ARC Coupling Capacitors

[MPS]

I think it is likely that all other capacitors are polypropylene except the white ones which are Teflon. Can't really say if they are metallized polypropylene or film and foil type but polypropylene anyway.
There was a some problem with the supply of Teflon caps maybe from manufacturing capacity or quality issues. I believe based on my own experience that Teflon caps can be big part of the sound difference.
Any manufacturer can change components or circuit of their product and they do, this is not necessary being separately mentioned.

[djcxxx]

My 5SE came with the large white caps and I purchased it back in March. Dealer said the supply has been too irregular for ARC to count on. Company that makes them was bought out and facility moved. Take that FWIW. ARC, as is common practice, includes a disclaimer regarding their right to substitute parts and change design. It's never good to promise audiophiles one thing and deliver another, even when unintentional, at these prices the pill does not go down easy.

[cmalak]

Has anyone been able to compare like products with white Teflon caps vs. the gold caps in current products to see if there is a difference in sonics between the two caps?

[Bavarian05]

Originally Posted by cmalak

Has anyone been able to compare like products with white Teflon caps vs. the gold caps in current products to see if there is a difference in sonics between the two caps?

I had my LS17 upgraded to SE status (main selling point and reason for upgrade was the new Teflon caps) and the difference was certainly
noticeable (a great improvement overall). This is an interesting development and a little disconcerting.

[Dafos]

A replacement audio board for a ref 750 also had the gold caps installed, with no explanation given to the dealer for the change.

[Number95]

Originally Posted by Dafos

A replacement audio board for a ref 750 also had the gold caps installed, with no explanation given to the dealer for the change.

Very interesting.

[Dafos]

Even more interesting is that ARC did not provide replacement gold caps for the undamaged unit of the mono bloc pair. Obviously ARC feels that any sonic difference between gold and white caps is inconsequential so much so that these caps, provided they have similar values, can be interchanged. While protected by a standard legal disclaimer, for 50k, I would think that ARC owes its customers and dealers an explanation for the parts discrepancy.

[jpspock]

As i did the upgrade from ref5 to se, i heard a big difference between both, and i had to pay therefore. So if gold and white caps are the same, from where comes the difference. I hope that there is a difference between the new gold caps and the old ones, otherwhise it would not be serious from arc!

[Harlequin]

Good morning Folks.

I have attached an image of the coupling capacitors as supplied with my New
Ref 150 , I shall leave fellow ARC owners to draw their own conclusion in this regard ~

[MPS]

Originally Posted by Harlequin

Good morning Folks.

I have attached an image of the coupling capacitors as supplied with my New
Ref 150 , I shall leave fellow ARC owners to draw their own conclusion in this regard ~

I think REF 150 is supposed to be delivered with polypropylene caps, just like it shows in your photos.
ARC uses Teflon caps like this: http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/glass-ware_2266_824092

FYI: http://www.rtie.com/category-s/145.htm