Jeff does not make frequent or frivolous modifications. In my experience every time he comes up with something new it results in a worthwhile improvement. I am quite confident you will not be disappointed.
Factory Teflon Cap upgrade for Conrad Johnson Premier Five
Does anyone have any experience with the factory Teflon Cap upgrade for the Premier Five Monoblock? It is pricey, and shipping those heavy dreadnoughts cross-country with insurance is not cheap either. I don't have anyway to listen to the mod here in CA, as my local CJ dealer has no experience with the mod. On the other hand, it is tempting.
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I agree with @billstevenson that you should hear a significant improvement in sound quality. If you plan on keeping the CJ amps for a long time, I think the upgrade will be a good investment. However, the teflon caps will change the tonal balance from what you are used to hearing. The teflon caps will probably result in a cooler sound with less mid bass warmth and richness, albeit with more detail. The coupling caps in the amp now are likely film caps that should last a long time so I wouldn’t be concerned about the coupling caps from reliability standpoint. But the power supply electrolytic caps should be replaced if you still have the originals in the amps. The electrolytics do have a limited lifetime, and a failure can damage your power transformer. |
I didn't think about the electrolytic power supply caps, that is a good point to bring that idea up! They are certainly old enough. The Teflon caps replace the film caps in the unit, so this is just a sound quality improvement. I am not sure what film caps are in there, most likely polypropylene, but that is just a guess. I'll open up the units tomorrow and take a look at what is involved with replacing those big PS caps. Unfortunately, to work on this unit requires removing about 20 soldered in place wires - they didn't use any connectors to connect the motherboard to the chassis wiring. |
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