vinod_david:Yes, been reading whfsv review and various thread in AoS wrt to Caiman, but just confused so much. I'm wondering if whfsv has to award DAC's which one will take the honor, and i might surely buy the award winner, but without a top spot all three sounds good to me. any thoughts ?
AoS is extremely 'partisan' given that is where Stanley Beresford tends to hang out. The Caiman (TC-7520SE) actually started off life as a 'limited edition' in response to those AoS contributors who wanted the best of all the DIY mods but did not/could not want to do them themselves.
The Caiman has now taken on a whole seperate existence as part of the Beresford product offering and is no longer a 'one-off limited edition' item.
I take what is written on AoS with a shovel full of salt (despite my preference of the TC-7520 over the DacMagic). There are a lot of silly claims made for the Caiman along with the sane ones.
There is no answer to your question other than try both. Beresford and Richer sounds both have good returns policies and this should enable you to compare for yourself.
If you want someone to tell you - definitively - what to buy, then I am sure 'he' will be along soon. There are fans of all three DACs here on the forums and at least one of them will oblige you.