Best capacitors for Audio?...

VS · 8th January 2005, 03:04 AM

Hi,

Can anyone explain me what type of capacitor is the best
for audio ? (signal coupling purposes)

Polypropylene?
Metalized Polypropylene?
Polystyrene ?

(Mica, Polyester (Mylar) and Metalized Polyester...not for sure !)

PS: in Ono/Xono design are all Metalized Polypropylene caps? (except large capacitances of course)

Prune · 8th January 2005, 03:14 AM

Only Mylar is supposed to be no good from your list.

There are even some ultra expensive teflon capacitors:
http://www.v-cap.com/

I myself stick with Auricaps because they are cheaper and I've never read complaints about their sound quality around the web.

There are also copper, silver, and I think even gold film caps, as well as ones using beeswax as the dielectric. I'd say it's the biggest marketing scam after the health supplement industry.

For power supply electrolytic cap bypassing, I doubt it makes a difference, so go with the cheapest.

The best thing you can do is avoid signal coupling capacitors completely and design your circuit to be DC coupled. One trick is to use a common base configuration for voltage shifting.

454Casull · 8th January 2005, 03:15 AM

Capacitors with dielectrics of the poly- type (polystyrene, polypropylene, etc. - and to a less extent, polycarbonate) or Teflon tend to have good performance. Sometimes it's better just to read as many unbiased reviews as possible, instead of just looking at numerical specifications (there are many that measure extremely well).

Prune · 8th January 2005, 03:16 AM

There's no such thing as an unbiased review.

Also, Mylar is polyester, and given the talk about how bad sounding it is for a film capacitor, your 'poly-' generalization is not correct.

VS · 8th January 2005, 03:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Prune
There's no such thing as an unbiased review.

Yeah, as in 99.99% of the reviews!...

VS · 8th January 2005, 03:28 AM

What do you think about Mundorf Caps ?

http://www.mundorf.com/english/baute...ondensator.htm

Prune · 8th January 2005, 03:47 AM

I think it's been mentioned either in these forums or over at head-fi.

Take a look at film cap prices here:
http://partsconnexion.com/
(and these guys are usually cheap)
AudioNote Silver foil 3.3 uF 600 V -- $1,389.90
I was going to say something about those that would buy this, but then I thought, it coulb be worse -- you could buy $10000 interconnects, or pray to some Gawd, or wear a magnetic bracelet to improve your chi...

Bill Fitzpatrick · 8th January 2005, 04:31 AM

I like polypropylene for passive crossovers and coupling, and polystyrene for tuned circuits (active crossovers).

acaudio · 8th January 2005, 11:06 AM

Hi,
I use the WIMA MKP4 10µF capacitors, the sound is very good and these are cheap. See here: Aleph P1.7 first pictures
I have compared these with "normally" Mundorf , the Mundorf sounds no better, but costs... I buy the MKP´s over my company for aprox.2EUR / piece.

greetings
Adam

Zombie · 8th January 2005, 11:20 AM

give the Russian PIO and teflon caps a go...good price/quality

8th January 2005, 03:04 AM	#1
VS diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Lisboa	Best capacitors for Audio?... Hi, Can anyone explain me what type of capacitor is the best for audio ? (signal coupling purposes) Polypropylene? Metalized Polypropylene? Polystyrene ? (Mica, Polyester (Mylar) and Metalized Polyester...not for sure !) PS: in Ono/Xono design are all Metalized Polypropylene caps? (except large capacitances of course)

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8th January 2005, 03:14 AM	#2
Prune Account Disabled Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Vancouver	Only Mylar is supposed to be no good from your list. There are even some ultra expensive teflon capacitors: http://www.v-cap.com/ I myself stick with Auricaps because they are cheaper and I've never read complaints about their sound quality around the web. There are also copper, silver, and I think even gold film caps, as well as ones using beeswax as the dielectric. I'd say it's the biggest marketing scam after the health supplement industry. For power supply electrolytic cap bypassing, I doubt it makes a difference, so go with the cheapest. The best thing you can do is avoid signal coupling capacitors completely and design your circuit to be DC coupled. One trick is to use a common base configuration for voltage shifting.

8th January 2005, 03:15 AM	#3
454Casull diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada	Capacitors with dielectrics of the poly- type (polystyrene, polypropylene, etc. - and to a less extent, polycarbonate) or Teflon tend to have good performance. Sometimes it's better just to read as many unbiased reviews as possible, instead of just looking at numerical specifications (there are many that measure extremely well).

8th January 2005, 03:16 AM	#4
Prune Account Disabled Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Vancouver	There's no such thing as an unbiased review. Also, Mylar is polyester, and given the talk about how bad sounding it is for a film capacitor, your 'poly-' generalization is not correct.

8th January 2005, 03:28 AM	#6
VS diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Lisboa	What do you think about Mundorf Caps ? http://www.mundorf.com/english/baute...ondensator.htm

8th January 2005, 03:47 AM	#7
Prune Account Disabled Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Vancouver	I think it's been mentioned either in these forums or over at head-fi. Take a look at film cap prices here: http://partsconnexion.com/ (and these guys are usually cheap) AudioNote Silver foil 3.3 uF 600 V -- $1,389.90 I was going to say something about those that would buy this, but then I thought, it coulb be worse -- you could buy $10000 interconnects, or pray to some Gawd, or wear a magnetic bracelet to improve your chi...

8th January 2005, 04:31 AM	#8
Bill Fitzpatrick diyAudio Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Eugene, OR	I like polypropylene for passive crossovers and coupling, and polystyrene for tuned circuits (active crossovers).

8th January 2005, 11:06 AM	#9
acaudio diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Germany	Hi, I use the WIMA MKP4 10µF capacitors, the sound is very good and these are cheap. See here: Aleph P1.7 first pictures I have compared these with "normally" Mundorf , the Mundorf sounds no better, but costs... I buy the MKP´s over my company for aprox.2EUR / piece. greetings Adam

8th January 2005, 11:20 AM	#10
Zombie diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: At home	give the Russian PIO and teflon caps a go...good price/quality