[Yoda]

For some reason, the 100nf caps were not included in my Digikey order, but I have (4) 400v 0.1uf matched Wima's that were coupling caps in my previous Decware Select amps and a couple orange drop 0.1 600v caps.  Any harm in utilizing them in lieu of the polyprop caps listed?  The wimas are big, but fit flat w/ short jumpers on top and the orange drops hang below.

Just a note to others building the board -the 100uF caps that came w/ my order were slightly larger than the board could hold on top, so some are on top and some on bottom, bent at 90 degrees to save room in the sandwich.  I am able to arrange things so the battery pack sits on the bottom of the case and connects to the board w/ jumpers. 

There are also two small polypro caps and extra washers in the baggy that Jim included w/ the kit - where do these go?

Thanks - Matt

[analog97]

There are also two small polypro caps and extra washers in the baggy that Jim included w/ the kit - where do these go?

The 2 small caps do go on the pcb.  After you get all the big stuff in, you will see the locations by finding the open holes!!  Yes, they are small.   The 2 plastic washers are used as standoffs for the battery pack.  They go between the battery pack and pcb to level it and support it.  Good luck.

[Yoda]

Yup, found where they go - 1 on each side of the led.  Made quite an improvement  Had to bump up the frequency on the DC-DC pump, but once I got it all together properly...WOW.  It's the perfect piece between the Soundsmith/Denon DL103 and the Cornet 2.  Those .1uf caps I had on hand seem to work fine. Photos later.  m@

[BobM]

I tried a bunch of substitutions for that .1uF cap at position C1. I tried Russian Teflons (no bottom end and too big for the case also) and some Relcap RT's (hard sounding) as well as the orange drops (closed in). The best cap I found was a Sonicap II, but I'm sure there are others that do quite well in that spot.

I also recommend upgrading resistors R3 and R10 from the basic metal films, since they are right in the signal path. This made a nice improvement to the musicality also.

One other tweak that helped the dynamics was to put an extra cap across the + and - leads from the battery. I tried both a 15uF non-polarized poly and a 1500uF polarized cap. Each worked equally as well to give the Piccolo a little more oomph.

Good luck,
Bob

[Yoda]

[Yoda]

When you put the cap on the battery leads, you mean in line or from + to -?  Thanks, Matt