[MikeC]

I was going to address this privately to Hugh, but I am sure others can help as well, and it may be of interest to more than just me.

I noticed Hugh recommending the binding posts that Parts Connexion have on special. As the USD is weak at the moment (6 year low vs the ZAR), and they are significantly better than anything I can get here, I was going to order several sets. However, this got me thinking…

A while ago Hugh commented on the RelCap TFT as having sensational mids and treble but no bass when used as the charge suckout cap. Is there really such a huge difference, and is it worth nearly USD 25 per cap? I would be very interested in trying this in my treble optimised low power AKSA (only to be used in an active system).

On the same topic, which other caps or other parts in the circuit are worth trying to upgrade with super premium parts to optimise specific areas of performance, eg. Bass, midrange, treble? Are Mills resistors at the output transistors worthwhile? I am already at N+ level on my existing 55W and the others that are still in kit form waiting for me to go on leave.

Cheers

Mike

[Lost81]

A while ago Hugh commented on the RelCap TFT as having sensational mids and treble but no ba ...

Hi Mike,

The V-Cap is superior to the RelCap TFT.

I have the V-Caps installed in one pair of my 100W Nirvana AKSAs. They really do something magical to the highs.

As to the loss of bass, I can't help you there. (See my other post about a conundrum I'm facing  ).

I am assuming that your tr-amped system is actively tri-amplified?


-Lost81

[MikeC]

Hi Lost

The V-Cap is superior to the RelCap TFT

I am sure the V-caps could be better, but ouch, they're pricy. I assume that you have compared the two to come to this conclusion? With the cost of postage, it is not normally viable to order from multiple vendors, so the V-caps would cost me a lot more than just the price difference

I am assuming that your tr-amped system is actively tri-amplified?

You are right, I am busy assembling the active crossover now. I will be using 100W N+ on Bass, with additional reservoir capacitance and 42V rails due to the two bass units in parallel, 55W N+ on the mids, and a low power 55(25W) N+ on the treble. I am looking at ways I may be able to push Hughs design to optimise for the different requirements, as you are doing.

I will also be using Schottky diodes for rectification, and am thinking of bypassing the PS caps with (say) 22uF BGs and the signal path BG's with 0.1uF BG NXs, which I have heard very good things about.

Thanks for the reply, any further hints will be very welcome.

Mike

[jeffreybehr]

Mike, what, pray tell, are 'BG's?

[Al Garay]

BGs are BlackGate capacitors.

It was also the nickname for a rock band that made it big in the disco era with Saturday Night Fever.

[AKSA]

- and the BGs (or more correctly, BeeGees, which stands for Brothers Gibb) were born in the UK, but moved as young children to Australia and were raised here.  Their music infected the world in the seventies and the eighties, featuring the falsetto tones of Barry Gibb, sadly now dead of cocaine......

To quote one of the funniest and wittiest men alive, Robin Williams,
'Cocaine is nature's way of telling you you're earning too much money'.

Jeffrey, the BG capacitors are made by Jelmax, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rubycon in Japan.  I import them for my amps, as they are perhaps the very best electro ever made.  Their one downside is the inordinate time it takes to 'burn' them in, during which time they snap crackle and pop, and generally fudge the music badly.  This is not much appreciated in this world of quick returns, but after about 150 hours of playing music they are fully bedded down and sound absolutely surreal.

Cheers,

Hugh

[Lost81]

I am sure the V-caps could be better, but ouch, they're pricy. I assume that you have compared the two to come to this conclusion? With the cost of postage, it is not normally viable to order from multiple vendors, so the V-caps would cost me a lot more than just the price difference ...

Hi Mike, unfortunately, I must admit that I have not compared the V-Caps versus the Rel TFT Caps side-by-side. I based my judgment on a review (on AA)  by another user of Rel TFT Cap (albeit in a different location and device), who subsequently switched to V-Caps and discovered improvements.

The way I looked at it, I try to reduce the number of times I solder and de-solder on my AKSAs. If I can go with the best the first (or second ) time, I will. I would hate to lift a circuit trace and ruin my day. Then again, the solder tracks and pads that Hugh designed are comparatively thick and large

This is not much appreciated in this world of quick returns, but after about 150 hours of playing music they are fully bedded down and sound absolutely surreal. ...

There is something I discovered about the BGs too: that if they are not used for a significant period, they revert to their unbroken-in state somewhat. I.e. sounding horrible and unpredictable. I didn't use my TLP for 3 weeks and when I hooked it up again, I had endure many tens of hours of horrible break-in again.


Cheers,
-Lost81

[Al Garay]

Hugh,

That would be Andy Gibb who died from a cocaine overdose back in the late 80s. Barry and Robin are still alive. Maurice died January 2003 from a medical complication.

I admit I went to their concert in the 80s and they put on a good show singing their old tunes and newer tunes without using falsetto.

Al

PS. Sonicap teflon caps are also getting a lot of good feedback in comparison to CV's.

Thanks Al, I apologize for my bad rock history!!     Hugh

[jules]

Lost 81:- "There is something I discovered about the BGs too: that if they are not used for a significant period, they revert to their unbroken-in state somewhat. I.e. sounding horrible and unpredictable. I didn't use my TLP for 3 weeks and when I hooked it up again, I had endure many tens of hours of horrible break-in again."

This is a slightly ominous observation about Black Gates. Does this mean that even after a week, it is necessary to give them an hour or two to find themsleves? Is this one explanation for the fact that it can take half an hour or so for an amp to reach its best even in day to day use?

I can't see it as a problem for kit owners or those with patience but it could cause problems, particularly with first impressions, for a fully commercial product.

Jules

[Lost81]

This is a slightly ominous observation about Black Gates. Does this mean that even after a week, it is necessary to give them an hour or two to find themsleves? Is this one explana ...

Hi Jules,

I can't attribute that observation for Hugh's Nirvana Plus Upgrade Kit as I haven't installed them yet. Also, the capacitors that Hugh spec'ed are small, so they might behave differently. The caps I used for my TLP are physically much larger. From my personal experience, a week has no effect. 3 weeks definitely had an effect. I must say that this eccentricity is worth it though



-Lost81

[MikeC]

Hi Guys

Thanks for the responses. I definately dont want to put the Bee Gees in my amp   , and it is unlikely I will even play them through it.   No offence to those so inclined, they are just from a generation earlier than mine. Almost all 70's music is wasted on me.

Lost, I appreciate you not wanting to work the boards any more than is necessary, which is why I am asking these questions here now. I guess I will give one of the teflon caps a try in the tweeter amp and see what happens. I will report back when done on this and the other tweaks I mentioned.

Cheers

Mike

[AKSA]

Mike,

You surprise me!!  You have the web gravitas of a much older man......

I hope you didn't ignore the music of the sixties, particularly Bob Dylan, the Stones, and The Who.....

Cheers,

Hugh

[MikeC]

Me old I just look it.

I actually do enjoy some music from the sixties, but I wasn't around to be exposed to much. Dylan is good, early Stones and Beach Boys as well. I'm not a big Beatles fan though. There is some good music from the seventies, but I never really got exposed to it. My earliest musical tastes developed as a teenager in the early eighties, and now I look for interesting rock, folk, jazz, blues and even some classical. I am allergic to almost all radio fodder, and end up buying almost all my music over the net due to all local stores preoccupation with rehashed top-40 material.

In short, I don't ignore any music, providing it holds my interest. I am trying to let my two girls grow into the same appreciation.

Cheers

Mike