[Theo]

I've been living with my Cornet2 and Castanet built with all stock parts for a few months now.  Satisfying but I'm itching  over the idea of experimenting with cap bypassing.  I'm a newbie on cap bypassing.  What values of bypass caps and which caps on the circuits should I attempt bypass for a starter?  Which brand of caps are best value for this application?

Thanks

[mingles]

Theo, I'm gonna step out on a limb and assume you meant cap upgrades, rather than "cap bypassing." Bypassing isn't the first step to take when tearing into a stock Cornet. Start by replacing these caps:

C200, C206, C208, C203, C202, C204 

You need to decide how much you can spend, but an inexpensive route would be to replace them all with Sonicap Gen I. That'll set you back about $100. If you want better results and you're willing to spend twice as much, I recommend this combo:

C200, C206  --> Dynamicaps (1uF)  $76 from Sonic Craft
C208*  -->  Mundorf Silver/Oil (1uF)  $95 from SC
C203*  -->  K40 PIO (.1uF)  $15 from: jimmcshane@prodigy.net
C202   -->  Sonicap Gen II (.047uF)  $10
C204   -->  Sonicap Gen II (.001uF)  $8

Everyone is going to give you different advice. There's no absolute right or wrong. You have to decide how much you want to spend.

Best of luck,
Mark

[tubesforever]

Mingles is absolutely right about all of us having specific preferences. I respect all his choices. 

Here is my take on bypass caps.  Generally we use them to provide clearer and cleaner highs on a larger value cap position (like speaker crossovers) and to give us sparkle when we use elecrolytic power supply capacitors. 

First, the hardest thing to accomplish in electronics is deep bass response.  The signal needs to be extra clean and any esr and mechanical or electronic distortion will end up making the bass response muffled and mushy. 

Second, the dynamics of your electronics (how well they go from quiet to loud) is something that a cap effects to a very high degree.  The more effortless the dynamics, the more it will sound like "real" music.

I found that the Russian Teflon FT-3 0.10uf 600V capacitors are simply stunning in my Coronet2.  The bass goes lower and deeper.  It also goes low without going louder.  It is not big bass boom.  It is simply a clearer cleaner bass signal response.   Part of the reason why you can hear the extra extension is that the FT-3 caps are much quieter than any of the film caps and PIO caps I evaluated.  These Teflons are something else!

Getting to dynamics, the impact of percussion has never been better in my system.  The FT-3 caps are the most dynamic cap I have ever used in electronics projects.  They are reasonably priced as well.  I bought 16 of these from an Ebay retailer for just 78 dollars.  The only down side is their physical size being they are 1" x 1.5" in size.  They are not easy to fit on the board but they are worth the trouble to try.

Mingles and I are both using the Mundorf Silver Supremes in the final C 208 position.  These are directly in the signal pathway.  The Silver gives you an extremely wide, tall and deep sound stage.  The bass quality is excellent.  I found them to sound less dynamic and had rolled off highs, so I bypassed these with the Teflon caps and now I have exactly what I need to hear.

These Mundorf Silver Supremes are a bit dry.  This is not necessarily a bad thing.  But in my system the dryness means an instrument does not take on as much body.  I can hear the tone and the harmonics but don't sense the presence of the Cello or Violin as much.  I think I might try the Silver/Gold Supremes.  I understand they are a little warmer in character.

I just recently removed all the 1.0 uf Dynamicaps from the B+ 47uf bypass positions and I am running only the FT-3 Teflons there now.  It is early in, but I sense the sound is a little thin.  I need to give this more time to make sure.  I think the Dynamicaps were outstanding in this position.  I am not sure they needed the FT-3 bypasses I have tried (meaning I was using both the 1.0 uf Dynamicap PLUS the FT-3 in this position.  I think the Dynamicaps alone performed admirably well. 

I would like to try the SonicCrafts sometime for these 1.0 uf bypass caps.  I see them used by people like Mingles whose ears I trust.

One of the more important caps on the board is the incoming signal cap.  It is marked C 203 on the board and specifies a 0.10 uf 400 V cap.  I have tried Auricaps, Dynamicaps, K40Y9 (Russian PIO), Sprague Vitamin Q (PIO) and FT-3 Teflons....  I don't care for any of these so my search continues for the most neutral.  I think I might try a Mundorf Silver/Gold cap in that position.  I sense I will end up with the Silver/Gold Mundorf Supremes in both the incoming and the outgoing signal cap positions.

One final note with the Castinet....I think Jim designed these power supplies with IRON.  I doubt there is as much at stake sound wise.  You simply don't have a bunch of elecrolytic power supply caps to muck up the sound. 

Simply buy the cap with the overall sound characteristic you prefer with the specific value required by the circuit.  If the cap is directly in the circuit path, you might want to try the Mundorf Silver Supreme or the Silver/Gold supreme.  These things really give you space and bass.

[Theo]

Wow, thanks guys!  Lots to learn, digest and experiment.  I'm sure I'll have lots more questions after doing more research on those you've recommended.

[analog97]

I built a Cornet2 and followed JH's recommendations for the Auricap upgrades exactly as stated in the manual.  No, I can't compare this with the stock Cornet2, BUT, to me it makes a great deal of sense for a newbie to listen to the designer/engineer.  That seems a logical first step before big-time cap upgrades. You could spend hundreds, even thousands doing this.  Long before I did that, I would buy Jim's new Trumpet!!!!!!       I use one word for my Cornet2 w/Auricaps...OUTSTANDING!!