Orgy of Capacitors: The Cap Thread

[miki166]

Thanks for great capacitors review. Would you be so kind to made a review of Hovland musicap and Realcap TFT.

Thanks in advance
Milos

[Jon L]

Originally Posted by miki166

Thanks for great capacitors review. Would you be so kind to made a review of Hovland musicap and Realcap TFT.

Thanks in advance
Milos

I have used Hovland and Relcap TFT in the past, but I don't have any spares around right now to include in the current review. I don't feel like buying these caps again just to review because IMO there are better choices in their respective price categories.

[adamus]

how much of a change can expect from burn in of my obbligato interstage coupling caps.

They have great bass, but everythign sounds a bit plasticy, slightly squeaky (not high pitch, just slightly rubbery if that at all makes sense.....damn my lack of sound descriptives).

[Jon L]

Originally Posted by adamus

how much of a change can expect from burn in of my obbligato interstage coupling caps.

They have great bass, but everythign sounds a bit plasticy, slightly squeaky (not high pitch, just slightly rubbery if that at all makes sense.....damn my lack of sound descriptives).

Which version do you have? The black ones are the oil caps, the copper ones polypropylene film cap w/o oil, and there is a new "premium" film cap that is gold colored.

Capacitors | Diy HiFi Supply

[adamus]

I have the copper ones.

[Luminette]

V-cap OIMPs? Would be interested in

[adamus]

ok,update on the obbligatos.

either my mind is tricking me (not ruling this out) or all the plasticy sound has gone, leaving nothing but lovely pure organic sound. big slam, lovely smooth highs.

very impressed (bear in mind i was not impressed at all to begin with).

[Jon L]

Sprague Vitamin Q PIO Capacitor



Sprague “Vitamin Q” capacitors are a beautiful example of how things used to be manufactured right. These capacitors are built like a tank and sport a special vitamin Q mineral oil to soak the dielectric; the overbuilt Russian oil caps have nothing on these NOS caps when it comes to build quality. Almost a cult favorite among DIYers over many years, Vitamin Q’s certainly live up to their reputation for great sound quality.

After the usual rough period of settling in, Vit Q’s came alive with beautiful tonal color, bags of textural contrast, and a sense of immediacy. There’s a “wetness” to its presentation that is quite beguiling, yet it’s very detailed and sparkling, definitely not polite or overly dark. If you find the Jensen copper PIO’s a little too refined and buttery smooth in your system, Vit Q’s might fit in very well instead. On the other hand, many audiophiles prefer that velvety smooth sound, in which case they will likely prefer something like Jensens. Both offer more openness and air compared to the denser sound of Russian K40y PIO’s, but all three PIO’s are capable of doing music justice with synergistic placement.

Previously I tried bypassing the Jensens with small Russian Teflon caps to add a litte more sparkle and contrast, but in the end I decided I prefer the Jensens by itself to preserve its own charms. I have no such desire to bypass the Vit Q because it seems to have enough contrasty sparkle already. Vit Q’s don’t sound like good polypropylene caps, Teflon caps, polystyrenes, or anything else, really, but they have a unique, involving character that’s hard not to enjoy.

[uhcmos1]

Those EH 300B has got to go, though. I bet my AVVT AV32B tubes would sound GREAT in that thing

[AudioCats]

a little info on the Russian teflons: the FT-2 and FT-3 are actually "open" type caps, they are exposed to the outside air, the film/foil are not sealed, at all, everything is just held by the outside aluminum housing. so, do not get them wet as they might fail. That said, it is also very easy to oil damp them, just put them into insulating oil of your choice and let them soak up the oil.

Of course you can then seal the oil impregnated caps in a tube of some kind and seal the ends with epoxy.

[qusp]

I'm building a VCAP dock with 3.3uf OIMP VCAPs i'm considering bypassing with either russion teflon, mundorf silver/gold/oil or VCAP TFTF in .33uf have you tried any of these combinations for output coupling??

great thread BTW love it; I found it again at precisely the right time. i'll be putting the finishing touches on the dock with just OIMP in tomorrow and wanted to see how the VCAPs burnt in before choosing a bypass; but any recommendations would be much appreciated and taken into account when the time comes.

thanks again

BTW I dont expect you to go out and buy some caps just so you can give me advice

[Jon L]

Originally Posted by qusp

I'm building a VCAP dock with 3.3uf OIMP VCAPs i'm considering bypassing with either russion teflon, mundorf silver/gold/oil or VCAP TFTF in .33uf have you tried any of these combinations for output coupling??

I haven't tried the OIMP, so I can't give any specific recommendations for bypass. Oil caps in general really do need to be tried in person, after good settling-down, and then after additional period of just letting them play without critical evaluations. Only then can you tell if they'll work in that spot. If they work great but you still wish for *just* a wee bit more openness and sparkle, it's time to try bypass caps, but it's trial and error still.

[qusp]

well the VCAP DIYMOD combination is well documented, with the pico as amp as well so I think i'm safe there but still. You're right I will burn them in and sit with it until something pops out at me, and i'm sure it will. they probably will need just a little sparkle to really help the pico sing; the pico already has a wonderful HF so it may be enough with just OIMP but often something will stand in the way of a strength. who nows?? As you say though; there really isn't any hard and fast rules when it comes to this stuff. with out trying said combination it's hard to really know whether it will work for you; its just a pity there's no try before you buy capacitor stores ;P

[qusp]

oops

[ccschua]

Sorry for my ignorance, when bypassing with K42Y2 russian PIO cap, is it need to consider polarity or consistent with the placement of the PIO?