Would I benefit from replacing caps.

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I am also thinking off changing the resistors but I am struggling to find any 5w1r5j is there equivalent and if so. What should I be looking out for many thanks

(DUELCR-040) - 1R5 Duelund CAST Resistor | Hifi Collective

..it can handle 10 watts (which is better than the 5 watt rating of the original).


-this would still be a relatively easy parts-swap (though because of the size of the resistor you would have to make sure it fit where-ever it is in the cabinet).
 
Youngie,
I agree with 'Scottmouse', there is very little if anything to be gained by swapping components, one also has to consider what preference of music you listen to too.
Our hearing can change from day to day so such minute changes that may be possible through perception one day may be lost to us in the next. If you have tone controls on your valve amplifier ....tweak those if you want a noticable change for the least amount of effort.

C.M
 
Narry a problem. 🙂
 

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This is what I would do If I were you......


open up the crossover and find the cap that is feeding the tweeter

BUY a pair of cheap bi polar electrolytic caps the same value. These are cursed by the capacitor faithful all the time and will be a good test for your ear 😉

solder these "cheap" caps in parallel with the stock caps with one lead from each not connected. This way u can quickly connect up each type of cap and have a listen

Go back and forth between these caps for a while , not just one quick listen.

Make a judgement and go from there....

You can gain valuable knowledge that will help U make worthwhile changes in future.

Listen to the Moose
 
I think everbody cuts their teeth on capacitor "upgrades". I know I did years back. 😀

I congratulate scottmoose on saying what I now think too.

When you replace an electrolytic with an MKP, it should sound a tidge (0.5-1dB) louder due to reduced ESR resistance. So it's brighter. But is it better? If there is a difference, it is tiny. I have heard lots of excellent speakers with NP electrolytics, and they have been voiced accordingly.

As for exotic MKP, no-one has EVER measured any differences whatsoever. In fact, IMO, if there is a difference, impedance on the tweeter circuit ought to be very sensitive to small ESR resistance changes. But I've never done that for lack of equipment.
 
Well, Erik says he hears 'things' when the caps are new, so he needs to record these sounds, and the same samples when 'broken' in, as even if we do not know how to measure them, if you can hear it you can record it, and some of us may also hear it.

If we set up a duplicable protocol for the recording, we are on the way to figuring a way to measure. Put this baby to bed someday.
 
In fairness he doesn't 'need' to do that; it's what others might wish. And again in fairness, such a methodology in itself is riddled with issues given the recording and reproduction chains involved.

I don't set myself up for Solomon any more than anyone else with an ounce of common sense, but my own view regarding exotic caps, for what little it's worth, is that there is a lot of linguistic and visual expectation bias inherent to them. Think about some of the subjective reviews you read, the comments in them, and the possible associations involved. A few common (albeit not invariable) examples:

-'Basic' MKPs may be described as 'plastic' sounding. I don't quite know what that means, but the physical construction & appearance of most might give a clue there. Not conclusive, but we're just getting started.

-Film & foil, with tin as the foil. Sometimes called 'dense', with 'weight'. You can see & feel where that might have come from. Aluminium by contrast almost invariably tends to have descriptions suggesting it is somehow 'lighter' sounding. The association isn't exactly difficult to jump to.

-Copper. Whether in F&F, leadouts or whatever. 'Rich', 'warm', 'natural', 'rounded'. All phrases you can often find. Again, the visual & general associations aren't difficult to identify.

-Silver. Almost always associated with terms like 'bright[er], comments about the HF, 'clean', 'detail'. Not much of a visual & psychological leap there either.

-Gold. A 'glow', or 'depth' are sometimes used in descriptions. Doesn't really require much of an intellectual leap.

-Oil. Whether in MKPs or whatever. 'Rounded', 'rich', 'timbre', 'organic', 'natural'... I wonder what might possibly drive associations like that?

Then the combinations -silver & oil; 'shimmer', 'organic', 'fluid'... ditto.

None of which is to say there can't be some differences in certain situations or that some cap types are not technically superior, or at least have the potential to be so. Whether it's audible or not is going to be dependent upon a high resolution system & quite how much change is made. I won't speculate on that, other than to say in my experience any differences are at best minor in most conditions, and usually require something of a very high qualitative standard to reveal.
 
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I don't set myself up for Solomon any more than anyone else with an ounce of common sense, but my own view regarding exotic caps, for what little it's worth, is that there is a lot of linguistic and visual expectation bias inherent to them.

Brilliant stuff Scottmoose! Deserves a wider audience.

Would the descriptions fit on a T-shirt I wonder?
 
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