Capacitors for Audio Research Reference 5se

The V-cap is probably better than what they put in when it was built, so what are you worried about? Wait until you see how it sounds before you start worrying about replacing it.

I know that V Cap needs about 350 - 400 hours of work to fully show its advantages. Unfortunately, at the moment, after only about 50 hours of operation, they are still very far from the original capacitors, so I am looking for an alternative solution in case they do not fit into the preamplifier.

Yes it is true that V Caps take several 100 hours to break in (I have CuTF, TFTF and OIMP).  You should have built a jig and burned them in on your work bench before installing them, you could always remove them, burn them in and then re-install.  

A jig can be as simple as taking an old receiver, or similar, connecting a 4 or 8 ohm power resistor (I use 50 watt) in series with the capacitor in question, or several wired in parallel.  Turn it on and increase the 'volume' over time monitoring the temperature of the resistor and output devices/heatsinks, as a rule of thumb, if you can comfortably touch the resistor and output devices/heatsinks you should be OK.

Are you satisfied with V Cap capacitors and what do you think are their most important advantages?

If one cap on an old piece needs replacing, there’s a fair chance that others will too. I’d replace all the critical caps if you can. That way matching is a little less impactful.

I did as you wrote and replaced the entire set with 4 pcs of V Cap ODAM .

@tiktok

I did as you wrote and replaced the entire set with 4 pcs of V Cap ODAM .

Wonderful. 👍 How does it sound so far?

Comparing V Cap ODAM at the moment, i.e. after about 50 hours of operation, to the factory capacitors. First of all, the factory set had better midrange, great depth, sustain and holography. The only aspect that is currently better in favor of the VCap is the bass, which is more flexible and controlled. Of course, I secretly hope that V-Cap will show their class over time.

Keep us updated. I hope you will find v cap to your liking after it burns in.

Of course, I will write about the fate of V-Cap in my ARC 5se.

If after a suitable burn in time you're still not getting the sound you want, you might consider running some small bypass caps in parallel with the ODAMs that won't change the value enough to impact their electrical duties, but that might offer a different sonic signature.  It's subjective, and it's sort of a shot in the dark, but it's not too expensive or tough to try vs a total re-do.  Hopefully, the ODAMs will come around to your liking.

@tiktok 

What is it about the way you're posting that makes your posts look so strange ?

Sorry, I live in Poland, unfortunately my English is not perfect :-)

To sum up, I will wait until the V Caps work for 300-400 hours, if I am not satisfied, I will consider purchasing original capacitors from the current ARC production.

@tiktok ,

Wesolych swiat i witaj, moj przyjacielu!

(I think 😄)

Thank you :-) I also wish you a happy new year. May the music always play beautifully :-)

FWIW I have had some experience with re-capping an ARC SP-15.  There are "better" caps out there than ARC used, but the reason ARC used the caps they did was to achieve a particular voicing.  Because the Ref 5SE is a spectacular preamp, and IMO sounds as good as anything they sell today I'd default to the ARC spec'd caps.  Tube rolling is a safer way to get different voicing. 

Additionally I'd replace all the similar caps at once. Caps are cheap and the balanced burn in will keep your precious  5SE in top form. 

Obviously some people like V-caps. I don't.

To my ears, styrene film and tin foil from Multicap, the RTX series, is far cheaper, far superior and closer to the sound that ARC is famous for. @yesiam_a_pirate has a point. YMMV

@yesiam_a_pirate you are somewhat right in what you wrote. Maybe I could have immediately replaced them with "golden" capacitors from the current ARC production. I was guided by the opinions that ARC Reference 6 and 6se go more towards higher resolution. I'll give V Caps a chance.