Bottlehead Kits > Smack
The usual question: cap "upgrades" (real or imagined)
adamct:
Paul,
I assume either of the below would be suitable diodes to replace the UF4007 rectifiers?
1. http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Cree-Inc/C3D04065A/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtQ8nqTKtFS%2fCwtife2N73IHyjhTyIQDjA%3d
2. http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Cree-Inc/C4D02120A/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtQ8nqTKtFS%2fCwtife2N73IXiB9CtL0Vyw%3d
Best regards,
Adam
Paul Joppa:
--- Quote from: adamct on May 16, 2013, 12:16:35 PM ---Paul,
I assume either of the below would be suitable diodes to replace the UF4007 rectifiers?
1. http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Cree-Inc/C3D04065A/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtQ8nqTKtFS%2fCwtife2N73IHyjhTyIQDjA%3d
2. http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Cree-Inc/C4D02120A/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtQ8nqTKtFS%2fCwtife2N73IXiB9CtL0Vyw%3d
Best regards,
Adam
--- End quote ---
Yes, but this one is much cheaper and more than sufficient:
http://il.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Cree-Inc/CSD01060A/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtQ8nqTKtFS%2fCwtife2N73IjOWqlE8DjFE%3d
adamct:
Thanks, Paul.
earwaxxer:
Paul's overview and advice is, as usual, spot on and grounded in reality/science.
It can be fun to tweak caps, much like one rolls tubes. I would probably listen to it stock for a good period of time. Get to know the sound well. Then try to focus on what you would like to change about the sound. The changes in capacitor sounds are real, and definitely worthwhile. Bypassing can be a less expensive way to the same goal. For me, it seems more hit or miss. From my experience, good caps 'open up' the sound, and elevate the kit to the 'next level'. Kind of like the difference between a good popular affordable piece of kit, to one that is closer to boutique or SOTA.
Sometimes it surprises me when I read reviews about a particular popular and high performing budget component, but they dont mention at all anything about the crossover components. Its kind of like not realizing that the zip cord one is using for speaker wire may not be doing justice to the speaker at the other end.
adamct:
In principle, you're right of course. But it also assumes (a) a lot of time, (b) boatloads of money and (c) some way of anticipating how a certain cap will change the sound.
As a practical matter, I don't have the time to try out many different caps and break each set in, I can't really afford more than one or two sets of caps and have no desire to pay for a set of caps I ultimately won't use, and I have no way of saying to myself, for example: "I would like to tame the treble a bit and give the mids more weight" and then knowing which caps would be the best for achieving that. Reviews of caps are (a) limited in number and the kinds of caps reviewed, (b) largely perfunctory and lacking in any sort of objective details, (c) from using caps in all kinds of equipment that I don't have where the caps are likely to perform differently, and (d) highly subjective and written by people who may be experts, but are also likely to know as little as I do.
So as a practical matter, I'll buy some caps that people generally seem to find good (and that I have used in my Crack to excellent effect), drop them in, and be done with it. I'm doing it for fun more than necessarily because I believe it will radically improve the sound. Bottlehead seems to do a pretty good job of rationally choosing components that give the most bang for the buck to create kits that sound excellent in stock form and outperform the competition.
Anyway, first I have to build it! :D
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