[django11]

So, I guess I'll give them some more time.  I have to admit that I don't have a lot of confidence in this but I'll try at least another hundred hours before I decide about the caps.  It's not like I haven't  been wrong before .  And a buddy of mine has a Dac I can borrow so I'll try that although I am not sure it is much of a step up. A better Dac might not be a bad idea one way or the other.

If worse comes to worst maybe I can sell the used caps at a premium because of all the burning in I'm doing  . 

[TooManyToys]

.....If worse comes to worst maybe I can sell the used caps at a premium because of all the burning in I'm doing  . 

Sounds like a WAF excuse.  Good luck with that.

These take a long, looooooooooooooong time.  I cooked the ones in my Ref speakers for 24 hours 21 days using my Isotek's break-in and rejuvenation disc.  And they improved with time over that! IMO.

[guest1632]

Hey thirteen,

I made the sealed N3 so they need a sub-woofer.  With the sonic caps they are fantastic: smooth and quite detailed.  With the bypass "upgrade" the detail is moved up a bit but for me they introduced an element of fatigue and irritation.  As I mentioned, and I am not sure why this is, but when  listening to jazz on my cable feed vibraphones in particular stand out.  The sound is jaw dropping.  That is the word I first used to describe my experience of listening to the upgraded caps.  The detail really is astounding.  But when listening to CDs I find myself continually skipping to the next song because I am not enjoying the music...

Those caps may take about 400 hours or so to break in. I wouldn't take them out just yet. I think I would just put some background music on and just let the system sit there for awhile. Looks like if my calcs are correct it will have to be playing music for about 3 and a half weeks with background music softly playing. Otherwise, just take them out. I'm told once those caps break in, the sound is to die for.

Ray Bronk

[corndog71]

Hey Django,

If you still don't like the platinums, I'll take them off your hands.

[django11]

Hey Django,

If you still don't like the platinums, I'll take them off your hands.

It might come to that.  If so should I Pm you? 

[django11]

Well, I had about three hundred hours on them and they sounded bad on movies, bad on cable music feed and just ok on CDs.  So, should I quit listening to the cable feed, get a new avr and DAC and hope this takes care of the problem?   Or just take the little buggers out?

I took'em out...

No BS, on the first note I could tell I had the sound I enjoyed back! The sound is lush and seductive and smooth vs more detailed but dry and clinical with the Platinums.  Again this is not a blanket statement about the platinums just my one experience with the equipment I have...

 

[dangerbird]

My experience with these type of caps has lead me to not make a decision for at least 200 hours,,I agree with the previous suggestions regarding the upstream components,, but,,if you don't like em',,thats all that matters,,btw,, what value were they? Just curious.
Thanks

[django11]

.022s

[dangerbird]

hm,, I'm just trying to keep my learning going,, so,,exactly what component did you put them in?Reason I ask,,I have a Wright pre amp,WLA 10 IIRC and I replaced the output caps with VH OIMP's and after using various bypass caps in it,finally settled on some teflon's.Anyway--happy listening.

[werd]

Well, I had about three hundred hours on them and they sounded bad on movies, bad on cable music feed and just ok on CDs.  So, should I quit listening to the cable feed, get a new avr and DAC and hope this takes care of the problem?   Or just take the little buggers out?

I took'em out...

No BS, on the first note I could tell I had the sound I enjoyed back! The sound is lush and seductive and smooth vs more detailed but dry and clinical with the Platinums.  Again this is not a blanket statement about the platinums just my one experience with the equipment I have...

I think its great when a tweak doesn't work. What you've done is honed in on your own taste. Its a great learning experience hobby wise.  Oddly that doesn't happen very often. Not for me anyways. Tweaks usually sit on the fence of acceptance. This is bad imo since all it does it confuse your own taste and what you are after. Nothing wrong with the platinum caps and nothing wrong with you not liking them. Just take them out and feel good that you have gotten better at your own hobby. Thats how i look at it.

[django11]

so,,exactly what component did you put them in?.

Crosssovers of my speakers.  Read all about it in the first post of this thread  ...

[dangerbird]

Crosssovers of my speakers.  Read all about it in the first post of this thread  ...

Well now I feel like a dumba$$,,,I've done a few crossover mods in my time,on vintage speakers,,always stayed with Sonicap(not the platinum) and the Clarity's with good results,,my teflon experience is with electronics,,lemme' go back and read your first post before i ask anymore stupid questions.

[django11]

I think its great when a tweak doesn't work. What you've done is honed in on your own taste. Its a great learning experience hobby wise.  Oddly that doesn't happen very often. Not for me anyways. Tweaks usually sit on the fence of acceptance. This is bad imo since all it does it confuse your own taste and what you are after. Nothing wrong with the platinum caps and nothing wrong with you not liking them. Just take them out and feel good that you have gotten better at your own hobby. Thats how i look at it.

You know I'm coming to that conclusion myself.  I was leaving them in there on the strength of other peoples opinions and thinking "really, this doesn't sound bad".  But while trying to get something better, the reality was that the music had lost "it".  Maybe I should have waited longer.  Maybe I should have upgraded my dac.  I don't know about those things.  What is certain is that right now, for a pretty modest price I have something that knocks my socks off...

[werd]

You know I'm coming to that conclusion myself.  I was leaving them in there on the strength of other peoples opinions and thinking "really, this doesn't sound bad".  But while trying to get something better, the reality was that the music had lost "it".  Maybe I should have waited longer.  Maybe I should have upgraded my dac.  I don't know about those things.  What is certain is that right now, for a pretty modest price I have something that knocks my socks off...

You did the right thing. You gave it time and it sounded better without. What you have learned here you will take with you on your next change....  .

[Jon L]

But while trying to get something better, the reality was that the music had lost "it".  Maybe I should have waited longer.  Maybe I should have upgraded my dac. 

Bypassing capacitors is an art not science.  The end result heavily depends on which cap and value you are bypassing, same for the bypass cap used, upstream, downstream, the source, and most of all your tastes. 

It definitely takes experimentation and patience, and what doesn't work right now may be "it" when something else is changed in the system.  But if a tweak really doesn't work, there's nothing wrong with removing it.

[wushuliu]

I think its great when a tweak doesn't work. What you've done is honed in on your own taste. Its a great learning experience hobby wise.  Oddly that doesn't happen very often. Not for me anyways. Tweaks usually sit on the fence of acceptance. This is bad imo since all it does it confuse your own taste and what you are after. Nothing wrong with the platinum caps and nothing wrong with you not liking them. Just take them out and feel good that you have gotten better at your own hobby. Thats how i look at it.

+1

[eclein]

What is certain is that right now, for a pretty modest price I have something that knocks my socks off...

Thats all that counts!!! Bravo and enjoy the music now!!!

[nodiak]

Refreshing.

[dBe]

Bypassing capacitors is an art not science.  The end result heavily depends on which cap and value you are bypassing, same for the bypass cap used, upstream, downstream, the source, and most of all your tastes. 

It definitely takes experimentation and patience, and what doesn't work right now may be "it" when something else is changed in the system.  But if a tweak really doesn't work, there's nothing wrong with removing it.

What you said.  Caps are probably the most talked about and least understood aspect of audio.  I know way too many people that have a "go to" cap manufacturer or, worse yet, type of cap.  Different circuits require different approaches with capacitors.  Just because an "XYZ" cap works in a coupling application in one circuit does not guarantee it will work in a coupling application in a different circuit.  There are just too many variables.  Trying different tweaks is the only way to develop the experience arsenal to help in the future when attempting to eke out the last little bit of performance, nes' pas?

Dave

[Nick77]

System tuning! Good job, always hit and miss.