie boy in itself...  |
|
|
|
Post by stanleyb on Aug 5, 2014 22:18:54 GMT
The TC-7520 etc front text was done by Gary (Gazjam) some years ago. For the new DACs we had a thread on the artof sound forum, and eventually the design from Werner Berghofen was picked for the new range. So it wasn't my design, but one that was agreed to by a "forum consortium".
|
|
|
|
Post by MartinT on Aug 6, 2014 5:37:38 GMT
I rather like the front panel graphics (see my photo on page 1). The Caiman-II is small and perfectly formed, in my opinion.
The only change I would make would be a lower case 'k' in 'Caiman Mk.II DAC' but then I'm picky like that |
|
|
|
Post by BilliumB on Aug 6, 2014 10:05:35 GMT
What other Dacs have people compared the Caiman II with?
|
|
|
|
Post by John on Aug 6, 2014 11:26:46 GMT
The cunas i could not separate them next weekend even tougher competition the ddac
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave on Aug 6, 2014 14:23:21 GMT
The TC-7520 etc front text was done by Gary (Gazjam) some years ago. For the new DACs we had a thread on the artof sound forum, and eventually the design from Werner Berghofen was picked for the new range. So it wasn't my design, but one that was agreed to by a "forum consortium". I remember the thread well Stan as I participated in it too and as you state, the end result was a consensus effort which is fair enough. To my ears at the time, when comparing the BMII and the Rega my preference erred slightly towards the Rega in the system as it stood then. There have been a few changes since and perusing the views of those who have compared a BMII with the CII, I would be surprised if the CII didn't improve on what I have now, so there's something for me to consider for the future. I wasn't aware that Gazjam designed the text layout for the TC-7520 et al btw, he knows his onions that lad
|
|
|
|
Post by Tweaker on Sept 8, 2014 20:17:45 GMT
Waiting for mine. Stan posted it today.
I have a few other DAC`s to compare with:
Stan DAC`s:
TC-7510 MkIV
Bushmaster 1 (Venom Upgrade)
Bushmaster 2 (Caps Upgrade)
Other DAC`s:
M2Tech Young
Musical Fidelity V90
Muse TDA1541
My preferred are the venom`ed BM 1 powered by a Tecxus power bank battery (much better than a lead acid). Very smooth, "analog", slightly tube like. Powerfull firm bass. I love it. BM 2 has it virtues too, but for some reason i prefer BM1. Perhaps Stans carefully chosen caps makes the difference, don`t know.
|
|
|
|
Post by ChrisB on Sept 8, 2014 21:19:36 GMT
Seven of them?
Perhaps you need to change your username to Count DACula?
|
|
|
|
Post by MartinT on Sept 8, 2014 21:24:24 GMT
Hope you like the Caiman-II, Søren. Let us know what you think when you receive it.
|
|
|
|
Post by John on Sept 9, 2014 4:21:33 GMT
I had the Venom mod Bushmaster and prefer the Caiman so think you will like it. The sound will sound even more analogue or at least did in my system
|
|
|
|
Post by Tweaker on Sept 11, 2014 19:30:55 GMT
It arrived today. It knocked my socks off. I could rave about it for days. Much much better than the BM`s, or anything else i own. The level of information is simply astonishing, and the dynamics too. Maybe i`m going over the top, but i believe it can compete with the best, and most expensive DAC`s out there. It`s that good IMHO.
|
|
|
|
Post by John on Sept 11, 2014 19:49:39 GMT
Yes you can see why a lot of us love the DAC.
|
|
