Increase the output caps on the pre-amp to 2uF for 20k compatibility. Running without the caps will likely send DC to the power amp.
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@thewatcher101 Good advice (as always) from the above posters. I have the same pre and have played with the capacitors. Thought I'd post in case you are still considering what to buy. In my unit, Don had Miflex copper foils on the primary output. I found them somewhat flat and 2-dimensional. I don't remember well, but I do think tonality was nice. The red Audyns on my second output were fine, but are not super refined caps. I replaced them with Mundorf supremes which added a lot more dimensionality to the sound. They are nicely warm. I also tried Mundorf supreme silver/goal/oils. They are more precise imagers, adding even more depth, and a lovely sweetness to the sound. They eliminate a bit of upper frequency glare or roughness that is present in the Supremes. Unfortunately the bass just started to disappear as they broke in. I'd read that in reviews but had trouble believing it until it happened in my system. If your system is a little boomy or bass heavy, they're probably sublime. Finally, I have some TFTF V-Caps which are still breaking in. They are precise and very good at imaging, but do have a "cooler" tonality. When switching between them and the Mundorf Supremes, I preferred the later because of their increased warmth. Kind of a fluorescent vs. incandescent bulb type difference. Again, if your system is already very warm, then you'd probably prefer the V-Caps. Perhaps that'll change as they break in though. If I still don't prefer the V-Caps after they get their full 300 hours, I'll probably sell them and try out some Duelund tinned-copper CASTs. This is all with PS Audio PWD and DSDs as the sources, First Watt F4s as the amps, and Coincident PRE speakers. As you know, the DS Pre has two outputs, so it's really easy to do A/B tests on different capacitors. |
V-Cap has a nice calculator on their website where you can input the amps input impedance and capacitor value and then see what happens to the bass frequencies... https://www.v-cap.com/coupling-capacitor-calculator.php |
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cal3713524 I had the same experience with my speakers, I had the supreme in their as the primary caps. They were lush and sweet, but not in an overbearing way, just rich which is great for a loud speaker sound. I added Miflex bypass caps to it, and it took away that sweetness, but I got better imaging, and more accurate tonal qualities. I think I could just live with the supreme by themselves. Humbolt cap test rates the SGO way higher then the supreme, but a few other people has preferred the regular supreme for loud speaker applications. They are just fun and addicting and non fatiguing, but others measure by ruler flatness - gain with wire. My speaker wire, preamp, and the supreme caps took out most of the glare in the system. I came to the realization that some glare is needed depending on what your trying to recreate. Since most live music events are amplified events, the glare recreates the venue of amplified sound. I might have went off the deep end and removed too much glare, so instead of sounding like an event, you get a life like presentation, like someone singing without their voice being amplified. It also takes away some shimmer from instruments that have their own form of glare. Glare also give a little bit of immediacy and edge that can be fun, but super long listening sessions, glare is still not preferred. |
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