[baronbeehive]

  Hello,
 
i am planing on getting this amp soon. I am not very good at soldering and i saw that some of you guys made some upgrades on the caps.
 
The tubes will be of course rolled later! 
I currently have a nobsound ns08e amp and i plan to buy this one as a sort of upgrade.
 
So my question would be now.... is it worth getting this amp as a "upgrade" for my current one for what it costs (175 euro on amazon)? 
 
thank you! 

I see the nobsound ns080e is entry level, for those curious about the tube sound, though I don't have any experience of it. Regardless of that I can say that far from being simply an upgrade, the APPJ could be an amp you keep with you because it's so good you will never need anything else. It has several features that push it up to the top level, others on this thread will be able to tell you about. I won't go on because I have the speaker version of the amp but right from the start I was impressed with the amp. The caps upgrade just made it TOTL, and is a very easy mod that someone could do for you if you don't want to.
 
For the money you can't go wrong. Hope that helps!
 
Edit: My speaker amp has had good reviews from 6Moons amongst others!

 

[TheBIGKill1998]

Ah alright, thank you for your answer! 
 
What you said about this amp sounds pretty darn good so far. So it looks like this amp is a very good purchase then! 
And its pretty good if those upgrades are relatively easy. all i would need to do is searching for someone who can implement them for me. 
 
How expensive are those capacitor upgrades if i may ask? 
 
And i really would like to know more about those "features" which you stated this amp has. 
So, can anyone tell me more about them? 

 

[baronbeehive]

  Ah alright, thank you for your answer! 
 
What you said about this amp sounds pretty darn good so far. So it looks like this amp is a very good purchase then! 
And its pretty good if those upgrades are relatively easy. all i would need to do is searching for someone who can implement them for me. 
 
How expensive are those capacitor upgrades if i may ask? 
 
And i really would like to know more about those "features" which you stated this amp has. 
So, can anyone tell me more about them? 

I'm not an expert on this so if you want to know more ask some of the others but for example it has an advanced Switch Mode PSU which means quiet background, advanced DC tube heaters, reliable surface mount parts, top quality transformers. In sum, the hybrid design of the amp means that you get the benefit of tube amplification with some solid state features as well which means that you get all the realism and holography of tubes and also good tight bass and sharp transients etc.
 
For the upgrades it depends on what you want to spend:  the Audio Note Kaisei 1000uF 25v electrolytic cathode caps are quite cheap at £13.40 for 2, the Jupiter copper foil paper and wax .47uF 600vdc coupling caps are £135.24 for 2, the Audyn True Copper .22uFcoupling caps are a lot cheaper, £32.74 for 2, or .47uF are £50 for 2. The disadvantage of the Audyns is their size, you would have to extend the bottom of the case to fit these, otherwise they are good. You will need 2 coupling caps and for best results also 2 cathode caps.

 

[TheBIGKill1998]

Ah alright! Thanks a lot for your answer!
 
The benefits you named are really damm good! 
 
 
But is the solid state part of the amp directly a part of the amplification like in the nobsound (there are opamp chips in it) or is it just for the surrounding, other electronic functions of the amp? 
 
I would go with the Audio Note Kaisei 1000uF 25v electrolytic cathode caps then for certain. 
 
Hmmm, but the coupling caps seem to be quite pricey. 
Is there another good alternative for the coupling caps which arent that pricey and also not very big? 

 

[baronbeehive]

  Ah alright! Thanks a lot for your answer!
 
The benefits you named are really damm good! 
 
 
But is the solid state part of the amp directly a part of the amplification like in the nobsound (there are opamp chips in it) or is it just for the surrounding, other electronic functions of the amp? 
 
I would go with the Audio Note Kaisei 1000uF 25v electrolytic cathode caps then for certain. 
 
Hmmm, but the coupling caps seem to be quite pricey. 
Is there another good alternative for the coupling caps which arent that pricey and also not very big? 

 
I'm pretty certain that all the amplification is done by the tubes.
 
Re: the caps, I can only suggest you look at reviews here: http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/Cap.html and check out the ones that look good and check their dimensions on the datasheets first. If they are the same size as the Jupiter caps, 21mm x 52mm, I mentioned then they should fit ok.

 

[TheBIGKill1998]

Alright! again, thanks a lot! 
Good to hear that the amplification is all done by the tubes.
 
i will look at that website as soon as i order the amp. 
I really hope to find some good and not too expensice caps there.
 
 
for now i really wanna wait for other opinions on this amp before i buy it. 

 

[baronbeehive]

Great,  I think this thread is still alive.... just!
 
Don't forget the sound quality depends enormously on the coupling caps so it's not really worth getting the cheapo ones. Personally I would still go for the Audyns for the realism factor, they are not expensive and it wouldn't be too difficult to extend the case.
 
Good luck!

 

[TheBIGKill1998]

well, i will look at how i can expand the case as soon as i get it, if i am going to get it of course. 
 
what's the difference between the .47uF and the .22uF audyns ones, by the way? 
(i know that the uF stands for the capacity of them. Im asking for the difference sound wise) 

 

[baronbeehive]

  well, i will look at how i can expand the case as soon as i get it, if i am going to get it of course. 
 
what's the difference between the .47uF and the .22uF audyns ones, by the way? 
(i know that the uF stands for the capacity of them. Im asking for the difference sound wise) 

 
The higher the capacitance up to a point, about 1uF the better the bass response, I would expect that .22uF would be the minimum likely to improve bass frequencies. However the stock cap is a miniscule .12uF I believe on the headphone amp so anything would be better!

 

[jekjek]

I spent usd 15 for my capacitor mod and it still sound awesome. Exactly same mod but easy to find capacitor like wima and solen

 

[TheBIGKill1998]

I know you all recommend the capacitor upgrade.... but does it sound bad without it? 

 

[Maxx134]

Hey guys I been away.

For main coupling caps, I only recommend the Jupiter copper(best) or the mundorf silver/gold, simply because they will fit and are well regarded.
The Audyn True copper is just too big, but dam good.

Get the cathode caps already mentioned.

For tube rolling, I tried so many, I will make a list soon.

To get to the end result, the
6v6 tube may be most recommended overall,
But the best tube sonically matched with those output transformers it has,
Are the 6F6 tube!

Most power and clarity with that tube for the APPJ PA1502A..
The "42" tube with adapters is just as good if not most optimal.

So..
My tube rolling has come to an end.

Best tubes for this model:
Power tubes = 6F6 / 42 / Russian 6Ф6С / 6F6C Cobra..

Driver tube:
12SL7GT

 

[Maxx134]

I know you all recommend the capacitor upgrade.... but does it sound bad without it? 

No it sounds quite nice stock.
Coupling cap replacement improves everything.
Cathode cap replacement improves dynamics and bass sustain.

End result is shockingly good.
Think of a tube Jotunheim with the added soundstage holography that was missing.

 

[benjisun]

Thanks for all the usefull informations on this topic,
 
Here is my board initial mods, I am with a V2 board (green with two caps instead of one on the alim circuit) 
 

 
Here is mine, Only replaced the Coupling cap by Audyn Qs6 for now and the sound already improved with the tubes I use. Less V shaped than with stock. 
 

Here compared to the original one. Fitting the Audyn is not so easy as they are bigger. 
 


 
 
Here my amp, I use Tungsol 6L6G and a JJ12AX7 that will be replaced by JJ gold long plate soon. 

 

[baronbeehive]

  Thanks for all the usefull informations on this topic,
 
.............
 
Here my amp, I use Tungsol 6L6G and a JJ12AX7 that will be replaced by JJ gold long plate soon. 

 
I've tried the JJ ECC83S in my speaker APPJ, it is probably the only new issue tube I would use, powerful well defined bass, good details and soundstage, and quite nice tone for new issue but lacking the warmth for me.