A question for folks who have tried skinning electrolytic caps

[KT]

I was hesitant to ask since I didn't want to open up this can of worms again.

So let me start off by saying this: I know a lot of folks believe that skinning caps cannot have any effect on the sonics. Point heard. I understand where you're coming from and the basis of your argument.

I have, however, experimented with this myself and I've found that sometimes, not all the time, skinning the electrolytics can affect the sound of a system.

To keep this from turning into a "Can to!," "Can not!" argument, I want to simply ask those who have tried it and have heard a difference this question:

In any instance, did skinning the caps result in a sound that you found undesireable?

Most accounts from people doing this are positive, but I doubt if any sort of tweak or modification, however valid, can be universally positive. I'm wondering if doing this has resulted in a sonic change that you've found negative, and if so what the characteristics of the changes were.

Thanks,
KT

[bobhayes]

What is 'skinning'?

Is this covering the component in some sort of conductive wrapping and earthing it?

Please clarify this for me. Thanks

[Bas Horneman]

I believe it is tearing off the plastic...so that you only have your aluminium enclosure.

[bobhayes]

Thank you for that interesting information.
I might do it to all my H.T. and bypass caps then, as I'm almost sure this modification will show tremendous sonic improvements!!!

[Bas Horneman]

Thank you for that interesting information.
I might do it to all my H.T. and bypass caps then, as I'm almost sure this modification will show tremendous sonic improvements!!!

Even better you can order a range of caps from me...that were formerly Black Gates...but I've skinned them and you can only see the aluminium now...but they sound even better. I then paint the alu with shellac! Sounds sublime...

Want some? ...100$ a piece for any value.


Enough joking now..I skin mine.

The reason : Just like Nils Bohr said when people asked him why he had a horseshoe above his door for luck...people said: "you are such an intelligent man..surely he did not believe in such nonsense" his answer was brilliant, it went something like this : "I've been told that you don't have to believe in it for it to work"

[amplifierguru]

Hi KT,

Yes I have done this - I produced a 'cottage' mfg amplifier in 1990 called the Eidetic here in Australia using multiple parallelled PS caps, all 'nude'! It was very highly regarded, maybe a landmark product for a number of reasons.

It did seem to make a difference but the main object was reliability! The physics of it dictates that elerctrolytic lifetime is related to temp elevation and that shrouding the things in plastic can't help! I also used multiple parallelled caps to spread the heating ( in the ESR).

Having said that it appears that the lower ESR that heating causes is a dependency of some, especially cooking chassis, despite the dramatic decrease in lifetime from say 2000hrs to 200hrs.

I was emphasing good design being about sustaining performance for a good lifetime.

Cheers,
Greg

[Magura]

Now that this has gone tech. I could add that adding heatsinks to PSU caps is also not the worst idea.

Magura