My SFP-1 Upgrade - Good News - Mike C

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My SFP-1 Upgrade - Good News

136.1.1.101

Remember where I'd got to?
Quick recap: FREDs, Solen cap in PSU, TFT Teflon caps
ilo PPMFX for all the .1 and .22 uF caps, and a PPFX ilo PPMFX for
the 2uF output cap; using Mullard E88CC/CV2493 and Mullard CV4024.
Input phonos are WBT Midline wired with Cardas, output phonos
removed, the output lead of belden 89259 inners is terminated on
the board.
Results after a long break-in were excellent but with a reservation
about female vocals. All instrumental music was massively improved
in terms of resolution, detail, instruments having more of their
own individual natural 'character' and lots more good things.
Everything more solid and definite. Better dynamics. More musical.
Vocals had more clarity, words better resolved.
Now the reservation about female vocals. In spite of the clarity,
I didn't think it was 'right'. Imagine a singer was 80% singing but
at the same time, 20% shouting, get the idea? Well, that's what I
thought.
End of recap, here's what happened next ...
With advice from here (thanks Mike Ch and others!) I reckoned the
problem could be the 2 uF output cap, probably giving a bit of
harshness. A good choice here appears to be the Infinicap S type;
I so nearly went for these. However, I guessed I didn't quite want
to make that much of a change; loving everything instrumental
remember, and vocals say 80% right ....
So I went for Auricaps as these were reckoned to be neutral, highly
transparent, liquid with it, and highest quality.
I went for 2.7 uF, reckoning (again, with advice from the Asylums)
that this would improve the bass. Guesswork suggested the 35% increase
might be noticeable without giving problems.
It took a week to run in and sound good, and may have improved a bit
over the next 2 weeks. It is now *superb*, just this one change has
done what I'd hoped and more.
Singers are singing again, that tendency to shout has gone. That is the
big one! I'm *very* happy.
Also important is the fact that I've lost nothing in terms of the
detail, character, nature, realism etc of instruments. The gains in
vocals have not been achieved at the cost of 'rounding off' the
other aspects of music.
It's hard to say if 'transparency' has improved or not ... it was
excellent with the PPFX to start with, so I'll just say it's still
excellent. It might be improved.
The overall 'musical balance' does seem improved.
Dynamics were off at first until the auricaps ran in, now they are
all there.
Bass is more and better; deeper, firm, tight, fast, detailed. I didn't
realise there was so much of it on 'Cecilia' (Paul Simon); so many,
so fast, solid, detailed.
The main thing is, female vocals are again taking me to heaven;
literally making me moan with pleasure. One record I got recently
has become *compulsive*, I'm playing it almost every day and loving
it to bits. This happened with a couple of instrumental records
almost from day 1 of the long upgrade saga; it's only now happened
with vocals.
(The record is Pastorelle by Barbara Courtney-King and the Gabrielli
Quartet with Julian Lloyd Webber; inspired by/taken from Songs of
the Auvergne ... delicate, intimate, sensitive, mmmmm; and at the
same time, the cello has *power*, presence, it hits you, it growls).
Thanks folks; the results are *awesome*.
My experience suggests that Auricaps are as good as their reputation.

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Topic - My SFP-1 Upgrade - Good News - Mike C 07:07:02 04/04/01 (0)

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