• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Teflon Coupling Caps In Vintage Tube Amps . . .

audiodon said:
They're just teflon lead covering. I'm trying to make my work pretty these days. I see this stuff on many well-dressed new builds.
Click to expand...

Plus - the teflon sleeving helps protect slipped test probes from shorting out something that does not like to be shorted out. Not that I ever found this out MYSELF........

Looking good Don!

-Battening upon huge seaworms in his sleep,
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.
 
I was so inspired by audiodon's work I went and ordered 2 20" rolls of teflon spagetti 20ga and 18ga good for most components. I like the way it looks and sure protects from things shorting.
 
I used the RTXs

I put the RTXs in a LK-72B that I sold, but never got to listen to them much. The buyer liked the sound of the Russian PIOs in the amp section and the RTXs in the preamp section. Yeah, right now the price is right for them at H.E.. You have to have room for them for sure since they are nearly double the size of other 0.1uf caps.

Larry D.
 
audiodon said:
I do need to get out more. Then again, I spend my recreational free time doin' this.
Click to expand...

By the way, my son and I think that your new moniker photo is a wicked freakin' riot! It also shows that the greater the mind, the greater the need for play. I have been a staunch advocate of this belief since well before Christ was a corporal. :D

. . Falcon
 
I credit one of my daughters with that one. She spends tons of time on a website called I Waste So Much Time. I believe she found this one there.
 
Jesus, those TFTs are expensive! Not sure of the returns at that price, but if you can hear it and can afford it, more power to you!

-D
 
Well that's just the thing. Sometimes they go on sale or they don't move and probably tie up a lot of inventory dollars for the retailer.

At this point, I think game-changing better won't happen again in my systems. Incremental refinements and recognizing when the dollars spent vs. potential improvement as a percentage of return on investment is the game for me. This acquisition is right on the edge of that. These caps being on sale helped. It's kind of like acquiring slightly used gear in that way.
On interesting caveat to mention here, a lot of time you can usually get back a substantial part of your investment by selling what doesn't work out for you. Someone had some teflon caps for sale on bartertown last year and I should have jumped on them.

These coupling caps are ripening nicely, and seem to add the most in the three dimensional imaging department. Depth front and back and height cues are coming in now. Either I'm getting used to them or they're smoothing out.
 
Last edited:
Yesterday the amp took another leap in quality tone.
Towards the end of the day, at about 35 hours of use, I was playing Blue Motel Room from Joni Mitchell's Hejira and I swear the tone improved from the beginning of the song to the end.
The bass got fuller and the vocal articulation became more apparent. That particular song had never stood out to me before. It was just a vinyl side 2 piece. The amp had been on for about seven hours continuously at that point.
 
audiodon said:
... I swear the tone improved from the beginning of the song to the end...
Click to expand...

I've had similar experiences and being a bit freaked by it always wonder if it's a 70s flashback. :thmbsp: Typically happens when I've bought a new used amp that probably hasn't been used in a while or listening to a cartridge that hasn't been used in a month plus. It happened once when I was just laying on the couch, reading a book, and listening to the tuner as background.
 
Out of curiosity, what is the shelf life for teflon caps? I think I have a bunch of them stored away that came off of military-spec tube gear from the 1960's. They were top-end back then, and still seem fine for the few non-critical applications I have used them on (they still worked and were as close to spec as I cared to check).
 
audiodon said:
Yesterday the amp took another leap in quality tone.
Towards the end of the day, at about 35 hours of use, I was playing Blue Motel Room from Joni Mitchell's Hejira and I swear the tone improved from the beginning of the song to the end.
The bass got fuller and the vocal articulation became more apparent. That particular song had never stood out to me before. It was just a vinyl side 2 piece. The amp had been on for about seven hours continuously at that point.
Click to expand...

They all take a little break in period I have found. Some longer than others. I usually run my amps for 80 to 100 hrs before critical listening.
 
That's my thought too.
I'm leaving it in my office system for the time being. It gets a good 30 hours a week of play on the three days I work at home.
I haven't upgraded the power supply on this one and so I still feel a need to keep an eye on it.
 
Ok, here's the report after another week.
At about 75 hours, these have opened up quite a bit.

In general, they are very good for soundstage and depth, and provide an excellent three dimensional image both behind and in front of the speakers. They're very good at letting you hear ambient noise on acoustic recordings and they make studio processing more obvious than more forgiving caps.

They're still a bit shrill in the low treble. Honestly I don't know if it's the caps and they're not quite housebroken in that "shouty" frequency range but are most everywhere else in the frequency range or if the caps are pointing out weaknesses in the speakers that have been masked by lesser components. It also could be that I'm listening considerably louder and only have a problem when that shouty range is front and center. Very non-fatiguing listening for the mostpart.

Well, I'll keep listening and describing my impressions as the in-use hours tick by.
 
audiodon said:
Ok, here's the report after another week.
At about 75 hours, these have opened up quite a bit.

In general, they are very good for soundstage and depth, and provide an excellent three dimensional image both behind and in front of the speakers. They're very good at letting you hear ambient noise on acoustic recordings and they make studio processing more obvious than more forgiving caps.

They're still a bit shrill in the low treble. Honestly I don't know if it's the caps and they're not quite housebroken in that "shouty" frequency range but are most everywhere else in the frequency range or if the caps are pointing out weaknesses in the speakers that have been masked by lesser components. It also could be that I'm listening considerably louder and only have a problem when that shouty range is front and center. Very non-fatiguing listening for the mostpart.

Well, I'll keep listening and describing my impressions as the in-use hours tick by.
Click to expand...

You know, THAT's one of the areas that you just can't get past. Speaker interpretations of the amplifier's audio output.

Another thing that you'll come to notice is that high quality Teflon caps in the coupling position are true to the mix and mastering. If either of those jobs were faulty, and you have a fairly good set of ears and a quality set of drivers to reveal them, your high-end TFT's aren't about to polish up those problems before they make your ears barf.

This is also one of the reasons I use BM-15A DynaAudio Acoustic nearfield monitors for mastering. They are so incredibly revealing that I can be assured if something is in the mix that shouldn't be there, I will be able to hear it before the mastering process.

. . Falcon
 
Ah :beer: that cool aid tastes good.

Yes folks, call me seduced and brought over to the Teflon boutique cap side.

Another week another 30 hours or so. The teflon coupling caps have begun to disappear into the music.

The shoutiness has continued to diminish in amplitude as well as narrowing in bandwidth to the point where the soundstage is just-a-bit more forward than I prefer. I expect that trend to continue to the point where all that's left is goodness.

I'd say I'm closing in on about 115 hours now.

What's it all about?
Soundstage, timbre, and realism, hearing without glare or smearing, recognizing room environments and studio trickery in all their glory without harshness and accepting what comes out as what went in.
I have a sneaky suspicion that some of what I've accomplished with preamp tube rolling can also be accomplished with teflon caps. I don't know that there's overlap, but the territory is similar.

That being said, I believe teflon caps to only be important for top shelf systems of discerning listeners.

The amp they go in should be very good, either relatively new and top quality or a classic that's fully restored. Otherwise they won't show off their potential. I'd also suggest that they shouldn't go everywhere, just at the output coupling caps, right before the power tubes.

I'll only use them in my keeper gear that's fully restored. These'll likely come out of this 500-C and go into something that's fully restored or I'll get on the Fisher and finish the restoration double-quick.
They aren't cheap and it doesn't look like they're going to get cheap.
That being said, if you believe in science but can recognize intangibles such as system synergy and room interaction, they're a valid choice.

Another observation is that I suspect that they'll definitely add some life into a somewhat sterile tube system.
There's no going back now.
 
So how many total hours do you have the the Audiocap TFT's now? I've used a good number of various brand teflons over the years in my VRD monblocks and they seem to take about 300 or 400 hours to settle in. They never sound horrible upon turn on but they also do not sound like an improvement over decent quality film and foils. Put tons of hours on them and they bring a smile to your face.

The TFT's are teflon and tin are they not?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom