[dspringham]

Just purchased an Almarro A205A Mk.II and have heard much about replacing the stock coupling caps with Teflon V-Caps to improve sonics.

The question is - should the stock caps be replaced with V-caps of the same value or some other value. I've heard that changing the value alters the low end response.

Comments greatly appreciated.

Regards,
David

[Bill Baker]

Hello david,
 This would greatly depend on what speakers you are using. ere is what I have always based this one;

1) If you are running smaller, full range drivers such as Omega speakers with the 5" or 6" driver and NOT using a sub, I would increase the size of the cap a bit.

2) If you are using speakers that already have a decent amount of extension down below or using a smaller speaker as mentioned above but also using a subwoofer, you can stick with the size that's currently in the amp. This will allow the amp to concentrate on the ciritical midrange more precisely.

 I have always found that the best overall cap for the 205 MKII is the .068uF (it should have a .047uF in there now). This size seems to work best with a good majority of speakers.

[dspringham]

Thanks for the rapid response Bill (guess that's why you're called Response Audio!).

I will probably run the amp with Cain & Cain Abbys (I've read/heard that there is great synergy with this combo) along with a subwoofer (Gallo  Acoustics TR-1).

From what I understand then, I could probably go with the same value for the V-cap replacement as the stock value (.047 uF) or do you think that the C & C Abbys with sub would be best served with the .068 uF value.

Thanks again Bill

[Bill Baker]

Sure, you could do well with either value. The larger value will provide you with a *bit* more fullness / body in the midrange as the 205 is a very precise sounding amplifier. The price difference is small between the two. The choice is yours of course depending on your personal preferences..

 I have also custom built/modified quite a few 2A3 & 300B SET amps for Cain & Cain owners and increasing the size of the coupling capacitors was requested on all of them so far.

 Here is one of the more recent amps I did for a customer that had the Abbys. It a highly modified and customized ASL 2A3 Tulip (3.2 watts).

[dspringham]

I'll probably go with the .068 then.

Thanks again Bill for the great and timely information.

Regards,
David