Virtue Two.1 with Aura-T teflon cap and 26 tube pre

Welborne · « **on:** 19 Jul 2011, 10:37 am »

To cut a long story short, I have accidentally damaged my Virtue Two about 1.5 years ago and finally have it fixed and returned to me by the friend who repaired it for me last week. I have changed the original auricap 2.2uf to a 0.1uf 200v Teflon Aura-T. I am using it to drive my top baffle on my new Bastanis Mandala OB system. For the 18" dipole woofer I use a diy UCD Hypex 350w. I also use these with a diy Globe 26 DHT tube preamp.

I am actually comparing this to my Jas Bravo 2.3 6c33 single ended amp and a heavily modded Consonance 300B SE (loaded with Vcap cutf, permalloy output trannies, grid choke etc goodies).

The sound of Virtue Two with the aura-t teflon is a few notches above the Auricap in terms of top end resolution. With the 26 tube pre, the sound is simply sublime.

Welborne · « **Reply #1 on:** 19 Jul 2011, 11:35 am »

The resolution of the Aura-T 0.1uf (lucky i don't have to live with 2.2uf as it is very very expensive) can be described as amazing. It is never cold and aggressive sounding. It has a very smooth and grainless presentation that I can't quite put in words.

geared4me · « **Reply #2 on:** 19 Jul 2011, 02:41 pm »

I bet it sounds as beautiful as it looks.

Welborne · « **Reply #3 on:** 19 Jul 2011, 04:50 pm »

As good as it is, I have always found the standard yellow Auricap to have a glare somewhere in the upper treble that makes it less smooth. Not sure if I am alone here. The Vcap and the Aura-t, on the otherhand, don't produce that "glare" that graps your attention that makes you feel the treble "ends somewhere" there and let you feel they are not as extended.

virtue · « **Reply #4 on:** 19 Jul 2011, 11:21 pm »

Thanks for the post!

How long to break in those caps?

Want to PM me the name of the guy who repaired your amp? We're always looking for handy folks who can work with SMD components.

Welborne · « **Reply #5 on:** 20 Jul 2011, 05:24 am »

Re the Aura-t, i did not really keep track of the mileage, but on a rough count, they are now into 300 hours or so. They did sound a bit "harsh" and bright during the first 50 hours or so, but i was listening through another open baffle before I sent it off for repair. At this moment, it sounds truly amazing. I regulary A/B this with my 6c33 and a 300B SE amp that uses meshplage tubes. These all sound differently but when I am listening to the 26 pre+Virtue Two+aura-t, I don't miss the sound of the other two, and vice versa. I would say the 6c33 IDHT SE lies somewhere in between.

I wonder how Vcap cutf would fair comparing to aura-t. According to those who heard and reviewed most of the caps outthere, Vcap cutf is the best, in the same level as the bank breaking Duelund. i got some Vcap cutf in my 300B, but they are simply too large to fit in the small space of Virtue Two. I guess those Sensation amp owners are in a better position to try. Only with the best cap, you start to hear what these amps can really reveal.

Xcalibur · « **Reply #6 on:** 3 Aug 2011, 02:31 am »

Have you by any chance had an opportunity to compare the Aura-T to any other caps Welbourne? I've been very curious to know how these new Auricaps stack up against the Mundorf Supreme Silver-in-Oils.

Welborne · « **Reply #7 on:** 4 Aug 2011, 01:11 pm »

xcalibur,

I have not really conducted an A/B comparison. Before the Auri-T teflon, they were the Auricap 2.2uf in the amp. I have always been complaining about a slight glare up there and the not "ultimately extended" sensation with the yellow Auricap. I don't get any of this impression with the auri-t.

In my 300B amp, I have some vcap copper teflon, but then i can't compare a tube amp with the virtue.

I don't know how much auri-t is better than the other caps like Mcap silver/oil which i also have used with one of my other class-t (Charlize 1). But from what I am hearing off my V2, i am wanting nothing more. Well, yes, there is, i wish i had put in 2.2uf auri-t instead of a 0.1uf so that i could use the amp to drive a fullrange system instead of just using it for my Bastanis' top baffle

Xcalibur · « **Reply #8 on:** 4 Aug 2011, 08:33 pm »

Thanks for the reply. I've thought about the vcaps too, but they are so darn expensive. Diminishing returns keeps nagging that thought. I suppose the aura-ts are in that range too, but I kept hearing comparisons to electrostat like treble clarity which intrigued me.

I've been considering the Mcap sio's in a tube application, but there have been reports of them not being reliable in hot environments.

classicjt2 · « **Reply #9 on:** 11 Aug 2011, 08:06 am »

If I knew then, when I first purchased my Sensation, what I know now, about its capability, I would have gone all the way in upgrading the coupling caps. Not that the Mundorf Silver-in-Oils don't sound good- they're wonderfully open and transparent and smooth- but if I could do it again I would shoot the moon and gone for Vcap TFTF bypassed with CuTF. The differences between the original Virtucaps, Mundorf Mcap Supremes, and Mundorf Silver-in-Oils were simply staggering with each step up.

Re: Wellborne's description of the standard Auricaps- I have the same feeling. They have a bit of glare or hardness in the upper mid/lower treble range. It's rather subtle, and not particularly irritating, but it prevents you from listening deeper into the soundstage (and the music) than a more transparent cap.

James

Welborne · « **Reply #10 on:** 12 Aug 2011, 11:16 am »

nice to know that I am not alone on the auricap comment.

Jason T · « **Reply #11 on:** 12 Aug 2011, 07:31 pm »

I agree with both of you about the auricaps but at the price of a good high end cap upgrade the auricaps are a great starting point and better than most in their price range.
Now you guys have me interested in trying the Teflon caps.... hhmmm
I've been very VERY satisfied with my Clarity MR caps and feel they better many caps in the same price range for my taste. I've tried mundorfs, theta's and a few others but the price of a Teflon 2.2 & 3.3 cap has kept me from going there.

50jess · « **Reply #12 on:** 10 Sep 2011, 08:17 am »

I need your inputs. I have spare "broken-in" 0.1uf Mundorf Silver in Oil. I plan to bypass my Virtue 2.2 Auricaps with the Mundorfs. Would you recommend the bypass?
Pls advise.

poseidonsvoice · « **Reply #13 on:** 10 Sep 2011, 12:13 pm »

Welborne,

Absolutely wonderful Basthanis build!

In my travels with capacitors I have found two things that are significant:

1) Whether there is a copper foil layer or not.
2) Whether it is Teflon or Paper in Oil.

If I don't see that it has a copper foil, I look elsewhere. The only capacitor I have found that tends to retain the musicality and extension without a copper foil layer is the Mundorf Silver Gold in Oil.

So the list gets rather expensive at this point: Duelund VSF Copper, Duelund CAST Copper, Duelund Alexander Copper foil in Oil, V-cap Teflon Copper, Modwright T series truth, AmpOhm Copper foil in oil, Grant fidelity Psvane Copper foil Teflon and finally, Mundorf Silver Gold in Oil which doesn't have a copper foil as mentioned earlier. With the introduction of the AmphOhm I now completely disregard Jensen Copper Foil and AudioNote which has sounded more syrupy to me in the past.

If the budget is important then I've likened the Russian FT series...

Have fun, above all!

Anand.

50jess · « **Reply #14 on:** 11 Sep 2011, 01:34 am »

Quote from: Jason T on 12 Aug 2011, 07:31 pm

I agree with both of you about the auricaps but at the price of a good high end cap upgrade the auricaps are a great starting point and better than most in their price range.
Now you guys have me interested in trying the Teflon caps.... hhmmm
I've been very VERY satisfied with my Clarity MR caps and feel they better many caps in the same price range for my taste. I've tried mundorfs, theta's and a few others but the price of a Teflon 2.2 & 3.3 cap has kept me from going there.

Jason, I have spare 0.1uf Mundorf Silver in Oil. Can I replace the 2.2uf Auricaps in my Virtue 2 and still have good results?

50jess · « **Reply #15 on:** 11 Sep 2011, 03:32 am »

Quote from: Welborne on 19 Jul 2011, 11:35 am

The resolution of the Aura-T 0.1uf (lucky i don't have to live with 2.2uf as it is very very expensive) can be described as amazing. It is never cold and aggressive sounding. It has a very smooth and grainless presentation that I can't quite put in words.

Hi Welborne. Do you think a 0.1uf, 1200V Mundorf Silver in Oil (as a replacement to the 2.2 Auricaps)will provide amazing results, as well. I have a spare 2 Mundorfs S/O which I'm deciding between direct replacement of the Auricaps or use as a bypass capacitor for a Cayin CD player.

Jason T · « **Reply #16 on:** 11 Sep 2011, 03:48 am »

Quote from: 50jess on 11 Sep 2011, 01:34 am

Jason, I have spare 0.1uf Mundorf Silver in Oil. Can I replace the 2.2uf Auricaps in my Virtue 2 and still have good results?

If you were going to replace any caps in your amp with those it would be the .1uf virtue caps that are in your amp. Those are used for the 80hz highpass crossover that's built into your amp.
If you replace the 2.2uf caps you will need to replace them with another 2.2uf cap (or as large as 3.3uf but typically those won't fit in a Two.2)

50jess · « **Reply #17 on:** 11 Sep 2011, 04:49 am »

Quote from: Jason T on 11 Sep 2011, 03:48 am

If you were going to replace any caps in your amp with those it would be the .1uf virtue caps that are in your amp. Those are used for the 80hz highpass crossover that's built into your amp.
If you replace the 2.2uf caps you will need to replace them with another 2.2uf cap (or as large as 3.3uf but typically those won't fit in a Two.2)

Thanks Jason. So there are .1uf Virtucaps in the Virtue 2? I didn't see them.

Jason T · « **Reply #18 on:** 12 Sep 2011, 02:41 am »

Quote from: 50jess on 11 Sep 2011, 04:49 am

Thanks Jason. So there are .1uf Virtucaps in the Virtue 2? I didn't see them.

If you have a Two.2 then yes there are. 1uf caps in it.
They should be small black caps usually mounted next to the auricaps.
If you have an original Two then no there are no .1 if caps in it but if you want to make your amp run your speakers from 80hz and up then you can replace the 2.2uf caps with the .1 caps you have.

50jess · « **Reply #19 on:** 20 Sep 2011, 03:44 am »

Quote from: Welborne on 4 Aug 2011, 01:11 pm

xcalibur,

I have not really conducted an A/B comparison. Before the Auri-T teflon, they were the Auricap 2.2uf in the amp. I have always been complaining about a slight glare up there and the not "ultimately extended" sensation with the yellow Auricap. I don't get any of this impression with the auri-t.

In my 300B amp, I have some vcap copper teflon, but then i can't compare a tube amp with the virtue.

I don't know how much auri-t is better than the other caps like Mcap silver/oil which i also have used with one of my other class-t (Charlize 1). But from what I am hearing off my V2, i am wanting nothing more. Well, yes, there is, i wish i had put in 2.2uf auri-t instead of a 0.1uf so that i could use the amp to drive a fullrange system instead of just using it for my Bastanis' top baffle

Welborne, would the 2.2 Auri-T fit the V2?