Upgrading Quicksilver preamp or amp caps -- warranty impact?


Considering upgrading caps in my Quicksilver line stage and 60wpc monoblocks.

Looking for experiences from people who have done this.

Did it make a difference?
Did you do it while under warranty?
Did you try seeking Mike’s permission to do that so warranty could remain intact?
Any negatives in your experience?
Thanks.

P.S. If you did this with OTHER gear, your experiences are welcome. 
hilde45

Showing 9 responses by hilde45

@johnss  Thanks -- that's very helpful. I may wait until warranty period is over to do this (another couple years) but if Mike gives the all clear, sooner. (I don't know why he would unless he has some reason to trust the person doing the work.)
@russ69 I missed that. They seem to all be fairly low price. I'm thinking of better caps, such as Mundorf.
@tvad I have a thick skin, plus, I know you're a nice guy.
@hedwig I got this suggestion from another QS owner who got some more expert opinions about the level of caps in the units and he and 5 other QS folks upgraded and had great results. YMMV, but it's not as if these amps are 15k amps with premium caps in them, right?
Yes, checking with Mike is a good idea. Thanks for the suggestion.

@noromance did you do this? Do you have anything to share related to my OP? Thanks.
@decooney Thanks for relaying that. While I'm not a DIY person, this is not major surgery and if it brings the amp up to 2x or 3x the level, well, wow! I’ll go check out those other forums. The caps listed on Mike’s website clearly are not the kinds of upgrades you’re talking about.
@decooney 

Removed the factory installed affordable and reliable $5.95 Orange Drop caps (used a lot in guitars) originally insatalled in my Mono 120 amps and replaced them with $50ea (2 per amp) Mundorf Capacitor 0.22uF 1000Vdc MCap® Supreme EVO SilverGold Black SESG (non-oil) version. Same microfarad, and higher voltage capacity.

This makes a lot of sense. Is it possible that QS uses a $5.95 cap because it's the best one for the design? It's possible but not probable. He's making an amp to a price point. The tubes in my QS preamp were $12 each. Replacing them made a big difference.

Paul McGowan discusses this issue in (at least) two videos.

https://youtu.be/bq5Ph2ySlD8
https://youtu.be/mpqUsEAk39g



@johnss My system is very, very quiet. I guess units can differ.
@gochurchgo If you put your line stage up for sale, I bet it goes quickly!
@johnss I hear you -- and you make a good point about the effects which will become evident once the noise floor is lowered. I remember the early flat screen TV's. How great they looked. And then came the true black OLED technology -- and boy, did we realize now what we didn't realize then. I trust this is the kind of truth you're referring to, and I'm game to experience it.