SimontY said:
Simon's player sounds fantastic. Really rich, detailed and dynamic.
I have had good results bypassing with the Supreme cap, and I am going to try a Mundorf ZN also bypassed with the Supreme, and also Clarity Cap/Soniqs too.
I'm fairly sure you can get a large percentage of the performance of the really expensive caps using this method. Probably only worth trying once a player is very well modded.
edit: considering the physical size and cost, Black Gate N types are pretty darn good too.
Lee.
RCruz said:
Hi Ricardo,
I've had good success using teflon caps in input cap and output cap applications, so I just decided to get the smallest cap to bypass the BG cap. I didn't do a with and a without bypass cap evaluation, so I can't really say if they really add anything or not. However, the combo BG N cap with teflon bypass does seem to me to allow more music information to pass than when I had just the small BG cap as output cap. This is consistent with other applications of teflon caps.
For the most part, getting the teflon caps was just something I decided to do because I get them from the same supplier that I get the BG's. I sense that any improvement in using them is highly subjective.
Steve
Hi Stevestvnharr said:
This matter reminds me of an initial question when I started following this thread.... Should I bypass the most important EL caps on the player..??
After some time, and much trial and errors, I understood that in some cases I do not need to bypass OsCon and BG caps.
I also removed the styroflex bypass I was using in the 10000uF Nichicon KG I am using in the analog PSU with good results (more integration).
Maybe the solution lies on the teflon caps... where do you source them ?
Regards
Ricardo
RCruz said:
I would advise against that as without this bypass they sound a little fuzzy - the treble isn't the cleanest and the bass is exaggerated. The midrange has the silky BG quality you hear from their power caps. However, combined with Siemens MKV PP in oil the sound is perfectly balanced, there's actually no need for me to upgrade. I can't really recommend it though, as it's expensive and really tough to fit these big caps in.
MKP or ClarityCaps SA mixed with Mundorf Supreme would be where I'd look if I could start again, or just Supremes if I was feeling flush and could find space under the bonnet.
Simon
RCruz said:
Mundorf MKP sounds excellent for the cash as is, perhaps only losing a little smoothness and detail out compared to no cap or a first-rate cap. As I said a few posts back, Lee has tried bypassing these with a small value Mundorf Supreme and said he liked it. I've only heard them used line-level as they come, or in a crossover circuit, where they also work well.
Simon
ps - it sounds like the Portuguese postal service is really slow - annoying for you!!
RCruz said:
Thank you Lee
What should I use to bypass the Mundorf Mcap MKP 400V 3.3uF ?
I am starting to think I need 10uF at least...
Ricardo
PS... Your mail takes so long... this waiting is making me go like
Thanks for that Ricardo, I sent you package well over a week ago. I suspect that it is stuck in Portugese customs. They are notoriously bad for this.
Oh, and the caps I sent you are 4.7uF MKP. I would upgrade all the other areas of your player first with more regs etc and the coax mod, before considering a bypass cap on the mkp.
Lee.
Hi LeeThomo said:
I am very sorry. I meant no harm. I know it is not your fault... I just was expressing my feelings regarding the mail system.
I will follow your indications... I am now starting to build a PSU for the decoder so I can add more sregs.
I will leave the coax mod for the end because it is quite complicated to implement.
Regards
Ricardo
RCruz said:
Ricardo,
Teflon caps are large and expensive. They are best suited for signal path applications. Due to their small value, 1uf is about the largest cap, their useful applications are limited. I don't normally bypass electro caps. However, I decided to use a bypass with the BG N cap as it's a signal path cap.
I get my caps from Soniccraft.
Solen, the French company, has now come out with teflon caps, and they may be the best place for you to source them, should you wish to do so.
Also, I have a different player than you. However, the Discrete Output Stage is the same.
Steve
5V regulators
Hi,
I have a something of a beginner's question about voltage regulators. I think the question has been addressed in passing, but I am hoping for a more specific answer.
After reading and searching through most of this huge and informative thread, I have built a couple of the 5V Raygulatros using green LEDs. The final voltage out was 5.35V with two green leds and 120R for R1. When I swapped R1 to 160R, the voltage out dropped to 5.20V. This result was duplicated on both regulators.
The DAC chip operates at 4.5V – 5.5V. With this in mind, my question is whether the 5.35V out from the regulator is an issue in real life, or should I use an R1 value of 160R, or even higher, to lower the voltage out of 5.20V?
Hi,
I have a something of a beginner's question about voltage regulators. I think the question has been addressed in passing, but I am hoping for a more specific answer.
After reading and searching through most of this huge and informative thread, I have built a couple of the 5V Raygulatros using green LEDs. The final voltage out was 5.35V with two green leds and 120R for R1. When I swapped R1 to 160R, the voltage out dropped to 5.20V. This result was duplicated on both regulators.
The DAC chip operates at 4.5V – 5.5V. With this in mind, my question is whether the 5.35V out from the regulator is an issue in real life, or should I use an R1 value of 160R, or even higher, to lower the voltage out of 5.20V?
Hi Joe,
The DAC's supply voltage is 5V nominal, but a few tenths more or less is not a problem (it can handle a maximum of 7V). But 5.35V is a bit high though. It's a good habit to keep all supply voltages within 4% (the standard tolerance for fixed regulators) to avoid problems with other circuits that are connected to the DAC.
Best thing is to start with R1 around 120R, and tweak the voltage by using other LED's. A green one will give you about 2V, a red one 1.6V and a yellow one 2.2V. R1 will contribute about 1.25V to the output voltage, so with the LED's you should make 3.75V for everything to add up. Maybe a red and a yellow one does the trick? If you'd like to tweak the voltage in the end, you can adjust R1 a bit, higher values give you less voltage and vice versa. But don't make it too large, R1 also provides the minimum load current for the regulator, which can be upto 10mA for some types.
Regards,
Ray
The DAC's supply voltage is 5V nominal, but a few tenths more or less is not a problem (it can handle a maximum of 7V). But 5.35V is a bit high though. It's a good habit to keep all supply voltages within 4% (the standard tolerance for fixed regulators) to avoid problems with other circuits that are connected to the DAC.
Best thing is to start with R1 around 120R, and tweak the voltage by using other LED's. A green one will give you about 2V, a red one 1.6V and a yellow one 2.2V. R1 will contribute about 1.25V to the output voltage, so with the LED's you should make 3.75V for everything to add up. Maybe a red and a yellow one does the trick? If you'd like to tweak the voltage in the end, you can adjust R1 a bit, higher values give you less voltage and vice versa. But don't make it too large, R1 also provides the minimum load current for the regulator, which can be upto 10mA for some types.
Regards,
Ray
