ONE.2 Mods

wsturner · « **on:** 6 Apr 2010, 04:36 am »

Just wondering if anyone has experimented with ONE.2 mods - other than the obvious PSU upgrade?

I am interested in mods which users would consider a true upgrade. The, standard, Auricaps seem to do a nice job. I don't want to stray into territory which actually diminishes sound quality.

Honest feedback, from modders, would be appreciated.

Happy Listening!

Scott

virtue · « **Reply #1 on:** 6 Apr 2010, 03:58 pm »

The standard caps are actually VirtuCaps, our own PP caps developed with guidance from Audience. They are superb but I'm excited to hear feedback from folks who have tried others.

Welborne · « **Reply #2 on:** 6 Apr 2010, 04:58 pm »

My Virtue 2 has the following 3 mods:

1) volume knob changed to smd step attenuator type, 20k impedance,

2) interal wire linking between pcb board and speaker connection changed to "OHNO" single crystal copper wire from Audience.

3) 2.2uf Auricap changed to 0.1uf Aura-Teflon (very expensive, but supposed to beat V-cap). reason for 0.1uf is that i run a two way active open baffle system and i need to roll of the bottom of my fullrange anyway so 0.1uf --> 80hz roll-off is more than enough.

I am still burning in this amp. All I can say is that those teflon cap takes many hours, possibly 400 hours to sound right. right off the solder iron, they are ear bleedingly bright....

wsturner · « **Reply #3 on:** 6 Apr 2010, 07:07 pm »

So it looks like the Virtue ONE.2 amp comes standard with VirtuCaps (2.2µF/200VDC). Is this correct? Let's assume that you don't need any special roll-off. Just keeping everything standard.

If so, following would be two possible upgrade options:

Auricaps:

http://www.soniccraft.com/auricap.htm

Sonicaps:

http://www.soniccraft.com/sonicaps.htm

I know that other people are still burning in upgrade caps.

Please let me know if you have had good experience with other capacitor upgrades, and I will add those to the list.

classicjt2 · « **Reply #4 on:** 6 Apr 2010, 07:52 pm »

My upcoming Sensation will be an M451 (my prototype was an M901 but with Virtucaps instead of the standard Auricaps), upgraded by Jason with Mundorf M-Cap Supreme input caps, and cryo-treated Tenor speaker hook-up wire. As they break in, I'll be adding Mundorf Silver/Oil caps to bypass the M-Cap Supremes (Yeah, I just have to try oil caps in a Virtue amp!). All fed by my lightly tweaked JT Dynamic power supply.

James

dvenardos · « **Reply #5 on:** 8 Apr 2010, 06:26 am »

I have the classic Virtue Two with auricaps and have compared it directly to the classic Virtue One. To my ears the auricaps in the Two sound much nicer than the Virtue caps in the One. Dannie Richie of GR Research is going to be offering the One.2 with sonicaps as he prefers the sonicaps. Either the sonicaps or the auricaps would be a nice upgrade over the standard caps. I would go with the sonicaps as I trust Danny Richie's ear (I like his speaker designs).

Xcalibur · « **Reply #6 on:** 8 Apr 2010, 08:55 am »

Quote from: dvenardos on 8 Apr 2010, 06:26 am

I have the classic Virtue Two with auricaps and have compared it directly to the classic Virtue One. To my ears the auricaps in the Two sound much nicer than the Virtue caps in the One. Dannie Richie of GR Research is going to be offering the One.2 with sonicaps as he prefers the sonicaps. Either the sonicaps or the auricaps would be a nice upgrade over the standard caps. I would go with the sonicaps as I trust Danny Richie's ear (I like his speaker designs).

I can definitely second this, having owned a classic ONE and upgraded to a TWO. The Auricaps take a whole lot longer to break-in (at least 5 times longer), but once they get there the transparency and inner detail is very noticeably improved over the ONE. For me it was like taking the glass out of the window frame in a manner of speaking, that last bit of transparency that made the music feel real instead of a reproduction.

The ONE is fun to listen to, but the TWO changed the way I listen to music.

Jon L · « **Reply #7 on:** 8 Apr 2010, 09:13 am »

Quote from: Welborne on 6 Apr 2010, 04:58 pm

yin
0.1uf Aura-Teflon (very expensive, but supposed to beat V-cap)

I don't know about "beat V-cap," as both are nice in their own way.

BTW, anybody trying nice oil caps with their Virtue? Good PIO's tend to synergize well with "digital" amps.

jtsnead · « **Reply #8 on:** 8 Apr 2010, 12:27 pm »

I would like to do the sonicap upgrade, I am new to DIYing
could someone post a picture showing where the caps are in
the one.2

wsturner · « **Reply #9 on:** 8 Apr 2010, 03:01 pm »

Thanks for all the feedback! The purpose of this thread is to collect general upgrade ideas.

When we identify a good mod, I will spin off a separate thread to discuss a specific mod.

I will soon start a thread dealing only with capacitor upgrades. It will contain YouTube how-to videos showing how to do the mod.

BTW...For "critical path" stuff many people are using high quality wire, to connect things. Any thoughts on what type of solder to use. I just wonder if standard solder is good enough.

MikeFlaherty · « **Reply #10 on:** 8 Apr 2010, 10:11 pm »

Can anyone direct me to a good basic how to article for cap flipping (noob here). I know bigger isnt always better, also wondering.... can I replace a 2.2uf 200V cap with a 2.2uf 600v cap? Tanks!

virtue · « **Reply #11 on:** 8 Apr 2010, 10:22 pm »

An easy mod you guys can do is to replace my fuses with something better. The Furutech fuses are good ad there are others. It would be FANTASTIC to identify a non-audiophile fuse that just performs well. Who will be first?

jtsnead · « **Reply #12 on:** 9 Apr 2010, 12:04 am »

Quote from: virtue on 8 Apr 2010, 10:22 pm

An easy mod you guys can do is to replace my fuses with something better. The Furutech fuses are good ad there are others. It would be FANTASTIC to identify a non-audiophile fuse that just performs well. Who will be first?

great idea Seth, I recently blew a HiFi tuning fuse in my preamp
by just swapping tubes, at $40 a shot I really do not want to stock
them for my equipment

jtsnead · « **Reply #13 on:** 9 Apr 2010, 12:07 am »

Quote from: zmanastronomy on 8 Apr 2010, 10:40 pm

I went to a Hi-Fi Tuning solid silver T10a fuse and noticed right away that the stage grew three dimensionally. It seemed more detail was coming through. It wasn't like going from the stock power supply to batteries, but it was audible in my listening room. Like it could breath better.

We put big bucks in power cords and power supplys but there's one more bottle-neck left, and that's the fuse.

Hi Zman,
Looks like my battery ps will be here tomorrow, YEAH just in time for the
weekend.
Is it ok to use a bigger fuse ie the 10amp where my 7amp would go?

jtsnead · « **Reply #14 on:** 9 Apr 2010, 02:17 am »

Thanks,
maybe I will try the Furutech's I think they are less cost
but pretty good

classicjt2 · « **Reply #15 on:** 9 Apr 2010, 05:58 am »

Seth- "An easy mod you guys can do is to replace my fuses with something better. The Furutech fuses are good ad there are others. It would be FANTASTIC to identify a non-audiophile fuse that just performs well. Who will be first?"

I hear some knuckleheads are removing the fuse and fuseblock from their power supplies. Well, I did exactly that and the improvement is BIG. This probably voids any warranty for both amp and JT Dynamic psu.

"BTW, anybody trying nice oil caps with their Virtue? Good PIO's tend to synergize well with "digital" amps."

I looked at PIO caps (Jensen Copper) and they were just too big for even the Sensation. let alone the Virtue One/One.2/Two. So I chose Mundorf Silver/Oil caps.

Btw, I just received my M451 from Jason, after a few tweaks (Mundorf M-cap Supreme and cryo'd Virtue Tenor speaker hook-ups), and the sound is already fantastic. I'll break the amp in, install the Silver/Oil caps, then report back.

Mahalo,

James

virtue · « **Reply #16 on:** 9 Apr 2010, 01:48 pm »

In fact, the amp is fuse protected and the JT is fuse protected at the wall-wart side already. So I'm not sure how much actual danger this would represent - enlighten me! Could something in the JT catch fire? Ivan doesn't think so if there is a fuse on the IEC connector, which there is.

virtue · « **Reply #17 on:** 13 Apr 2010, 12:17 am »

I'm considering bringin' back the TWO "classic" so to speak with the copper connectors and Auricaps. Would folks like to weigh in on Auricaps? Lot of customers just love the sound of the TWO and I'm sure that Auricaps had a big part of that... but there were also some noises about the Auricaps from some parts. Danny at GR likes Sonicaps. James is a Mundorf, oily cap kind of guy. Any thoughts from the gallery?

dvenardos · « **Reply #18 on:** 13 Apr 2010, 02:02 am »

The Two Classic is a great amp and I like it much better than the One Classic. I am sure that is because of the auricaps. I would very much like to compare a Two Classic sonicap to my Two Classic auricap. Feel free to send me a beta and I will give you my thoughts.

Quote from: virtue on 13 Apr 2010, 12:17 am

I'm considering bringin' back the TWO "classic" so to speak with the copper connectors and Auricaps. Would folks like to weigh in on Auricaps? Lot of customers just love the sound of the TWO and I'm sure that Auricaps had a big part of that... but there were also some noises about the Auricaps from some parts. Danny at GR likes Sonicaps. James is a Mundorf, oily cap kind of guy. Any thoughts from the gallery?

virtue · « **Reply #19 on:** 13 Apr 2010, 04:57 am »

Donny, how about beggin' the ex for a few shekels for a new, upgradeble ONE.2? I'll bet that the stepped POT and improved layout give your TWO a run for the money!