[EDS_]

Second system current set up...

PS Audio cord into a PS Audio Duet power center - generic power cables into the Oppo and Cary, a lower end Transparent power cable supplies the DAC

Oppo - DV - 970 HD (old schoold Cary CD-303 being fixed and even older school Rega Planet can be used too)

generic "orange - RCA" digital cable

Musical Fidelity X-DAC V8

old Monster Cable or AudioQuest Topaz or Tara Labs ICs

Cary SLI-80 tube integrated usually set to triode output and 4 ohm nominal output

Kimber 8TC speaker cables

Spendor S5e speakers (set on maple platforms raising the tweeters - and everything else about 5 inches)

I run a sub from the Cary's sub out


All of the gear is 100% bone stock (excepting upgraded tubes throughout the Cary)

I like to make an adjustment or two at a time.  At some point I will S-can the orange RCA digi-cable.

Should I mod the MF DAC? It uses new 6922s in the buffer stage - they can't be very good.  Maybe some other mods might make sense for the DAC?

Cary will swap in paper and oil caps and a couple of other changes to the SLI-80 for a highish but not fully unreasonable sum. 

I'd like to learn more about upgrading the XO parts in my Splendors as well.  I love the speakers but think there is a bit more there.


I want to figure this out as I'd like to send some surplus gear to S. Clark and his physics class in West Texas.



Any thoughts?

[linkweewee]

Buy a phono stage and TT instead and spend your money on LPs...

[pbrstreetgang]

different 6922s sound really different to me in dac buffer stages. I like Green lable Jan Phillips for a low cost option and Amprex white and orange 6DJ8 and of courst Bugle Boys

[EDS_]

Buy a phono stage and TT instead and spend your money on LPs...

I'm too lazy.

[EDS_]

different 6922s sound really different to me in dac buffer stages. I like Green lable Jan Phillips for a low cost option and Amprex white and orange 6DJ8 and of courst Bugle Boys

Much to my surprise my DAC (MF XDAC v8) came stock with Jan Philips green labels. 

[Bill Baker]

I have heard both the standard and factory cap upgraded Cary SLI-80 and can recommend it. Having it done by Cary (if you can't do it yourself) is a good idea as it will not effect the unit's warranty.
 They use Jensen PIO's. If you are going to attempt it yourself or have a local tech do it, I would recommend looking at the Audio Note Copper Foil caps. I like the Jensens but would worry about them leaking as rumor has it they have a potential of doing over time.

 If you decide to go the mdoification route, I would move one step (product) at a time.

[MaxCast]

Mod your room treatments.

[EDS_]

Mod your room treatments.

As of now I have no room treatments.

[EDS_]

I have heard both the standard and factory cap upgraded Cary SLI-80 and can recommend it. Having it done by Cary (if you can't do it yourself) is a good idea as it will not effect the unit's warranty.
 They use Jensen PIO's. If you are going to attempt it yourself or have a local tech do it, I would recommend looking at the Audio Note Copper Foil caps. I like the Jensens but would worry about them leaking as rumor has it they have a potential of doing over time.

 If you decide to go the mdoification route, I would move one step (product) at a time.

Thanks Bill.

[zacster]

What kind of caps are in the stock Cary?  My own bias, having just done a cap mod myself, is to use Russian PIO caps.  These have the advantage of being cheap.  I replaced the 4 coupling caps in my amp for $12, and it sounds like an entirely different amp, much deeper, faster bass, smoother mid, a bit more extended at the top.  People spend all kinds of money on tweaks and don't get anywhere near the difference these caps made, it wasn't at all subtle.  Even my wife wanted me to play a particular album with deep bass (Suzanne Vega, Beauty and Crime, really deep bass for some reason) because she heard the difference immediately.  The only problem with these caps is the size, they're a little big, and the leads on the caps were larger gauge than the holes on the pcb so I had to carefully drill them out using a hand-held tiny drill bit.  The whole process took under an hour.  

These Russian caps were built to survive a nuclear war, so don't worry about leakage or anything.

How much does Cary charge?

[EDS_]

What kind of caps are in the stock Cary?  My own bias, having just done a cap mod myself, is to use Russian PIO caps.  These have the advantage of being cheap.  I replaced the 4 coupling caps in my amp for $12, and it sounds like an entirely different amp, much deeper, faster bass, smoother mid, a bit more extended at the top.  People spend all kinds of money on tweaks and don't get anywhere near the difference these caps made, it wasn't at all subtle.  Even my wife wanted me to play a particular album with deep bass (Suzanne Vega, Beauty and Crime, really deep bass for some reason) because she heard the difference immediately.  The only problem with these caps is the size, they're a little big, and the leads on the caps were larger gauge than the holes on the pcb so I had to carefully drill them out using a hand-held tiny drill bit.  The whole process took under an hour.  

These Russian caps were built to survive a nuclear war, so don't worry about leakage or anything.

How much does Cary charge?

To mod. the SLI-80 Cary wants...
$125 bench fee
$240 for four Jensen copper/oil caps - installed
$125 for a Grayhill switch and Kimber Cable hook up - installed
$100 for four WBT binding posts (which I love) - installed
$60 for four(?) hexfred diodes - installed

That's what $650 plus shipping and insurance and the amp would be gone for about two weeks.  The guy there, Gerald, doing the work is a pro.

I wonder if I might be able to find someone here in Dallas?  I lack both the expertise and the eyesight for intricate electronics work.

[zacster]

That seems steep to me, but I'm self-sufficient when it comes to these things now.  The one time I thought I could help someone else do some mods (Levi, from these boards), I found I didn't have the time. 

I myself would start with the caps, maybe find somebody local that can do it for you.  Any tech could do it.  The caps themselves will cost about $100-120, depending on the value for Jensens.  But like I already said, $12 for Russian PIO on eBay are probably as good or better.  Hexfreds can be better than cheap diodes, but my guess is it will be subtle.  Switches, internal cable and binding posts don't do anything for me.

Try going over to the tubediy forum on AudioAsylum to find a local hobbyist or tech.  There's also the LoneStar Bottleheads, maybe one of them is in Dallas??

[EDS_]

That seems steep to me, but I'm self-sufficient when it comes to these things now.  The one time I thought I could help someone else do some mods (Levi, from these boards), I found I didn't have the time. 

I myself would start with the caps, maybe find somebody local that can do it for you.  Any tech could do it.  The caps themselves will cost about $100-120, depending on the value for Jensens.  But like I already said, $12 for Russian PIO on eBay are probably as good or better.  Hexfreds can be better than cheap diodes, but my guess is it will be subtle.  Switches, internal cable and binding posts don't do anything for me.

Try going over to the tubediy forum on AudioAsylum to find a local hobbyist or tech.  There's also the LoneStar Bottleheads, maybe one of them is in Dallas??

I'll investigate the PIO caps. Maybe Gary Dodd, he's a Greater-Dallasite, can direct me to a tech around here.

The Cary tech. said the caps make a marked difference the other things less so.  Thanks a bunch for the PIO cap tip.

[topround]

My friend just worked on my VTL tube amp, he literally transformed into something much better.
He replaced the diodes with Fairchild Stealth freds, the resistors with caddocks, and bypassed the big power electrolytic with small auricaps , and changed the bias caps with blackgates.
I had already changed the caps to Multicap RTX and Cardas.
The caps were a subtle improvement, but the diodes and resistors were huge.
And I believe bypassing the electrolytics greatly contributed to the speed.

My amp is dead quiet, as in solid state quiet,
Speed is phenomenal as well as the dynamics it is downright punchy.
Any top end grain is removed, highs are silky smooth and clean
In 3 words, no 4 words, fast, clean, quiet and dynamic are what you will hear with these mods

Replacing wire and switches and RCA's will help but nothing compared to what you will gain from the above mods, they are not even mods just part replacing, with better parts.

The Jensen caps are supposed to be great, but they are expensive. But I would do oil caps id I were you, so a good choice

The mods you want to do are fairly simple, diodes and resistors are cheap,
$ 650 ??, maybe it is worth it, he has to make a living too.
If you have a friend who is handy though, it is fairly easy stuff

[EDS_]

My friend just worked on my VTL tube amp, he literally transformed into something much better.
He replaced the diodes with Fairchild Stealth fred's, the resistors with caddocks, and bypassed the big power electrolytic with small auricaps , and changed the bias caps with blackgates.
I had already changed the caps to Multicap RTX and Cards.
The caps were a subtle improvement, but the diodes and resistors were huge.
And I believe bypassing the electrolytics greatly contributed to the speed.

My amp is dead quiet, as in solid state quiet,
Speed is phenomenal as well as the dynamics it is downright punchy.
Any top end grain is removed, highs are silky smooth and clean
In 3 words, no 4 words, fast, clean, quiet and dynamic are what you will hear with these mods

Replacing wire and switches and RCA's will help but nothing compared to what you will gain from the above mods, they are not even mods just part replacing, with better parts.

The Jensen caps are supposed to be great, but they are expensive. But I would do oil caps id I were you, so a good choice

The mods you want to do are fairly simple, diodes and resistors are cheap,
$ 650 ??, maybe it is worth it, he has to make a living too.
If you have a friend who is handy though, it is fairly easy stuff

Thanks for the response with your success story.  I love VTL gear BTW.

I kills me that I can't/am to scared to work on gear.  My dad and I used to build HeathKit kits regularly.  He was an electrical engineer so he knew his way around.

[topround]

It kills me too,
so much can be done with a soldering iron.
But I have good friends :thumb:who are handy with such device
Thank God

[zacster]

And to think, I learned everything I know about electronics on the internet.  I first picked up a soldering iron 4 years ago when I could still see what I'm doing.  I better hurry and build my ultimate amp before I need the heavy glasses.

[EDS_]

And to think, I learned everything I know about electronics on the internet.  I first picked up a soldering iron 4 years ago when I could still see what I'm doing.  I better hurry and build my ultimate amp before I need the heavy glasses.
[/quote


Good for you.

[Bill Baker]

but the diodes and resistors were huge...........My amp is dead quiet, as in solid state quiet,

 That makes sense TR. I assume the original diodes were cheap silicon pieces? They tend to be noisy anyway. I have rarely come across a tube amp with these cheap diodes that was dead quiet. I've modified probably over 500 tube amps over the past few years and every one received better diodes. My favorites are the Fairchild "Ultra Fast - Soft Recover"

 The PS bypass also makes sense and I am working on 6 Quicksilver V4 mono blocs now where I am using the AuriCap or Mundorf Silver/Oil for the bypass. My personal favorite for this application is the V-Cap or SoniCap Teflon.

 There's nothing better than a dead quiet tube amp