Orgy of Capacitors: The Cap Thread

[deuginthesky]

Nope

[derekbmn]

Any more info and experiences with these - Obbligato Gold Premium Caps | Diy HiFi Supply
The price(s) are certainly right.

[digger945]

Yea, Obbligatto and maybe AudioPhiler(those big red axials on ebay)
I'de like to see a Cornell Dubilier Metallized Poly Film 935/940 Series in the bunch also.
I would pay for the caps and ship them if there was to be another big time review.

[ccschua]

I would like to try the Mundorf silver/oil.

I am using the Audiospace DU2.8i. This is an integrated tube amp in push pull AB1 with about 15W output max.

The preamp is
1x12AX7
2x12AU7

the power side is 4 x 6V6.

Stock tubes are all audiospace (which means it is Shuguang). I have replaced the stock tubes to

1x12AX7 -> Mullard reissue
2x12AU7 -> CV 4003

4 x 6V6 -> Tungsol Reissue 6V6GT.

The sound already has some improvement.

Next, I found the amp uses 4x0.22uF and 2 x0.1uF coupling cap (audiospace white)

If I replace theses cap to Mundorf Silver/Oil, will I get better improvement.

[fordgtlover]

Originally Posted by digger945

Yea, Obbligatto and maybe AudioPhiler(those big red axials on ebay)
I'de like to see a Cornell Dubilier Metallized Poly Film 935/940 Series in the bunch also.
I would pay for the caps and ship them if there was to be another big time review.

I was looking to buy some of those. I didn't because I found some negative comments on other forums.

[qusp]

hey there; i'm just wondering about some caps for my gamma1 (not standard) i've installed the gamma1 in a much larger hammond case for the purpose of using much superior film caps for coupling duties. I have about 20mm height and about 30mm depth to work with for a 1uf cap and about 10-15mmx20mm for a bypass in .1uf. I realy like VCAP OIMP and TFTF and actually wanted to use a mundorf ZN or SIO but the SIo is ruled out because of size there is enough room for OIMP as the 1uf but AFAIK they dont make anything in .1uf wasw thinking teflons for the bypass or if there is a really superior detailed cap that I could just use by itself that cpould fit in 23x30mm hthen perhaps I could go without the bypass. will be using it via optical as portable with iriver and lisa III. how large are the russion teflons??

[Jon L]

Originally Posted by ccschua

If I replace theses cap to Mundorf Silver/Oil, will I get better improvement.

Originally Posted by qusp

if there is a really superior detailed cap that I could just use by itself that cpould fit in 23x30mm hthen perhaps I could go without the bypass.

Hey, guys, I hope you guys realize capacitor-rolling is more akin to cooking than absolute science. There is no guarantee that more expensive caps will actually sound better subjectively given your preferences.

More specific recommendations will be possible if more information is provided:

1) Which are the stock caps you are replacing?

2) What specific aspects of sound do you NOT like about your current system with the stock caps.

3) What specific areas would you like to change in what direction?

[qusp]

Originally Posted by Jon L

Hey, guys, I hope you guys realize capacitor-rolling is more akin to cooking than absolute science. There is no guarantee that more expensive caps will actually sound better subjectively given your preferences.

yes I realize this, my question is more about finding a cap that is the right size, as there isnt that much room

More specific recommendations will be possible if more information is provided:

1) Which are the stock caps you are replacing?

I havent installed them yet. the gamma1 is built, but not cased up and I havent added the output caps yet. the standard build caps are elna silmic 22uf (not even sure if i'll replace them because they are quite nice caps and 22uf is a buit large to find (any ideas??) and the other is a wima 1uf MKS2 this I would like to replace with a nice, fast film cap

2) What specific aspects of sound do you NOT like about your current system with the stock caps.

nothing; I havent finished yet, but since i'm going to have the room as I have used a different case to allow me to convert to battery power rather than USB or dc

3) What specific areas would you like to change in what direction?

well I want more warmth and resolution if possible. primarily warmth, as the gamm1 is known to be a little cold, so an oil cap would be preferred

[AudioCats]

for that kind of space you can try audiocap theta. The theta is relativly bright and has a very "chewy" texture.

Or you can use VitQ, the 100V/200V ones are small enough. But they do "require" a good by-pass cap.


russian teflons:
the 0.1uf/200V FT-2 is too large (0.7"x2").
0.022uf/200V FT-1 should fit ok.

[qusp]

Originally Posted by AudioCats

for that kind of space you can try audiocap theta. The theta is relativly bright and has a very "chewy" texture.

Or you can use VitQ, the 100V/200V ones are small enough. But they do "require" a good by-pass cap.


russian teflons:
the 0.1uf/200V FT-2 is too large (0.7"x2").
0.022uf/200V FT-1 should fit ok.

nice one; I had considered the vitQ's actually; BTW where do I actually source russian teflons?? Pretty sure percyaudio has them, but another source of boutique caps would be great. not sure I like the sound of your 'chewy' textured caps. i'm trying to help with taking the edge off the brightness, so a bright cap doesnt sound ideal; I do want detail, but not at the expense of being too edgy. so the teflons will only be used as bypass. oh how I wish I had just a few mm more height, so I could just use the m=undorf SIO or SGIO like I want to

[mourip]

This is a fantastic thread. as one who has chased caps for better than 20 years this is heaven...

I would like to explore a component topic further: Bypassing.

When I first started modding bypassing was the rage. We slavishly bypassed everything, power caps, coupling caps... any thing that moved. Later folks started to suggest that bypassing messed with the timing of the signal. I stopped bypassing and just went for a single high quality cap...at least for coupling. Now I am thinking that I should see it all like cooking or art... add caps until you like what you get.

Having said all of this I am wondering what others have experienced. I am thinking about tearing into my Tektron tube amp and seeing what I can improve. Currently it has Clarity caps in it which sort of surprised me. I think of them as "bang for the buck" caps and not close to the best. I will probably put in some Mundorf Silver/Oils and not bypass them.

I am mainly thinking about coupling applications here....

Any ideas about bypassing?

[Jon L]

Originally Posted by mourip

I am thinking about tearing into my Tektron tube amp and seeing what I can improve. Currently it has Clarity caps in it which sort of surprised me. I think of them as "bang for the buck" caps and not close to the best. I will probably put in some Mundorf Silver/Oils and not bypass them.

I am mainly thinking about coupling applications here....

Any ideas about bypassing?

That is somewhat surprising about Clarity caps. Mundorfs are kind of pricey, and these AmpOhm tin foil PIO caps are cheaper and at least as good so far, though much larger than Mundorf (see pic).

Thetubestore is the distributor, but they are often out of stock.

[tubesmuggler]

Originally Posted by Jon L

That is somewhat surprising about Clarity caps. Mundorfs are kind of pricey, and these AmpOhm tin foil PIO caps are cheaper and at least as good so far, though much larger than Mundorf (see pic).

Thetubestore is the distributor, but they are often out of stock.

They have plenty of stock now.

Ampohm Paper in Oil, Tin Foil Capacitors

[Face]

Originally Posted by mourip

Currently it has Clarity caps in it which sort of surprised me. I think of them as "bang for the buck" caps and not close to the best. I will probably put in some Mundorf Silver/Oils and not bypass them.

Claritycap has a few different lines, some of them budget, some of them not. Clarity's MR's are far from budget and rank amongst Duelund caps. I recently compared Mundorf S/O's to Clarity MR's, the S/O's weren't even close. Even though this was a different application(loudspeaker crossover), I wouldn't be surprised if one had the same results as coupling caps, etc...

[-=Germania=-]

Hey, I have been running those AudioPhiler Caps from ebay for a while and they sound better and are more detailed than the ClairtyCap SA's that I previously had in the same position.

They aren't as good as the Obbligato Gold's, but these are 4 for $13 with shipping. Some people speculated that they were made by Solen/Axon, but these have none of that grit so I doubt it. They do take a while to reach their peak, but nothing horrible. For the record, I am using the 4.7uf variety. For the record, the four caps I got all measured within the 3% tolerance. For this price, it is hard to believe that it would.