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I have (among others) a Chinese 34i integrated amplifier. It sounds pretty good - agile and dynamic, but sometimes tends to be bright. I attach two pics showing black shiny caps (.47uf MC-Caps looking like Mundorfs).
I am wondering whether I can upgrade the sound, in particular, cure some brightness if I replace the stock caps with .47uf/600V Vit-Q caps (if I manage to find them) or at least Russian K40Y caps (I did not see 600V caps anywhere) or more expensive V-Caps?
Thanks for your thoughts.
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Best possible upgrade for antique tube amp is to flog it off and buy a sensible better sounding more accurate more reliable Class AB amplifier.
Im no fan of China EBay amps, but it's all second-hand. But I am a fan of KY40s + a small bypass cap. It's an inexpensive alternative. Jim McShane has them.
Observe, before you think. Think before you open your yap. Act on the basis of experience.
Go for the Vitamin Q's. I bought some from this seller B4. Westcap is a VQ just a different label. Can you post another pic of your amp's innards?
Is there a cap on each power tube? If so, use the Q's there and try Russian K40's on the input/small signal tubes. Give the caps 100 hours or so to settle in.
Edits: 03/30/14 03/30/14 03/30/14
These look interesting,
DJK, the K40's are much better. ;-)
Good to know, thanks.
Ordering through ebay, overseas cap suppliers, have never had a problem. Take your time, meaning leave whatever caps you try in for as long as practical before making your decision. So much system synergy, never know how something will sound until you try them. On the low end, try Sprague orange drops. You might also want to put a meter on those, see if the voltage really is greater than 400 volts. If it doesn't have a tube rectifier, make sure you measure the voltage as you turn it on.
I would recommend PIO if you are looking for smoother sound. At the link below you will find .47 630V caps for just a few bucks and those should work well.Most of us don't have full range speakers and, were it I, I would have no fear of going down to .22 or so if that became necessary or I could only find caps in that value.
Be sure to observe full caution and discharge the power supply caps before beginning work.
I think that Jensen Copper Foil In Oil caps would be much better still, but it all depends on how deep your pockets are.
BTW, posting the same post in multiple fora is against Audigon rules.
Edits: 03/28/14
I like Jensens too but it's cheap enough to try the Russian and VQ caps. Both are quite good.
Oh, the Russian PIO caps at the link have no leads...
Are the stock caps shown in the pics really Mundorfs? Are you familiar with them?
I have four pieces of .22uf/630V V-caps which I tried with Cary SLI-80 but then soldered the Jensens (they sound sweeter and have more air).
the same as with the Teflon Kommie Kaps, you just need to use some fine sandpaper on the little knobs at the ends and solder your wire directly to them.
Mundorf is a full line supplier so they make everything from the pedestrian MKPs to the Silver/Gold/Oil. Understand, no Mundorf cap is a PIO in the true sense; the higher end are just film caps in an oil bath. A different animal completely.
I am just making a search for Russian K-40s in the local market. Still, do the stock caps shown on my pics look like Mundorf? Even if they are, they are obviously cheap or even Mundorf replicas..
Wow, that is devious! From a 1st glance at your pic I too was fooled into thinking you'd already upgraded to Mundorf caps (and fine caps, they are). On closer inspection these are clearly knockoffs purposely made to look superficially similar to Mundorf Supreme caps. Genuine Mundorf caps use a completely different logo font (e.g. large, very angular "M" with no curves, the dash is a "serif" from the M rather than a separate dot, and "cap" is in cursive but looks much cleaner, unlike the fat-sharpie'd look seen here), much crisper label quality, and a "Made in Germany" very clearly below the logo.I have limited experience with Chinese tube amps, but my impression was definitely "that's too bright; something's up", and so I moved on. There is a certain threshold beyond which it's not worth attempting tweaks via tubes and/or caps. On a budget, I suggest the vintage (restored) route for a beautiful classic tube sound (e.g. Heathkit W5, various Eico models), or to Rogue Audio for a modern, clean and detailed (but not bright) tube sound. Chinese amps (excepting those backed by solid western distribution, e.g. Prima Luna) seem to be cause trouble for their owners at a much higher rate than usual.
Edits: 03/28/14 03/28/14 03/28/14
I received a letter from the manufacturer where he/she says that the stock CM-caps are "just so-so" and said I can use any caps including Solen caps which are not expensive. I think I will try Russian PIO caps when I find them.
They also said that I may use caps within 400V-630V and not below 400V.
If you shoot for the moon, V-caps are one of the best and you won't regret it. One less expensive option I have in my Cary monoblocks is Mundorf Silver in Oil. Very pleased too.
But please bear in mind, one coupling cap does not make the amp - the output transformer does more. Don't forget the power supply, of course.
V-Caps are not at all warm and there is no *best* cap. Just the one that sounds best in your system. ;-)
that the ebay caps have no leads; it wouldn't matter if they did have leads if you are only looking locally.
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