Zobels revisited - Jensen w/Caddock - s.hum

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Zobels revisited - Jensen w/Caddock

Hi All,
Way back when, Mart & co. provided me lots of info on Zobels. Curiosity about possible benefits bit the tweaker part of me and I went for it. Values used were as recommended by Mart: 8ohm resistor + .47uF cap in RC config plus a .01uF bypass cap.
As a result of parts sources, I first tried AudioCap Thetas + Mills resistors (and Mart's suggested RadioShack disc cap for the bypass). After about 150hrs I ended up abandoning this combo - as I couldn't hear any difference. Nothing negative resulted so I could have left them in for RF rejection I suppose but went on to wait for my next try at this.
It took awhile to get the Jensen PIO's (including bypass value) and esp. the Caddock Power Film resistors (had to wait for a production run!). But eventually I had everything and wired them into the external XO box of my modded 1.6's. There were some subtle changes - not all for the better (sound stage depth loss, less liveliness). Resisting the urge to pull them out right away, I hung in there - these took a long time to burn in! The Jensen's I was familiar with from the XO build but this combo took a long time > 300hrs. Not sure if this was due primarily to the Caddock's (talk about huge resistors) - also whether burn in was exacerbated with the unavoidable mechanical insertion (wire, etc) into the XO.
Good news is that the Zobel's have had a beneficial albeit subtle effect. Most notable on the highs: a greater sense of clarity, a *cleaner* sound (as if a slight smearing or ringing effect not noticed before has been removed). Cleaner is the word I would use overall, even into the bass - like the edges of the transients are more clearly defined, more solid. - resulting in better tonality (as well).
As for value - parts were premium. My limited experience is that they're needed. I would surmise that lesser quality could have negative side effects. Mileage will obviously vary with system synergies.
I'm running 24' JPS biwire Ultra's - as my equipment is on a side wall and the 1.6's along a long wall - so I don't know what part cable length factors into this. I will leave the knowledgeable explanations to Mart and co.
Now that these seem to be burnt in... onto my next project, building an AN DAC1.2 kit.
S

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Topic - Zobels revisited - Jensen w/Caddock - s.hum 10:52:29 02/17/02 (5)

an evluation keeper, link placed in [Tweaks] - Mart 13:19:34 02/17/02 (4)

PIO w/Caddocks, bypass across cap - s.hum 17:26:06 02/17/02 (3)

Zobel - monk1 22:07:01 02/17/02 (1)

Re: Zobel - s.hum 08:17:30 02/18/02 (0)

happy for you & glad to be of service & was curious ... - Mart 20:38:28 02/17/02 (0)

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