]Just bought a Beresford Caiman and Dorado…
How would I check what firmware is fitted and what the mod state is?
Any mods ‘essential’ or just ‘nice to have’.
This one:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/26621231...d=link&campid=5338728743&toolid=20001&mkevt=1[/QUOTE]
A couple of years ago I bought a very pension friendly Beresford Caiman SEG new from Stan Beresford along with a Dorado 3 Stan suggested waiting for a month before getting him to do the super capacitor & super clock modifications. Stan lives about 45 minutes away so I dropped it off/picked it up a few days later. I tried the SEG both with & without the Dorado 3, it made a large difference with Dorado 3 fitted a new Dorado 3 is about £50/60
As well as the 2 mods Stan had fitted the SEG50 chip, the number of the chip is written on the top of the chip, The perceived difference was considerable from the get go, prior to the upgrades the sound signature setting variations were almost indiscernible, after differences for DVD player & CD, Virgin HD box & TV I was able to easily discern preferences i.e. the number of flashes of the red select switch LED. after reading more about the Caiman SEG I replaced the 2 board mounted phono sockets with all brass ones connected to the board with OCC 6n silver plated .5 mm wire, this made a surprisingly good difference, Stan will also do this mod for you.
A few months later I bought an MCRU 15 v Linear PSU designed by Nick Gorham of Longdog Audio, actually more of a Christmas present, there are less expensive Chinese options. The MCRU LPSU made a significant improvement over the the supplied Switching PSU wall wart.
The LED's on an SEG are dimmable
http://www.beresford.me/downloads/TC-7535_R4.pdf