Zaikesman- I believe Khaki typed "Sudio" but meant "Audio", and I agree with him. The copper foil-in-oil caps are outstanding, though quite large by comparison to film type caps. If you consider power supply cap upgrades, the BlackGates are about as good as you'll find (and priced that way!). I would suggest upgrading the smaller value power supply caps that are near the gain tube, first; then driver tube ps caps, and finally the main B+ caps for the output. Also, if the gain or driver tube use cathode bypass caps, upgrade these to BlackGate NH series for a very nice improvement. I've found that even with the BlackGates, I still like a bypass cap, either PPFX-S, RTX, or copper foil-in-oil, depending on space, money, and tonal voicing. DIY is fun and extremely rewarding, but make sure you have some basic electronic and soldering skills, as well as, the appropriate soldering tools to do the job right. Good luck and enjoy!!
Coupling cap upgrade possibilities for VTL?
I have MB-185 Signature mono's, and the factory offers the cap upgrade to (I believe) Infinicaps or Auricaps for the princely sum of approx. $800 the pair, not including shipping of course (I think there are six caps per monoblock). If I try to do this work through a local tech instead, anybody have suggestions for the best possible caps to choose (don't know the value right now without looking inside)? Prefer answers based on personal experience, especially comparitive experience in tube circuits, although not necessarily with VTL gear (but that would be nice!). Thanks, Zaikes