Yes, these bipolar Rubycon CE (the grey ones) are superb at depth portrayal and you may well prefer them to the BGs.Quote:
Originally Posted by leo
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Yes, these bipolar Rubycon CE (the grey ones) are superb at depth portrayal and you may well prefer them to the BGs.Quote:
Originally Posted by leo
Exactly, the diffuse sound I mentioned earlier, the center image is weak and with rock guitar and vocals it doesn't sound right. The bass is lighter than the standard BG's and doesn't drive rock tracks along as it should.Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewR
Seriously thinking about the grey non polar Rubicons....
Yes, Hamish!Quote:
Originally Posted by Hamish
Please help a poor chap out, where are you guys getting the Rubicons from?
I've dug up some Elna SilmicII and Starget ROD to try (black can and red can)
Not meaning to derail the thread, but those of us who have forgotten almost everything, can someone explain - using "springs", "hosepipes" and "counterweight" level language, what the caps in this mod do, how the value affects the output etc. ?
I am fine with resistors and volt/amps etc. in general, but capacitors - and the difference between capacitance and inductance - continues to confuse me.
Just making sure :)Quote:
Originally Posted by MartinT
I think Tirna Electronics are the only place you're going to be able to get them in small quantities. You need to speak to Jimmy. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by NRG
I have asked Jimmy at Tirna Electronics to supply them for the MOD21 on the TC-7510, and the passive mod on the TC-7520 and Caiman. Jimmy can be reached on:Quote:
Originally Posted by NRG
Tel: +44 (0)1968 660605
Email: sales@tirnaelectronics.co.uk
He has agreed to ship to just anywhere on the planet :). Price is around £2 delivered to the UK. I reckon it will cost a few pence more for postage outside the UK.
In simple terms:Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Galbavy
Capacitors pass AC and block DC.
Inductors pass DC and block AC.
The amount by which they pass AC is determined by their value. There's a lot more to it than that, but it'll do for now.
The output of the Wolfson DAC in the Caiman is at about +2.5V DC with the AC signal superimposed. If you were to connect it directly to your preamp/integrated amp you would be trying to amplify DC and either your speaker cones would come at you across the room or your amp would be uncomfortable, go into protection, overheat or otherwise. Some amps have an input capacitor and they would be ok, but in principle you need to block the DC so that only the AC gets through.
So you use a capacitor to pass the AC signal through. The value, together with the input impedance of your preamp/integrated, determines the lowest frequency (bass) that can pass. Simplistically. For common values of input impedance, values of 10uF to 47uF should be fine, as Stan says. The voltage handled needs to be 6.3V or higher (to comfortably deal with the 2.5V). The difference in sound quality is more likely to come from the different construction used to make different capacitors than its exact value. And that's where the fun begins...
Does that answer your question?
i just spoke to him he is going to put them on his site for buying by paypal today or tomorowQuote:
Originally Posted by StanleyB
Cool,I'll get some to try after these Mundorfs have had a fair go.
Quote:
Originally Posted by StanleyB
Thanks Stan (and Hamish for info re Tirna web site)
I think I've found another worthy contender the Starget ROD RS215-5708
Very solid presentation so far and seems to have not changed over the last few hours, another to add to the list :)
Excellent explanation, Martin!Quote:
Originally Posted by MartinT
I couldn't have said it better if I had your knowledge! :)
This forum is really a wealth of information, thanks for contributing !
On order and hopefully arriving Friday:
47uF 16V Rubycon ZA
47uF 16V Rubycon ZL
47uF 16V Jamicon standard ones
47uF 16V Nichicon MUSE ES
47uF 6.3V Nichicon MUSE ES
47uF 25V Nichicon MUSE KZ
Decisions, decisions...
Andrew
Andrew, what other mods have been done to your Caiman?
Thanks NRG - solid presentation, sounds like my thing :) Will add to my list.Quote:
Originally Posted by NRG
Andrew
It's actually a 7520 with Wolfson, MuRata, Silmic II and Bipolar Rubycons on the op-amp board (no longer installed).Quote:
Originally Posted by fmzip
Currently doing the passive thing with Black Gate FKs in socket PIN3B.
Also using the 7520 power supply, which I prefer to the Caiman PSU (odd I know, but it has more vitality and body) and the Maplin CB linear PSU (which I will mod with better caps and diodes).
Andrew
Andrew, are you running a 12V MuRata from the 7250 supply? I've seen that you find it sounds better this way. I'd expect the reg to be dropping out due to not enough volts so I'm not sure what's happening here.Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewR
That's what I was thinking. The 12V Murata reg needs at least 13V input, so that means you need to use at least a 15V supply or you're not powering it properly. :scratch:
Hi HighFidelityGuy and Clive,Quote:
Originally Posted by HighFidelityGuy
My thoughts also. However the Caiman supply I had sounded much worse (e.g. very flat) than the 7520 supply - just as it did when using the standard regulators. Also the 7520 worked well when the op-amps were installed (indicating that the 12V MuRatas were still providing a working voltage and current).
I think my experience is an anomaly - perhaps I had a duff Caiman supply and a 7520 supply passing more than 12V (yet to test that though). However, even my Maplin CB supply at 15V does not beat my 7520 supply in terms of sound - yet.
Andrew
I thought the 7520 power supply could not drive the Murata regs and Wolfson DAC?
Mine does... If I remember correctly, the Wolfson runs off the 5V rail.Quote:
Originally Posted by fmzip
Andrew
If it's the 12V power supply it will be underdriving the Murata reg and there will be no regulation, just pass-through. You will get no benefit from the regulator at all! I'm talking about the 12V reg, of course.
Thanks, that's perfect and quite clear. Better than anyone else has managed. I suggest a library article :)Quote:
Originally Posted by MartinT
Out of the above I've just received the following from RS:Quote:
Originally Posted by HighFidelityGuy
Panasonic FC 47uF 10V
ARD(ROD) 47uF 35V bipolar
However, it turns out that the ARD(ROD) ones are Elna Starget branded (which I didn't realise) and are not bipolar. So RS are incorrectly listing them to a certain extent. They're still worth a try though. The rest of the caps I have on order are coming from the US, so they'll take a while.
I might not have time to try these two this weekend but I'll post some info asap. :)
I've got some SCR Obbligatos coming from DIYHifiSupply as I want to try a film cap in this application.I'm hoping they'll squeeze under the lid!
Regarding choice of Cap to replace the Opamp board...
is there any difference between the grey Rubycon CE cap and the black Rubycon NA one quality wise?
ta.
Have you asked Rubycon? I reckon only they could tell us which colour is better in quality..Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazjam
No Stan havent done that.Quote:
Originally Posted by StanleyB
Swapped out the OpAmp board for a couple of Rubycon NA's I had supplied, just curious about them as Id read Leo (I think it was) suggesting teh grey CE's were a very good choice.
Ill leave them cooking for a couple of days and report back. :)
One thing I HAVE noticed right from powering up is that the sound is quite different....more "direct" sounding, despite being slightly quieter at the same amp volume setting as before.
No problems here with the 6db reduction in output or any harsh female vocals...
48 hrs or so then ill do some proper listening.
Oh, it was a 5 minute job, no problems at all.
I'm running the Rubycon CEs and they're currently my favourites. They need more than 48 hours to settle, though. More like a week for the bass to fully bloom.
I've had a fun time with this, more caps than I can shake a stick at!
Bottom line for me: If you can get away with using a film cap do so 'cause every 'lytic is flawed in some way, they all seem to have an uneven freq response that even a humble metallised polyester cap shows up.
So I'm no longer wasting time with them and have moved on to some old Orange drop polyester caps that have a much better presentation. In the pipe will be some Multicap RTX, AudioLinks and Soniqs film caps.
Hmm, those 10uf polyesters I tried wasn't that great sounding tbh, I think they are wound types which may be a problem in this application, the 10uf Arcotronics MKP's was better but music sounded slightly strained , their also huge.
Those orange drops may be interesting Neal, I always remember when Richard was cap rolling in his WAD amp, I'm sure those orange drops proved to be pretty good for coupling, I think their low inductance too
I've got a couple of RTX's but their only 1uf, values higher than that would cost more than the Caiman:lol:
I got a pair of Siemans MKV's too, those used to get a lot of hype so will add some leads and try them for the grins
I tried a couple of Sanyo Os-Con SEPC polymers, the only value I could get are 470uF 6V, but they're tiny! They sound very good indeed with clear and dynamic midrange, no nasties and they only lose slightly to the Rubycons in the bass. I probably didn't run them for long enough and I'm reluctant to leave such high value caps in place for fear of switch-on thumps.
I've noticed something odd today. My left and right channels seem to be swapped around. I'm sure I didn't have this problem before I did the passive mod and I've checked that all my wiring is correct. Could somebody else that's done the passive mod as Stan first suggested (soldering to the via's between the ribbons) please check to see if your channels are the right way round? I've connected the right channel to the via on the right and vice versa as in this pic:
http://www.homehifi.co.uk/images/mods/caiman/cap.jpg
Cheers. :)
What value Sonique are you using Neal?Quote:
Originally Posted by NRG
Dave,have you got an actual pic of yours? I've done mine the same way (it's a 7510 though) and channels seem fine.Quote:
Originally Posted by HighFidelityGuy
I think those grey caps L&R need swapping over.
Check the pcb print see if either left or right track is on the top board, follow it around and it should be marked left and right near that grey ribbon cable.
Failing that it'll need checking with a multi meter
Afraid not, I don't have a camera good enough to do decent macro shots. They come out all fuzzy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ali Tait
You've cracked it Leo, the right via is for the left channel and vice versa. Balls! :doh: Oh well, when I start cap rolling I'll sort that out. Until then I'll just swap the cables round between Caiman and my preamp. Cheers. :cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by leo
So doing the soldering as per Stan's photos causes the channels get swapped round. Oops. Ah well, everyone makes mistakes. :)
It serves me right for not double checking though. At least it's easy to fix.
I'll have to do mine too.Funny though,I hadn't noticed.Watching films,sounds panned across in the right way.Maybe the 7510 is different.I'll have to meter it and check.
I prefer the socket approach as I'd rather keep the muting relay in circuit.
Don't have that luxury on the 7510.
Ha ha, Mine did the same thing also. :scratch:Quote:
Originally Posted by HighFidelityGuy
Might sound stupid, but Stan, are you sure the photo above it correct?
It should be easy to just cross the legs of the caps over, may be worth adding a sleeve though to reduce any risk of the legs shorting.
Its an easy mistake to make guys :)
I've honestly not noticed any difference without the muting relay so far. Certainly no noise between tracks or anything like that. I guess some caps might give different results in that department though.Quote:
Originally Posted by MartinT
The thing I like about soldering the caps between the ribbons is that it cuts out a bunch of PCB track, wire and solder joints from the signal path. So you effectively get two mods for the price of one. :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by MartinT
Martin, so you know of any online source for the CE's?
Ta.
Not needing the variable out or the headphones on my Bdac, removing the Opamp board and just slotting different caps in is like opamp rolling all over again - but better!
As someone else said..this mod is not to be underestimated...flippin' heck! :eek:
Hmm, I'm drawing a blank here. Have they gone out of production?Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazjam
That's good to know. I may finally solder them in once I'm completely happy. Actually, I'm very happy with it now.Quote:
Originally Posted by HighFidelityGuy
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ali Tait
I've got 100K input impedance on my modded PreII so I can get away with 0.47uF for a 3Hz rolloff....the Orange drops and RTX are actually 1uF, the Soniqs and AudioLinks 0.47uF.
Quote:
Originally Posted by leo
Or you could be even more raw and simply reverse the phono leads on the outside ... :)
Good discussion here...may be helpful?
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/parts...apacitors.html