Quickie mods

Here's your chance Quickie modders! The coveted Duelund CAST-PIO-Cu now on sale at Parts Connection. Not cheap grant you. These suckers are heirlooms though. I would love to hear the 10uf in my maggies, or the 2.2uf as a Quickie coupling cap. Just sayin. Sure its crazy money, but we have to spend it on something (Granger, hint, hint).

http://www.partsconnexion.com/capacitor_film_duelund_pio_elec_new.html
 
Ha ha! I love the pictures of the Duelund caps next to the Coke cans...too funny. I actually wish they would do that more often, to give me a better visual feel for how big my caps are before I buy them.

Now, just to make sure I didn't misunderstand something, I could replace the electrolytic 1,000 uf cap in the Quickie with, say, a 100uf film cap? With no performance detriment, and a possible (depending on how much Cool-Aid you've had) sonic benefit?

Best regards,
Adam
 
Paul Joppa said:
1) Mr. Grammar says: Dampening is misting with water. Damping is absorbing vibrational energy"  :^)
Click to expand...

I think that's vocabulary, not grammar. But what do I know, I'm a former physicist. There's gotta be at least one joke in there: a physicist, an engineer, and a mathematician look at a schematic...
 
adamct said:
Ha ha! I love the pictures of the Duelund caps next to the Coke cans...too funny. I actually wish they would do that more often, to give me a better visual feel for how big my caps are before I buy them.

Now, just to make sure I didn't misunderstand something, I could replace the electrolytic 1,000 uf cap in the Quickie with, say, a 100uf film cap? With no performance detriment, and a possible (depending on how much Cool-Aid you've had) sonic benefit?

Best regards,
Adam
Click to expand...

It's not supposed to have an audible effect.  I got the idea from another project of mine that surprised me.  I swapped the fancy Panasonic electrolytic power supply caps in my ST35 amp for Clarity TC caps which are giant 700V film caps because they had a much lower ESR. 

I heard an immediate improvement in resolution.  This is particularly noticeable in the bass region.  Music seems faster and there was a distinct lack of haze to the sound compared to the Panasonics. 

I thought if it could work in my little 17.5 watt amp then maybe it could work in my ultimate quickie project.  Granted I made numerous changes in my ultimate quickie just in layout.  So it's hard for me to say what changes made the most significant effect.  Nevertheless my ultimate quickie is better sounding than my original version.

With that in mind you can try them or not.  It's your call.  If you're happy with what you got then don't bother.
 
Thanks, Rob. I can get a great deal on a ClarityCap SA 100uf. Is there any significant reason to prefer the TC series over the SA? I know the TC series is rated for higher voltage, but for a variety of reasons (including cost, covenience, shipping cost and speed), the SA version would be better for me if it is also suitable to the task...

Best regards,
Adam
 
100uf would be fine to replace the electrolytics. I used a 56uf film there. There should be no bass roll-off down to about 42uf or so. I thought it improved the sound. Not as much as the coupling caps. I replaced all the resistors at the same time, so it was hard to say.
 
I just received a v 1.1 Quickie kit. The bypass cap is 150uF. I thought I'd upgrade it to a higher quality electrolytic (already spent too much on a boutique pot and the coupling caps). But not many electrolytics come in that value. Any suggestions? Team up a pair of 100s with 48s? Would another value be fine?

Thanks,

__Roy
 
I didn't know that they changed the bypass cap to 150uf (from 1,000uf). I used an Elna Cerafine for those caps and Clarity ESA caps (3.3uf) for the output caps.
 
I think anything from 47uF on up should work very well. We put the 150s in because we had them on hand for another product, while the 1000uF was only used in Quickie. Simplifies the inventory.
 
Heres a bypass cap calculator that gives you a feel for how small that cap can be before it starts attenuating bass.
http://ampbooks.com/home/amplifier-calculators/cathode-capacitor/
 
For some stupid reason, I thought there was only one 1,000uf electrolytic cap in the Quickie (this was before i had the kit in-hand, but I should have known that doesn't make sense), so when I decided to buy a replacement film cap, I only bought a single 100uf 630V ClarityCap SA. My chassis is red, and is a near-perfect match to the color of the outside of the ClarityCap. My plan had been to mount the battery holders on the underside of the chassis, and then to mount the ClarityCap horizontally across the back of the top side of the chassis. But now that I need two of these giant honkers, that isn't an option. So now I figure I have two options:

1. Mount the ClarityCaps to the outside of the case, parallel to the side walls, one left and one right, sort of like outboard pontoons (which would look slightly silly and would be inconvenient for various reasons) or

2. Mount the ClarityCaps vertically next to each other on the back of the top side of the chassis. The problem is that I can't figure out a realistic way to mount them safely and securely in that orientation, especially considering that I will need to lift the chassis whenever I need to change out the batteries (which will need to be mounted on the underside of the chassis).

Any suggestions on how to accomplish #2? Alternatively, instead of buying a second 100uf cap, I could try to return the one I have and exchange it for two smaller caps (50-60uf), but I've come to like these giant caps, so I would prefer not to go that route if someone has a good idea on how to mount them vertically...

Best regards,
Adam
 
If you are looking for a clean way to secure them, I like the 3M super strong double sided tape. Its a thick gel type tape rated for 5lbs. I use it to hold my caps on the back of my maggies.
 
Thanks for that suggestion, Eric. So basically I would apply the tape to one end of the caps, thread the leads through a hole in the chassis, and then just stick the caps on their respective ends onto the chassis? I might put a black cable tie around the top of the caps, just to hold them together and prevent the caps from splaying outwards. Just to confirm, you think that would hold long-term (at least more than a year)?

And just to confirm, I assume this is the product you are referring to? http://www.amazon.com/3M-03615-Scotch-Mount-Molding-Tape/dp/B000BO9L00/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1370444261&sr=8-7&keywords=3m+super+strong+automotive+attachment+tape

Thanks again for the suggestions. If this works, it will be a much simpler and cost effective solution than anything else I might have cooked up...

Best,
Adam
 
I used to let mine hang loose.  ;D

102d2791.jpg
 
Eric,

What are your thoughts on the tape vs. something like epoxy, Weldbond glue or "Goop"? The latter two products seem to be what Madisound stocks for similar purposes...

I imagine the tape is easier to work with, less prone to flowing out from under the caps, and since it presumably bonds instantly, is safer than waiting for glue or Goop to dry while the caps are suspended on-end.

Best regards,
Adam
 
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