Best electrolytic capacitors

[Nelson Pass]

We can't always afford polypropylene capacitors, much less
Teflon (tm), so we often make do with electrolytics when
we need those higher values.

There's all sorts of caps out there with claims to being better,
and they certainly are more expensive.

My favorite is the Elna silk capacitors, available from Digikey,
and really cheap. The measure spectacularly, sound great,
and the manufacturer's translated description of why they
sound better is a Babelfish classic.

So before you run out and spend a lot on the highly hyped
spendy caps, try the Elna silk caps.

There's hemp in them, too.

[impuls]

Elna silmic2 have beautiful treble but unrealistic bass. Bass is louder than normal and partially spoiled and midlle area. For me is much better capacitors Nichicon Muse KZ. Natural tones without pronounced.

[anatech]

Hi Nelson,
Thanks for the hint, I'll have to try them.

I find that you need to go for higher voltage ratings to get good capacitors too. The smaller the can is, the worse the capacitor seems to perform (within reason!). So instead of using a 16 VDC capacitor, you may need to go up to 50 or 63 VDC to equal the performance of one you are replacing.
.
-Chris

[tms0425]

Originally Posted by anatech

Hi Nelson,
Thanks for the hint, I'll have to try them.

I find that you need to go for higher voltage ratings to get good capacitors too. The smaller the can is, the worse the capacitor seems to perform (within reason!). So instead of using a 16 VDC capacitor, you may need to go up to 50 or 63 VDC to equal the performance of one you are replacing.
.
-Chris

I've been using these Elna RFS from Digikey but unfortunately they only stock up to 35v in the infamous 220uf values.

[tone arm]

Nelson....i can only suggest base from what i have done in my past tweaking..
There is no best e-caps...just good grade made from special material...im not going into that anyway....what im going to share is that it all depend on where you are using it...digital domain or analog? In a cd player or amp? Dac or speaker? Best is that you specifiied your application and what you are trying to achieve. We all would be glad to assist.

[rdf]

Originally Posted by Nelson Pass

My favorite is the Elna silk capacitors, available from Digikey,
and really cheap. The measure spectacularly, sound great...

Woo-hoo, authoritative citation. Agree on the Elnas, subbing them for Panny FCs at the chip side PS of a Daniels Gainclone made a surprising difference in smoothness (along with dropping the Rikken feedback shunt resistor for a Mills.) Being years since playing with electrolytics - usually toobs and oilers, films or silver micas - it was a pleasant surprise at a stick of gum price.

[sq225917]

caps have their place, elnas are good feedback caps, better with a Wima or similar bypassing them. Oscons are/were good for coupling duties, it depends on what you need them to do and your own personal taste.

I can't stand the KZ, i think they are awful caps- thin and bleached, but I understand why other people like them- because they suit their idea of what good sound is.

[jackinnj]

I was really surprised and happy with the Elna silk caps -- tested them out on my AP and the distortion was really de minimus. Happy and surprissed because they really deliver a lot of value per money.

I haven't been able to tell the difference between Mills, Riken's and the Caddocks -- my baaaaaad ears, I guess.

[Dave]

Rubycon ZL caps have much better specifications than most. Available from Farnell but a little more pricey although still potentially good value.

Lifetime and operating temp should be considered if they are going into a "Burning Amplifier"

[jomatecc]

Originally Posted by sq225917

I can't stand the KZ, i think they are awful caps- thin and bleached, but I understand why other people like them- because they suit their idea of what good sound is.

My own experience with the Nichicon KZ are that they sound full with excellent bass quality the elnas tend to ADD smoothness to everything it touches. None is better than the other IMHO but the elnas can be too much on some recording. My 2 cents.