Anyone using Duelund VSF capacitor in Merlin VSM

Hi Bobby,

My system is comprised of highly modified Perp. TEch digital, Vpi Scoutmaster with 10.5i arm, modded Joule LA100MkIII, Art Audio Carissa Signature, all Cardas Golden Ref. cabling, single run of speaker (bi-wiring), AC power-dedicated and
modded BPT 3.5 sig. All i's dotted and t's crossed in system.

I do have the millenium, non-cryo'd Hovlands. Based on my experience with cryo'd parts I assume much of the hardness is taken care of with the cryo process. I also upgraded the batteries and non-leaded power cord on my SBAM, also TX2575 resistors replacing Caddocks. I use the Cardas non-leaded solder in all my upgrades.

Taken in totality my upgrades have made a great speaker even better. Added resolution, transparency together with more natural timbre has made for an enrapturing musical experience! I would suggest all Merlin owners need to hear your Master Bam upgrade, Duelunds are simply magical.

Bobby, it is good you listen to your customers, it's obvious your keyed into your customer base, one won't be misled going with your upgrades.

Thanks, Scott

thank you very much scott,
the .01 caps i use in the rc network are made specially for me by duelund. the value, voltage and dielectric are proprietary.
this is another really big step forward for you imho.
this location seems to be very critical also.
best regards,
bobby at merlin

Sns,

I totally agree with your analysis of the new Master Bam. It truly transforms a great product into a killer & stunner.

I also agree that Bobby is good at listening to his customer base. He seems to not only understand his craft, but is always willing to suspend his disbelief long enough to listen and comprehend in public and private discussion. He is customer driven to be sure.

Part of me thinks that this 13+ year pursuit of perfection the VSM has become, there are still many great things ahead for this designer, the company and the customer.

Yes, I agree the cap on RC network is critical, changing this out made a larger difference than adding the bypass on the HOvland tweeter cap.

I should also add that the hardness I speak of is mostly an artifact of the recording process. I mostly hear this hardness when playing remastered cd recordings. It seems to me many less than highest quality remastered digital recrdings boost the upper mids and highs in order to extract maximum detail/resolution. If I only played well recorded music this hardness issue would hardly bother me, unfortunately I like all genres of music and this issue is unavoidable.

I am also not after tone controls or negation of detail in alleviating this issue. I want to maximize resolution and transparency and maintain or increase musicality. This balance is the single most difficult in audio IMHO

I'm anxiously awaiting my M-BAM and RC upgrade. Should be arriving this week. Will report my impressions.