Tripath Input Coupling Caps

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RE: Cap Preference Order

Hi, Davet, Thanks again for the help! After a closer look I see the bottom should come off of the Trends. :) I also read where you said the Bennics "should" sound better than the RS caps. It sounded like you thought the RS caps sounded pretty good? I was leaning towards the Auricaps, because of the Trends mod now for sale, and other input on them. I am only interested in sound quality, so my question to you is, based on ONLY sound quality in what order would you list these caps? Thanks!


Bennics
Auricaps
RS caps

Thanks again for your Cap testing, and personal opinions on them! It is greatly appreciated!

Marc
 
Bennic caps have several grades and voltage ratings. Normal yellow, xpp, fpp, and upp. Voltage rating are normally 250VDC or 400VDC. I have tried xpp and upp 250VDC in XO circuits, and found no significant differences; xpp 400VDC sounded much cleaner and fuller. I'm sure coupling caps will yield different results, but thought it good to bring attention to the different Bennic caps.
 
Re: RE: Cap Preference Order

Tripath07 said:
I am only interested in sound quality, so my question to you is, based on ONLY sound quality in what order would you list these caps?

Bennics
Auricaps
RS caps

Marc

My personal preference are Auricaps. I have been using them for years and I have a lot of time and money invested in them. So, I may have a little bias to these caps based on years of investment. Auricaps take up to 100AA+ hours to settle down and they are expensive.

Value wise the Radio Shack Caps are a tremendous value, and they sound good to me. Panomaniac's opinion on the RSs isn't quite as high as mine. I would say if one wanted to expend minimal money to try cap mods - This would be my suggestion.

I have Bennics in my stock TA-10.1, But I have not tested them. I would think based on reputation the Bennics "should" sound better than the Radio Shack caps.

Just sound alone I would rank them

Auricaps
Bennics ??? ( I haven't tested these - see above)
Radio Shack

Please, recognize that whay sounds good to me may be a dud to your ears.
 
I'm considering purchasing Sonicaps to compare to stock Bennics and the Obbigato PIOs' that are hooked up to my Trends presently. Is there any reason to purchase the 400v value over the 200v? The lower value is smaller and cheaper. I think that 200v version would work but is there a sonic advantage to using a higher voltage value? I'd like to go with 3.3uf for more extended bass response and I don't have to worry about the turn-on thump since I use a preamp.

My system: Bolder Squeezebox >Mhdt Constantine dac> Mapletree line 3a preamp> 2- Trends 10.1 biamp>Omega Hemp Dipoles
 
RE: Cap Preference Order

Davet, Thanks again! I am going to buy the Auricaps and try them out. I'll break them in with the tuner on my NAD preamp. The sonics are awesume with the Bennics, but maybe a slight lack of musicallity. I can't wait to hear the Auricaps. After they are broken in then I will report on the sound quality of the Auricaps compared to the Bennics with my Trends.

Can someone post a link to purchase the exact Auricaps that I would use to replace the Bennics? Thanks!

Happy listening to all!
 
Vishay MKT1822 Capacitors

Dweekie was kind enough to provide a set of Vishay MKT1822 caps for testing. I wrote my initial impressions when I first plugged them into the test bed. I then played the caps for quite a while longer, for I had not run these caps through the burn in circuit for much more than 16 hours. I was told that the caps had 50+ hours on them when I got them. I went from listening to the FIO and Film Obbligatos, Russian PIOs and the Wima 3.3 μf. I then switched in the Vishays.

Initially, there was a certain shrillness of the highs. The trumpet and violin on The Mark O’Connor Trio Tiger Rag were just short of schreechiness. Sibilance of female vocals was very pronounced. The breathiness of vocalist (when they take a breath) is the most lifelike that I have heard. I am not sure where this fits in to the audio spectrum, but these caps really shine in this area.

There is plenty of air around the performers. The soundstage sounds somewhat compressed compared to other caps. The sense of three dimensionality is just not there with these caps. The sound is clearly from between the speakers.

The bass is sharp and percussive and not bloated. It is on the approach of being light, but satisfying and accurate. The smear/bloat of the leading edge of bass notes that I hear with the Obbligato FIO and The PIO is not present with these caps. Plucked acoustic bass is crystal clear in the mid to upper range. I just don’t get that gut wrenching bass that is found with some other caps.

The sound of acoustic guitars is amazingly lifelike. The grand piano sounds lifelike and there is no tinniness of the notes in the upper register, but the size of the instrument sounds smaller, more like a baby grand. I attribute this to the compressed soundstage. The sound of the drum kit on Llyod’s Georgia on my Mind” is the best I have heard. There is something magical happening in the mids.

Something happened after about 60 hours in my system (100+ hours total), these caps opened up. If it weren't for the good things that came through, in my initial listening, I would have given up on these caps. The strong recommendation was worth the time, for the sound from these caps after break in was well worth the wait. All that I have said above applies except that everything seems to have reached some level of balance. The female sibilance has moderated considerably and the schreechiness is gone.

There is some depth to the sound stage and just its a wee bit wider. The breathiness that first caught my attention is still there. These caps have the the shimmering highs I liked in the Solens. The grand piano has grown in sound to its normal proportions. The bass comes on when the recording demands it, but it is tight and controlled. The sound of drum kits is unbelievably lifelike.

This is one of the most listenable caps I have listened to after break in. There is something really magical about its reproduction of music. Listening to symphonic works and orchestra places you a ways back in the orchestra section. The width of the soundstage is appropriate for seating further from the stage. These caps are “fast” and accurate; more to my personal liking. Some may think of them a clinical/analytical, but if you want to hear every nuance of the music these are the caps of choice. For pop and rock the gut wrenching bass is not there, but if you are into hearing everything in the recording try these.

Size wise, they are most appropriate. They will comfortably fit the TA-10.1 printed circuit board. They are slightly larger than the RS caps, but smaller than the WIMAs.

Value wise these are one of the least expensive caps I have tested. They cost less than $1 (USD) less shipping for 10% tolerance and twice that for 5% tolerance.

The caps tested are Metallized Polyester Film Capacitors 2.2uF 100V with a 10% tolerance. These caps are available in both 5% and 10% tolerances.

Measurement 2.14 μf and 2.13 μf 100volts.
 
I have these caps and can attest that they seem to get out of the way of the music. I have a fresh bone stock 10.1 that will swap in the MKT1822's into and post my results later this week. When I popped them into my old 10.1 I made some other changes as well so I can't say what they brought to the table on their own.
 
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Both of these low-cost caps seem worth a look at. Getting hold of the Radio Shack's in the UK I guess is fairly difficult but RS (Radio Spares not Radio Shack!) stock the Vishay MKT's. However non-account holders get stiffed for handling charges under a certain amount, so if any of you RS account holders are going to order any then I'll take a few off you! :)
 
Happy Thanksgivings Day (USA)

I want to thank all of you who have provided support and criticism both pro and con regarding this thread. Thank you.

The Vishays are available from Mouser. They may do international shipping. The cost of the cap is very affordable and with the buying power of the Euro they may well be a deal even with added shipping cost.

Happy Listening!

:)
 
Dave,

By the sound of that last post, we won't see you here again! Hello, that is not an option!

Some of these threads allow a group of people to start a nice relationship and a "Mutual Admiration Society". That is one of life's gifts. Let's all keep it going!


SO......... What's next?

Regards//Keith
 
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Joined 2005
KP11520 said:
DC Coupling? Any specific application?

Somewhere in this thread theAnonymous1 posted a link to a thread which shows how he did it with the Tripath chips (since this thread is about coupling caps for Tripath amps). You could also use an instrumentation amp to do the same thing, probably with great results. Or you could find another class d amp that doesn't have any DC input bias and try DC coupling your source/preamp. To my ears, eliminating the coupling capacitor sounds better, although it can be lead to higher DC offset at the output of the amp.
 
KP11520 said:
Dave,

By the sound of that last post, we won't see you here again! Hello, that is not an option!

SO......... What's next?

No I will be around for a while yet. I was just reflecting on the year and giving thanks.

BWRX said:

cough... DC coupling... cough... ;)

I have been working on this the past three weeks. This was the elusive test that I have not specifically stated.

BWRX said:


Somewhere in this thread theAnonymous1 posted a link to a thread which shows how he did it with the Tripath chips (since this thread is about coupling caps for Tripath amps). You could also use an instrumentation amp to do the same thing, probably with great results. Or you could find another class d amp that doesn't have any DC input bias and try DC coupling your source/preamp. To my ears, eliminating the coupling capacitor sounds better, although it can be lead to higher DC offset at the output of the amp.

Yes, I have theAnonymous 1 circuit. I have been trying to get it integrated into the test bed. Hopefully, I will get things working soon.
 
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