Mod the tube pre, where and what caps,parts??

[faster100]

I have been studying the page to mod the AE tubed pre i have.. the reviewer cant be found/e-mailed.. and i have questions... where do you find output and coupleing capacitors.. what brand to use? standard ones, black gates, auricaps? and i have no idea where to start, they have to be 450V 2.2uf and 1uf 450v
here is a link to the page for the mod http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/audio_experience_e.html

I want to try this mod myself and i can solder, i always get hungup on the finding of the parts... I know nothing about caps output, couple, what the hell!!! Help please :)

[BlueMDPicker]

Put your parts list together and browse partsconnexion.com - they're also very helpful on the phone.
TOLL-FREE: 1-866-681-9602

[Early B.]

Lots of places. Just google it. Even www.tubedepot.com sells auricaps. I bought my sonicaps at Parts Express.

[faster100]

I have found the places, some of them... but don't know what to get... Guess i can call and see what they say..

[faster100]

here is what needs replacing, the blue and grey caps and the 2 red wilma caps... But why are the caps square instead of round? and are the new ones gonna be round? I mean thats what is hanging me up, finding ones that look like these.. Thanks for any more info

[Early B.]

They ain't gonna look like the ones in your unit. The new ones will be cylindrical.

I read your link:

http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/audio_experience_e.html

I don't agree with the reviewer at all. I've heard the Audio Experience Symphonies pre and it sounds very good, IMO. It's laid back, so it's great for jazz.

[faster100]

I thought the review was a bit, well quite harsh really... I really love smooth jazz so that would be great!! LOL... i like the way it sounds and just wanted to see if i could gain some bass output...

[Early B.]

Faster --

Where's the review on this unit you promised us? Did I miss it?

P.S.
(Oops. Seems we were typing at the same time.)

[faster100]

Early, ive been sick since sunday.... the last few days i just started feeling better, so i have spent some more time with the unit more so today and yesterday.. hardly enough time to make a firm decision..

However, warm up and break in play a large part of the sound on this pre-amp.. ive ran the 5751 raytheons and they sound very well however the drop in output from this tube i think hinders the overall sound at higher levels.. and not as bas strong.... so far the Sovtek 12ax7lps's sound the best, nice balance of bass and midrange... very full sounding tube, I'm not the best at reviews so bare with me..

Also, when i first received the pre, i was useing the PS audio prelude speaker wires... I was initially unhappy with the pre-amp, seemed to lack bass badly. I sold the wires and hooked up some bulk inwall wire to hold me over until my signal cable arrives next week, I fired up the rig the following day and wow!!! where did that bass come from, problem was i changed the wire and tubes at the same time.. sovteks and bulk wire... from the groove tubes and ps audio's.... so i changed tubes again, Bass was still there... conclusion: The wire must have been holding the bass back... only thing i can explain it.. every since i took the ps audio out its been full and robust with zero distortion... simply clean

I would like however a bit more bass, cleaner high end.... maybe a change in 6x4 tubes would help.. im running a black plate GE now... but want to try a new 6x4 that paul just ordered as he got 2 so i can see if that helps anymore....


So to conclude this imprompto review: Its very clean sounding, lacks a bit of bass... Nice midrange and tones the high end down from the SS pre i used before.. however some refinement could be achieved i think by the cap upgrades... we will see...

[Early B.]

Thanks for the review. Glad to hear you're feeling better.

In terms of the bass issue, I just wanted to ask whether your system is actually lacking bass or whether it's a situation where you have to grow accustomed to listening to "true" bass. True bass is not as "boomy" at all. If your system sounds closer to live music than your previous setup, then you are definitely moving in the right direction (live music does not sound "boomy"). Otherwise, we'll have to come up with a solution to the bass problem.

[faster100]

you very well may be correct, it isnt boomy like before... so maybe it wasnt true bass, I mean it has bass just not like before... I will have to decide if it lacks bass or its truer, cleaner bass.... Good point, Now what caps do i need for this thing :D

[Early B.]

I've used Sonicaps and Blackgate caps for mods and got very good results. Hadn't tried Auricaps yet.

[organ]

Faster,
Wait until you've tried a few more tubes and fine tuned your system before considering the cap upgrade.

I agree with Early about the 'true bass' from tubes. It may be a little less than SS but it has better definition, decay, more tuneful, etc. Let your ears get used to the new sound. Also, wait for your SED 12AX7 to arrive. This will add plenty of warmth and bass to your sound. I have a spare SED if you're interested. Let me know.

Maurice

[Pauly]

i'll be writing a review on the unit in a few weeks. Just got the EH 12ax7's last night so wanna roll a few tubes burn the pre in since i only have about 6 hours on it and get with Cliff and compare notes and demo a bit more, but so far its 4 thumbs up over SS.

Get anymore info on the mods yet?

Pauly

[faster100]

so i'll assume theirs no such thing as coupleing caps and output caps? They are either electrolitic or foil and its where in the circuit its placed that gives the name... so regular capacitors will work with this mod? Its just in the output erea and coupleing erea? That make sense? I may hold off for a bit but i do want to try the mod and find out what i need to do it, so does anyone know? Thanks again

[BlueMDPicker]

Here is a great article with tons of supplementary info.

[Pauly]

damn thats alot of info :) COmon Cliff get your read on :)

[faster100]

Great info, I'm not a huge reader and all that small print is making my head hurt :D

I'll read through it, But all i really wanna know if what caps to get :D don't really need to know the details.. I'm no electrical engineer by far, just a tweaker and fiddler and like to work on stuff...

I'll do some more reasearch and call partsconnextion and see what they tell me, Thanks

[BlueMDPicker]

The author of the mod article has his email address at the bottom of the page. He might just send you what you're looking for?

[faster100]

tried that days ago, his e-mail kicks back saying it no longer accepts e-mails, Oh well i'll figure it out... Thanks for all the links and help,