black gate capacitors

[Peter Daniel]

Well, Elso, I was never impressed by Jensen copper foil either. I much prefer Siemens MKVs which are actually better than BG

 

[randytsuch]

I talked to another Blackgate retailer today, and he confirmed they are going obsolete. He said his last order will be in September.

Peter,
what applications do you use the Siemans for?

Randy

 

[Peter Daniel]

I'm using them for coupling. Prefer over Jensens, Hovlands and MITs.

 

[BrianGT]

I talked to another Blackgate retailer today, and he confirmed they are going obsolete. He said his last order will be in September.

Here is a letter I received from Black Gate back in May, about the ceasing of production:

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

For those who are unfamilar with Black Gate, Jelmax is the company who makes Black Gate.

--
Brian

 

[Yoghourt]

Elna also produces graphite-based capacitors, if I remember well.

 

[Damon Hill]

Yoghourt:

Those would be 'supercapacitors' with rather low voltage
ratings and extremely high capacitance for their size. Sort
of electrolytics, I think, but not the type we'd normally
design with.

--Damon

 

[Yoghourt]

Yep, I've just ran through Elna website. Next time, I should be able to remember that Elna cera-fine is made of fine ceramic powder, and Elna sil-mic is made of silk paper.
Sorry for misleading and useless post

 

[LarryN]

I have been replacing most capacitors in video path by Blackgate , the improvements are very obvious , but on audio , there are changes , but mostly not to my own liking , they can be good partners on tube but not with solid state gears . my experience over 15 years of using Blackgates , just my opinion only .

 

[serengetiplains]

Video

I have been replacing most capacitors in video path by Blackgate , the improvements are very obvious , but on audio , there are changes , but mostly not to my own liking , they can be good partners on tube but not with solid state gears . my experience over 15 years of using Blackgates , just my opinion only .

Hi LarryN, what video electronics have you modified to good effect? I have an HDTV receiver I've been thinking of fiddling with.

 

[Peter Daniel]

I have been replacing most capacitors in video path by Blackgate , the improvements are very obvious , but on audio , there are changes , but mostly not to my own liking , they can be good partners on tube but not with solid state gears . my experience over 15 years of using Blackgates , just my opinion only .

In some ways I will agree with that. BG bring sometimes brightness to the sound. Did you try the N type, they are much more relaxed than STD version.

 

[fdegrove]

Hi,

I have an HDTV receiver I've been thinking of fiddling with.

An acquaintance of mine replaced some ordinary electrolytic caps with BGs in the PS of an old and dirt cheap little TV set he had just to temporarily restore the thing for his little daughter so she had something to watch her kid videos on...

Much to his surprise the image quality was actually much better than he'd ever seen from the set.
I'd watched the thing before and after the "mods" and can only concur.

Cheers,

 

[analog_sa]

An acquaintance of mine replaced some ordinary electrolytic caps with BGs in the PS of an old and dirt cheap l

Whatever the outcome your acquaintance is mad as a hatter

 

[LarryN]

I am using Blackgates in CRT , video recorder , LD player , DVD player , in CRT , the convergence is much improved , very stable , lower noise level . better dynamic . The problem is always that you cannot have full range of Blackgates in hand , they are much bigger sizes and most important of all . beware of multi-layer boards , do not pull the old cap away , leaving their leads there and solder the Blackgates onto the "old" capacitor
leads , one costly experience to share with you !

I have tried all available type of BG (HK only) , but I do not like them on audio path , if they do not make the sound "always to the bright side" they do nothing significant , on hi-end audio gears , no low grade cap is used so this may explain why we do not get noted improvement !

Many DIY fans in HK used Blackgates in tube gears , mostly in power supply , I have little experience here , I do modifications only , never built any tube gears from circuit . Not my interest .

 

[fedde]

Larry, what do you prefer for audio applications then!? I want to try some other good brands of caps for comparison with the BG-N's...

I have the idea that for non-os applications better caps exist than the BG-N's, maybe with a little HF fall-off above 20 kHz...

 

[LarryN]

Fadde , I must say that I have no experience on this , I did no more caps replacement on solid state gears , I am told the ROEs are always good , I do not know . they are not readily available here in Hong Kong . I am referring to polar caps only .

The effect of caps on tube gears is a lot bigger , but on solid state , so long as you use good quality ones , I bet the difference are tastes only .

 

[fedde]

ROE ? Is that Roederstein?

I once listened to Roederstein 100 uF coupling caps in a DAC. I liked the sound. I changed them later for film caps, but the Roederstein sounded much warmer.

Fedde

 

[fdegrove]

Hi,

The effect of caps on tube gears is a lot bigger , but on solid state , so long as you use good quality ones , I bet the difference are tastes only .

I really don't see why the impact of a capacitor on sound would be any different for SS gear or tubed gear.
Moreover for tubed gear it's actually much easier to avoid electrolytic caps altogether: given the higher voltages involved much less capacitance is needed anyway.

I changed them later for film caps, but the Roederstein sounded much warmer.

Roederstein have a solid reputation for making high quality capacitors. That electrolytic caps sound "warmer" is a bit of a stretch unless "rolled off" is what is meant.

Cheers,

 

[Peter Daniel]

That electrolytic caps sound "warmer" is a bit of a stretch unless "rolled off" is what is meant.

Cheers,

Although he mentioned 100u value, he didn't say it was electrolytic. Are you always assuming things?

 

[fdegrove]

Hi,

Are you always assuming things?

No, some of us actually know how to read.

Cheers,

 

[fedde]

It was an electrolytic yes. I did the comparison a few years ago, so the memories are a bit faded now ;-)
At that moment I tried MKS4. Well, then the electrolytic really sounds warmer. Also, don't forget the effects later in the chain. You were right about the roll-off. But the roll-off also can reduce effects of intermodulation, change of oscillation etc. In that case also effects in the lower band are audible. Also, 100 uF is already quite large for a coupling cap, this can also result in a slight loss of detail...

Now it's time to go on holiday, see you in two weeks!

Fedde