Now that there was FUNNY, I don't care who you are.
Yes, I was referring to the dried herbs, couldn't quite tell what they were.
Thanks for the best wishes. You too.
Praudio, I see where you were going with that. Good one.
Although technically they're insects not arachnids. I appreciate the humor thou.
Hi all,
Slowly but surely getting my strenghts back so, before the next blood draws, here are a few more tests (as promised) that were done months ago.
220R Shinkoh Tantalum-1Mega Riken Ohms-220K PRP metal film
Now here are the results from listening extensively to the PRP metal film @ 1/4 watt. Interesting because so many people use them in the DCB1 since they are recommended in the BOM and...have this cool red color that makes a pleasant contrast with the black DCB1 PCB. But, once you put the cover back on, are the PRPs worth their recommendation ? Let's see.
NOTE: This report in about the 1/4 watt PRP. I will go in more details on the 1 watt version in a later post wich compares A LOT of different brands in defferent wattage...
Ok, so after some 200 hours on music playing. Here is what I heard. Again, very easy to distinguish between the various types.
What immediately struck me upon critical listenning is how powerful, controlled and deep the bass is. The only other resistor that could come close (very) as far as bass goes is the Draloric. The PRP is very articulated and coherent sounding. The soundstage is both deep and wide (read "expanded") but, curiously, the amount of air between instruments is somewhat limited. Call it average at best. Therefore, that soundstage extension sounds a bit more like it's been artificially stretched. Weird !!
Focus is very good and so is the image stability. Singers and instruments are very well anchored.
But, here are the major drawbacks of the PRPs. When you compare with other Rs, these drawbacks are really obvious. The PRPs have most of their energy seriously split in the treble and lows regions. In fact, at first glance it is impressive: powerful and detailed sound...but quickly you notice how "restrained AND slightly muddied" the mids are compared to the bests. Therefore, voices --- wich have a mid-hall presentation- lack in openness, density and naturalness. Furthermore, these defaults, combined with the boost of treble energy (a little dry sounding), tend to give a tad of nasality to voices while strings and piano sound both too thin and artificial. For the same reasons, harmonics and tonality are on the weak side of natural...
So to resume, the PRPs have some very good strenghts (bass and articulation among others) BUT are also do have an unnatural split sound in the treble and bass regions...all that combined with a congested midrange...where 80% of the music reside !!! Do I really need to say more.
Now, I know these are recommended in the BOM as being cheap and reasonable sounding, but it is really easy to do much better by mix/matching without braking the bank...
If you haven't compared...then you should !! Only then, will you be able to understand. One thing is for certain, after "A-B ing" them against their counterparts, I will never ever put PRPs @ 1/4 watt in ANY of my components...
Now, the higher wattage PRPs are a different story ! Stay tuned !
Regards
Scorpion
Slowly but surely getting my strenghts back so, before the next blood draws, here are a few more tests (as promised) that were done months ago.
220R Shinkoh Tantalum-1Mega Riken Ohms-220K PRP metal film
Now here are the results from listening extensively to the PRP metal film @ 1/4 watt. Interesting because so many people use them in the DCB1 since they are recommended in the BOM and...have this cool red color that makes a pleasant contrast with the black DCB1 PCB. But, once you put the cover back on, are the PRPs worth their recommendation ? Let's see.
NOTE: This report in about the 1/4 watt PRP. I will go in more details on the 1 watt version in a later post wich compares A LOT of different brands in defferent wattage...
Ok, so after some 200 hours on music playing. Here is what I heard. Again, very easy to distinguish between the various types.
What immediately struck me upon critical listenning is how powerful, controlled and deep the bass is. The only other resistor that could come close (very) as far as bass goes is the Draloric. The PRP is very articulated and coherent sounding. The soundstage is both deep and wide (read "expanded") but, curiously, the amount of air between instruments is somewhat limited. Call it average at best. Therefore, that soundstage extension sounds a bit more like it's been artificially stretched. Weird !!
Focus is very good and so is the image stability. Singers and instruments are very well anchored.
But, here are the major drawbacks of the PRPs. When you compare with other Rs, these drawbacks are really obvious. The PRPs have most of their energy seriously split in the treble and lows regions. In fact, at first glance it is impressive: powerful and detailed sound...but quickly you notice how "restrained AND slightly muddied" the mids are compared to the bests. Therefore, voices --- wich have a mid-hall presentation- lack in openness, density and naturalness. Furthermore, these defaults, combined with the boost of treble energy (a little dry sounding), tend to give a tad of nasality to voices while strings and piano sound both too thin and artificial. For the same reasons, harmonics and tonality are on the weak side of natural...
So to resume, the PRPs have some very good strenghts (bass and articulation among others) BUT are also do have an unnatural split sound in the treble and bass regions...all that combined with a congested midrange...where 80% of the music reside !!! Do I really need to say more.
Now, I know these are recommended in the BOM as being cheap and reasonable sounding, but it is really easy to do much better by mix/matching without braking the bank...
If you haven't compared...then you should !! Only then, will you be able to understand. One thing is for certain, after "A-B ing" them against their counterparts, I will never ever put PRPs @ 1/4 watt in ANY of my components...
Now, the higher wattage PRPs are a different story ! Stay tuned !
Regards
Scorpion
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Ok so let's continue with some more. Here it goes with the following:
220R Shinkoh Tantalum-1Mega Riken Ohms- 220K (NOS) Western Electric K-20810 metal film
These were given to me by DIYaudio member Praudio as part of his numerous NOS stack. I do have a few extra wich might come handy.
Now, how do they sound? Very very good. By far the most balanced, natural and organic of all the metal films tested at the 220K position.. These Western Electric are very coherent and there is something very right about them. A correctness, a "oneness" in the way the music is presented in the sense that everything plays seperatly, yet, together at the same time. This non-magnetic NOS offers good insight into the music. You can feel the soul, the emotions. Very pleasant !
The soundstage is very expansive and 3-D, with better than average layering. It is NOT a falsely stretched soundstage like in the PRP's case since the Western Electric lets you hear a good amount of air between the instruments (altough not as airy as the Amtrans, Riken and Audionote)
The lows are tight and controlled but don't go as deep as the Dralorics and PRPs wich are untouchable in the bass region (simply thunderously cavernous !!). In comparison, the WE seem to have a little boost in the upper lows. Harmonics are above average and notes sound full, with good texture and are the best of all the metal films tried so far. Still, as good as the harmonics are, they are not quite at the same level as the best carbon films and tantalums.
Another strong point of the Western Electric is that of all the metal films, it is the less "nervous" of the bunch. It doesn't deliver the music in a nervous way (like if it was overwhelmed with the details to deliver), nope, it presents a calmly approach to music listening. It let's you enjoy the performance, soul included.
The transparency is overall above average, yet not at the level of the Riken, Audionote and Amtrans. Still, there is a very good balance of details and warmth. The notes of cellos, pianos, acoustic guitars and sax just have the right amount of delineated edges without being analytical.Finally, voices are full and don't have that slightly unnatural metallic edges of most metal films.
Now, the Western Electric are not perfect. My main complain would be about the fact that they are really full sounding to the point of sounding a bit "fat"...If you A-B them against their metal film counterparts, it seems to be positive and going in the right direction but just stick an Audionote or Riken next to them and the WE "fatness" becomes really obvious. To me that is serious coloration right there. Also, the WE don't have the level of transparency of the bests resistors.
Still, these NOS Western Electric are by far the less digital, balanced, musical and organic of all the metal films I have tried at the 220K position. . Maybe their sound is typical of NOS metal film ?
We will see when I'll try the NOS Holcos @ 220R in upcoming tests.
Regards
Scorpion
220R Shinkoh Tantalum-1Mega Riken Ohms- 220K (NOS) Western Electric K-20810 metal film
These were given to me by DIYaudio member Praudio as part of his numerous NOS stack. I do have a few extra wich might come handy.
Now, how do they sound? Very very good. By far the most balanced, natural and organic of all the metal films tested at the 220K position.. These Western Electric are very coherent and there is something very right about them. A correctness, a "oneness" in the way the music is presented in the sense that everything plays seperatly, yet, together at the same time. This non-magnetic NOS offers good insight into the music. You can feel the soul, the emotions. Very pleasant !
The soundstage is very expansive and 3-D, with better than average layering. It is NOT a falsely stretched soundstage like in the PRP's case since the Western Electric lets you hear a good amount of air between the instruments (altough not as airy as the Amtrans, Riken and Audionote)
The lows are tight and controlled but don't go as deep as the Dralorics and PRPs wich are untouchable in the bass region (simply thunderously cavernous !!). In comparison, the WE seem to have a little boost in the upper lows. Harmonics are above average and notes sound full, with good texture and are the best of all the metal films tried so far. Still, as good as the harmonics are, they are not quite at the same level as the best carbon films and tantalums.
Another strong point of the Western Electric is that of all the metal films, it is the less "nervous" of the bunch. It doesn't deliver the music in a nervous way (like if it was overwhelmed with the details to deliver), nope, it presents a calmly approach to music listening. It let's you enjoy the performance, soul included.
The transparency is overall above average, yet not at the level of the Riken, Audionote and Amtrans. Still, there is a very good balance of details and warmth. The notes of cellos, pianos, acoustic guitars and sax just have the right amount of delineated edges without being analytical.Finally, voices are full and don't have that slightly unnatural metallic edges of most metal films.
Now, the Western Electric are not perfect. My main complain would be about the fact that they are really full sounding to the point of sounding a bit "fat"...If you A-B them against their metal film counterparts, it seems to be positive and going in the right direction but just stick an Audionote or Riken next to them and the WE "fatness" becomes really obvious. To me that is serious coloration right there. Also, the WE don't have the level of transparency of the bests resistors.
Still, these NOS Western Electric are by far the less digital, balanced, musical and organic of all the metal films I have tried at the 220K position. . Maybe their sound is typical of NOS metal film ?
We will see when I'll try the NOS Holcos @ 220R in upcoming tests.
Regards
Scorpion
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Thanks for the review. I don't like this PRP resistor myself even tho I know they are used in many high end products such as the top AYRE amplifier. I thought that was because this resistor if I'm not mistaken is made in the USA with high availability.
Hi Jay,
My pleasure (the review). IMO, I don't think being made in USA or not and being highly available has something to do in the PRPs being chosen/recommended in the BOM. Different brands like Takman, Kiwame, Ohmite (to name a few) are also highly available. I suspect the "cool red look" and/or the"assumed" reasonable cost/performance ratio as the main reasons.
The DCB1 is really transparent and highly responsive and, so is my system (especially since the crossover has gone external and has been "Duelunded"). Such is the resolution that the tiniest changes are very easily noticed.
One thing I could -without a doubt- tell you is that the PRPs @ 1/4 watt do have some serious flaws in the mids (congested/muddied) wich affect the overall balance and tonality. Now, the 1 watt version is MUCH better. Don't know about the 1/2 watt one, haven't tried it. Could be a middle ground one, who knows ?
I know that we, audiophiles, don't have the same system, same resolution and so forth,BUT, there is no coming back from such an opaque midrange as the lower wattage PRPs.
I will try an all PRPs DCB1 to see where this leads
All the tests I have done so far show that the higher the wattage, the better overall (with some reservations here and there). I will go in details about it soon. I compared lots of same brands/different wattage with mostly the same conclusions. 2 other DIY members were here with me for some of these tests and were stunned by how obvious we could hear the differences (honestly, I was stunned too). I really hope they will chip in with their own comments but they are a little "shy", having limited english writing skills...I will try to convince them.
I really think some simple and cheap mixes/matches could very easily be done to counteract mutual weaknesses. For example, Takman REX carbons and PRPs have quite opposite flaws and strenghts. And, even if the circuit doesn't require more wattage (specific per position), I can assure you that a 1/2 watt Takman is more open and better layered than a 1/4 watt one. To give you just an example.
The differences are even more significant between 1/4 and 1 watt PRPs...Same with Allen-Bradleys and others.
Regards
Scorpion
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Hi Renron,
Thanks for the kind comments. I will contact both members and see if they're willing to share some reviews.
I will take it easy, I promise !! ;-) Since my energy level is getting (slowly) better by the day, I take, and enjoy, the opportunities (between all these exams and blood draws) to post some reviews of my experiments.
Regards
Scorpion
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That is normal. I think it is Johnson noise. You don't want heat, that can be a result of too much voltage drop or current or simply too low wattage capacity due to small size.
Scorpion
I just saw this thread today and read it start to finish with great interest. A couple of comments..
1. First, I wish you a speedy and full recovery. So pleased to hear the prognosis is favorable
2. Thank you for this interesting and thoughtful experiment. I agree with the engineering crowd that the first step is to get the circuit correct and optimized. After that however the parts selection has utterly amazing impact.
3. Compliments on your build skills. Beautiful work. You have every right to be proud of your work. I would love to hear your system.
I had experimented with capacitors, and wire and layout. Then after making some routine changes in resistors was amazed that this is perhaps the biggest payback item. I now believe that every resistor is essentially evil, but some less damaging than others.
I can only underscore the comments by you and your friends in Montreal that it is surprising how dramatic and obvious the difference a single resistor can make.
I was first shocked when I replaced an Allan Bradley resistor in the feedback circuit of my tube amps with Caddock USF series. Then I experimented with a couple of different premium resistors in series shunt positions of a potentiomitor. Even boutique Caddock were horrible. So I have at this point taken to eliminating resistors with chokes in PS, and Slagle autoformers for the linestage and wind my own manganin resistors for key spots in the source such as the I/V resistor and the cathode resisotors in my DAC output stage.
Keep up the great work as you are able. This is as interesting and informative as the Humble page on capacitors.
I just saw this thread today and read it start to finish with great interest. A couple of comments..
1. First, I wish you a speedy and full recovery. So pleased to hear the prognosis is favorable
2. Thank you for this interesting and thoughtful experiment. I agree with the engineering crowd that the first step is to get the circuit correct and optimized. After that however the parts selection has utterly amazing impact.
3. Compliments on your build skills. Beautiful work. You have every right to be proud of your work. I would love to hear your system.
I had experimented with capacitors, and wire and layout. Then after making some routine changes in resistors was amazed that this is perhaps the biggest payback item. I now believe that every resistor is essentially evil, but some less damaging than others.
I can only underscore the comments by you and your friends in Montreal that it is surprising how dramatic and obvious the difference a single resistor can make.
I was first shocked when I replaced an Allan Bradley resistor in the feedback circuit of my tube amps with Caddock USF series. Then I experimented with a couple of different premium resistors in series shunt positions of a potentiomitor. Even boutique Caddock were horrible. So I have at this point taken to eliminating resistors with chokes in PS, and Slagle autoformers for the linestage and wind my own manganin resistors for key spots in the source such as the I/V resistor and the cathode resisotors in my DAC output stage.
Keep up the great work as you are able. This is as interesting and informative as the Humble page on capacitors.
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It's good to hear that your health is returning - most important, IMO.
Good point about those PRPs - I must go and try these out again - I remember trimming the value of these with some Rhodesteins (for the series 220R resistor position) and it changed the sound quite a lot - maybe something to try later - it's great that you're methodically continuing your experiments as it's going to be extremely useful as it develops - a 'matching resistor sound primer'
I use a "T" Network series impedance [0.8R, 50R, 0.8R] between the Coral beta8 drivers (tricky buggers!) and the 'loaner' 845 valve amp and recently changed the 50R shunt resistor from Manganin to a Vishay VPR220 (tx220 from 'alazira - Swap Meet) - an unexpected big difference indeed - you learn something every day, eh!
I had a look at the photo of your system and ...
That brick/stone fireplace behind your system is an ideal place to fit a Schroedder diffuser and if made from wood/ply/light colour stained, wouldn't be too objectionable and could possibly achieve quite remarkable results (better room acoustics is one of my 'things'!) - just a suggestion, mind you.
Ah, Mr Lowes - I managed to get a small quantity of that ChimeraLabs treated OCC wire and simply made up a 2 + 2 wire IC (1.4 metres, 2 separate pairs) between the laptop and the dac - couldn't believe it took over a week (24/7) to finalise the sound change (still getting 'quite a bit of stick' here about this!) but quite an improvement in the clarity and detail of the sound that's enabled the system bass to be brought up a lot - I was a bit of a sceptic about this digital IC hype, but no more!
Good point about those PRPs - I must go and try these out again - I remember trimming the value of these with some Rhodesteins (for the series 220R resistor position) and it changed the sound quite a lot - maybe something to try later - it's great that you're methodically continuing your experiments as it's going to be extremely useful as it develops - a 'matching resistor sound primer'
I use a "T" Network series impedance [0.8R, 50R, 0.8R] between the Coral beta8 drivers (tricky buggers!) and the 'loaner' 845 valve amp and recently changed the 50R shunt resistor from Manganin to a Vishay VPR220 (tx220 from 'alazira - Swap Meet) - an unexpected big difference indeed - you learn something every day, eh!
I had a look at the photo of your system and ...
That brick/stone fireplace behind your system is an ideal place to fit a Schroedder diffuser and if made from wood/ply/light colour stained, wouldn't be too objectionable and could possibly achieve quite remarkable results (better room acoustics is one of my 'things'!) - just a suggestion, mind you.
Ah, Mr Lowes - I managed to get a small quantity of that ChimeraLabs treated OCC wire and simply made up a 2 + 2 wire IC (1.4 metres, 2 separate pairs) between the laptop and the dac - couldn't believe it took over a week (24/7) to finalise the sound change (still getting 'quite a bit of stick' here about this!) but quite an improvement in the clarity and detail of the sound that's enabled the system bass to be brought up a lot - I was a bit of a sceptic about this digital IC hype, but no more!
Hi wlowes,
Thanks a lot for your kind words. Had a few other health related bumps lately (blood cloths in my left legs...for the 3rd time in the last 18 months !!!...wich put me on stronger blood thinner pills...just to end up with bleeding in my belly last weekend. ..ouf, tough year...but I am just fine know, so to speak).
I am happy to hear you could easily hear the differences between resistors. Their sound signature is so obviously distinguishable in a transparent enough system that I am sometimes still floored by some naysayers. I just don't get how it can not be heard. In some cases, like in series at the input (in the DCB1's case), the sound differences between some resistors is as significant as when swapping capacitors. No kidding.
Of course, it's not because one resistors sounds better at - for example, the 220K position - that stuffing your gears with them will make it sound better. It's all about mix and matching. All about synergy.
IME, resistors all have their sound signatures, just like caps do. Take the Rken Ohms for example. Definitely very good. Highly natural and musical. Very good timbres, excellent on string and edges and so forth BUT.... if you put too many of them in the circuit, you'll end up with too forward a sound, almost edgy. Same goes for the excellent tantalums. Probably the ones with the best musicality of them all BUT they tend to roll off the edges a bit...put too many and you'll have too rolled off a sound.
What I mean is that it can sometimes become too much of a good thing where even adding up the strenghts...could switch the balance the other way, and, could transform these beloved strenghts into weaknesses. That is true even with the best resistors. That is why, mix and matching and synergy is so important.
Thunderous bass (strenght) + thunderous bass + thunderous bass=....way too boomy!! Clean + clean + clean = thin/sterile sound and so on...
I think you get the point.
I will post more tests results/pics this weekend and make a RESUME of the 220K comparaisons.
I will also state what I (and others) have noted when comparing the same resistors of different wattage. Surprising results !! I have taken numerous pics of these as well.
Also, I convinced one of the listeners to write about his experiences with resistors swaps at my place !! He did produce a long long text (in french) that will need to be translated. Probably in a few days.
The other DIYaudio member, Praudio, has been telling me several times that he would write and share his experiences...but I (we) am (are) still waiting...Pierre, what are you waiting for ??????
Btw, thanks for the Humble Homemade (caps tests) comparaison. A reference for many. Personnaly, my goal is to experiment with resistors, share my findings, and, if possible; be helpful to fellow DIYers....and fine tune the DCB1 as much as possible ;-)
Thanks again for sharing your experiences.
Sincere regards
Scorpion
Hi Jameshillj,
Nice to hear from you. Thanks also for your kind words.
Yep, those PRPs @ 1/4 watt are way too congested in the midrange. There is no going back from this lack of transparency. The 1 watt PRPs sound MUCH more balanced from top to bottom. Try/compare them, you'll hear for yourself. It would be nice if you could then share your results as well.
Now, as fare as using a diffuser for the "stone wall", rest assured that I did experiment a lot for close to a year with different diffusers/ absorbers in the room. Diffusers were just horrid near the backwall and tend to push an already "lively" room over the edge. Music got wayyyy too excited and, therefore, unnatural. It doesn't show on the picture but the room is treated all around (even the ceiling) and has been fine tuned "by ears". Moving some absorbers panels even by an inch or two could sometimes be heard. I even had to remove a 12X12 inches absorber panel on the ceiling because it would diminish the "lisibility/phrasing" of singers. It would suck a bit too much life out of singers' rendition.
Btw, if memory serves me well, you were the one pointing about the Rhopoints resistors. Well I tried to get my hands on some. I wrote to Rhopoints three times and never got any kind of answer...Too bad as I would have liked to give them a try...
Sincere regards
Scorpion
Yes, this strange business of resistors 'having their own sound' seems to be just far too much into the 'land of weird' for some people to even try - and then there's some people who genuinely just can't hear any difference - it takes all kinds.
Had a look at the Farnell site and they list just the 200R Rhopoint (8G16) and asking A$16 ea for them (maybe cheaper going Farnell, UK) - seems crazy price but if you do get onto Rhopoint, they add 20GBP (small quantity handling fee) to small orders - you can see that Farnell's (Element 14 here) have priced some of them at A$35+ but no idea why and a phone call gets a better price, even for just 2 resistors - I don't think these people live in the real world sometimes
I sent an email to the Asia office and maybe they'll be able to supply the small quantities asked (2 x 200R, 2 X 200kR) in the 8G16 range - maybe 'no answer' either!
It's quite a buzz to find someone 'into room acoustics' in the hifi area - it's a bit rare, unfortunately.
Yes, the rear wall panels/diffusers can be quite tricky, especially if there's not a lot of distance between these and listening position - the skylines don't seem to be as critical as the Shroedders and I'll be making up some more of those Tim Perry 'lean fusers' to see if I can use these on my back wall - as you can see, I'm more into diffusers than absorbers but the improving bass drivers now require a couple of bass traps for the first time but narrow freq ones are quite difficult to get right (resonant chamber traps)
I've also been looking for a design for those rather shallow 'grating diffusers' like 'miniature wine racks' for my standard height ceiling - the RPG ones are crazy prices here
Onto another maybe off thread question - years ago when I was into the Black Gate caps and things, I never did try out the effects of combining 4 standard electros in the series anti-parallel configuration (trying for a cheaper BG equivalent) - it was briefly mentioned recently on another thread - I wondered if you have any knowledge about it (or anyone else reading this too) - I have a whole bunch of the Nichicon GoldTune 4m7/50V (4,700uF) to try ...
Had a look at the Farnell site and they list just the 200R Rhopoint (8G16) and asking A$16 ea for them (maybe cheaper going Farnell, UK) - seems crazy price but if you do get onto Rhopoint, they add 20GBP (small quantity handling fee) to small orders - you can see that Farnell's (Element 14 here) have priced some of them at A$35+ but no idea why and a phone call gets a better price, even for just 2 resistors - I don't think these people live in the real world sometimes
I sent an email to the Asia office and maybe they'll be able to supply the small quantities asked (2 x 200R, 2 X 200kR) in the 8G16 range - maybe 'no answer' either!
It's quite a buzz to find someone 'into room acoustics' in the hifi area - it's a bit rare, unfortunately.
Yes, the rear wall panels/diffusers can be quite tricky, especially if there's not a lot of distance between these and listening position - the skylines don't seem to be as critical as the Shroedders and I'll be making up some more of those Tim Perry 'lean fusers' to see if I can use these on my back wall - as you can see, I'm more into diffusers than absorbers but the improving bass drivers now require a couple of bass traps for the first time but narrow freq ones are quite difficult to get right (resonant chamber traps)
I've also been looking for a design for those rather shallow 'grating diffusers' like 'miniature wine racks' for my standard height ceiling - the RPG ones are crazy prices here
Onto another maybe off thread question - years ago when I was into the Black Gate caps and things, I never did try out the effects of combining 4 standard electros in the series anti-parallel configuration (trying for a cheaper BG equivalent) - it was briefly mentioned recently on another thread - I wondered if you have any knowledge about it (or anyone else reading this too) - I have a whole bunch of the Nichicon GoldTune 4m7/50V (4,700uF) to try ...
Hi Jameshillj,
If you ever get your hands on some Rhopoints for the DCB1. ..just make sure to order 220Rs and 220Ks. ..NOT 200Rs and 200Ks...as written above...just a gentle reminder ;-)
As far as the "series anti-parallel" caps configuration, I am not sure I get exactly what you are saying here (so, of course, I have no experience with it). Could you please explain in more details what it is exactly?
As far as caps comparaison in the DCB1, I have the following 100uF electrolytics waiting in line. Once all the resistors will be chosen (for max synergy), I will try to find the caps that further improve the sound and be synergistically optimal with the chosen resistors.
Here's a pic of the eventual contestants
Regards
Scorpion
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I've got nearly the same set of caps except the Pana HF (didn't get past the FA & FC ones) - I did add the Nichicon NP ones (green case) and some Siemens/Epcos/Mitzi and so on - as usual, mix and match gives 'best' result, IMO anyway. You might want to add some of the Oscons, etc when they come available - the list can get extremely long.
As for the Rhopoint resistors, we'll see what answer I get from the email - if no resistors available, the 2 values from Farnell/Element 14 are the 200R and 250R, no 220R - I doubt it would make any difference in the evaluation, but lets wait for an answer first.
Anti-parallel caps are a bit misunderstood - I saw AndrewT's explanation but not entirely clear, but my take on it that you add 2 caps in series but connect them with the midpoint with the negative terminals together, the 2 positives 'looking out' if you imagine this, as per the normal bipolar construction
Then you take 2 more caps and connect the 2 +ve terminals together in the middle so the -ve terminals 'look out',
Then you simply connect the 2 'strings' together in parallel - 4 caps in total.
I'm not sure if the idea of connecting 2 caps in parallel but with one of them having the terminals reversed is legitimate - some mention of it about on the old BG caps site called 'Super E configuration' or something.
All this must have been tried years ago but I've completely missed it - maybe there's something to it, as I quite like the performance of the green Nichicon NP caps.
As for the Rhopoint resistors, we'll see what answer I get from the email - if no resistors available, the 2 values from Farnell/Element 14 are the 200R and 250R, no 220R - I doubt it would make any difference in the evaluation, but lets wait for an answer first.
Anti-parallel caps are a bit misunderstood - I saw AndrewT's explanation but not entirely clear, but my take on it that you add 2 caps in series but connect them with the midpoint with the negative terminals together, the 2 positives 'looking out' if you imagine this, as per the normal bipolar construction
Then you take 2 more caps and connect the 2 +ve terminals together in the middle so the -ve terminals 'look out',
Then you simply connect the 2 'strings' together in parallel - 4 caps in total.
I'm not sure if the idea of connecting 2 caps in parallel but with one of them having the terminals reversed is legitimate - some mention of it about on the old BG caps site called 'Super E configuration' or something.
All this must have been tried years ago but I've completely missed it - maybe there's something to it, as I quite like the performance of the green Nichicon NP caps.
Hi wlowes,
It's a big yes, of course !!! Thanks a lot for the offer. I'll be more than pleased to give them a serious try. 220R would be great. If you could match them within 1% of targeted value, it would be even better.
I try to match the resistors within 1%. For example, the worst measurements I have for 220R or K is 217 while most are ranging from 219 to 221R/K (with the exception of the NOS Western Electric wich was only available @ 213K....still at around 3% or so). Because of their well known drift, I chose, for example, some Allen-Bradleys @ 200 and 220R at 5% for the 220R position. I did order the two values on purpose....Well, the 200Rs measure 218R (close to the desired 220R)...while the 220Rs are "already" over 225R and should continue drifting farther away over time...I also try to match the pairs as well. Anyway.
I have never ever tried manganin resistors. It will be something new for me and, I must admit, I am very curious.
Thanks a bunch for the offer.
Please PM me their price.
Sincere regards
Scorpion
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