caps for signal path in tube amps

I have tried Spruce Orange Drops which are really great for the price. I would consider them my starting point. Next would be Russian Paper & Oils, Jantzen polys, and Aura caps as being the next big leaps in performance. After that the more expensive ones just become different sounding and not really any better than these. It just depends on how you want to taylor your sound profile of your amp. You can go crazy price wise for copper and silver foil caps that will act more like tone controls.
 
I'm a big fan of Jensen copper foils. I've tried Orange Drops, Kommie Kaps (K40Y-9), Solen, and Clarity Caps in my GSG, and the Jensens have a very "flesh and blood" sound to them. Second favorite were the Kommie's, they sound pretty close to the Jensens but lack much of the midrange bloom that is prevalent with the Jensens. Third would have to be the Orange Drops, very nice for the money and a good all around sound. I didn't care much for the Solens or Clarity Caps.

EDIT: I'd like to add, these were my findings in the particular amp I'm running. The circuit of your amp may like something else. Best thing to do is buy up a few different kinds and experiment. One doesn't need to spend large amounts of money experimenting with caps, as there are many budget-friendly offerings out there that you may like. Orange Drops, K40Y-9's, Solens, and the cheaper Mundorf offerings are a good starting point for not a lot of cash outlay.
 
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Any faves?

Yes.

Based on a whack of variable though; amp circuit, tubes, pre-amp, wire, system configuration (distributed bass?), speaker crossover, speaker location, room, room tuning, cartridge, DAC, digital source, mood, etc...I could go on. :)

Seriously though, I use coupling caps to a certain extent to 'fine tune' everything to taste and in my current configuration - I'm liking Angela/Jensen copper foil-in-oil caps.
 
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The amp is a 300B. I have the inner shot:

Image21_zps8770a3ba.jpg
 
It uses orange drops drive for the voltage gain section and a paper in oil for the 300B drive stages.

Image18_zpse510d0f1.jpg
 
Nice layout! What's the dielectric in the Orange Drops? I've seen them in both polyester and polypropylene.
 
That's a really nice and clean setup. I see the orange drops and the Russian O/P's in there. I would probably trade out the the O/P's first with some copper or silver foil caps to see how it changes your sound. I have used Nichicon in power supplys and they really firmed up the bass response on the amps I have tried them on.
 
Nice layout there!

Count me another fan of the Jensen copper foil in oil caps, but I also very much like the Mundorfs Rick is recommending. I think you'd get a touch cleaner highs with the Mundorfs, but in some circuits they're a little more analytical than the Jensens. Hard to know without trying.

If you're looking for other ideas, I'd also suggest replacing those electrolytic cathode bypass caps with film caps of some sort. Solens or ASC oils would be good candidates, but both are MUCH larger than what you have in there currently... Measure first.

You also might consider rewiring your volume control to a "shunt to ground" type attenuator.
 
It really depends on the amp and the system as a whole, for myself after trying a few from a few bucks upwards....I have Duelund Alexandra coupling in my amp, Hovland Musicaps coupling in my EAR clone, and Duelund Copper VSF's on the output.

Some of the more affordable fav's of mine are Mundorf ZN Tin Foils, and Obbligato Gold. After that I guess NOS Russian FT3 Teflon's and Russian PIO's.

As far as more expensive ones being only different, and not better, I disagree, and it really depends on the circuit and system as a whole as i stated above, along with personal preferences in sound. (depending)

Just my opinion as relates to me gear, for myself YMMV.

I'll be testing new waters if I need anything else, as the Duelund Alexandra and VSF's are now both replaced with the Duelund RS series.
 
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David, make sure you ask Earle for his suggestions also. He may be able to offer some sound advice (no pun intended ;) )
 
I'm a big fan of Jensen copper foils. I've tried Orange Drops, Kommie Kaps (K40Y-9), Solen, and Clarity Caps in my GSG, and the Jensens have a very "flesh and blood" sound to them. Second favorite were the Kommie's, they sound pretty close to the Jensens but lack much of the midrange bloom that is prevalent with the Jensens. Third would have to be the Orange Drops, very nice for the money and a good all around sound. I didn't care much for the Solens or Clarity Caps.

EDIT: I'd like to add, these were my findings in the particular amp I'm running. The circuit of your amp may like something else. Best thing to do is buy up a few different kinds and experiment. One doesn't need to spend large amounts of money experimenting with caps, as there are many budget-friendly offerings out there that you may like. Orange Drops, K40Y-9's, Solens, and the cheaper Mundorf offerings are a good starting point for not a lot of cash outlay.

Badassbob, I'm just getting ready for a GSG build-- my first ever--and I'd love your thoughts on some PCB parts choices. I came across this thread while looking for some cap choices for it, but I don't wanna hijack this thread too much!
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=8126764#post8126764
 
David, you are looking for more in the upper range?

Do you mean more resolution or more extended?

Have you played with different IC's & speaker cables? I got a fair bit more transparency changing from pure long drawn copper Interconnects to pure silver ones, even though The Copper speaker cables remain.

Just a thought, although what works in one system may not work in another, of course.
 
More extended. But im not too hung up on specs and the speakers sound quite airy these days. Im driving them with Earle's PP these days though. Will see if the SET will make much difference when I get it back.

The connection between the speakers and the binding posts are Mundorf solid core silver/gold wire. Will try cat5e soon, but i don't place much importance on cables in general. Currently using probably some Chord cables.

Sent from my X10a using Tapatalk 2
 
Bloody hell, i can't stay logged onto this site more than doing one thing Grr...

That Mundorf Silver/Gold wire has a slightly euphoric sound signature, i kind on liked it when I had it in my old phono stage. Cat5/6 may be a step back..maybe not, I'm not sure, i stopped using cat a while ago and have a preference for the Neotech 7N single grain Copper or the Silver.

It's difficult to say if something else somewhere else will give you that what you are after, without being intimate with the system.
 
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