Hello All,
Here's a report on the Sonic Platinum caps:
I installed the Platinum 1 uf caps at C1 last week. I’m now up to about 100 hours on them, so thought it time for a post. It’s easy to keep track of the hours as I sometimes just leave a disc in on repeat overnight. With the cap location at the GK-1 input and the attenuator after the SS section, can just turn attenuator all the way down, and leave amp off. I’ve done similar measures in the past to break in some cables and a cd player, and it works very well.
I’m quite aware of all the messages about teflon caps taking a few hundred hours of break-in. But things seem pretty settled at the moment, and if dramatic results occur later on, I can always post again.
Before deciding on the Platinum caps I consulted Jeff Glowacky of Soniccraft for his opinion on cap options. He also sells about every high quality cap other than Chris VH’s caps. Jeff’s recommendation was 1uf, and 1 – Platinum, or 2 – Mundorf Silver/Oil. After some thought I decided the Platinums were not going to get any cheaper no matter how much longer I thought about it, and………hoped it was a good choice. After all, I’m quite pleased with their performance at the input to tube grid.
The caps themselves were a bit larger and heavier than I’d imagined. I installed them direct into the holes of C1. I used some teflon tubing around the leads and just bent things around. I also had to ream out the holes a little bit, as the leads are large too. Once installed on the board, they look like big cancerous tumours growing on it, as they are so much larger than anything else. Fortunately they are no larger, as they seem to rest on the case bottom when I inverted the board and mounted it back in its place in the case. I think I may eventually remount the caps and just run them direct from the source switch, but things seem well for now.
Inspite of all the break in reports, things have seemed pretty much the same from the get go. Immediately I found the top end to be improved, one of the strengths of teflon caps. I found increased detail, clarity, and much increased speed. There was no detriment to anything in the bass. The bass seem to benefit from the increase in speed.
Most of my listening is classical sacd’s, and has been for some time now. I’m already getting increased detail, clarity, and bass, just from my discs. But the Platinums have increased the detail and clarity much further. Thus, the high instruments of the orchestra, like piccolo, flute, and violins are more distinct and clear now, and very natural in tonal quality. This does tend to vary with the piece of music and the recording, of course. But I’ve done a lot of listening since installing these caps, and I notice the above quite regularly.
Then I happened to put on an rbcd. This is where I found real major improvements in most everything. Sacd’s give an increase in sound width, soundstage if you must, but now I’m getting much the same with rbcd’s. I don’t often listen to my classical rbcd’s as they just tend to sound small and congested, amongst other things, and after only a few minutes the disc goes off. But not any more!
And since I do have music other than classical, these sound much improved now!
Well, next in line is the C21 output cap. Currently I’ve got the .47uf Dynamicap in there. The music sounds so good, that I could just leave it in place. However, I may reinstall the 1uf Auricap, to see if the larger cap makes any difference. Then I may think about any possible changes, like perhaps the Mundorf silver/oil or V cap OIMP, as it can be had in a 250v size and fit on the board.
As to the cost of the Platinum, well, at 97.60 USD ea. they are not cheap. That’s a fair bit of money for a cap. I don’t know if there is a cheaper alternative that performs as well, as I have no experience with anything other than the blackgates at C1. But I do know that the Platinum is a top performer.
If one thinks of the installation of the Platinums as a product upgrade of significant proportions, as I think it is, then the money spent on a pair of these caps is quite a reasonable sum for a product upgrade.
As I look back at all the modifications I’ve done to my GK-1, the Platinum caps at C-1 and C-19 are the only ones to really bring an increase in performance. The NOS 7308 tubes brought a difference of “flavor” that I like, but performance is another matter. While it’s nice to have the nice attenuator, and all the blackgates, rubycons, and os-cons on the board, the Platinums are the ones that made a difference.
Also one has to bear in mind that the power of suggestion can be quite great. Spend a lot of money on modifications, and ones powers of perception seem to increase geometrically. So, just bear that in mind here. Everyone hears different, listens different, likes different music, has a different room, has a different system, etc. However, I think the Platinums do make a performance increase, as I’ve described.
Steve
