best capacitor

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Eli Duttman

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Joined 2004
hifive said:
Hi all,

I'm thinking to change my VTL monoblock capacitor to something better but Vcap is too expensive for me. Anyone can recommend through their experience in using the capacitors?.

rating 0.47k 400v

TQ
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What's in there, now?

I expect those coupling caps. to be inside a NFB loop. If that's the case, "boutique" parts are unlikely to buy you a sonic improvement. A film and foil construction part, with good quality Copper leads, is quite sufficient inside a NFB loop. A nice 400 WVDC/470 nF. cap. is part of the Panasonic ECQ-P(U) series. You get Aluminum foil plates, polypropylene film dielectric, and Oxygen free Copper leads at a very attractive price. :D
 
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ArtG

Member
Joined 2006
Higher quality capacitors, incorporating dielectrics such as polyproplyene, polystyrene, teflon etc. in audio circuits are components that most engineers and builders seem to agree constitute as an improvement. While exactly how much, or which brand may be "best" are areas of discussion, the benefits of the components can actually be measured in terms of DF, ESR, and DA.
This is in contrast to any number of other audiofool components that are hustled at high prices to the unknowing, by opportunists that cannot provide any solid proof that their particular product provides a better final result.
 
soundbrigade

soundbrigade

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Joined 2006
pastisch.se/tubes/
A collegue from RIFA (tha capacitor factory in Sweden) worked for Ericsson as a components' engineer and often travelled to Japan and other parts of Asia.
He often asked the question about "Audio Grade Caps" and got this answer - same caps, different casings, different prices.

I also know that RIFA made a BIG electrolytic cap that interested the Car-Fi industry and on request RIFA delivered the standard cap in a black casing (instead of the standard grey) and with a price tag to the end users 3-4 times higher than the normal grey version.
 
E

Evenharmonics

Banned
Joined 2007
soundbrigade said:
A collegue from RIFA (tha capacitor factory in Sweden) worked for Ericsson as a components' engineer and often travelled to Japan and other parts of Asia.
He often asked the question about "Audio Grade Caps" and got this answer - same caps, different casings, different prices.

I also know that RIFA made a BIG electrolytic cap that interested the Car-Fi industry and on request RIFA delivered the standard cap in a black casing (instead of the standard grey) and with a price tag to the end users 3-4 times higher than the normal grey version.
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In that case, those end users who claim to hear improvements, what's going on with them? :xeye:
 
soundbrigade

soundbrigade

Member
Joined 2006
pastisch.se/tubes/
Er well ....????

However. Some "better" electrolytics have a plastic piece in order to mechanically stabilize the foils so they can withstand higher mechanical forces and vibrations.

We also made experiments with polypropylene caps winding them with metalfoil (instead of metallized plastic foils), baking them longer to make the package very dense minimizing 3rd harmonic distortion that arises from cavitites between the windings. The latter is a major problem with paper-in-oil caps. Paper doesn't really shrink if heated. And if the paper-roll is pressed into an oval shape a lot of air cavities are created making the paper-cap useless for audio.

Another collegue from RIFA measured, btw, a distortion level of -140dB for one of the special caps we made bak then. That was the limits of the instruments.
 
tomchr

tomchr

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Joined 2009
neurochrome.com
Paid Member
underwater day said:
Humble Homemade Hifi
The Great Capacitor Shoot-Out

Extensive reviews of the most common caps used in Hi End.
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And both sites go to great lengths to describe the number of veils that have been lifted by using one cap over another. "Bowling lane depth to the sound stage"... Gimme a break. While one site does show a simplified equivalent circuit model for a capacitor, it doesn't actually list those parameters for any of the tested caps -- even though, that's actually fairly easy to measure, provided that one has access to the right gear.
If you're going through the trouble and expense (assuming the authors of those sites actually did that and not just threw some verbiage together to get page hits) of testing all these caps, why not do it right? Perform a true blind A/B/X test on a large test subject group. Measure the caps. Correlate measured parameters with sonic performance.
Dozens of experiments have shown that more expensive looking products are perceived to sound better. Just like placebo medicine in some cases cures diseases. Psychosomatics and psychoacoustics are funny things.

Personally, I go for the Solen Fastcaps because they're well spec'ed and use polypropylene dielectric. They're fairly reasonably priced as well. I get mine through Antique Electronic Supply.

~Tom
 
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