FrankenZERO - A bang for buck exploration with a DIY Heart ! - Page 4

I've had extensive listen time with both types....the K40 might have a slight edge in overall SQ but it's near impossible to nail down with any budget gear let alone reference level stuff.

YMMV ....tough to find K40's that will fit in this application so...in reality Tomb...you've made a pointless point WRT the thread.

I agree though if a K40 would fit I would switch to them...hell if a Teflon would fit...you get the idea. My personal # 1 choice, room be damned, is K75-10 PLIO bypassed with T3 Teflon......unbeatable SQ bar none ( but absolutely massive caps ).

Thanks for the link to d's impressions. He's been a great help to me with my tube amps of late.

Peete.

EDIT: After reading d's take I'd have to say I have way more experience with these using gear that is many times more resolute and transparent...I find no grain, no harsh treble (once fully formed)....in fact they absolutely kill the venerable Vit Q cap...in two key areas...bass reproduction and highs...yeah I know...highs.
I have to disagree with his rating....a solid 4 would be more like it. What he describes is the cap during it's lengthy burn in (300 hours at least)....no notes on burn in whatsoever in this review...makes the whole thing suspect in it's findings IMHO (on all the caps not just the K42Y-2's).

These caps take quite a while to settle (as do many other boutique caps)......for the first 100 hours the caps sound precisely like what d describes...give them 200 hrs more they are completely transparent, extended and dead neutral with no drawbacks unlike the Vit Q's which kill the low bass reproduction and roll off the highs...

My experience thus far is with K75-10 250V and 500V PLIO, T1 & T3 hi/low voltage Teflon, K42Y-2,K40Y-9 hi/low volatge PIOs, K72N-Teflon 500V, all of them require at least 300 hours with the Teflons needing 700 hours +. All sizes and variety of NOS Russian cap all with the same familiar burn in pattern required...These caps if anything are predictable across the types...they all go through multiple changes before settling...to review these in the midst of that settling does not give anyone a true picture of them...goes without saying really.

d's review although full of technical excellence fails in the critical aspect of the test....burn in is ignored....rendering the conclusions made next to useless. IMO.

I can understand his position though...to give each type and brand the time required to form would make the review process impossibly lengthy and most likely a gargantuan effort requiring many other's contributions to complete in a sane time period....what can I say..if the caps aren't formed you can't honestly judge the SQ...it's elementary IMHO..

I'm sorry d but that's how I see it and hear it.

Hi Corey,

Yep, 12 x .033uf 500V for the main pcb, 2 x .1uf 160V on the H/Amp board and 1 x 1uf 160V for the BA HDAM cap mod. All are from the K42Y-2 family of Russian caps. Unfortunately none of the K40Y-9 types fit underneath the Zero's pcb using the stock standoffs (which have to be used unless you want to relocate all the outputs and inputs on the back panel).

Don't forget to get either Fairchild or National Semiconductor UF4007 diodes...these are critical to the mod as well as the all the other parts.

Use any type of electrolytic you want but make sure they are low ESR type and used in the sizes and *voltages specified...that's very important. Boutique caps such as Muse ES, Nichicon FG,FK...Elna Cerafine, Silmic II although a little bit more money than Panasonic FC/FM or Nichicon HE/PW etc...are worth the extra money (it'll be quite a bit more in fact) if money isn't an issue.

I have all kinds of caps now but still prefer my original parts list (one upgrade to come is the OS-Cons around the logic chips). I feel no great urge to swap the PW's for FG's or MUSE. Besides it seems odd to me to use parts like that on a 130 dollar DAC.

Anyway...if you have questions ...ask loads of them, guys here can help you out with whatever you want to try.

Peete.

* the ideal voltages for the 4 lytics around the DAC chip is 16V or less with 10V ideal. Tough to find OS-CONs >100uf rated at < 16V...maybe even 25V...so there are always compromises to weigh. Current FrankeZERO kit uses Elna Silmic II's 100uf at 25V. Digikey only carries certain stock with respect to "boutique caps" which I find kinda odd...but what can you do...that is why I spec'd that type and voltage rather than going on a Easter egg hunt across the globe for 50 OS CON's that nobody had in that quantity.

It's and end user upgrade that is easy to source and to implement thus it's mention in many posts of late.