You see... you don't like Solen caps because of their sonic character, not absolute quality. Instead personally I'm absolutely fine with their sonic character, as it fits my taste very well. I really don't want my music to sound so creamy seductive, and stuffThe Russian teflon's are my idea of great bang for the buckSolen's are too "hot" for my tastes, regardless of their cost. Hours of burn-in have never fixed that aspect of them for me personally.
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The Russian teflon's are my idea of great bang for the buck
Russian again here - the even cheaper K40Y9. If i was manufacturing that's what i would use.
Quite possibly. I have virtually no opinion on cap sound in crossovers; it is quite different to a coupling position, especially if there is a high polarising voltage. Crossovers are also voiced for particular drive units and a truly transparent capacitor may be at a disadvantage.
I've replaced the stock crossover or coupling caps in Quads, Martin Logans, and large Dynaudio speakers, first with MKP metalized polypropelene Solens and later with film and foil combinations -each time I heard an improvement. I have also replaced coupling caps in both high quality tube and solid state equipment with Solens where space and/or budget limited the choice and also used film and foils when possible, again with improved resolution and dynamics over the Solens. Some of you seem to be having trouble with the issue of the MKP Solen caps being good value, but are not as good sounding as the best V- caps, MIT/Rel caps , Auri caps etc. All caps should have at least 100 hours playing time on them ( and teflons even more) before comparions are made. In recent years Solen have added film and foil and teflon caps to thier product range at increased size and cost. Do you think the Focal $180,000 flagship speaker which uses Solen caps uses the best bang for the buck metalized MKP Solens or some of Solen's premium film and foils and even teflon in it's construction? If you can"t hear the differnce between Solen MKP series and
Solen"s own film and foil and teflon caps or V- cap teflons, MIT/Rel film and foils, TRT dynamic caps etc then with the money you've saved you can either buy better equipment or a bottle of ear wax cleaner.
of
fpils
fpiWith the money you've saved not buying boutique capacitors you can buy a bottle of ear wax cleaner or a box of q- tips.
Solen"s own film and foil and teflon caps or V- cap teflons, MIT/Rel film and foils, TRT dynamic caps etc then with the money you've saved you can either buy better equipment or a bottle of ear wax cleaner.
of
fpils
fpiWith the money you've saved not buying boutique capacitors you can buy a bottle of ear wax cleaner or a box of q- tips.
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I think I never claimed they were the best in the world... They're just the best it's reasonable for me (and my budget) to use.
And you keep talking of cross-over applications, not line level... I'm talking of line level. They're great (250V version) there, again (and always) for the money spent.
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I think I never claimed they were the best in the world... They're just the best it's reasonable for me (and my budget) to use.
And you keep talking of cross-over applications, not line level... I'm talking of line level. They're great (250V version) there, again (and always) for the money spent.
Andrea,
I'm glad that Solens sounds good to you but other reasonably priced caps sounds better, like Mundorf MCAPs or Itertechnik's Audyn Cap.
And some that costs more but are still affordable sounds a LOT better like quite all film/foil caps like Mundorf MCAP Zn, Audyn Cap Sn or the metallized Obbligatos.
I've tested caps in coupling and also speaker applications and film/foil caps were always bettter.
Particularly in coupling apps the Mundorf MCAP Zn is almost transparent both in timbre and details and I can say that for sure because the reference I was comparing to was DC coupling, no cap at all...
I've also made some comparisons with DC coupling. I really find the Solen's to be transparent... but alright, the Mundorf MCAP looks good as well. However the Solen's are easier to find...
What I'm saying: between the Solen's and the lesser caps (e.g. Wima) there is a jump in sound quality. Between the Solen's and the truly better caps, there's a jump in price. Conclusion: the Solen's are a sweet spot for me, both for price and for availability, besides obviously sound quality.
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I will leave those (and related equipment) to the rich.
At any rate, it's hard to imagine "a LOT better" since the Solen's are really transparent. Maybe you're the typical audiophile kind who expects things to sound seductive (and not that Solen's don't. Just not too much so) ...I don't know you enough.
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Am i right in thinking that the only caps you have ever compared are Solen and Wima MKS?
Wima MKP4, too. The Wima (MKP4) sounded less impressive than the Solen.
One funny thing, in my eyes, is that I see old and mediocre opamps being used with great satisfaction, whereas the Solen's would be not good enough for line level coupling... well that's really odd, based on my experience!
I will leave those (and related equipment) to the rich.
At any rate, it's hard to imagine "a LOT better" since the Solen's are really transparent. Maybe you're the typical audiophile kind who expects things to sound seductive (and not that Solen's don't. Just not too much so) ...I don't know you enough.
Solen Fast 1uF 250V 3,87€ (Banzai Efffects)
Mundorf MCAP 1 uF 250V 2,25€ (Banzai Efffects)
Mundorf MCAP Zn 1,2 uF 250V 13,61€ (Banzai Efffects)
Audyn Cap MKP-QS 1 uF 250V 2,25€ (Strassacker)
Audyn Cap Plus 1 uF 800V 6,40€ (Strassacker)
Audyn Cap Sn 1 uF 250V 10,20€ (Strassacker)
Obbligato Copper 1.0uF 630V 8$ (DIYHiFiSupply)
To me not a single one of these caps are for 'rich' and particularly the Obbligatos are probably the best 'bang for the bucks'
The 'boutique' caps are the ones costing much more than this, like 100$/60€ and more.
And yes, they sound a LOT better, just try them
The most transparent (e.g the more similar to DC coupling) is better for me, If I'd wanted an euphonic and seductive sound I would have chosen a Wima MKP10...
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I paid for my Solen 2.2uF 250V 1,80€ each, and they sound miles better than the 80 cent (of €) each Wima MKS2 4.7uF 50V I had used before. Wait...I should've said kilometers.
The only other cap in your list I'd really like to try is the M-CAP, besides maybe the cheaper Audyn, so as to come up with a down-to-earth winner. Thanks for the tip
The only other cap in your list I'd really like to try is the M-CAP, besides maybe the cheaper Audyn, so as to come up with a down-to-earth winner. Thanks for the tip
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/%3Ca%20href=http://img201.imageshack.us/i/imgp3443.jpg/%20target=_blank%3E[IMGDEAD]http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/1944/imgp3443.jpg[/IMGDEAD][QUOTE="Andrea:, post: 2034995, member: 114196"]At any rate, it's unquestionable that these Solen's sound great. I wouldn't call them warm nor cold, bright nor dark, rough nor lush... they sound just right. ;)[/QUOTE]
I'm sure they sound so but unless you compare them to no cap at all you can't know how much sound you're simply ignoring...
Try an Obbligato or better an MCAP Zn, you will not regret ;)
They costs only as a couple of CDs...
Regarding low cost caps white MCAPs are better than Solens and Audyn MKP-QS but still in the same league.
A white MCAP VS an MCAP Zn is like going from NE5532 to OPA2132... :D
Broader and deeper soundstage, more reverbs, clearer highs, much more transparent, etc. you compared the latters so you know of what I'm writing about, don't you? ;)
I'm sure they sound so but unless you compare them to no cap at all you can't know how much sound you're simply ignoring...
Try an Obbligato or better an MCAP Zn, you will not regret ;)
They costs only as a couple of CDs...
Regarding low cost caps white MCAPs are better than Solens and Audyn MKP-QS but still in the same league.
A white MCAP VS an MCAP Zn is like going from NE5532 to OPA2132... :D
Broader and deeper soundstage, more reverbs, clearer highs, much more transparent, etc. you compared the latters so you know of what I'm writing about, don't you? ;)
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The Solen's are (indeed) fast, detailed, yet mellow, tonally rich. I can't hear obvious flaws in their sonic performance, unlike with the NE5534 for instance.Broader and deeper soundstage, more reverbs, clearer highs, much more transparent, etc. you compared the latters so you know of what I'm writing about, don't you?
They are much better than the Wima MKS2 which I thought were just fine until then. So I believe that coupling capacitors must not get much better than this, unless you desire some peculiar (on the whole less natural) sonic character. I may be wrong
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BTW, I have found that mellowing down the sound a little through a coupling cap (as opposed to DC coupled) may be desirable, rather than not. I wasn't even 100% convinced that DC coupled my Musiland SVDAC05 sounded better, as opposed to with a pair of Siemens (I think) film caps in the signal path.
Instead the opamp made a lot of difference, and was key in looking for musicality/naturalness
Heck, I even think that the Muse FG 10uF 50V electrolytics my amp has in the signal path sound really good.
Instead the opamp made a lot of difference, and was key in looking for musicality/naturalness
Heck, I even think that the Muse FG 10uF 50V electrolytics my amp has in the signal path sound really good.
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