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Barenaked V-caps....

post #1 of 17
1/12/08 at 6:02pm
Thread Starter 
To me, the nicest thing about DIY is being able to put together rigs you'd never spend the money on otherwise. In this case, a v-cap connector; no way could I consider dropping the coin on commercially available setups, you get the dock then have to get two interconnects, just too much for me to spend. With the inspiration of some of you on this forum, and the advice and help of Chris at VH audio and Jennifer at JenaLabs, I put this together for ~$140. It's specific to the LaRocco amp with the input in the back, so not really transferable to other rigs without modification, but if I ever wanted to modify it it'd be pretty easy. It's replacing a standard 22g iMod dock that sells for $99, but it sounds worlds nicer than the extra $41 I spent.

6.8uf OIMP V-caps with 18g Cryo wire and Cardas solder. For those of you who have yet to hear boutique caps, you're definitely missing a great experience. There's no question they sound as good as they say, a very noticeable increase of bass, clear separation of instruments/voices, big soundstage, I mean they truly sound incredible. Not sure if I need to, but I may at some point add a pair of .01uf teflon v-caps on the advice of Chris, even with those the whole price wouldn't push much past $200.

A few shots out of the case....









And a final shot in the case ready to go....

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post #2 of 17
1/12/08 at 6:13pm
ibomb!
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post #3 of 17
1/12/08 at 7:57pm
have fun getting that through an airport.
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post #4 of 17
1/12/08 at 8:03pm
Wow...! Has anybody given feedback on your contraption
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post #5 of 17
1/12/08 at 8:14pm
What is wrong with this one??? $29.95 free shipping....
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post #6 of 17
1/12/08 at 9:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sovkiller View Post
What is wrong with this one??? $29.95 free shipping....
Issue is in bold.
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post #7 of 17
1/12/08 at 9:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by OverlordXenu View Post
Issue is in bold.
So to pay $29.99 is an issue to you, rather than to pay 200+ for it???
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post #8 of 17
1/12/08 at 9:17pm
the sendstation sounds great ... and most docks being sold have a cable sticking out that simply is more stuff in the signal path, id rather have a short quick connection .... dont mock the price remember that oppo 980h, and that larocco amp the guy has in the picture both products that sound much more expensive than other products..so i paypal'd the sendstation.com guys 29 bux .. in about a week i had it my little dock with an s video out pull out cable and line out. it sounds miles better than the headphone out when paired something like a lisa3 amp, its a no brainer to me, and your ears and wallet will thank you for it.
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post #9 of 17
1/13/08 at 1:48am
Look like a B52
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post #10 of 17
1/13/08 at 2:09am
Awesome. Nice IED you have there.
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post #11 of 17
1/13/08 at 2:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sovkiller View Post
What is wrong with this one??? $29.95 free shipping....
The problem with that one is it will not work with an iMod G5, which is what I believe the Unabomber, er I mean RCM, has there. The iMod G5 needs caps on the outside, whether in a small LOD or in bigger form with something like those V-Caps.
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post #12 of 17
1/16/08 at 11:21am
Rod,
That thing is sick! Have fun traveling by air with that badboy! LOL
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post #13 of 17
1/16/08 at 11:44am
Thats a great layout, I wish mine were that compact. Its about a perfect mix of portability and sound IMO.
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post #14 of 17
1/17/08 at 5:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by manaox2 View Post
Its about a perfect mix of portability and sound IMO.
Yeah, thanks manaox2.

I wanted everything to fit into that case, and an extra enclosure for the caps would have been too much. The caps nestle pretty nicely in the case, although I've definitely got to handle it more carefully than I did my Tomahawk setup. I'm working on a few things to protect the forward-facing wires from the v-caps from being bent as I carry it around, I'd hate to fatigue the wires from flexing too much.

BTW, I'm from Cherry Point (Havelock), just a couple of hours from you.

Also, what's with the airport comments?

Seriously, if I ever tried to travel with that I'd def go to my local airport first and ask them if they'd let me through the security checkpoint. I'd hate to leave that rig lying on the TSA table!
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post #15 of 17
1/17/08 at 8:41pm
If you live only a couple of hours away and have the day free on February 9th, you should come to a meet we are having!

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f24/nc...y-meet-277353/

We will have the LISA III, Pico, AE-2, iQube, and Millett Hybrid there to test. I would love to hear the PRII mkII system there too for some comparison. Plenty of desktop stuff as well.

Just don't take a plane.
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