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Having heard the improvments paying attention to the power side of things can make (and it being important enough a consideration enough for the likes of Naim etc.. :)), I'd be interested in this one Stan.
...like the "fraction of the price" comment too..
(Typical Scotsman :lol:)
ta.
Gary.
IF you get it -course you will :)- be good to know what you think.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex_UK
I'd take a look at diffrent caps for the passive mod too Alex, quite a bit of scope for tailoring the sound to your tastes..
Here is my power supply now fitted with a Ripple Eater circuit courtesy of a well respected gentleman of this parish. I would say if you have gone to the trouble of a 15v supply for the Standac then the RE is a must.
Unless you're already using a SuperTeddy PSU in which case 'ripple eating' is already incorporated :)
This looks to me like it might be a go.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ali Tait
Yep well spotted Tony.That would do the job nicely.
Thanks Tony - that does look like it would squeeze in, I'll give them a try. Cheers again. (And Ali.)
UR both Velcome,
Hope it sounds OK Alex.
Ali is it 0.47uF Teflon you are using ? - not sure I want to go that exxy but my amp is 100K in so if 0.47 works for you it will for me even if something a little cheaper.
ciao
T
Yes it is Tony.Try the Clarity Cap ESA's from Hi-Fi Collective,cheap and very good IMO.I've used them before and thy give most of the performance of the SCR at a fraction of the price.Don't think you can better them for a fiver apiece.
Thanks for the recommendation Ali, the price is rather more acceptable :)
Let us know what you think.
I will, but don't hold your breath - it might be a month yet. :)
The gator is on holiday ATM and a rather nice lady is filling in for him with a rather stunning performance of her own.
Just put a pair of Clarity Caps 1uf @630v in the Caiman.......
Sounds nice, going to give them a week to burn in.
Then I will try the Clarity Cap 4.7uf @ 250v.....
Sorry for my english (it is not my native language).
I have confused my friends.
What is the relationship of the capacity in the analog output signal on passive output?
The datasheet of WM8716 (section passive output), refer to the use 10uF electrolytic coupling capacitor (with the addition of RC low pass filter).
I understand that the installation of this coupling capacitor is to remove the DC voltage from the signal of analogue output. But this can be achieved for example with a 2.2uF capacitor.
So, what recommend capacity 10-47uF with electrolytic capacitor and not a good MKP with capacity 1-3uF about?
(Note = Ι use the passive output on my adapted 7520 for about 1.5 year).
People have been using 47uF to be sure that DC will be fully blocked even into low impedance inputs (10K?). This is mostly totally unnecessary. I'm using 1uF but I'm lucky enough to have a preamp with 100k input impedance. You are of course totally totally correct, an MKP will beat any electrolyticQuote:
Originally Posted by lemon
Thanks for the quick respond, "Clive".
While I am waiting for my 7520 to get repaired, I wonder what are the range of values of Capacitors to be used with passive mod?
I can see that members use almost all sort of uF and voltages?
Is there any specifics and above SAFE recommendation to be used with passive mod?
Thank you
p.s. I do not want to ruin my Beresford with the wrong capacitor.
You won't damage the dac,but using an unsuitable value will give you an uneven frequency response.Clive and myself are using 0.47uF as our preamps are 100k input impedance,so using this low value is fine.It also means we can use a good quality film cap which will beat an electrolytic any day in the SQ stakes.If you know the input impedance of your amp/preamp,let us know and we can advise on a suitable value.Otherwise,just use an electrlytic of 47uF and the dac will be fine with any piece of kit.
The function of this capacitor is to block the approx. 2.5V DC and pass through audio frequencies down to deep bass. Values of between 1uF and 47uF are fine with a working voltage of at least 6V. The exact value is not that important but if you will be running the Caiman into a preamp input with less than 100k input impedance then you should stick to the higher values.
You are unlikely to ruin your Caiman with an incorrect value. Watch out for switch-on thumps with the higher values - turn the volume down or change inputs before switching on the Caiman.
Hi "Robocopper"
Could you please add your basic geographic location, and first name to the signature on your profile? This is a requirement of all members on AoS.
Cheers! :cool:
Marco.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RoboCopper
Take a look at the calculators on this page: http://www.v-cap.com/coupling-capacitor-calculator.php
If you take a couple of minutes to read the text and understand the 2 calculators you'll see why the values can vary depending for your situation. There is no "right" value as such, just a range as Martin said.
For me with 100k input impedance 0.8uF is recommended (I have 1uF in there). For a 10k input impedance you need more like 8uF.
Thanks for the tips and the calculator. I am happy to hear that even the wrong value can not damage 7520 :)
Any tips for the best capacitor with fast sound, tight bass, open mids and sweet highs?
Rob
Thank you, Roberto! :)
Marco.
You are welcome Marco,
FYI, I found this forum to have most helpful and knowledgeable members when compared to other forums.
Thank you
When you're looking at MKP / polypropylene caps then as Delboy would say, the world is your lobster.Quote:
Originally Posted by RoboCopper
Exotic Teflons will be good but expensive. For MKP there are ClarityCap, Obbligato (I'm using these), MCap, Jupiter Condenser......many, many more.
Clarity Cap are very good for the money IMO.
My NAD amp has imput impedance of 50K, so it recommends 1.59 uF. Is this correct?
In standardised values, that means 2.2uF or higher.
This can be perfectly matched to Clarity caps ESA which offer 1.6 uF, and they fit inside the Caiman box! I'll post a picture when I have time. You can get them from Hi-Fi Collective. And they do sound much better than electrolytics!Quote:
Originally Posted by Canetoad
Cheers
Just ordered 2 to try.:)
My Cambridge 640a amp is 47k Ohms impedance...pretty close to 50?Quote:
Originally Posted by OLED
Would the 1.6uF Calrity ESA be ideal for me too?
Also,
I notice from the Claritycap Specs, the termination wire is 1mm diameter.
I noticed a problem fitting some 'lytic caps that the wire was too thick to slot into the holes in the opamp board socket on the Caiman board, and I had to file them back a bit to get them to fit.
With the ESA film caps, would this be a problem?
Or Would it be better (in sound quality/practicality terms) to solder some thinner hookup wire into the Clarity cap Termination wire and feed the thinner wire into the small opamp board socket holes?
Or would it not matter - just file them thinner so they fit?
thanks, ready to pull the trigger in this one if the film caps are better than 'lytics. :)
What have you got in there at the moment Bernie?Quote:
Originally Posted by Canetoad
I'm using Nicheon Muse ES (the green ones..)
Just a pair of 47uF Rubycons from Tirna. Haven't had them in for long but they sound OK. Thought I might as well try some nice film caps to see if the sound improves.:)
They do sound better IMO.I have some SCR Teflon in my 7510 at the moment.Very good indeed,though they cost more than the dac!
Gary,I'd say the same value should be ok,and yes,just file the leads.
Thanks Ali, top man as usual!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ali Tait
Sounds like a go-er then (like my ex...but thats ANOTHER story...):)
Oh Ali, I just realised that my Caiman is a fair bit different to how it was when we had that "Dac off" with your 7510..
Its now had the passive mod done and had a linear supply fitted. Both these things have made good improvements over what you heard before..
even without that foo mains lead I had!
I'd be thinking about the Caiman again....:eyebrows:
Next up, after trying film caps, is upgrading components in my linear PSU.
Its the Maplin CB radio one tweaked to 15v HERE: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showt...=linear+caiman
any pointers to what I should be looking for?
Cool,maybe I could come over sometime.I could bring the AN dac and my linear supply for the Standac to compare.I could bring the MLTL's too if you like? Oh,and the Pre 2 if you like?
Sorry to all for not replying sooner, just not enough hours in each day at the moment....
Here's a photo of the Caiman with it's ESA's etc. Cheers.
Looks good :) Well done.
What are the values of the caps?
Can you describe the sound?
Thank you RobboCopper. The Coupling caps are 1.6 uF (Clarity Cap ESA). The power input cap is an Mundorf MKP 10uF. In terms of sound, all most all harshness has gone from the high frequency (compared to electrolytics, previously I used black gates). The sound is just bigger, much more natural such that you can start to forget about the electronics and listen to the music (better mid range I think). They take a good half hour of actual playing to really come to life, I leave something playing in the background for a while before really listening. They have been in for two weeks and more and more I am getting 'spookey' 3D on certain tracks, that's when it gets really good. One slight draw back, my system now really shows up poor recordings or rather bad production.
Cheers Andy
Seems a good description of what a decent film cap does.I can relate to that.
Cheers Ali;)
I do like the SCR's,but I recently put some AN coppers into my Zero dac and thought they were even better,hence why the SCR's ended up in the 7510.Maybe should try the coppers in there sometime,too big to fit in the case though!
I've just put some AN Silvers (0.15uF) in my power amps. I'm sure these would be wonderful in the 7520 but at over £1,000 for a pair of 1uF I don't think it's a good idea.....
Yikes! Better things to spend £1000 on methinks.
Yes £1k on 2 caps would be crazy. Having said that....the ones I have in my amps, if they don't change with more hours on them, are the aural equivalent of 1080p or better! They sound even better as they were free, not their list price, which is around £430.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ali Tait
Never heard any Clive,I would like to sometime.The coppers are very good IMO,are the silvers that much better?
I have both, the coppers are great, the silvers are in a different universe. Maybe V-Caps are similar, I but I've not heard V-caps in my system.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ali Tait
Thanks Clive,maybe worth saving up for then!
...Or you could tell me how to get some free! :eyebrows:
I must try my 1uF ClarityCap ESAs. I'm just being lazy because I'll have to extend the legs to make them fit. Perhaps tomorrow.