UPGRADES

Building this amplifier using SoZo Blue tone capacitors sounds excellent. However, I always keep working on improvements until it doesn’t make sense anymore. I decided to try out the new V-Cap guitar tone capacitors that Chris Venhaus recently introduced. I previously had built a superb single tube buffer designed to accompany audiophile high end gear and when I used the 2.0uF V-Cap copper pair of capacitors within that buffer, I ended up with “world class” sound quality that was way better than any other high end capacitor that I tried. My expectation for the new guitar tone caps that V-Cap had just introduced was high and the available values were exactly what I was using within this amp. So I purchased 4 of them to install in the next version of this amplifier. Unfortunately, I did not like the overhang and sound that these V-Cap paper in oil capacitors provided and took them out and re-installed the SoZo Blue capacitors. Live and learn and a $300 loss later.

These V-Cap tone caps, another manufacture’s transformer set, the V-Cap airlock wire, the shielded V-Cap CUII wire instead of what I normally use, the Jac Music metric isolation vibration hanging plate isolators, and the few other things I’ve added (slightly different board layout and repositioning of the choke, etc) all provide reasons for an even more beautiful sounding amplifier. Time will tell.

With the addition of these new upgrades (even though most people wouldn’t consider making them since the original amplifier sounds superb and is expensive enough), I don’t believe I can improve the sound quality of this amplifier any further. It is pretty much maxed to the limit!!!