[kp93300]

Hi All,
I bought the OB 5 from Danny at the beginning of the year and have been enjoying the sound for the last few months.
I read with interest the bypass cap for Ob 7 and wonder whether there is a similar bypass cap upgrade for OB 5.
What are the areas of improvement can I expect ?
I have an external crossover and would be quite easy to upgrade .
Thanks for the advise
kp93300

[Danny Richie]

You have some Gen.2 by-pass caps in you circuit already. They are on the large value poly caps.

You can by-pass the rest of your caps with the same type of cap. You could even take it a step further and by-pass the tweeter circuit caps with a Sonicap Platinum.

Your gain will be better low level detail, more dead space between the notes, and better over all resolution.

[Bill Baker]

I have to agree with Danny on the SoniCap Platinum but would take it a step further by installing them in the midrange circuit as well. This would be instaled to the series capacitors in the midrange and you can use the Gen II for bypassing the shunt (grounded) capacitor.

The OB series speakers are exceptional and the minimum investment of a few Platinum capacitors will reward you.

[kp93300]

0.1 uF Sonicap platinum bypass caps in OB5 crossover.

I follow the advice of Bill and bought 4 sonicap platinum from Danny.

I  have inserted  4 sonicap platinum 0.1 uF  this to bypass the series cap in the tweeter and midrange circuit.  The existing sonicap gen 2  0.1 uF bypass cap in the mid circuit is transferred to  bypass the shunt cap in the mid circuit. I  burnt in the cap for about 150 hours prior to installation in the external crossover.

These are my impressions after about 1 week of use.

This is not a day and night difference. The first impression is that of refinement.
It kills sibilance without  making the music dull.
Music start and stop with more precision.
The quietness between the notes for piano recordings is very impressive. The individual notes become very precise and very realistic.
The clapping of hands during the live performance become more real as you can hear the different intensity of the clap amongst the audience.
The plucking of guitar strings is very  impressive.
The strike of the high hat and resulting decay is a joy to listen. The speed of the hitting of the high hat by the drummer is easy to appreciate.
Vocal  becomes more liquid  and the illusion of space in the recording studio is enhanced.  Listerning to vocals by duet and  especially vocals without music accompaniment  makes me sit upright  and mesmerized by the singers.
In summary , this upgrade has enhanced by listening pleasure quite significantly because I value these  attributes of music reproduction . .

The rest of my setup include Truepath amp from 41 Hz , Lightspeed clone passive pre and Monica 2 (with most of the mod ) from diyparadise. . Cables  are mostly diy and also sourced from car audio accessory shop.

[Bill Baker]

Hello KP and Happy New Year,
 Glad to hear you are happy with the results of the bypass. Keep in mind that being a Teflon capacitor, 150 hours is not yet even half way to reaching it's potential. In a crossover circuit, it will take about 400 hours to really open up. I don't know how many hours you were able to put on it in a week but I would imagine you will notice improvements as you continue to put hours on the system.

 I have always believed that 30 days is needed for a system as a whole to come into it's own after any type of change.

[HT cOz]

Nice setup!  How do you like that Truepath Amp?  Did you build it yourself?

Cheers
Robert

[kp93300]

Hi Bill,
i am excited to know that the speakers will get even better. Even at this moment, my hi fi friends are already very impressed and cannot believe that this sound is possible for such a low cost set up !
The detail from the tweeter is amazing . For instance, the sound of the triangle seems to float out of the speaker with a space around itself and a beautiful decay . I like this sort of effect because it brings you into the recording studio . I am wondering if OB 5 is already so good , what about OB 7 ?

Hi Robert,
The Truepath is another overachiever. I get somebody to build it for me . My soldering skills are rudimentary
I own many Tripath amp-- Trend audio, amp 9 , amp 5 from 41 Hz  and I like all of them but Truepath is the best of the lot  in terms of refinement, power delivery, fast taut bass . Can you share your experience with these amp ? I am contemplating changing the input caps of Truepath but I am really enjoying the sound at present.
have a good day.

kp93300

[Bill Baker]

Hi kp.
 In regard to the OB-7 compared to the OB-5, they use the same MTM with only the bass section being different. I would not say one is better than the other but do have different presentation below the midrange. The only difference is the 2 ported drivers in the OB-5 and 4 sealed drivers in the OB-7. You will sacrifice some extension in the OB-7 but it is a bit tighter and faster. I have the upgraded woofers in my OB-7 and cannot compare to the standard woofers as I have not hear these.

 From the crossover point on up, they are identical.

[HT cOz]

Hi Robert,
The Truepath is another overachiever. I get somebody to build it for me . My soldering skills are rudimentary
I own many Tripath amp-- Trend audio, amp 9 , amp 5 from 41 Hz  and I like all of them but Truepath is the best of the lot  in terms of refinement, power delivery, fast taut bass . Can you share your experience with these amp ? I am contemplating changing the input caps of Truepath but I am really enjoying the sound at present.

Very Nice!  You have listened to a lot of the Tripath Amps.  I have a Teac AL700P in my system currently.  It is a pretty basic Tripath design with mediocre parts.  I much prefer the mids and highs of my tube amp but that really is not a fair fight.  The tube amp has a presence in the strumming of the guitar and even the presentation of the audience cheering that is very seductive. The teac has better control of the bass.  Your speakers are in a different league than mine so I can only imagine how nice your system sounds.  I have been curious as to how good a Truepath would be.  Your experience would say its probably the best of the breed.  My long term plan (dream) would be to get a pair of Danny's New SET friendly speakers and collect a few of the following amps:

41hrz       Truepath
Greg Ball's   SKA 50W Class A
Eddie Vaughn's    Carina or new design
Dodd Audio    Pre Amp
Dodd Audio    Power Supply

I'll keep my Teac 3ch for HT duties and I don't think I could ever let go of my Onix 6550 (Manufactured by Melody) as it was such a rewarding start to tubes.

Cheers,
Robert

[kp93300]

Hi Robert,
I notice that all the Tripath amps sounds like a valve amp.
Many of my friends who owns SETamp with  high end prices have  commended about this fact. It my not be as sweet but the bass , soundstage , detail and blackness is better than many mid range valve amp.
Ob 5 is very transparent and the ribbon tweeter is outstanding.
You should try to get a chance to audition this .
I just sold my ancient Alon II speaker recently because OB 5 is way ahead in all aspects.
I believe Truepath and OB 5 are very cheap for the sound it offers. This are high end sounds !
Cheers

kp93300