Teflon Coupling Caps In Vintage Tube Amps . . .
- Thread starter FalconEddy
- Start date
ferninando
Lunatic Member
Just curious. Could you do a cap break in by feeding the amp with a 1kHz sinewave at say .1-.5 or so volts and just letting it run for some hours/day for a week or 2 to speed up the breakin period? A dummy load would eliminate hearing it.
audiodon
Addicted Member
Closing in on 150 hours now.
Well, another week and this time I left the receiver on all day Saturday while not working so I probably have another 40 hours on it. The maturation of the sound continues. There's no going back.
Impressions:
1. Wonderful three dimensional soundstage
2. Still ~slightly shrill when loud in the upper midrange/low treble area. They could actually be exposing crossover issues and/or directional beaming from the woofer at its highest frequencies in my Spendor SP1/5 minimonitors. They're 6"woofers and cross into the Vifa tweeters at, I believe, 3khz. Symbol decay has smoothed out considerably. Now it's only like the sound of how horns can sometimes saturate a live sounding room.
3. I'd only use these on really good gear I intend to keep.
4. Using them may change my choice of rolled tubes in sensitive positions, since I'd be looking to balance a different set of things and certain tubes and these caps may be too much of a good thing when combined.
Thoughts:
1. I hate arriving at the conclusion that the silly expensive alternative is noticeably better and appeals to my taste.
2. Using these could be as addictive as getting the "right" preamp tubes and power tubes.
3. The better the system, the more noticeable what these caps do is.
4. Synergy will take on new meaning as I balance components, interconnects, wires, preamp tubes, caps, power tubes and other variables that I'll think up.
5. It may be that eventually I'll be able to readily identify the teflon sound and I'll be ready to move past it.
I also believe that a lot of people will not hear the difference and won't understand why I've spent this much time profiling these changes.
I understand that and can respect that opinion.
You can't get what the difference is only from words, but listening will make the refinement and poise of a well balance system obvious in a very short time. That being said, I don't believe in the phrase "believe and you will see". I believe in the more scientific method of "see and then you will believe". Balance in all things . . .even this.
This receiver is going into the reference system this weekend.
Well, another week and this time I left the receiver on all day Saturday while not working so I probably have another 40 hours on it. The maturation of the sound continues. There's no going back.
Impressions:
1. Wonderful three dimensional soundstage
2. Still ~slightly shrill when loud in the upper midrange/low treble area. They could actually be exposing crossover issues and/or directional beaming from the woofer at its highest frequencies in my Spendor SP1/5 minimonitors. They're 6"woofers and cross into the Vifa tweeters at, I believe, 3khz. Symbol decay has smoothed out considerably. Now it's only like the sound of how horns can sometimes saturate a live sounding room.
3. I'd only use these on really good gear I intend to keep.
4. Using them may change my choice of rolled tubes in sensitive positions, since I'd be looking to balance a different set of things and certain tubes and these caps may be too much of a good thing when combined.
Thoughts:
1. I hate arriving at the conclusion that the silly expensive alternative is noticeably better and appeals to my taste.
2. Using these could be as addictive as getting the "right" preamp tubes and power tubes.
3. The better the system, the more noticeable what these caps do is.
4. Synergy will take on new meaning as I balance components, interconnects, wires, preamp tubes, caps, power tubes and other variables that I'll think up.
5. It may be that eventually I'll be able to readily identify the teflon sound and I'll be ready to move past it.
I also believe that a lot of people will not hear the difference and won't understand why I've spent this much time profiling these changes.
I understand that and can respect that opinion.
You can't get what the difference is only from words, but listening will make the refinement and poise of a well balance system obvious in a very short time. That being said, I don't believe in the phrase "believe and you will see". I believe in the more scientific method of "see and then you will believe". Balance in all things . . .even this.
This receiver is going into the reference system this weekend.
Last edited:
audiodon
Addicted Member
Well, another 40 hours or so. I left it as is another week and a day this week. Closing in on 200 hours.
Everything objectionable has dissipated.
Cymbals ring out correctly.
Horns sound horny and only blare if they're blaring in the recording.
All is well.
I'm convinced. I'll get more for my best gear in time.
Everything objectionable has dissipated.
Cymbals ring out correctly.
Horns sound horny and only blare if they're blaring in the recording.
All is well.
I'm convinced. I'll get more for my best gear in time.
IMTubeHead
OsteoFisheritis
Falcon,
I see that you must have been a "Rich Man, Poor Man" fan
Me too
Can I come over and play in your sandbox?? You got LOTSA nice toys!!
I see that you must have been a "Rich Man, Poor Man" fan
Me too
Can I come over and play in your sandbox?? You got LOTSA nice toys!!