Hi all – so a little over a year later and I finally got around to doing the upgrade. After some emails with Johnson (Thank you!) I decided to do the following changes all at once: The V-Cap OIMP 3.3uf for the tweeters along with Mills 5.1 ohm resistors. For the mids, I used a solen 180uf with a Mundorf Silver Oil bypass cap. For the Mundorf I decided to go with the 3.3uf in case I ever wanted to try switching it into the tweeter position. First, I did not find it to be 10 minutes per speaker – more like a few hours overall as the original components are so much smaller, including the size of the leads so I could not simply put the replacements in the same hole in the board. I needed some short pieces of wire to connect the solen/mundorf midrange caps. The resistor fit in the hole but the V-cap lead did not so I direct soldered one end of the resistor to the V-Cap. For the other end of the V-Cap, I ended up de-soldering the inductor from the board and direct soldered the the v-cap lead to it and the high frequency output wire. I have a copy of the schematic by the way in case anyone needs it with all crossover values. There was creative use of zip ties and electric tape to get it all to stay together. I did not want to glue at this point. Anyway – it is not impossible but do allocate some time. I have before and after pictures of the boards here as well as a picture of the original components removed next to the replacement components so you can see the size difference. http://s908.photobucket.com/user/llkmi/slideshow/JM%20Lab%20Focal%20Diva%20Utopia%20Be%20Speakers
So after getting the crossovers back in I fired up the system. I definitely heard a difference, but it was not what I was hoping for. I assume when others heard an improvement right away that was due to already burned in components. I did hear some of the typical “audiophile” improvements like more clarity, and the sound was more open with a wider sound stage. However, there was a change to the tone that I did not find appealing. A shift to more upper mid and high frequency energy that I did not care for. The sound was harsh and there was a definite irritating glare with less body. I am a firm believer in burn in but I did not expect the tonal shift. Anyway, being a patient person I have had the system running non stop now for 4 days. I listened earlier this afternoon and although things improved I was still ready to run from the room on a few occasions. I loaded a spectrum analyzer app on my phone and much of the issue appears around the 1-4Khz mark. Audience applause on a live recording was particularly irritating. This evening, after about 100 hours of burn in the sound has smoothed out more and the glare and harshness have subsided quite a bit but is still there as is the tonal shift toward the highs. However, I now hear some of the magic I expected to hear. Detail is starting to really come through and a delicacy and nuance to the sound that draws you in. I am wondering what others have experienced with burn in. I have read opinions on burn in ranging from 10 to 400 hours for these caps but many suggest at least 100-200 hours are needed. I hope to post more updates as things progress.
For reference my equipment: Pass Labs X150.5 amp, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil DAC, Krell HTS7.1 in analog preamp mode, Audioquest Colorado balanced interconnect and Audioquest green speaker cable.
So after getting the crossovers back in I fired up the system. I definitely heard a difference, but it was not what I was hoping for. I assume when others heard an improvement right away that was due to already burned in components. I did hear some of the typical “audiophile” improvements like more clarity, and the sound was more open with a wider sound stage. However, there was a change to the tone that I did not find appealing. A shift to more upper mid and high frequency energy that I did not care for. The sound was harsh and there was a definite irritating glare with less body. I am a firm believer in burn in but I did not expect the tonal shift. Anyway, being a patient person I have had the system running non stop now for 4 days. I listened earlier this afternoon and although things improved I was still ready to run from the room on a few occasions. I loaded a spectrum analyzer app on my phone and much of the issue appears around the 1-4Khz mark. Audience applause on a live recording was particularly irritating. This evening, after about 100 hours of burn in the sound has smoothed out more and the glare and harshness have subsided quite a bit but is still there as is the tonal shift toward the highs. However, I now hear some of the magic I expected to hear. Detail is starting to really come through and a delicacy and nuance to the sound that draws you in. I am wondering what others have experienced with burn in. I have read opinions on burn in ranging from 10 to 400 hours for these caps but many suggest at least 100-200 hours are needed. I hope to post more updates as things progress.
For reference my equipment: Pass Labs X150.5 amp, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil DAC, Krell HTS7.1 in analog preamp mode, Audioquest Colorado balanced interconnect and Audioquest green speaker cable.