I quite like the white Mundorf caps, there is a difference between them and Jantzen Corss-caps/Clarity cap PX which I have on hand and have substituted but my overall opinion is that about 95% of the cases when people ask or discuss capacitors that cost €30-40 a piece or exotic RCA cables, they run loudspeakers that employ inferior drivers. I can`t understand this, why would one not spend those money on getting a better project done with better engineered loudspeakers but would instead look to spend ridiculous money on a capacitor or cables, that are often fool`s treasure.
I don't believe in expensive caps. they just loom large because of the price tags. I never saw a golden ear to be able to distinguish between a cheap 1-2$ cap and Silver/Gold/Platinum foil in 9n snake oil in an A/B test.
I always use Jantzen Crosscaps. they are pretty affordable and do the job properly
I always use Jantzen Crosscaps. they are pretty affordable and do the job properly
I built a pair of Joe Rasmussen's Elsinore's featured elsewhere in this forum. The ist iteration of the crossover used a Solen SCR cap as the series element to the Tweeter. I listened to them this way for several months. Since I have a technical background I tend to be very sceptical of esoteric components such as speaker cables costing thousands of dollars and the like. After much reading of people whose opinion I respect I tentatively purchased a pair of Jantzen Superior Z caps as the series cap in the HF side of the crossover. I really didn't expect to hear any difference but I was severely wrong. The upper register, although previously very good now took on a much more detailed yet subtle character. Much easier to listen to. I then proceeded to listen to my entire music collection again. Most enjoyable to hear detail never heard before. I realize that no real science appears to support this but there is a difference. Perhaps spending many times more on foil caps might provide some more improvement but I think the law of diminishing returns may apply. I also believe that it will take an extended listening period to become accustomed to the sound of a particular type of cap before a change/upgrade can be fully appreciated. My two bobs worth on this ever raging debate.
Agree that the law of diminishing returns is very strong with audio as one upgrades into the realm of boutique caps. Also agree it is a waste of money if the speaker's drivers are not capable of resolving the incremental improvements in detail, etc.
I was wondering if someone would bring up Tony Gee's cap comparisons. Here's some interesting reading on his 'side hobby'....
Capacitor voltage rating vs performance - The Kitchen - The Classic Speaker Pages Discussion Forums
If a highly regarded, highly priced capacitor did provide a slightly 'improved' insight into one's music, and that would naturally be in the upper midranges and treble, one could surely accomplish that by a slight lift in the treble tone control.
Tone controls were designed for a purpose, if only limited in their use.
C.M
Tone controls were designed for a purpose, if only limited in their use.
C.M
Your confusing quality with quantity.
Maybe we should all be putting blown nitro fueled 8 liter v8's into our cars just because having a little more power is way better than having a smooth running european straight 6.
Humble HiFi evaluation on capacitors is similar with my experience on the ones that I have. It should also be noted that caps evaluated in loudspeaker usually do not provide the same results in line level signal application. It is also mentioned on the site about the use of parallel small capacitor. This in many cases does help enhancing lower price cap performance to come close to the high priced devices. Very cost effective.
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Actually Tony doesn't neglect to write any such thing. The first paragraph on that page clearly states his findings are entirely subjective, that he tries them in a variety of different speakers with a variety of different amplifiers, and that it is of course sighted. So while one can argue about / critique the methodology depending on inclination, it is not correct to state he doesn't make any of that clear up front.
So what characteristic of a capacitor imparts 'quality' to one's music ?
Your analogy is rather odd, are you saying that giving a slight lift to the treble tone control to compensate for some imaginary loss in quality in cheaper poly capacitors doesn't translate into the 'smoother' sound afforded by very expensive capacitors ?
How does a more expensive poly capacitor or of whatever make, impart more sonic detail to the tweeter than does a cheaper poly of the same capacitance ?
C.M
Download the paper I linked to in post #67. It explains Tony's cap evaluations and questions his methodology.
That is not a clear description of a test.
His idea of a subjective listening test and my idea of a subjective listening test are very different.
