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What about an amp with a switchable coupling cap?

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Posted on October 19, 2014 at 07:08:18
vinnie2
Audiophile

Posts: 4481
Location: North Carolina
Joined: September 28, 2013
 All this coupling cap rolling I have been doing on the 845 amp has me believing that one cap may not sound the best for all types of music, just as some tubes sound better with certain types of music than others.
So what about installing 2 or 3 different coupling caps in an amp and have them switchable for the type of music you will be playing?
Am I correct in thinking that all it would take is a make-then-break rotary switch to make this work? If so I think I will set it up on the bread board to try it out and then maybe incorporate it in my next amp.

 

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RE: What about an amp with a switchable coupling cap? , posted on October 19, 2014 at 07:58:41
Chip647
Audiophile

Posts: 2649
Location: The South
Joined: December 24, 2012
 This has been done many times and a switch works, just make sure you are switching both ends of the cap with a dual pole switch. Use a DPDT switch and put one cap between the top two terminals and the other across the bottom two. Use a separate ground resistor for each cap.

On the other hand, if you use your amp for several months with a good coupling cap, your brain will wire itself to that sound. The A/B comparison differences you are hearing with rapid switching between caps will not be very important in the long run. The fewer options you have in a completed piece of equipment, the less time your brain will be dwelling on if you have the right settings and more time listening to music.

 

What Chip said... that path lies madness... is why I got rid of my Tympani I's ... , posted on October 19, 2014 at 08:11:47
Cleantimestream
Audiophile

Posts: 7550
Location: Kentucky
Joined: June 30, 2005
 any movement in the room yielded a change in the sound stage.

I was constantly moving them around for different music.

I achieved better results for different music but the effort and action was for me, OCD of a destructive nature.
The Mind has No Firewall~ U.S. Army War College.

 

RE: What about an amp with a switchable coupling cap? , posted on October 19, 2014 at 08:42:14
amnesiac
Audiophile

Posts: 717
Joined: August 21, 2002
 I wouldn't worry about it. The capacitance in the switch will affect the sound. If you search here you will find comparisons on just about every cap. And there is a really comprehensive cap study on line somewhere.

Failing that if your really keen on doing it I would use tiny connectors from scart plugs and plug in and out the caps. Sonically that would be far superior. In old us gear I have found them. The plugs can be cut up to reviel neat little gold pins and sockets of nearly no mass.

 

RE: What about an amp with a switchable coupling cap? , posted on October 19, 2014 at 09:39:36
vinnie2
Audiophile

Posts: 4481
Location: North Carolina
Joined: September 28, 2013
 Well I will admit the differences are subtle. I am probably better off optimizing the power supply and tube choice and pick whichever cap I think I like the best.
Even after all these years of trying different combinations it's hard for me to accept there is no one best way to do something with tube amps. Many paths can get you there.

 

RE: What Chip said... that path lies madness... is why I got rid of my Tympani I's ... , posted on October 19, 2014 at 09:41:20
vinnie2
Audiophile

Posts: 4481
Location: North Carolina
Joined: September 28, 2013
 Sort of like the poor dog caught between someone with a ball to throw and someone with a lease to take them for a walk. They don't know which way to turn. Yeah, I have been there too.

 

RE: What about an amp with a switchable coupling cap? , posted on October 19, 2014 at 09:42:23
vinnie2
Audiophile

Posts: 4481
Location: North Carolina
Joined: September 28, 2013
 That does sound like an easy to do solution.

 

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