optical
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Post by optical on Aug 15, 2022 7:26:43 GMT
Hi all, I'm looking at upgrading the caps in a DAC output stage. They are currently WIMA 4.7uF ones rated at 63v.  As they only need to be 63v or above this opens up a wider range of caps. At the moment I'm leaning towards some Auricap XO's as they are fairly small (space is quite tight in the casing). However also on the list are some usual suspects like: Mundorf MCap Supreme Claritycap ESA Audyn MKP Jantzen Superior Z-Cap It's a valve buffered DAC, not looking to change the sound/tone radically, just improve upon it if at all possible. Caps are located right at the end of the output so I would assume they have quite an effect on the sound, could be wrong though. Thoughts and suggestions very welcome. Cheers |
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Post by misterc on Aug 15, 2022 8:12:03 GMT
If you wanted to take out some of the upper frequenices you could just bypass with some 1000 puff thin film tight tolernace specs.
M-caps generally I find bright save for the white bodied versions the gold/oil units have nice tonality, the Jantzen arn't bad either never used the other two sorry chris can't say about those.
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Post by firebottle on Aug 15, 2022 8:26:38 GMT
What impedance are you driving into, your pre or integrated input impedance?
If it is 50K or more you could fit 2.2uF, might be easier with available space.
I have a small selection you can try, send back what you don't want, or all.
JFX Premium 4.7uF 250V
ClarityCap ESA 3.3uF 250V
Mundorf MCap EVO Aluminium.Oil 3.3uF 450V
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optical
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Post by optical on Aug 15, 2022 8:49:37 GMT
What impedance are you driving into, your pre or integrated input impedance? If it is 50K or more you could fit 2.2uF, might be easier with available space. I have a small selection you can try, send back what you don't want, or all. JFX Premium 4.7uF 250V ClarityCap ESA 3.3uF 250V Mundorf MCap EVO Aluminium.Oil 3.3uF 450V Hi Alan, it's going into the BT2 so I'd imagine the smaller value shouldn't be a problem. Realistically what would be the lowest value to 'get away' without any impact to the current frequency response? I've never been unhappy with the sound of the Claritycap ESA's in anything I've heard them in. Given their size (or lack of) they might well be the ones to go for. I'm hoping for a 'solder once fit and forget' as the board is quite tight so I reckon they'd be a safe bet. I'll do a bit more researching and wait to see if there are any further ideas but potentially the Clarity's are looking promising. Cheers |
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Post by firebottle on Aug 15, 2022 10:50:59 GMT
Ah, the BT2 is 10K input impedance, so I'd recommend 4.7uF so as not to affect anything, that is possibly OTT, so you could get away with 3.3uF.
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optical
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Post by optical on Aug 15, 2022 10:53:24 GMT
Ah, the BT2 is 10K input impedance, so I'd recommend 4.7uF so as not to affect anything, that is possibly OTT, so you could get away with 3.3uF. Okay, thanks for clarifying, sounds sensible to go with the stated value of 4.7uf then, I'll prbably just order the claritycaps as they are not too expensive. Although I do like the look of the Auricap still and it's size is also appealing. Cheers |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Aug 15, 2022 10:59:26 GMT
Ah, the BT2 is 10K input impedance, so I'd recommend 4.7uF so as not to affect anything, that is possibly OTT, so you could get away with 3.3uF. Yours is 22k |
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Post by alit on Aug 15, 2022 11:46:54 GMT
The Mundorf ZN is a good cap for not silly money.
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Post by sq225917 on Aug 15, 2022 17:13:26 GMT
And you don't need 63v, your dac output stage will not be swinging anything like that. So you can go lower, 50v, 35v if you fancy
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