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Crossover Capacitors for Accuton Tweeters - Solen -> ClarityCap -> Jupiter -> Duelund

I've got Coincident Pure Reference Extremes with an Accuton ceramic tweeter and have moved through four different capacitors to provide my high pass filtering.  The speakers only have one 4.7uF capacitor in the crossover (no resistors or other components), so it was pretty easy to hear the sound of each cap. 

Started with stock Solen's, then tried Clarity Cap CMR, then Jupiter Copper Foil & Wax, and finally Duelund Tinned Copper CAST.  Just installed the Duelunds on Monday and despite not being broken in, they sound absolutely amazing.  Smooth, sweet, and detailed without any grain or harshness.  Just really spectacular, they let me hear more details while also preventing the tweeters from being aggressive, which has been a problem I've had to work hard on ever since owning the speakers.  

To comment lightly about the other caps I heard, I actually thought the stock Solens were pretty good.  They had a nice sense of color... when I changed out to the clarity cap, things got a little clearer, but felt too neutral.  I read that they are "ruler flat" and found that a good description.  I liked the cleanness, but missed some of the tone & color from the Solens... felt like I got a good combination of those two traits when upgrading to the Jupiter Copper Foils.  After about 6 months of the Jupiters I finally bought the Duelunds as a self-birthday present, and they completely lived up to my (very high) expectations.  Just beautiful, organic music.  Can't wait to see where they go over the next 200 hours.  Only have 10 to 20 on them so far.  

If you've got an accuton tweeter and can handle the stupid cost (and size), I concur with everyone else's recommendations (thanks humblehifi, jeff's place, @charles1dad, & @grannyring), they will make your speakers sound better.
128x128cal3713
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,504 posts
 
The new Duelund tinned copper CAST caps are easily the finest sounding capacitor I have heard. They are fantastic and to my ear significantly better than the standard CAST Duelund Capacitor and Jupiter copper foils.  However, they are so darn expensive. I use them and the .01 uf bypass capacitors regularly now. They bring you closer to the emotion and feeling of the music.

I am also a big fan of the Duelund tinned and stranded copper wire in cotton. To my ear they sound as beautiful as the capacitors. Using this wire for speaker cables, ICs, DC power supplies, Internal speaker wire etc...has been a revelation. Great products from Duelund.

I placed the Duelund tinned copper caps and wire inside my Lyngdorf 2170 and smiled so big with the result. Just so engaging and beautiful sonically. Music flows in a way that causes you to just melt away into the music

I have one other recommendation that is cut from the same sonic cloth. Use the Perfect Path Audio Total Contact paste over all your solder connections and part lead outs for another significant jump in musical bliss. Enjoy!
verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio
1,500 posts
 
great post  thanks for sharing.  
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,504 posts
 
Cal7313, I am most happy for you! I realize it is risky to spend big money on a part that you were not 100% sure would deliver the sonic goods you hoped for and expected. Turned out to be a great investment in your enjoyment of music. Good for you!
erik_squires
16,128 posts
 
<< sigh >> with 15uF of caps in each speaker, I just can't do it.
cal3713's avatar
cal3713 OP
1,421 posts
 
@brownsfan As you know, the Franks struggled a bit with the load of the PREs.

To recap, I tried a Lyngdorf 3400, Atma-Sphere M60s, and a Pass Labs XA25, but in each case settled on the Franks despite their poor bass performance.  Eventually I decided to built a pair of DIY First Watt F4s.  They provide only current gain and my plan was to use them as a booster amp to power the PREs' bass units while being driven directly by the speaker outputs of the Franks.  Unfortunately, bi-amping just killed the speakers' coherency.  That was also true when I had tried using the active crossover of the Lyngdorf.

Surprisingly, when I tried the F4s as the sole amplifier of the PREs, they actually beat out the Franks and are my favorite amplifiers of the above list.  They retained a great deal of the sweetness of the Franks, improved the bass, improved clarity, & reduced distortion.  Soundstaging is roughly equal... maybe a very slight loss of front to back layering.  And maybe a small reduction in tonal color.  After having them in the system for a month, I put the Franks back in and it was clear that there was no going back.  Just finished selling them and all the upgraded tubes (separately because no one would bite on the full package) this week...  

It's also nice to have built my own amplifier.  Way cheaper (<$1800 for two F4s) and fun to learn about the circuits and parts.  Plus the Pass group at diyaudio is fun to interact with.  Instant technical service when something goes wrong, and people sent me free parts to help after I toasted a MOSFET because of inexperience.  I found the process a bit addicting actually.  Just ordered the parts to build a pair of DIY SIT-3s.  They use the same power supply and chassis as the F4s, so you just have to swap out a circuit board and you can try out a completely new amp.  Couldn't help myself despite my satisfaction.
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