Hi Frederik,
In case my email fails that I sent you.
I ordered 1 pair of CAST 5.6muf ceossover caps from the Parts ConneXion in Canada.Date AUG. 10th 2012. is when they sent the order.I actually placed the order at the end of july.
Regards |
Frederik,
Is treating the wire 'neccessary' or just an option to consider is what I reaaly want to know.
Regards, |
This is a public thanks to Frederik for helping me out.
My CAST caps will ship next week.
Vollyguy, you`ve gotten me so geeked, credit to grannyring also.I can`t wait to get them installed in my speakers.
Regards, |
Hi Bob,
You`re welcome over to my place anytime.Perhaps this will finally get your hibernating Duelund CAST out of the closet and you`ll put them to work in those fine speakers you have.
Regards, |
Rob,
I'm not sure if Israel would provide a schematic but he'd give you part values if requested. I look forward to reading about your outcome and listening experiences.
Charles, |
Bill,
I agree mylar isn't an organic material but a synthetic. I was referring to the organic sound quality of the Duelund CAST. It'd be nice if Frederick of Duelund would comment. What ever their method of construction they sound devine.
Charles, |
When did this new construction process begin? Mine were purchased a couple of years ago. I'm curious to know if the" new" version sounds different( could certainly still be fantastic). Frederick shed some light if you don't mind.
Charles, |
Hi Salectric,
My crossover has only 1 cap that is 5.6uf and was a Solen. Sal it was the best 850 dollars I ever spent without question and the 440 dollars for the CAST in my Yamamoto Ddigital converter. The sound is just fantastic.
Regards, |
Thanks to Grannyring the Duelund products were brought to my attention.I ordered the CAST capacitor for my speakers.Fortunately this speaker has only one cap and no resistor per speaker(lucky me). I discovered this thread a few weeks ago and have read quite a bit of it.
Volleyguy, I have to thank you for starting this, it has been fun to read and informative. Your considerable time and effort is much appreciated. Some have been critical of your method of testing/comparisons yet everyone who has tried the Duelunds confirm your results.Obviously you were hearing things accurately.I am convinced that natural materials are often superior to plastic and other man made alternatives as your experiences suggest.
I eagerly await the shipment of my CAST capacitors they will replace the standard Auricaps.Thanks again Volleyguy.
Regards, |
There was an immediate improvement in the sound with the CAST installed in my speakers and also my DAC. The sound quality steadily increased over the next several hundred hours it seems. I'd say most of the change occurred in the first 100 hours. I'd recommend them to anyone without a trace of hesitation.
Charles, |
Grannying,
Given you appreciation for Duelund products would their resistors be a good choice for your amplifier project? I understand they are much more affordable than the capacitors. Is their size an issue? You seem to be having much fun with your modifications.
Regards, |
Grannyring,I will follow your progress with much interest,I find this educational. I can`t wait to get my Duelund CAST crossover capacitors.
Regards, |
Hello Salectric,
My cap value is 5.6 uf, one per speaker(tweeter). I got a 20% discount.Those are the only capacitors in the crossover (fortunately for me).There are no resistors in the crossover.
Regards, |
Makes you wonder if that extra weight and mass confer more beneficial damping. I`m sure there`re other factors involved but damping may be an under appreciated result.
Regards, |
Volleyguy,
What exactly are yuo hearing that led you to post about "energy lost" in regard to this current CAST capacitor compared to the other caps you mentioned?
Regards, |
I placed my order with Parts ConeXion.com. |
Volleyguy,
Does the dynamic character you describe sound artificial and hifi? In reading about the CAST the one common agreed upon factor(that got me interested) was its sheer natural sound and presentation. Some said this is apparent brand new out of the box.It`s possible that the audible effects of break -in varies among different users and systems.
If I ever get mine(ordered in late july!) I guess I`ll find out once they`re in my speaker crossovers.
Regards, |
Volleyguy,
Reading your description of the CAST capacitor is inspiring.I can`t wait to get my pair of CAST for my tweeter crossovers.Come on Duelund,I`ve been waiting over 11 weeks already!
Regards, |
Oeaohoo,
Interesting observations, but different conclusion from volleyguy. In volleyguy`s experience it seems he heard'more' body,tone and subtle detail and improved resolution. Superior resonance supression in a capacitor is a good thing that should`nt affect the sound in a negative(less musical fashion)way.Most comments I`ve read regarding the Duelund CAST say truer organic tone but no addition of false warmth or weight( more complete signal preservation?)and increased sense of naturalness are consistent findings. Might there be exceptions? Volleyguy cites formerly hidden and vague noises in a recording actually being heard as clear and individual instruments as revealed by the CAST caps,this is desirable and an improvement.
Regards, |
Thanks for the comments folks. I have some 16 gauge silver wire(I`m a proponent of silver personally). If I use silver it`s a non issue as silver oxide is a fine conductor(some say better than bare silver!).Now I know my options.I may just take copper out of the equation.I prefer my silver IC and SC over any copper I`ve heard.
Regards, |
Finally! UPS will deliver my Duelund CAST capacitors on 11/19/12.Of course I`m very curious to hear how/if they change my speakers(original cap is Auricap) and the overall impact on my system.
Regards, |
Well the Duelund CAST are in my posession at last. They are big,round and solid,much larger and heavier than the standard Auricaps. They`ll be installed later this week and I`ll post very early impressions,can`t wait.
Regards,
Frederik, the CAST leads are quite ample(long and heavy gauge copper) but bare wire.Will copper oxide accumulation be an issue?I do have some 16 gauge siver wire if needed.
Regards, |
Grannyring,
A good friend will install them in a few days. Thanks for the advice.
Regards, |
Grannyring,
Thanks for the suggestions.
Frederik,you make these capacitors, what do you do with the bare copper leads?
Regards, |
Hi Frederik,
I don`t feel any particular need. If you say it`s fine to keep the CAST wire bare without any concern that`s fine with me. I was just looking for experienced guidance(to get it right the first time).
Regards, |
Grannyring,
I agree it just different experiences we all encounter. My Ocellia Silver cables are flesh and blood,living and breathing real and the most truthful in terms of tone and harmonic overtones. They`re utterly organic and full bodied. There`s always a hierarchy within any category,silver cables are no exception, there`s good and not so good.
Regards, |
I make a distinction between "warm" and organic(natural).I don`t find my 300b SET amp really any warmer than my excellent PP 6550 tubed amp. But the SET amp is more organic yet also more transparent and detailed. The SET reveals finer nuance,inner detail and overtone information that the PP amp will bury a bit more and be less apparent(hidden).In terms of full body and image density they`re closer matched.The SET magic is it`s ability to present a very real sense of genuine palpable presence,quite convincing and addicting.Silver seems very adapt at extracting the very fine nuance with higher resolution IMO.Like Jwm said different systems have different favorable synergy mixing and matching.
Regards, |
Grannyring,
Ocellia does`nt offer a trial period to the best of my knowledge. Ocellia is different in this sense from many other siver cables. They strongly believe the dielectric material and covering have profound influences on the sound.They advocate natural fibers and avoid teflon and other synthetics(plastic sound?).Their anti MDI theory at work on that point.They also say all silver conductors are`nt the same quality and geometry and orientation of the conductor matters.
I have no idea about the technical explanations.I can say they lack the silver cliches of thin,bright sheen and edge.They`re very smooth,full and complete. I hope you get a chance to hear them.It`s possible you still may not like them as much as your copper cables.
Regards, |
Grannyring,
I`m not familiar with Clear Day.
Grannyring, If I 'tin' the capacitor lead copper wire,will this simple step prevent copper oxidation?
If so, that means no cutting the CAST wire and eliminating additional solder joints(an advantage it seems).
Option two, cut the CAST copper wire and replace with silver(which means additional joints but no concern about oxidation).My gut feeling is the fewer solder joints the better. Would you agree?
Charles, |
Hi Grannyring,
I like to keep things simple, there`s no need for me to rewire anything in the speaker.There`s high quality copper(6N) and it sounds very good as is(the speaker,amp and linestage use the same wiring).The silver option was just for the CAST lead wire.
I`m going to tin the lead copper wire and heat shrink it and leave it at that.The CAST wire looks very good to me.Hope to get this done tomorrow.
Regards, |
The Duelund CAST are in my speakers finally. A big thank you to my good buddy Jwm(jeff) for his major help and experience. Jeff will post some installation pictures later on this site for those interested.
Out of the box with only 1 hour of listening a few things are apparent.
1) Tonality and naturalness are honest and real, instruments and voices seem dead on righ.!Tone,tone,tone!
2)There`s a noticable improvement in clarity,seperation and articulation of the music.
3)Very nice dynamic energy and presence,power and speed. Instruments have increased vitality and verve.
This is a surprisingly good 'early stage' result as I realize there`s much burn-in that needs to be done.
If the performance makes significant improvement from here, well this will be truly special.
It`s quite good already.
Regards, |
Grannyring,
I owe you a sincere thanks also. It was your earlier Duelund thread started a few months ago that got my interest. I `m glad I followed through and got these Duelunds CAST capacitors.
Regards, |
It appears the original Solen caps were a partial bottleneck in hindsight.These speakers are exceptionally good in standard form. The CAST reveal the flaws of the previous cap quite bluntly however.As others have pointed out,tone is fabulous! What I`m noticing though is the improved dynamics. Contrast,ebb and flow,gradiations and subtle inflections are much improved.There`s a sense of better color,vividness which yields more emotional involvement.To summarized, there`s a greater sense of life and reality, more music and less stereo hifi(if that makes any sense).If you like your current speakers, the Duelund upgrade is actually a bargain.They are expensive but the increased music reproduction is significant,thus a high value return. You could buy new speakers and may not like them as much as your current speaker with the Duelund CAST capacitors.
Regards, |
Frederik,
That`s very encouraging given how good they are in the first few hours.It seems natural fiber products break-in much sooner than teflon and other synthetic materials.
Regaerds, |
I have about 70 hours on the Duelund CAST capacitors.
This is a fantastic upgrade in my speaker crossovers and I would recommend them to 'anyone' who wants to improve the sound of their system.I`ve noticed no negatives, it improves my speaker across all sonic parameters.
1) Superb tone, texture and harmonic reproduction,instruments are simply more realistic.
2)This is a natural-organic sounding capacitor,there`s none of that 'Hifi' artificial character to be heard.
3)The sense of live presence is improved,the sound is more alive and colorful with emotion and expression.
4)The overall scale and presentation is believable(but no exaggerations of size of stage or images) while somehow maintaining an ever present ease and effortless feel, this is hard to do IMO.
5) The CAST is expensive but I can honestly say you`d be hard pressed to beat its 'value'- performance result ratio with most other upgrades.You could spend more and get less in return.
I can`t imagine someone actually trying these CAST in their system and being disappointed with the performance.This is a first tier product.
Regards, |
Hi Vetterone,
The Coincident Frankenstein does`nt have any signal coupling capacitors. It instead uses an interstage(double C core type) transformer. The only bypass capacitor is a V-cap for the power supply capacitors(polypropylene in place of electrolytics).
Dick Olsher will review this amplifier in the december issue of TAS. He will likely cover some of the technical and circuit features.This 8 watt amp is one of the very best I`ve ever heard in the sense of getting to the emotional core of music and realism.
Vetterone, I`m giving some serious thought to placing CAST caps in my wonderful Yamamto DAC(CAST would take it to an even higher level I believe).
I`m also considering the Duelund WPIO inductors. As happy as I am with my system`s music reproduction, I`m convinced the Duelunds would take it further yet again.Since my post a few days ago the sound 'continues to improve! Coincident,Takatsuki(300b tube),Yamamoto and Duelund,I like.
Regards |
Vetterone,
Very nice system you`ve put together,it must sound exceptionally good.Are you putting your Duelund caps in the Berning or the Allnic components?
Your Allnic linestage uses an interstage transformer correct?
Regards |
Frederik,
I`ll be an advocate of Duelund CAST the rest of my life.The CAST are in my Yamamoto DAC and with a mere two hours of playing they completely surpass the stock polypropylene output caps. The immediate effect is it seems is an increase in the S/N ratio. Clarity,openess and transparency just improve along with dynamics. Straight out of the box the natural tone is evident.They`ll only get better with more hours of play.What a fine product.
Regards, |
Rfogel8,
What are you waiting for? Put those CAST in your speaker Xovers.You`ll love them (I promise).
Regards,
Charles |
I get the feeling electrolytic caps are the default choice because they are cheap. They don`t appear to have much sonic value.Sound quality nearly always improves when they`re replaced. |
I`m in no position to declare the Duelund CAST the best capacitor ever. I used the tin foil V-Caps in my 100 watt push-pull tube amp and the OIMP V-Cap in a preamp. The results were very good and certainly worthwhile.
My recent use of the CAST capacitors in my speaker and DAC has been fabulous! The CAST have a larger impact and could be considered near profound in effect(no hyperbole). I spent 850.00 for the speakers CAST (one pair) and 440.00 for CAST to go into the DAC(one pair output caps). I can`t imagine any better use of money to improve audio components(and these were already very good sounding respectively).
So for 1300.00 USD the overall level of my system has been raised an entire level,there is`nt a single downside or compromise either. I think it`s quite special(and rare) to increase system resolution, nuance and clarity yet get more 'natural' sound and tone also.
I don`t know that this amount of money spent on cables or other upgrade attempts will come close to what the CAST capacitors have done so convincingly.
I think the CAST given its stunning contribution is an underated and under appreciated product in the audiophile community.
Regards, |
Like Volleyguy I tend to generally prefer good quality silver wire rather than copper.However the CAST copper leads are high quality as is the 6N copper wiring of my speakers and I left things as they were. It worked out fine and the sound is wonderful.
Regards, |
If Jupiter can develop a foil capacitor that sounds better than the Duelund CAST for less money that'd be quite an accomplishment. Hype and hope is one thing, actually achieving this is another. Once these capacitors are available time will tell. High End audio is ripe with stories about the next great product. Sometimes they come through, sometimes they don't.
Regards, |
Chadeffect,
I don`t even consider the Duelunds "expensive" anymore.Their performance relative to the cost is such a high ratio that I believe they are a very high value purchase.
The best sounding system I heard at CES a few days ago used the Absolare Passion amplifier and linestage(driving the Rockport Altair). Both of these Absolare components use the Duelund CAST capacitors.The sound in that room was stunningly good.Just fantastic!
Regards, |
Hi Frederik,
I wish we could have met. Was`nt that room really a treat to listen to?The first day they used the MSB amplifier and the sound was respectable but nothing special.The insertion of the Absolare Passion amplifiers completely transformed the sound in that system in a profound manner.
Regards, |
Salectric,
I'm looking forward to your findings with the speaker capacitor change and its impact on your fine system.
Regards, |
Salectric,
Your point regarding bypass capacitors makes intuitive sense. It would seem a single cap of the correct value and high quality is the path to better sound (which for me means natural). If this increased speed comes with an artificial hyped character, I'd personally forego the small value bypass cap option. The different opinions here are interesting and appreciated.
Charles, |
Salectric,
I agree with your statement concerning the Duelund CAST capacitor value. They are expensive but have given me very satisfying results and improvevment. Placing them in my DAC and Coincident speakers was money very well spent( a bargain in hindsight).
In High End audio more expensive does`nt always equate to better sound,this is one example where the cost is justified. The highest compliment I can give the CAST is its ability to increase the naturalness of sound presentation, more realism and less Hifi.What`s more desirable than that outcome?
Regards, |
Salectric,
Yes,try the larger value CAST, cool and analytical is the last description I`d use for those capacitor`s contribution.
Charles, |
Salectric,
The Dac CAST cap is 1.0uf and has solid wire
The speaker crossover CAST is 5.6uf and has braided copper leads. |
