Orgy of Capacitors: The Cap Thread - Page 10

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.

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

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.

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.