I have a pair of VK-120s which I have modified extensively, including VCaps. My experience is consistent with others'; the detail will remain and the fatigue will subside with break in. I second Dgarretson's recommendation of the interconnect wire change; very inexpensive mod even with the priciest wire you could find.
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Cathode, BTW a friend with VK-120s just replaced all 14 electrolytics in the input and driver stages of each monoblock with 110uf/700V film caps. This was the most significant improvement in sonic performance of many internal modifications, but required an expansion chassis. This mod is on my roadmap. PM me at [email protected] if you want to see the photos. |
Charles1dad, I'm not familiar with every BAT product, but their SE-series tube preamps have offered optional parallel bundles of PIO film caps to bypass or replace select electrolytics. This option has not been available in VK tube amps, but REX may have it. However, an all-film power supply should surpass it, assuming no cost or size constraints. IME the power supply of a VK tube amp is enhanced with addition of film cap bypass and discrete Schottky rectifiers-- sounding cleaner and faster without sacrificing the smoothness of tubes. Ditto after replacing the stock PIO interstage coupling caps with V-Cap or my own ClarityCap MR. However some owners-- perhaps the OP is among them-- may prefer the silkier and prettier twinkle of the house sound. ClarityCap OEM Sales |
Thanks for all the replies. When I posted this I had about 200 hours on the V-caps so they are partially broken in. Will another 200 hours of burn-in really improve the sound that much? Maybe I should look at changing my cables. I'm currently using Clear Day double shotgun speaker cables and Nordost Purple Flare interconnects. I would really like to get rid of the glare. I would like the system to sound more like music and less hifi. |
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