Mundorf Supreme and Audyn Cap Plus are high end capacitors still reasonably priced.
Versus Solens you can expect a more open and detailed sound.
If you want to go further Audyn Cap True Copper are incredibly good for midrange and high frequency.
A good resource on capacitors:
Humble Homemade Hifi
I use Dayton 1% metalized polypropylene caps myself
They have fairly thick leads on them, thicker than the 5% so I get a nice solder connection to the 18 and 16AWG coils I use.
Since they are black, you get the best sound because... black is a complete lack of color so it can't "color your sound" since it contains none.
If that makes no sense... keep
until it does.
They have fairly thick leads on them, thicker than the 5% so I get a nice solder connection to the 18 and 16AWG coils I use.
Since they are black, you get the best sound because... black is a complete lack of color so it can't "color your sound" since it contains none.
If that makes no sense... keep
until it does. 
They're hardly better than Solens Fast Cap...
Clarity Cap SA are good good quality caps, better than Solens Fast Cap, better suited for midrange, less for highs.
Mundorf Supremes and Audyn Cap Plus are superior, though.
An additional note:
Use a 10nF K71-4 bypass on all those, one of the best bargains I ever made.
Stick with the Bennic NPE's. They are very good audio quality caps with low D.F.
Depending on your budget, Dayton, Erse Pulse X and Sonicaps are all very good buys in the states.
My personal take on it is simple, use a decent quality poly cap (fast cap) etc in all areas if possible. Once values get high enough though, use a NP lytic + small film cap in parallel.
As it is your money, you decide at what price point you swap over to NP + small bypass.
Also with regards to the whole 'boutique' cap business, I cannot find any part of me that can justify spending the money on them. Even if I had millions in the bank, I'd still find it hard trying to convince myself that it's money well spent. If however you're happy spending the extra then that's up to you and as we're mostly not millionaires, I have other things I'd much rather spend those extra bucks on.
As it is your money, you decide at what price point you swap over to NP + small bypass.
Also with regards to the whole 'boutique' cap business, I cannot find any part of me that can justify spending the money on them. Even if I had millions in the bank, I'd still find it hard trying to convince myself that it's money well spent. If however you're happy spending the extra then that's up to you and as we're mostly not millionaires, I have other things I'd much rather spend those extra bucks on.
I've used Solen, Dayton 5% and 1% caps--I prefer the 1% since they have thicker leads. The very high value caps I run a mix of 5% running in parallel with 1% to get the values I need--just keep stacking until the Fluke reports the number I desire.
My splurge is to use poly caps since they won't dry out as fast as electrolytics. I used to think "This is the LAST speaker I'm going to build so I need the 40 year durability of poly" My next last speaker I'm going to build will be a full range so caps are not needed--so it don't count.
Girls have cooties--I'll never drink again--This is the LAST speaker I going to build.
The claritys are a stage up from the basic Solens. You can get Solens as big as 330 uF.
dave
Some of the Solens are the same as some of the Mundorfs but a bit cheaper, just wish i knew which ones.
dave
Wouldn't that be brown? Black is an absence of light and white is an absence of colours.
If you can't or don't want to hear a difference, then it doesn't matter which cap you use. If you have cheap tweeters, it probably doesn't make much difference. Any basic poly cap such as Bennic or Dayton (they are the same cap) will suffice. Use either of those or Solens to replace 'lytic caps for midrange because they're cheap and available in large values.
If you can hear a difference and have a decent tweeter, Bennic and Solens just don't cut it in series with a tweeter. Solens is tinny and bright. Bennic and Clarity SA are the opposite: muddy and smothering dynamics.
Sonicap Gen I is inexpensive and good for an open, dynamic sound, but slightly rolls off the very finest details of highs.
Mundorf Silver/Oil is premium priced, and worth every penny. You can get by with a small value used as 5 to 10% parallel cap. It will reveal many details in the highs, and give a very accurate, airy presentation. It is smooth and evenly voiced, but only in a tweeter circuit, as it tends to suppress bass frequencies.
Mundorf Silver/Gold is also a very revealing cap, and can be used as a small value parallel, but it's no better than SIO and costs more. It is perhaps just a bit brighter and more detailed than SIO, but doesn't seem as "natural" sounding to me.
Right now I am experimenting with Rel TFT (teflon/tin foil) parallel. Until the V-Cap came along, it was possibly the best cap available for less than a fortune. It's still cheaper than V-Cap, but not quite as good if you are that discerning. I think it is a bit clearer than even the two Mundorf's. They are on sale at Handmade Electronics, if you're interested. I got a matched pair for less than some retailers charge for a single cap, but they're still not inexpensive.
Depends on how you define value. I know there are many other aspects of reproduction that will swamp cap sound (room acoustics, xover, source material, etc), but if you don't start eliminating every source of distortion that you can, how will you ever achieve anything? If you're satisfied listening to tunes from your MP3 or phone, don't bother. If you seek the best sound possible, EVERY facet of your system is a target for improvement. Naysayers and cheapskates will deny it, but series caps are very important in determining the ultimate sound of a good tweeter. So are series resistors, but that's another thread. (Hint: thick film instead of wirewound or metal oxide is awesome.)
Peace,
Tom E
If you can hear a difference and have a decent tweeter, Bennic and Solens just don't cut it in series with a tweeter. Solens is tinny and bright. Bennic and Clarity SA are the opposite: muddy and smothering dynamics.
Sonicap Gen I is inexpensive and good for an open, dynamic sound, but slightly rolls off the very finest details of highs.
Mundorf Silver/Oil is premium priced, and worth every penny. You can get by with a small value used as 5 to 10% parallel cap. It will reveal many details in the highs, and give a very accurate, airy presentation. It is smooth and evenly voiced, but only in a tweeter circuit, as it tends to suppress bass frequencies.
Mundorf Silver/Gold is also a very revealing cap, and can be used as a small value parallel, but it's no better than SIO and costs more. It is perhaps just a bit brighter and more detailed than SIO, but doesn't seem as "natural" sounding to me.
Right now I am experimenting with Rel TFT (teflon/tin foil) parallel. Until the V-Cap came along, it was possibly the best cap available for less than a fortune. It's still cheaper than V-Cap, but not quite as good if you are that discerning. I think it is a bit clearer than even the two Mundorf's. They are on sale at Handmade Electronics, if you're interested. I got a matched pair for less than some retailers charge for a single cap, but they're still not inexpensive.
Depends on how you define value. I know there are many other aspects of reproduction that will swamp cap sound (room acoustics, xover, source material, etc), but if you don't start eliminating every source of distortion that you can, how will you ever achieve anything? If you're satisfied listening to tunes from your MP3 or phone, don't bother. If you seek the best sound possible, EVERY facet of your system is a target for improvement. Naysayers and cheapskates will deny it, but series caps are very important in determining the ultimate sound of a good tweeter. So are series resistors, but that's another thread. (Hint: thick film instead of wirewound or metal oxide is awesome.)
Peace,
Tom E
Wouldn't that be brown? Black is an absence of light and white is an absence of colours.
No--because during "break in", the brown caps might create the infamous "brown note".
i use MKP MKT polyester and PP wound caps. No preference to make, i use the orange epoxied polyester, 250V and over, and the typical yellow HV PP types rated at 600 V to 1500V. these are what i have easily avaiable, cheap, and sound as good as brand caps costing tenfold. Better areas to spend money on, like inductors...
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