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Did you give any thought to VCap ODAM? I have Miflex coupling caps in my preamp, but space limitations mean I had to use a smaller value than is ideal into my low-ish input impedance amp. The ODAM are getting some really positive comments, but I have yet to see a comparison to the Miflex. But the ODAM are much smaller and could fit in smaller quarters. Comments I’ve read about them suggest there’s a chance they’re playing in the same league as Miflex or perhaps even higher. Just curious if you looked into them.
I've tried many of the exotic caps in various tube amps/preamps and speaker crossovers over the years. I've found the Jupiter copper foils always nice, Vcaps more dependent on prior voicing, a bit less natural sound than Jupiter. Better Mundorfs spot light the upper frequencies for me, very impressive in short run, however. Various Duelunds always nice, again, very natural timbres. Lately, I discovered Audyn True Copper Max, using them in my Klipshorn crossovers, very nice timbre, 630v rating, so fine for coupling duty. The Duelund Silver bypass is also very impressive, I was amazed silver could sound so natural, never had good luck using silver anywhere previously. Jantzen Z Superior coppers nice at lower price point, smaller size means they fit where the larger exotics won't. Never used the Miflex, if I have need will try. I just wonder how long price advantage will remain, may be loss leader to gain toehold in market. I believe the Jensen PIO cap failure you experienced is not unusual, I had those same caps fail in a Cary amp I owned some years ago. Those caps regularly failed in various Cary amps. I do recollect hearing those failures may have been from a bad batch, so perhaps not all those caps prone to failure? I also read somewhere that Duelund purchased assets of Jensen, perhaps those caps will remain in production. Scott
I totally understand the hesitance to give ODAM a try on a .22uF cap size - the prices don't scale very much with size of cap. At the 2.2uF size I would need in my preamp, ODAM is a bit more expensive than Miflex, but cheaper than other copper foil options. So, the question in my case is whether they're just as good as a Miflex for around the same price and smaller dimensions? A friend says they're better than Mundorf Silver/Oil caps in his preamp, but not sure the Mundorf comparison is a good indicator relative to a Miflex. I really don't have the extra cash to just spring and give it a try, so trying to find the best points of comparison I can before I commit any funds. But this is all a bit off topic - sorry, don't mean to derail the thread with a VCap discussion. Carry on.
My recommendation is Mundorf Silver/Gold. They sound outstanding, and they are reliable.Jupiters IMHO are not meant for power amps. They simply can't handle heat, and to me, the Mundorfs sound better.
