Capacitor question

aarsoe · 29th January 2005, 09:18 PM

So I am about to renovate some old gear that I have and have a question regarding power caps that I hope some of you can give an oppinion about.
Caps have different sounds - on that I think most of us can agree, but assuming I want to keep the particular sound can I still improve it?
I am thinking of changing caps to similar brand, but higher voltage - so ex. instead of 4700uF 50V I would use 4700uF 100V, but otherwise identical model. Can someone tell me pro's and con's on doing that?
Remember that someone stated that power caps are better the closer your running them to the limit, but I also recall someone saying same value higher voltage will be better...

So any view points?

thomas997 · 30th January 2005, 05:26 AM

I dont remember reading anything about too high voltage caps sounding better, was it some sorta discussion, or just a random comment? Someone posted a link where too high voltage caps were criticized, but I think that was bull..

You can go for higher capacitance, and add some bypass caps, that may or may not help.

btw what is the voltage they are running off? It is not good to run caps at or above their rated voltage, life can be lowered, and they may heat, etc.

aarsoe · 30th January 2005, 05:46 AM

Thomas

The question was more a general question, than a specific cap value. The thing is that changing from one brand to another is really a whole different bucket of worms.

AndrewT · 30th January 2005, 05:36 PM

Hi,
provided you have sufficient margin between actual voltage and maximum recommended working voltage then imo you will gain no sound improvement by increasing the caps wv.
There will be a small improvement in leakage but this is unlikely to affect sound quality.
regards Andrew T.

aarsoe · 30th January 2005, 08:29 PM

Ok - so just to be absolutly clear - is there a recommended degree of usability on caps in general..?
F.ex. 80% of rated voltage value?

Cobra2 · 30th January 2005, 09:03 PM

will be a 10-20% safety margin on psu-caps, maybe closer on regulated supplies.

As DC-blocking caps; for electrolytic(bipolar) in line-level, my experience is that a 10-16v cap often sounds better than a 100v.
And opposite with film-caps.

Arne K

29th January 2005, 09:18 PM	#1
aarsoe diyAudio Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Copenhagen	Capacitor question So I am about to renovate some old gear that I have and have a question regarding power caps that I hope some of you can give an oppinion about. Caps have different sounds - on that I think most of us can agree, but assuming I want to keep the particular sound can I still improve it? I am thinking of changing caps to similar brand, but higher voltage - so ex. instead of 4700uF 50V I would use 4700uF 100V, but otherwise identical model. Can someone tell me pro's and con's on doing that? Remember that someone stated that power caps are better the closer your running them to the limit, but I also recall someone saying same value higher voltage will be better... So any view points?

30th January 2005, 09:03 PM	#6
Cobra2 DIY ! diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Stavanger, Norway	General rule will be a 10-20% safety margin on psu-caps, maybe closer on regulated supplies. As DC-blocking caps; for electrolytic(bipolar) in line-level, my experience is that a 10-16v cap often sounds better than a 100v. And opposite with film-caps. Arne K __________________ Ars longa, vita brevis

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30th January 2005, 05:26 AM	#2
thomas997 diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Vancouver	I dont remember reading anything about too high voltage caps sounding better, was it some sorta discussion, or just a random comment? Someone posted a link where too high voltage caps were criticized, but I think that was bull.. You can go for higher capacitance, and add some bypass caps, that may or may not help. btw what is the voltage they are running off? It is not good to run caps at or above their rated voltage, life can be lowered, and they may heat, etc.

30th January 2005, 05:46 AM	#3
aarsoe diyAudio Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Copenhagen	Thomas The question was more a general question, than a specific cap value. The thing is that changing from one brand to another is really a whole different bucket of worms.

30th January 2005, 05:36 PM	#4
AndrewT diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Scottish Borders	Hi, provided you have sufficient margin between actual voltage and maximum recommended working voltage then imo you will gain no sound improvement by increasing the caps wv. There will be a small improvement in leakage but this is unlikely to affect sound quality. regards Andrew T.

30th January 2005, 08:29 PM	#5
aarsoe diyAudio Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Copenhagen	Ok - so just to be absolutly clear - is there a recommended degree of usability on caps in general..? F.ex. 80% of rated voltage value?

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