Can anyone advise of the current MSRP for the Capri? |
I believe Capri MSRP may be $2595 in black and $2795 in silver. . . I will check tomorrow and will correct any error. Guido |
$2695 in black and $2995 in silver.
Add $400 for phono stage.
Not a dealer. |
Well thank you Bill for the info, very much appreciated. Guido |
I thought I said it earlier in this thread, but I can't find it here. That phono stage is very good, displacing Levinson, Sutherland and Bryston units that I know of, so don't let the low price or small size deter your from considering it in a serious analog system.
Dave |
I opened the unit to change the gain on the phono boards and was amazed at their size. Swapping the gain though was a snap. I haven't heard the phono stage yet but I have had the K&K Audio SE and Hagerman Trumpet recently and if it gives me at least 80% of what those two phono stages could deliver I'd be happy. |
I used a Hagerman inverse RIAA to quickly burn in my Continuum 500's phono circuit. It's only $29 in kit form and gets the job done quickly. (I put on 150-hours in a week.) I think you'll be very pleased vs. the Hagerman.
Dave |
Well, I've had my capri running for close to a 1000 hours and it sounds fantastic. I'm totally loving this little amp. This is the cornerstone of my system, the speakers, power amp and cd player all contribute to a great degree but the Capri makes the world go round. Even when I had cheaper speakers, and cheaper power amps and cd players the Capri was what really made things musical. It gave the music a sweetness and quality that was just addictive. Forget all the audiophile values and terms. This is just a musical little amp and continues to reward. |
I have about 200 hours on mine and the bass has started to open up more. It sounds very good and am looking forward to hearing what it can do with my VAC Musicblocs that I'll be getting this week. |
"Well, I've had my capri running for close to a 1000 hours
and it sounds fantastic."
Thank you Pause, your finding validates my own. . . it takes an inordinate amount of time for the Capri to shine. . . probably about 1000 hours or more. . . but once it has finally stabilized, extreme patience is rewarded. . . Capri is an amazing pre! |
Recently I purchased a used Capri and in my downgrading/simplifying my system from an Aesthetix Calypso with upgraded NOS tubes. First off, the Calypso was/is a great preamp, one of my favorites and one of the best values in preamps. To the point, the Calypso is a better preamp in most areas over the Capri, but in most cases by a fairly small margin.
The most notable preference of the Calypso over the Capri is in its ability to deliver and maintain a sound stage that is filled with musicians and instruments without collapsing or becoming congested. While the Capri does not fall apart in this regard, I have found it does not compete with the Calypso's abilities to maintain stabiity and focus playing a moderately loud, large recording piece.
Surprisingly, I also found the Calypso's bass was a bit tighter and more musical than that of the Capri. This was/is my largest surprise considering tubes vs. solid state.
I find that the Capri is better, almost surprisingly with with the upper frequency metalic sounds of symbols, bells and the like. The Capri delivers a glass like view into these areas (glass translating to clear, not brittle or bright). This is actually the part of the Capri that I like best.
I also find the Capri slightly more resolving - this was expected based on tubes vs. SS and did not come as a surprise.
All this being said, the Calypso is said by many to being of a sound combination between tubes and SS, more SS than many other tube preamps. The Capri, reported by many (herein included) to be sort of tube sounding, especially for a SS preamp.
I think the former is more accurate with regards to the Calypso than the latter with the Capri sounding tube like. For example, I don't find it quite as tube like as two of the Ayre preamps (both SS). Having owned several tubed preamps from Cary and BAT, it is no where near as tube sounding as either of these brands.
Overall though, I would place the Capri in a short list or category of real value for your money performance. Also in this list I would have to include the Calypso (one of the best bang for your buck performers), the Resolution Audio Opus 21 with GNSC mods and possibly even throwing in the Totem Arro speakers which can be had used for about $600.
Overall, the Capri is a nice preamp which I can recommend, even more so for its very reasonable price tag. Unfortunately, I cannot say that it performs to the level of the REF 3 (which I felt was one of only a very few preamps that I have heard that exceeded the performance of the Calypso).
In the meantime, I will spend some time re-adjusting my speaker placement (which over many months had been fine tuned with my Calypso) with the Capri now in place to see if this impacts my opinions with regard to bass performance and holding its focus in large scale recordings. |
Hi Ckoffend, I agree with you. . . the Capri does not sound tube-like to me either. But I do confess that I am not necessarily seeking a tube-like sound. How many hours of playing time have you put on your Capri since you received it? G |
Choffend said:
"... The Capri, reported by many (herein included) to be sort of tube sounding, especially for a SS preamp."
I don't recall anyone ever saying such a thing about the Capri. Was it here on Agon? I'm curious to read that post.
I like your description of the highs, which is very consistant with my observation. I'm using the Continuum and don't note the imaging issue that you point out. Cutting out the amp/pre interface is very nice. In this case, I think that less is more.
Dave |
I would agree with Ckoffend's comments for the most part. I don't feel the Capri delivers the deepest of sound stages or the tightest bass, but I do feel it is resolving and has many other attributes. Overall I enjoy this preamp and the phono stage is a bonus. It has also been a very good match with my VAC Musicblocs. |
Dave/Dcstep, the following comments were taken from a very, very quick review of previous posts within this thread alone. I scrolled up to the top and looked at about the 1st 15-20 posts (or so, I didn't actually count) with the following quotes:
From Above:
01-22-07: Nolitan
i had the pleasure of borrowing a Capri pre-amp for about two months now with the contention of probably buying it.
Like most posters rowland is smooth and tube like--yup, thats the sound. No grain.
03-29-08: Pause
The sweetness and musicality of tubes with the drive and authority of solid state.
03-29-08: Guidocorona
"sweetness and musicality of tubes with the drive and authority of solid state."
Pause, my sentiments exactly. May I quote you if I ever write a review of the Capri for TAS?
I have read several similar comments in other threads on this preamp about it being "tube-like" sounding.
Look, I think this is a terrific preamp and I also feel it is one helluva bargain. I just don't see that it is tube-like as opposed to performing how good SS can perform (there is a lot of good SS amps and preamps that are quite smooth sounding).
Guido - I have a couple hundred hours on the preamp since I received it. It came right out of another system and has thousands of hours on it. I am very happy with it, but I may need to re-position my speakers based on its differences to the Calypso which was taken out of my system.
Before everyone jumps on me for not having the appropriate source, etc. . . I have run two digital players into it (EMM Labs and now an Esoteric X-03SE). My amp is a Krell FPB 300C and speakers are Wilson Watt/Puppy 5.1 with Transparent cables (speaker/IC) and various power cables.
I do plan to purchase the power cable that Guido recommends in another thread (I believe it was from another thread) for this preamp.
And finally, for the record, Guido's comments had much to do with my purchasing of this preamp. Thanks Guido, while I don't agree 100% with every glowing statement, the reveiws were well written and I agree that this is an excellent preamp, made even more impressive by its very reasonable price. |
Thanks for the references Ckoffend, I stand corrected. ;-)
I would never say that the Capri is "tube-like" but maybe that's because I don't necessarily see that as a plus. I know that many seek a euphonic experience and often receive it with tubes. Many other tube users merely seek sonic accuracy and the leading tube devices provide that. In this case, the Capri is more like the second set of tube devices, providing non-euphonic accuracy, in my estimation. I hesitate to call that "tube like", given the substantial constituents of tube devices that seek euphonics. Accuracy should not mean "tube-like" or "ss-like" or "Class D-like" or "Class A-like" or "SET-like", since accuracy is it's own standard. Getting rid of the "-like" allows us to listen without the handicap of expectations.
I see that you surely understand this, given your equipment choices. I only make these comments as so many come to these discussions with an expectation of a particular euphonic quality whenever "tube" is inserted into a description. I know it's often consider a compliment, but the discussion sometimes gets wobbly when it's relied on as a descriptor.
Dave |
Ckoffend,
I agree with your observation that Ayre gear sounds more tube like than the Capri. I have observed the exact same thing, and written about it.
Good to know that I am not the only one. |
|
FWIW, I use the Tel Wire power cord on my Capri with great results so far.
Again, Ckoffend's experience mirror mine so far. Great preamp for the price, but definitely not tube sounding to me in the euphonic sense.
BTW - I swore I posted this somewhere yesterday but don't see it. Can anyone explain why the phase switch is manual only and not available via remote. |
Pinkus, I agree with you about Capri not being a tube surrogate. Only its general lack of 'grain' reminds me a little of some tube designs. While I do admit that I personally prefer Capri over Ref 3 based on a few parameters that are important to me, I must stress that this is purely a matter of a narrowly defined a/b 'preference', and never one of Capri inherently 'being better' than anything else, or by extension. . . it being an 'absolute best.' G. |
Guido, hopefully we all recognize this. You have written some very good comparisons and review information on the Capri. I find your overall sentiments abouts its performance to be accurate. Everybody should (without even saying so) recognize that your comments pertaining to IT vs. the Ref 3 is subjective and based on your priorities. I, for one, certainly do not feel you owe any explanations or justifications for your statements. |
I was one of the guys whocalled the Capri "tube-like". Frankly it just seemed the easiest way to characterize it because of the Capri's inherent musicality, sweetness and texture. It's just a sweet little amp and the description is more a short hand than a literal description. Plus between your typical SS and Tube, it definitely leans more on the tube side but on the SS side it has drive, resolution, authority and bass, ergo my initial description "the sweetness and musicality of tubes with the drive of solid state". |
Even though it gives me pause (yuck), I agree with your shorthand, but "tube sound" is so broad that it is dangerous. As you know, some tube amps are very colored and euphonic, particularly at the less expensive end of the "quality" scale. Many, IMHO, are designed with the attitude of "let give them what they want" rather than with a view toward accuracy.
Unfortunately, when many hear "tube-like" I'm afraid that euphonia the image counjured up. People with that image in there heads (I venture to say that's roughly half our readers here) will likely be sorely disappointed in the Capri. The Capri will NOT smooth out the hardness of their cheap CDP or DAC and they'll report something like, "the Capri is hard edged sounding in my system, but my XYZ amp is 'musical'". (Neither will the "best" tube preamps, which is what I think you're referring to).
Dave |
Well, I've had the Capri for over a year now, for me thats pretty long ( the next longest serving component is the cd player at 6 months ), every other component from the interconnects to the speakers have been upgraded but the Capri is staying for the forseeable future. |
Pause, you may not be the only one holding on to the Capri. . . if the drying up of used Capris offered on Agon is any indication, it looks like more and more audiophile may be finally ketching on that this is a great linestage, regardless of physical size and moderate price.
In the meantime, new Capris are shipping briskly from the factory. G. |
Just recently bought one here on audiogon...everything on that amp is as close to perfect as it could be for the price. The optional phono-stage is outstanding. Surely this is something I will not give away anymore, at least until I'm finally deaf... |
