Folks may recall that I've been rolling any number of caps thru a custom RK-34 pre, & line conditioners for a while. I've taken the pre and it's variations out of the loop and am only rolling in the conditioners at this time.
Mundorf SGO, Dueland Cast, CuTf V-cap, & the new Jupiter coppers, filtering/conditioning each system components. So 4 conditioner sections fed via 3 isolated lines from a sub panel. 1 leg is split into 2. one with a common mode choke & one w/out that feeds my amp, a Yamaha A-S2000. The other two individual legs go one each to dac, a Modwright Transporter, & the other to a Mac mini & g-raid which feed the transporter via ethernet.
I've shuffled these things around an awful lot and lived with the various caps feeding the different components so I thought some may derive some
value as I am satisfied I've a handle on how they interact in my rig.
First, I like the CuTf V-caps feeding my amp. They do take a long, long, time to break in, but they r fast, musical, detailed, and consistent. They don't vary in performance the way an oil cap does when in a demanding position. I can't say for sure, but I think that those teflon caps maintain their character when under duress better than other materials. I like em where there is high heat/ current draw. They pass what they r fed, not adding color or tone of their own.
I do like the oil caps, both Dueland & Mundorf SGO breath life & dimensionality (like tubes) into audio reproduction. I would not want to do without 'some' so... I prefer the Duelands on the Transporter/dac. Matched up with the right tubes and power cords it is 'just right'. Oils do great tone, body. vocals. The Transporter has a class A tube output stage, but so far the Duelands don't seem to 'shape shift' under duress or prolonged use.
The SGO filter the power for blueray, Apple TV, direct tv receiver, & a plasma tv. I like this cap. They do so much well & for a long time I bypassed em w/ the CuTfs. Ultimately they r a tad highlighted, but I still like em. My first 'oil'.... & quite frankly an excellent cap. Musical & enjoyable on the digital, i think they changed a bit when stressed by the amp section. I've all the caps in .22 values, but also a pr. of 3.3s in the SGO. With the larger cap it is possible to hear the 'shape shift' during a long session with the amp playing at relatively high volumes.
The Jupiters filter my Mac mini & my music library on the hard disk. For those who haven't tried conditioning their 'source' material it makes as
much of a difference as conditioning any other component. The speed & detail retrieval r superb and I don't believe current draw/heat is an issue on the computer/source. They seem as fast as the V-caps, a touch less body than Dueland, but very evenhanded. They demonstrate plenty of leading edge attack and extension. I like to think the Duelands on the dac just flesh it out a bit, adding a bit of meat on the bones in the same way a 6sn7 does vs a DR Russian supertube in the transporter. The V-Caps in comparison 'are not a tube'.
The overall effect is great! Open, spacious, musical, detailed, even handed, life-like, extended @ both ends, fleshed out from within so it's easy to follow musical details & fun to listen too! A great balance! The copper foil caps bring musical goodness to the proceedings. (The SGO
may not be coppers but I still enjoy em, they r simply highlighted a bit, tin foil?).
Perhaps focusing on a single cap would be better, but I'm not to sure...
Getting the right cap in the right place seems critical as I've moved these around and getting everything to fall into place was much more hard work than dumb luck. Tearing apart the way ones rig is put together for the hundredth time borders on obsession, but ....
Damn this sounds good.
CuTf do take forever, even longer to breakin. Initially they r dense and tight, very 'robust' sounding, & until you get it right may seem too 'literal', but with time, they r very good. They've got 'balls'...
The Jupiters break in much faster. Not as dense, perhaps? Would they
hold up under duress as well as the teflons? Not sure, maybe the relative lightness would be an asset, less material to 'distort', under high temp/stress. Wax being wax, like oil could be subject to the effects of heat/stress, but I can't say for sure.
I like the oils, on source. They sound a bit slower on amps in comparison which may suit some music but I noted several instances when the nature of a larger value oil cap 'changed' as a listening session went on. They seem to loose a bit of focus and you find yourself twisting the volume knob in search of more dynamic contrast.
Great caps in the wrong position have subtle but profound effects, perhaps that Hammond B-3 doesn't sound 'quite' real in dynamics or tone. The musical flow, it's timing, PRAT, can be just a touch off, artificial.
These guys don't design caps in a vacuum, more likely they are familiar with one another's and may even design to fit accordingly.
The copper foils all seem to share a common musicality with some variation in presentation.
Regards...
