Ian's V3 Guts (photos)

[aurum]

For some time I have mentioned that I would show you guys the mods I have done on my V3. Nothing to startling here, but it gives you a good idea of the way I've gone about it. Thanks to Alex for helping me out with the photos, please add some karma to his next posting when he pops up.


The best valve I have found to date the Siemens 6922 (70's)



Tantalum resistors throughout.

You can also see 2 1000uf Black gate coupling caps



More tantalums hidden in every spot



A better image of the fantastically quiet Black gates



Now we get to the secret of the recipe. Mills 30 ohm power supply resistors to replace the mushy ones, & two big mother Black Gate 1000uf X 50V filter caps. I have tried the Panasonics in this position, but the Black gates opened a whole floor of bass that didn't exist before. The DC filter caps made no difference if they were there or not, so I left them in.



The other 2 1000uf Black Gates, which had to be squeezed into place, & hot glued. I replaced two initially then had a listen. Replacing 2 improved things, but all 4 was the best upgrade. Rifa's in my opinion didn't make much difference.



As you can see the other caps had to be leaned to accommodate everything. The diode replacement is one of the best upgrades for clarity.



The whole thing. The mods have transformed this amp to the point that I'm not really interested in doing anymore to it. It sounds head & shoulders better than it did out of the shop. Thanks to Mike for all the advice on the forum.

[derekrumble]

Thanks for posting this - great work. I wish I had the patience to do it myself.

Derek

[XTRProf]

derekrumble said:

Thanks for posting this - great work. I wish I had the patience to do it myself.

Derek

Hi Derek,

Oh, u will have that addiction once started and not the patience for whatever spare time u will have. Anyway, diy is still the best bang for the bucks over changing equipment, imvho. So join us and have some fun.

[XTRProf]

aurum said:

For some time I have mentioned that I would show you guys the mods I have done on my V3. Nothing to startling here, but it gives you a good idea of the way I've gone about it. Thanks to Alex for helping me out with the photos, please add some karma to his next posting when he pops up.


The best valve I have found to date the Siemens 6922 (70's)



Tantalum resistors throughout.

You can also see 2 100uf Black gate coupling caps



More tantalums hidden in every spot



A better image of the fantastically quiet Black gates



Now we get to the secret of the recipe. Mills 30 ohm power supply resistors to replace the mushy ones, & two big mother Black Gate 1000uf X 50V filter caps. I have tried the Panasonics in this position, but the Black gates opened a whole floor of bass that didn't exist before. The DC filter caps made no difference if they were there or not, so I left them in.



The other 2 1000uf Black Gates, which had to be squeezed into place, & hot glued. I replaced two initially then had a listen. Replacing 2 improved things, but all 4 was the best upgrade. Rifa's in my opinion didn't make much difference.



As you can see the other caps had to be leaned to accommodate everything. The diode replacement is one of the best upgrades for clarity.



The whole thing. The mods have transformed this amp to the point that I'm not really interested in doing anymore to it. It sounds head & shoulders better than it did out of the shop. Thanks to Mike for all the advice on the forum.

Nice work there! Have u tried with any of those exotics like Mundorf, Auric, Solen Teflon, etc? Btw, is tantalum resistors better than metal film in terms of sound and tolerance? Curious.

[XTRProf]

aurum said:

Thanks to Alex for helping me out with the photos, please add some karma to his next posting when he pops up.

Negative Karma? Heh, heh, heh ........... Of course, I wouldn't do it as Karma here is really not Karma. Just like Mike, although he has a high Karma but he's still a drunk and can't get aay with it. Unless he really practises Karma and do the right things to achieve the no drunk karma.

[aurum]

"Nice work there! Have u tried with any of those exotics like Mundorf, Auric, Solen Teflon, etc? Btw, is tantalum resistors better than metal film in terms of sound and tolerance? Curious."

I have used other things like the Silver oil Mundorfs, Cardas, Jensen etc in the past with other projects, but the issue of space & the supply of the correct values becomes a problem.
I chose the Black Gates because of the neutral quality of the cap, reputation in power supplies & very long life. The only people whom complain about them are the one's that haven't let them settle, yes they do take time. I personally like the aspect of the amp sounding better as the weeks roll on.

I chose the tantalum resistors because I had some left over from another job I had done. I am also familiar with what they sound like, & considered they would be a very good match. As far as the the V3 is concerned they are spot on. If I was to do the project again I may save some money & put them in only the critical spots, as that is where they made the most difference.

As for the karma, Mike might like a wee drop of the good stuff in copious quantities, but at the end of the day its all experiences, good bad or indifferent. He's got a Scottish liver he will be fine.

[PinkFloyd]

Just like Mike, although he has a high Karma but he's still a drunk

Charming! ;-)

[Deleted]

XTRProf
Mike is a big boy and can take care of himself, but what you just wrote is NOT what the vast majority of our members want to see. Statements like that are not helpful, and are only hurtful.

SandyK

[bullpup]

sandyk said:

XTRProf
Mike is a big boy and can take care of himself, but what you just wrote is NOT what the vast majority of our members want to see. Statements like that are not helpful, and are only hurtful.

SandyK

Well said SandyK

[XTRProf]

Well, like I had said, Karma is all about doing. To solve the problem, the right karma must be done whether we like it or not. I'm not saying NOT TO DRINK but to drink in a controlled manner. I'm sure there are many equally who will agree on this when Mike started the thread, now into twilight zone territory, on how to help him solve the problem. If not why ask. REAL friend will say things that sometimes can hurt but at the end of the day it does help. I dun enjoy friends who are yes men but at the end of the day it's u that still suffers. Ask any counsellor for these type of cases and I'm sure they will say the same thing. Mind us, these are professional counsellors trained for this. High Karma = Someone of high integrity. Just like when the Queen knighted someone "Sir". So "Sir" Mike, as the equivalent of a high karma person, can u into drinking lesser karma? Now I will abstain from further comments if the community here does NOT WANT to read or see the right karma. So peace to all here. Saying the right things sometimes can be politically painful as Leporello had witnessed. Back to topic, sir!

[XTRProf]

aurum said:

"Nice work there! Have u tried with any of those exotics like Mundorf, Auric, Solen Teflon, etc? Btw, is tantalum resistors better than metal film in terms of sound and tolerance? Curious."

I have used other things like the Silver oil Mundorfs, Cardas, Jensen etc in the past with other projects, but the issue of space & the supply of the correct values becomes a problem.
I chose the Black Gates because of the neutral quality of the cap, reputation in power supplies & very long life. The only people whom complain about them are the one's that haven't let them settle, yes they do take time. I personally like the aspect of the amp sounding better as the weeks roll on.

I chose the tantalum resistors because I had some left over from another job I had done. I am also familiar with what they sound like, & considered they would be a very good match. As far as the the V3 is concerned they are spot on. If I was to do the project again I may save some money & put them in only the critical spots, as that is where they made the most difference.

As for the karma, Mike might like a wee drop of the good stuff in copious quantities, but at the end of the day its all experiences, good bad or indifferent. He's got a Scottish liver he will be fine.

Great! U have tried the exotics. Really how do u describe the sound of tantalum versus metal film resistors so that I can also fine tune the sound the zen way whenever I need it? Tantalum resistors are 1% tolerance? Thanks.

[aurum]

Great! U have tried the exotics. Really how do u describe the sound of tantalum versus metal film resistors so that I can also fine tune the sound the zen way whenever I need it? Tantalum resistors are 1% tolerance? Thanks.


Yes the tantalum's are 1% tolerance. For my original thread go here:
rockgrotto.proboards39.com/index.cgi?board=q&action=display&thread=1186098976

[XTRProf]

aurum said:

Great! U have tried the exotics. Really how do u describe the sound of tantalum versus metal film resistors so that I can also fine tune the sound the zen way whenever I need it? Tantalum resistors are 1% tolerance? Thanks.


Yes the tantalum's are 1% tolerance. For my original thread go here:
rockgrotto.proboards39.com/index.cgi?board=q&action=display&thread=1186098976

Wow, Audionote stuffs. Must be expensive. Roughly how much for those 1/4 watters? Is there an orientation to these resistors?

[aurum]

They are 1/2 watt & were about 3-US$5 each. I replaced them in the same direction as the original resistors.

[XTRProf]

aurum said:

They are 1/2 watt & were about 3-US$5 each. I replaced them in the same direction as the original resistors.

Yup, in the same price category as the BG depending on values.

Sorry, I still don't get you. In the same direction as the original resistors? The original metal film resistors should be non directional, right?