[grizzlybeast]

I wouldn't mind paying more either but I don't carE either way. Even with an incoming pulse xfi I see another one of these in my future. Stan has been really nice as well.

 

[CADCAM]

I just ordered the new Beresford Capella amp! I couldn't help myself. I have a LD MKIII, a Keces HA-171 and an O2 right now so I really didn't need another amp but this looks really intriguing. The Bushmaster is so good that I am praying the Capella follows suit!
Will post thoughts after I get it in and have a chance to get to know it. It has a lot of options to mess around with and I'm hoping I can leverage them and exploit all this amp can offer.

 

[Chris J]

  I just ordered the new Beresford Capella amp! I couldn't help myself. I have a LD MKIII, a Keces HA-171 and an O2 right now so I really didn't need another amp but this looks really intriguing. The Bushmaster is so good that I am praying the Capella follows suit!
Will post thoughts after I get it in and have a chance to get to know it. It has a lot of options to mess around with and I'm hoping I can leverage them and exploit all this amp can offer.

 
Can't wait to read your impressions!
 
Currently rocking my Caiman Mk II and Matrix Quattro Head Amp!   

 

[DreamKing]

I have just received my Capella amp this week. Will write up a review here when I get my next headphones (probably HE-560), need something to show its full power in sound. Either way, my current headphones and CIEM's all sound amazing with it thanks to the options. You can achieve clean and dead silent sound no matter what headphone you use with them thanks to the gain knob. Drives headphones from 12 ohm all the way up to 600 ohm. Sound quality-wise, coming from the Bushmaster's amp, with my current headphones I notice an overall tighter sound, better imaging, instrument separation, soundstage is better (depth in particular is significantly increased) and it is more laid back on default but that, again, can be configured for a more forward sound thanks to the Depth knob setting. Basically, the overall sound is lively and better to my ears. It's a perfect pairing with the beresford DAC's. Also, a problem I had with my BMK2 was that after a certain amount of time with no sound coming through the signal I would hear a buzzing noise frequently, well there is no such thing here. 
 
With this beauty, you can configure:
-Damping (bass),
-HF (highs),
-L/R channel Balance,
-Gain (knob is the same as a volume knob allowing pin point accuracy for dead silent signal). 
 
For now, I can't recommend it enough for all of these options and connectivity (it can also be used as a pre-amp unlike the dac/amps).   
 
Now I don't know how much the Caiman would improve the sound of the setup (I might buy one to see at some point because I did hear it has a more analogue sound, more laid back and sounds better with lossless content compared to the BMKII). I'll see if I feel like it at some point.
 
Again, I highly recommend the Capella. It arrived 2 days!!! after it was shipped, no duties/custom fees from Taiwan all the way to Canada thanks to Stan being easy going with arrangements for those kind of things.

 

[DreamKing]

   
Can't wait to read your impressions!
 
Currently rocking my Caiman Mk II and Matrix Quattro Head Amp!   

Hey Chris, you got any impressions of the Caiman vs Bushmaster yet? I just discovered this thread today and started reading from the first post and noticed you saying you would compare BMkII vs Caiman MkII at some point.  Not rushing you or anything lol just curious because I haven't read much comparisons between the two on the web.

 

[Chris J]

Hey Chris, you got any impressions of the Caiman vs Bushmaster yet? I just discovered this thread today and started reading from the first post and noticed you saying you would compare BMkII vs Caiman MkII at some point.  Not rushing you or anything lol just curious because I haven't read much comparisons between the two on the web.

Someday I gotta get off my butt and do the BM II to Caiman II comparison.....someday!

There is a website called "The Art Of Sound", there are many BM II to C II comparisons on that site.
The general consensus is the Caiman II is a real step forward.

 

[CADCAM]

  I have just received my Capella amp this week. Will write up a review here when I get my next headphones (probably HE-560), need something to show its full power in sound. Either way, my current headphones and CIEM's all sound amazing with it thanks to the options. You can achieve clean and dead silent sound no matter what headphone you use with them thanks to the gain knob. Drives headphones from 12 ohm all the way up to 600 ohm. Sound quality-wise, coming from the Bushmaster's amp, with my current headphones I notice an overall tighter sound, better imaging, instrument separation, soundstage is better (depth in particular is significantly increased) and it is more laid back on default but that, again, can be configured for a more forward sound thanks to the Depth knob setting. Basically, the overall sound is lively and better to my ears. It's a perfect pairing with the beresford DAC's. Also, a problem I had with my BMK2 was that after a certain amount of time with no sound coming through the signal I would hear a buzzing noise frequently, well there is no such thing here. 
 
With this beauty, you can configure:
-Damping (bass),
-HF (highs),
-L/R channel Balance,
-Gain (knob is the same as a volume knob allowing pin point accuracy for dead silent signal). 
 
For now, I can't recommend it enough for all of these options and connectivity (it can also be used as a pre-amp unlike the dac/amps).   
 
Now I don't know how much the Caiman would improve the sound of the setup (I might buy one to see at some point because I did hear it has a more analogue sound, more laid back and sounds better with lossless content compared to the BMKII). I'll see if I feel like it at some point.
 
Again, I highly recommend the Capella. It arrived 2 days!!! after it was shipped, no duties/custom fees from Taiwan all the way to Canada thanks to Stan being easy going with arrangements for those kind of things.

You beat me to it! thought I might be the first one to receive the Capella here, just ordered mine and am waiting with great anticipation to hear it. Keep us posted on your thoughts. 

 

[DreamKing]

  You beat me to it! thought I might be the first one to receive the Capella here, just ordered mine and am waiting with great anticipation to hear it. Keep us posted on your thoughts. 

Well I have important advice, I highly recommend using it with an external battery when you get it unless you use grounding wire on both the Capella's and the BMkII's grounding terminal and find success in eliminating the audible hum that can be heard when running directly from the power supply connected to a wall plug.
 
I use my Anker Astro Pro Series battery and the signal is dead silent. The sound is obviously optimal too, much better than running straight out of the wall. The bass is the first area that gets better with a clean signal. With the BMkII running out of the wall or the battery didn't change the sound in any way to my ears or even the signal noise (it was silent either way). 

 

[CADCAM]

  Well I have important advice, I highly recommend using it with an external battery when you get it unless you use grounding wire on both the Capella's and the BMkII's grounding terminal and find success in eliminating the audible hum that can be heard when running directly from the power supply connected to a wall plug.
 
I use my Anker Astro Pro Series battery and the signal is dead silent. The sound is obviously optimal too, much better than running straight out of the wall. The bass is the first area that gets better with a clean signal. With the BMkII running out of the wall or the battery didn't change the sound in any way to my ears or even the signal noise (it was silent either way). 

I agree with using a battery, I had my BM running from the wall initially and it sounded good, really good actually but I did order the Anker Astro Pro (1st gen). The improvement was undeniable.
I will be running both off the Anker and hope this stops the 20 min shut down with the battery. 
 
BTW I have never had an issue at my home with anything humming or any noise at all. We did recently have our electric upgraded to a 200 amp Square D service and I had a dedicated line run to my main audio system. The headphone equipment does not run off this line though. 
 
Do you run both units off your Anker and do you have any shut down issue's? Also is your Anker gen 1 or gen 2?

 

[DreamKing]

  I agree with using a battery, I had my BM running from the wall initially and it sounded good, really good actually but I did order the Anker Astro Pro (1st gen). The improvement was undeniable.
I will be running both off the Anker and hope this stops the 20 min shut down with the battery. 
 
BTW I have never had an issue at my home with anything humming or any noise at all. We did recently have our electric upgraded to a 200 amp Square D service and I had a dedicated line run to my main audio system. The headphone equipment does not run off this line though. 
 
Do you run both units off your Anker and do you have any shut down issue's? Also is your Anker gen 1 or gen 2?

Both are run off the Anker and it's a 2nd gen unit. Incredibly, battery use is about the same as it was with just the BMk2. I never have any shutdown issues. Do you use it while charging it too however? That might be why. I was actually thinking of trying that but I need to do research first.
The guy I bought the Astro from advised me not to use it while charging it though but I will read the manual or contact them to find out if I can't find any info.
 
The reason I bring up the humming is because the Capella is the only equipment I have that caused me this issue when running from the wall socket. I also never had humming or noise from my other equipment running straight from the wall, like when I would use the BM that way like I previously said. Your electricity source is probably good enough by the sound of it but I think letting you know about this can't hurt anything if you do notice a hum and want to eliminate it. 
 
Edit:
Well from their faq it says:
 
Q7.  Can the 2nd Gen Astro Pro2 20000mAh external battery charge other devices while it is being charged?
Yes.
 
 
So there shouldn't be any issues. I will still ask them directly just to be sure because technically I'm powering another device and not charging it like the question asks.

 

[CADCAM]

  Both are run off the Anker and it's a 2nd gen unit. Incredibly, battery use is about the same as it was with just the BMk2. I never have any shutdown issues. Do you use it while charging it too however? That might be why. I was actually thinking of trying that but I need to do research first.
The guy I bought the Astro from advised me not to use it while charging it though but I will read the manual or contact them to find out if I can't find any info.
 
The reason I bring up the humming is because the Capella is the only equipment I have that caused me this issue when running from the wall socket. I also never had humming or noise from my other equipment running straight from the wall, like when I would use the BM that way like I previously said. Your electricity source is probably good enough by the sound of it but I think letting you know about this can't hurt anything if you do notice a hum and want to eliminate it. 

I never use the battery while charging and you are correct the BMII uses very little power. I actually drained the battery down using my cell phone just so I could charge it up. I purchased the 2nd gen Astro but that shut down even quicker than the 1st gen so I returned it. I was hoping that running both off the Anker (with this fly head cable) would do it but it seems it might not. That's my only issue with this set-up is the battery powering down every 20 min or so. Do you use the fly head cable that comes with the Capella? I'm wondering that perhaps the way the cable is run it wouldn't introduce any more load on the battery. I've heard of using a grain of wheat bulb to keep the battery on but really don't want to do that unless I have to. I don't know why you never had any shut down issue's and I have.

 

[DreamKing]

  I never use the battery while charging and you are correct the BMII uses very little power. I actually drained the battery down using my cell phone just so I could charge it up. I purchased the 2nd gen Astro but that shut down even quicker than the 1st gen so I returned it. I was hoping that running both off the Anker (with this fly head cable) would do it but it seems it might not. That's my only issue with this set-up is the battery powering down every 20 min or so. Do you use the fly head cable that comes with the Capella? I'm wondering that perhaps the way the cable is run it wouldn't introduce any more load on the battery. I've heard of using a grain of wheat bulb to keep the battery on but really don't want to do that unless I have to. I don't know why you never had any shut down issue's and I have.

 
Yes, I opted for the flylead cable that was offered. It is the only way to use both devices running from the same power source. I doubt it will change anything about the problem you're having with the battery though.
When I first picked up the Astro, I remember getting shutdowns immediately after starting to use it but that was only because I was on 9V instead of 12V lol and I got that sorted out quick. Do you remember if your 2nd gen Astro was set correctly? I'm assuming your current 1st gen is set correctly. That's the only thing I can come up with to explain your issue. Otherwise, you might be unlucky and the unit is defective?

 

[CADCAM]

   
Yes, I opted for the flylead cable that was offered. It is the only way to use both devices running from the same power source. I doubt it will change anything about the problem you're having with the battery though.
When I first picked up the Astro, I remember getting shutdowns immediately after starting to use it but that was only because I was on 9V instead of 12V lol and I got that sorted out quick. Do you remember if your 2nd gen Astro was set correctly? I'm assuming your current 1st gen is set correctly. That's the only thing I can come up with to explain your issue. Otherwise, you might be unlucky and the unit is defective?

Yea, it's set to 12V... the 2nd gen was too. I kept the first gen because it can do 12V-15V-19V whereas I believe the 2nd gen only did 9V & 12V. I've read about other people having this problem with the battery. It has an auto shut-off feature and if it doesn't "see" a load it shuts down in approx 20 min. Mine did stay on once for days but then started shutting down again, pisses me off.
Hoping that with both units drawing off of it it will stay on! Wish me luck and I will post my impressions of the amp also in the future.  

 

[CADCAM]

Moderator feel free to move these posts the the Capella thread, I didn't see it until just now and will post all future comments there.  

 

[DreamKing]

  Yea, it's set to 12V... the 2nd gen was too. I kept the first gen because it can do 12V-15V-19V whereas I believe the 2nd gen only did 9V & 12V. I've read about other people having this problem with the battery. It has an auto shut-off feature and if it doesn't "see" a load it shuts down in approx 20 min. Mine did stay on once for days but then started shutting down again, pisses me off.
Hoping that with both units drawing off of it it will stay on! Wish me luck and I will post my impressions of the amp also in the future.  

 
Yep, good luck! Really hope it fixes your issue and I can't wait til you hear how amazing the Capella sounds.
 
Now I'm just figuring out what TOTL headphone I wanna buy next to make it an even better purchase. After that I might sell off the BM for a Caiman, but we'll see.