Volleyguy, first off thank you for all your efforts and analysis in evaluating the Duelund caps..
Secondly in response to the above..I believe that it's the mind that does the responding to the volume whereas the eardrum responds to the amplitude/dynamics..here's why..
I'd been breaking in the Duelund Cast caps in my Almarro A205A MkII integrated tube amp for the past 3 or so weeks..I'd probably logged a couple of hundred hours so far..
My initial impressions were of a much reduced noise floor and a resultantly less full presentation..by that I mean less distortion, a blacker background..and consequently less haze. The haze I feel contributed to a fuller sound by masking the details..
Coming from Ampohm PIOs, and other similar caps, this was a sound I'd never heard before in caps, even with V-Caps. The Ampohms gave me that fuller euphonic sound, no doubt due to the increased inherent resonance and consequent haze.
However the Duelunds were a complete transformation. At first I couldn't work out why I had reduced volume..the music was there in abundance but there was no fullness to it..to compensate I kept on turning the volume up trying to get that, what I initially thought, was a richer sound I'd had with the Ampohms. This eventuated with me listening, at prolonged times, at pretty high dB levels >100db.
Probably not the wisest thing and I ended up with Tinnitus in one ear approximately a week ago and its still there..
This is were I reasoned that the dynamic punch or increased amplitude was the probable culprit and when I came on here to see what you and others had been finding, it pretty much confirmed what I had suspected.
So the eardrum paid the price for what the mind had been accustomed to and was lacking ie. perceived volume.
I am unsure whether with further break-in the Duelunds will change much. I'm inclined to think not..their characteristic low resonating clarity is pretty much nailed on..but is this a sound I'm content with??
In addition I went through pretty much another similar change recently. Going from a high jitter DAC in the Bel Canto to the sabre-chipped '0 jitter' asynced EE Minimax DAC+..same increase in resolution at the expense of a hazier, more forgiving sound..and I was divided between those two quite different presentations. I eventually settled on the Minimax as I felt I'd give something different a go.
Now with the Duelunds in the mix I believe I've got too much of a similar thing going and I believe I've lost the balance/synergy..
In the Almarro I've tried all manner of different tubes, both signal and power..Mullards, Amperexes, RCAs etc. and have finally settled on GE oval plate EL84s and a Mullard long plate 12AX7 to tame the sound..two of the warmer sounding tubes in their class.
So were am I with the sound? I'm willing to give the Duelunds a little more time to break-in and I hope they get a lttle warmer and perhaps a little less forward..
However it's more likely I'll be back to the Ampohms for a more balanced system.. We'll see and will report back in time. For now will have to give the ears a break to come to their senses..
Secondly in response to the above..I believe that it's the mind that does the responding to the volume whereas the eardrum responds to the amplitude/dynamics..here's why..
I'd been breaking in the Duelund Cast caps in my Almarro A205A MkII integrated tube amp for the past 3 or so weeks..I'd probably logged a couple of hundred hours so far..
My initial impressions were of a much reduced noise floor and a resultantly less full presentation..by that I mean less distortion, a blacker background..and consequently less haze. The haze I feel contributed to a fuller sound by masking the details..
Coming from Ampohm PIOs, and other similar caps, this was a sound I'd never heard before in caps, even with V-Caps. The Ampohms gave me that fuller euphonic sound, no doubt due to the increased inherent resonance and consequent haze.
However the Duelunds were a complete transformation. At first I couldn't work out why I had reduced volume..the music was there in abundance but there was no fullness to it..to compensate I kept on turning the volume up trying to get that, what I initially thought, was a richer sound I'd had with the Ampohms. This eventuated with me listening, at prolonged times, at pretty high dB levels >100db.
Probably not the wisest thing and I ended up with Tinnitus in one ear approximately a week ago and its still there..
This is were I reasoned that the dynamic punch or increased amplitude was the probable culprit and when I came on here to see what you and others had been finding, it pretty much confirmed what I had suspected.
So the eardrum paid the price for what the mind had been accustomed to and was lacking ie. perceived volume.
I am unsure whether with further break-in the Duelunds will change much. I'm inclined to think not..their characteristic low resonating clarity is pretty much nailed on..but is this a sound I'm content with??
In addition I went through pretty much another similar change recently. Going from a high jitter DAC in the Bel Canto to the sabre-chipped '0 jitter' asynced EE Minimax DAC+..same increase in resolution at the expense of a hazier, more forgiving sound..and I was divided between those two quite different presentations. I eventually settled on the Minimax as I felt I'd give something different a go.
Now with the Duelunds in the mix I believe I've got too much of a similar thing going and I believe I've lost the balance/synergy..
In the Almarro I've tried all manner of different tubes, both signal and power..Mullards, Amperexes, RCAs etc. and have finally settled on GE oval plate EL84s and a Mullard long plate 12AX7 to tame the sound..two of the warmer sounding tubes in their class.
So were am I with the sound? I'm willing to give the Duelunds a little more time to break-in and I hope they get a lttle warmer and perhaps a little less forward..
However it's more likely I'll be back to the Ampohms for a more balanced system.. We'll see and will report back in time. For now will have to give the ears a break to come to their senses..