I thought I'd weigh in on this as well. It's a long journey, these V-caps, but worth it in my opinion. I'm using a Torii mkII from May 2009 and in October 2010 I modified the amp with V-Cap coupling caps (note I used the CuTF caps, the copper-foil V-caps, not the tin-foil V-caps). Some background: my amps are 2 years old and have been trouble-free. I added the CCE/Hazen grid mod about 1.5 years ago, then the V-caps about 13 months ago. I knew these would take a long time to break-in....and they did, right at about 1000 hrs by my count. I actually tracked the hours each day for the first several months. After that I didn't play the amps quite as much. I never thought the amps sounded bad while the caps were breaking in (note that the CuTF version of these caps is rumored to sound a bit less clinical), but....what I've always heard when installing a new part is that the amp (or pre-amp) for first week or two, will give you a glimpse of what the final sound will be, then the break-in starts and the sound changes over time until the break-in is complete. The "glimpse" about a year ago with these caps was revealing. The amp, for a few days and only at times, opened-up like I've never heard. Then, for the next 12 months it constantly changed, never sounding harsh, but just OK and somewhat unexciting. The challenge with something that takes this long is patience and remembering what the amp sounded like stock and also right after installing the V-caps. After 6-10 months I thought the amps sounded good, but I recalled them sounding magical, though only briefly in October 2010 right after installing the V-Caps and, after several months, you begin to wonder if this "is it". Well, after 12 months (and I'm sure at least 1000 hours) they are finally settling in. At this point the positive day-to-day improvement in the sound is unmistakable. I can only say that, for me, these caps have now proven to be worth the wait. The Torii simply sounds much better in just about every way than it did stock. Bass is deeper and more tuneful. Vocals are better separated and articulated. The sound is more dynamic and more exciting, yet also more relaxing to listen to. The sound is simply more alive and lifelike in every way. I'd like to add that I've not changed anything else in my system over this time, so I know that the improvement is solely in the amp. I encourage those with patience and a desire to really hear all that this amp can produce to try these caps.

Wow! A year to break in caps to optimal performance makes me feel sick. Isn't there a way to "cook" the caps to get you there faster?

My V-caps took about 2 months with regular listening to fully break in. They continue to season for a long time after, but after a month of heavy use they should be 95% there.

You will know right off if you going to like what V-caps do.

I realize that,in most solid state stereos, the caps can last for around maybe `20 years with degraded performance at that point of their life, what's the life of the caps in the torrii mkIII?  At that point in time I would upgrade to vcaps, I just ordered about100+ caps to refresh My carver tfm 35 amp, they are needed, sounds are slighltly sort of starting to blast out, I think it's still worth My while, and is a very nice sounding amplifier. the vcaps upgrade seems like a winner for Me in the torrii later on.....