Castanet Completed

flocchini · « **on:** 7 Jan 2008, 06:31 pm »

Completed my Castanet. I have been listening to CDs (Chime DAC) for about 10 hours and find the Castanet to be excellent. Articulated bass, great midrange detail and just the right sparkle for me on the highs. To me a lot more musical than my solid state headphone amp (I was quite happy with it) Great product Jim. I'm using Grado 225s and AKG 701s. Music is rock and jazz. Highly recommended.
Bob

Braden · « **Reply #1 on:** 8 Jan 2008, 09:33 pm »

Bob, did you upgrade any of the capacitors or other parts?

Thx,

Braden

BradJudy · « **Reply #2 on:** 8 Jan 2008, 11:58 pm »

How about a picture? That's pretty much obligatory with any "I finished building my X" post.

flocchini · « **Reply #3 on:** 9 Jan 2008, 02:23 am »

I bypassed the caps with .075 microF KP1832 caps that I had from another project. Also, already owned a 6H30P-DR Supertube. I did buy the panels from frontpanelsexpress. Delivery was as they specified - very prompt. I don't have a web site so I don't think I can insert a picture or two but I am more than happy to email them.

BradJudy · « **Reply #4 on:** 9 Jan 2008, 03:32 am »

You can upload a picture into your gallery here at AudioCircle and then link it to this thread. Here some instructions: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=40968.msg365536#msg365536

flocchini · « **Reply #5 on:** 9 Jan 2008, 05:03 pm »

[img]http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=13128/img]
[img]http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=13127/img]

Here are a couple shots. Thanks for the "how to"

flocchini · « **Reply #6 on:** 9 Jan 2008, 05:08 pm »

flocchini · « **Reply #7 on:** 9 Jan 2008, 05:10 pm »

flocchini · « **Reply #8 on:** 9 Jan 2008, 05:11 pm »

Sorry about the screw-up above. Anyway two shots of the Castanet
Thanks for the help
Bob

Theo · « **Reply #9 on:** 9 Jan 2008, 08:32 pm »

Quote from: flocchini on 9 Jan 2008, 02:23 am

I bypassed the caps with .075 microF KP1832 caps that I had from another project. Also, already owned a 6H30P-DR Supertube. I did buy the panels from frontpanelsexpress. Delivery was as they specified - very prompt. I don't have a web site so I don't think I can insert a picture or two but I am more than happy to email them.

What sonic benefit does the bypass gained? Have you compare the difference before and after the bypass? Looks like something simple to add.
I am starting to build my Castanet now that all the parts finally arrived this week.

flocchini · « **Reply #10 on:** 9 Jan 2008, 10:24 pm »

I have not done the w/o bypass cap mode. With my Chime and Cornet2 I used Cardas caps so I didn't bypass. I do enjoy how this sounds and will admit it will be difficult for me to pull the caps.
Best

BradJudy · « **Reply #11 on:** 10 Jan 2008, 10:31 pm »

Looks good - thanks for posting the pics.

Braden · « **Reply #12 on:** 16 Jan 2008, 12:41 am »

What are the bypass caps supposed to obtain?

Braden · « **Reply #13 on:** 6 Feb 2008, 01:08 am »

Ok, I finished my Castanet. Sounds great so far. I'm still curious as to what I could gain by bypassing the caps. Also, after an hour or two of use I've noticed some transformer hum from the unit that's not there before. I haven't pinpointed where this is coming from exactly, but I thought I'd check to see if it was normal first.

flocchini · « **Reply #14 on:** 6 Feb 2008, 02:54 am »

A couple of sites that comment on bypassing

http://www.northcreekmusic.com/Bypassing.html

http://www.audience-av.com/capacitors/a_applications.php

I have no hum with my Castanet.

Enjoy

Bill Epstein · « **Reply #15 on:** 8 Feb 2008, 11:19 pm »

Good sources.

If you're looking for corroboration, JBL makes extensive use of cascading capacitors in their pro crossovers. The late John Bicht has a white paper somewhere on the technical merits. I've tried 3 and 4 cap cascades and can't hear a difference but you might. Especially if you push 1000 watts into your listening room!

Audio Research, until the mid 90's, always used .01 Wonder caps to by-pass the horrid REL caps (I've got a drawer full of both, never know when you might need a dull-sounding 5.0uF cap

), best large film caps of that time, for signal and coupling, knowing that it was the "lesser of two evils". No reason for that anymore with such a wide range of very high quality large caps available. Replacing those with a single Obbligato or other flavor is a no-brainer.

flocchini · « **Reply #16 on:** 10 Feb 2008, 05:19 pm »

Appreciate your comments. I tried to choose two sites that presented the full spectrum of views.

In my Chime and Cornet 2 (both with 6SN7s) the output caps are not bypassed. I will be replacing the output caps with DynamiCaps on the Castanet. I love to tweak although I'm beginning to think it's time to just listen. However I do tend to bypass the power supply caps.

I guess it comes down to what sounds good to your ears and budget.

Best

Braden · « **Reply #17 on:** 27 Feb 2008, 12:48 am »

Ok, I'm totally lost now. Is there a chance that I could have got a faulty power transformer? I'm still getting hum from the unit after it fully warms up. I tried shortening the wire leads as much as possible so they're not wandering around anywhere. If anyone has any ideas, I'd rather check for other possible causes before ordering a new transformer.

Thanks!

hagtech · « **Reply #18 on:** 27 Feb 2008, 05:29 am »

Braden, can you post some photos? We're blind here and can't see what you did. Capacitor bypassing has nothing to do with hum.

jh

Braden · « **Reply #19 on:** 28 Feb 2008, 02:05 am »

Here are photos of pretty much every angle. I did the project as stock as possible.

Thanks,

Braden