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

@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.

Not sure if this (google photos) link will work, but here's a picture of the Duelund cap next to the Jupiter and original Solen, in case folks are curious about size:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/XRieYxBEng4nH4tFA

Dear @cal3713 : Great speakers you own, very good overall design and hard to beat.

Many of us almost always " want " better quality performance levels in our room/systems and many times through different room/systems changes " up-grades " we think we achieved that " better " whole target and normally what we got was more than a better quality levels a " different " quality levels but not necessary better one. We try to achieve what we like that not necessary means is rigth.

As you I tested several caps in my speakers and made comparisons through the tweeters caps: 4.7 uf. Mundorf, Jupiter, Duelund, Jantzen, etc.

My MUSIC/sound prioriites/targets are different from yours. My main target is to stay truer to the recording and performance must be in the neutral side with the natural MUSIC color, very good tonal balance, efortless dynamics/power, fast transient and ryhthm and with the natural agresiveness of the live MUSIC event seated at near field position that’s where normally the recording microphones are " seated " ( 2-3m. ).
Live MUSIC means too the SPLs of live MUSIC event, way higher of what we are accustom too at home.


""" Smooth, sweet, and detailed without any grain or harshness. ........ preventing the tweeters from being aggressive, which has been a problem ...."""

""" Just beautiful, organic music . """

Well live MUSIC at near field position is everything we want but " smooth, sweet or organic "" and it’s agressive, brigth and sometimes with harshness. All these is live MUSIC that's my reference.

I’m not questioning what you like because our different targets.

The designer of your speakers choosed Mundorf caps for its neutral characteristic in that frequency range where according my targets it has when several audiophiles look the Mundorf’s in the brigth side when it’s not when compared with live MUSIC seated at nearfield position.

What you like is something that several audiophiles are accustom to where the performance quality is more or less like if we were seated at 20m-30m from the live source/instruments. Nothing wrong with that but it’s not my target.

At the end I choosed the Jantzen Alumen over the Mundorf and I choosed because has better tonal balance. No, it’s not so expensive as the Jupiter or Duelend but these caps are heavy colored, are not neutral as many people could think.

Always is more easy to like something colored than dead neutral.

Anyway, good that you are enjoying your system and this fact is the more important for you.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

The Duelund caps in question are not colored based on my listening and testing. I would also say the Jupiter copper foil caps are not colored. Both are even handed top to bottom and do not exaggerate any part of the frequency spectrum. I have used the Alumen caps and currently have them in my Dali Epicon 6 speakers as part of an upgrade I did. I like these caps as you do. However, they are not more neutral than the Duelund tinned copper or Jupiter, but they are flatter sounding and less dimensional sounding. I wanted to place the Duelund tinned copper CAST in my Dali speakers, but it is simply too costly for me right now. The Alumen Caps are one of favorites in terms of value. I like them more than Mundorfs which to my ears are tipped up in the presence area and not as natural or neutral.

I do not hear a warm or romantic editorializing with the Duelund or Jupiter caps. They offer improved realism over Alumen with instruments, voice and venue sounding as they do ...... not a facsimile or colored rendition. They sound so much more real! Recordings sound unique and fresh with no sense whatsoever that the cap is imparting a sound character of its own to each recording. I have not heard this sort of editorializing in my builds or mods for myself and customers.

Perhaps what you hear as distortions or editorializing is actually the tonal nuances and completeness of the instruments’ sound being fully revealed with the Duelund CAST tinned copper cap?