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In Reply to: RE: Coupling Capacitors posted by sony6060 on November 12, 2014 at 18:26:18
IMO you're not going to best an 8B by simply rolling caps. As you already know, the 8B was a highly refined version of an existing design utilizing very special OPTs. You also probably know that the stock 8B was built with quality components but nothing really exotic. ex Most of the coupling caps were relatively generic polyester types.
Just my opinion but if you want 8B sound you'll probably get it best with a properly refurbished 8B.
Follow Ups:
I know an 8B is an 8B. I understand the audio transformers with cathode feedback windings excel among other attributes. But, one can try to improve....... thus my original question.
...but your current "target" was the result of much more than just coupling caps. So while you might be able to improve what you now have by cap rolling, it's really doubtful you'll end up with an 8B equal much less a beater.
Now let's hear from the cap rollers for an alternate POV.
With global feedback, the amp will actually work to nullify any contributions from the coupling caps.
I bought a couple of Dynaco MK IIIs from a friend many years ago, when I was just learning to solder. Holco resistors and MIT Multicaps (I used RTX Polystyrene Film & Foil) were all the rage in magazine reviews at the time. Any equipment which came with them installed just had to be a winner. Money was tight back then, but I was going to transform these (otherwise stock) Dynaco amps by using some magic parts.
When I was done there were some improvements, but nothing like the transformation I was expecting. The money spent on parts was worth it, if only for the lesson learned.
I did a similar thing with an EICO HF89 with all high quality caps, resistors, wire, an upgraded power supply to CLC, and was totally underwhelmed by the result. It has good points but it did not reveal the emotion in the music which really separates a good amp from the others. I think a push pull amp should probably be rebuilt with parts that is as close to stock as you can find rather than using "precision" or boutique parts. It doesn't seem that using premium parts will necessarily lead to a better sounding amp.
On the other hand single ended amps are a different story. cheers, Dak
However, it isn't wise to generalize. In the right places and in the right gear Holco all copper resistors and RTX Multicaps can be really good. I'm a big fan of the RTX caps in particular...they do well used with K40s BTW.
The point was, I was under the naive impression 20 some years ago that upgrading resistors and caps to those of better quality would turn a pair of Dynaco MK-IIIs into a pair of Marantz 9s. That's a bit of an exaggeration, of course, but I knew nothing about the importance of power supplies, output transformers, and input stages back then. My expectations from a parts upgrade were unrealistic.
I posted my experience with RTX caps and Holco resistors based on the original poster seeking to close the gap between his amp, and the sound of a Marantz 8b via coupling caps, not to trash my choices.
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