My_Ref Fremen Edition - Build thread and tutorial

Clarity Cap MR arrived

Finally they're under Isotek for accelerated burn-in (according Suburra they change a lot with burn-in)

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Not burned in, compared to Audyn TC and Plus, I must say Tom opinion was spot-on:

The Clarity MR is definitely superior to the Auricaps. It is a very good metalized poly cap, with decent spatiality and accurate tonality, but just a bit laid back. It does not do anything wrong to the music, but, as far as I could tell (not an exact comparison), it is not the equal of the film/copper foil TC. I'm sure the differences are subtle, but I think the TC is more vivid without being colored, fuller without being fat, a bit more spacious with slightly better layering and separation.

In my words TC (and Plus) timbre is more open, fresh, MRs are a bit closed, they sound incredibly good, though.

But TCs sound simply more natural, relaxed, truer.

I'll report results again after burn-in.

Note:
The new TCs are also a bit laid back, like the MRs.
 

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Do,

If you are OK with off board mounting, consider the K75-10 Russian caps with a 1 nF Amtrans bypass cap. In my system, I clearly prefer that combination over the K71-4 and Audyn Plus (direct comparison) and even like it a bit better than Bob's True Copper (not direct comparison).

Of course, it you are interested in getting some of the new TCs, PM Bob as he was collecting interest from North American buyers with the thought of a small group buy.

Jac
 
Do,

If you are OK with off board mounting, consider the K75-10 Russian caps with a 1 nF Amtrans bypass cap. In my system, I clearly prefer that combination over the K71-4 and Audyn Plus (direct comparison) and even like it a bit better than Bob's True Copper (not direct comparison).

Of course, it you are interested in getting some of the new TCs, PM Bob as he was collecting interest from North American buyers with the thought of a small group buy.

Jac

Looks interesting! I'll order a pack of 5 on eBay... Are there counterfeit ones or they're all pretty safe?

Thanks
Do
 
Finally they're under Isotek for accelerated burn-in (according Suburra they change a lot with burn-in)

attachment.php


Not burned in, compared to Audyn TC and Plus, I must say Tom opinion was spot-on:



In my words TC (and Plus) timbre is more open, fresh, MRs are a bit closed, they sound incredibly good, though.

But TCs sound simply more natural, relaxed, truer.

I'll report results again after burn-in.

Note:
The new TCs are also a bit laid back, like the MRs.

Timbre is very similar but detail and ease on Plus is not as good.



Thanks :)

After two Isotek runs timbre opened up and detail is improved.

MRs are really musical but still a bit more laid back than TCs and less detailed.

They will probably be an excellent match with TS-HAs
Is this evidence of the topic I raised some months ago relating to the LONG route through the capacitor that must by it's physical size/volume include significant inductance?
 
Looks interesting! I'll order a pack of 5 on eBay... Are there counterfeit ones or they're all pretty safe?

Thanks
Do

They are cheap enough, I doubt anyone is counterfeiting them. If you are worried, I have had luck buying Russian surplus caps from valtek_2005. He is the most frequent ebay supplier from Romania.

They do take a while to burn in, but nothing outrageous. Of course, they lack a little treble on their own which is where a bypass is useful. I'm pretty sure 1 nF is a good value. I've tried teflon, polystrene, and the Amtrans polypropylene which I like the best.

Jac
 
I proposed a method of investigating whether the long route affected the performance.
I seem to remember one Member coming back and stating he would test.
I cannot recall result being posted.

I use 1uF and 100k for a low enough input filter HP frequency. 1uF is quite small and quite low impedance.
 
Is this evidence of the topic I raised some months ago relating to the LONG route through the capacitor that must by it's physical size/volume include significant inductance?

Hi Andrew, I really don't know.

For sure all caps have different phisical dimensions.

BTW not necessarily smaller caps seem sound better, the Vishay 735 indicated in BOM is the smallest and a pretty good performer but other (bigger) caps seem to sound better.