It is DIYable, a capacitor is a conceptually simple part.
Price/time/convenience are factors but that´s up to you.
Price/time/convenience are factors but that´s up to you.
You'll also struggle with size. For many years only low values of capacitance were readily available. You'll have to deal with things like mechanical stability/microphonics and parasitics, even shielding in some instances.
It may help to have a goal in this endeavour.
The goal is easily predictable ..$$$$ 🙂)). I have a quad of dying old Jensen /Audio Note 0.22 /600V barrel sized silver PIO capacitors. Two are already shorted and the remaining two are on the borrowed time as silver migrates. Last time I checked they were $500 each . I wonder if I could just re-wind them even if the resulting value was different than 0.22 due to winding imperfections. I asked Jupiter rep at one point when they still were in the beginning phase of their business and he said it's not feasible.
Will promptly do do.
Once, in my youth and in a hurry and frustrated by the inability to find a wire stripers or utility knife in the mess I always create I tried to strip wires attached to a HV charged el cap with my teeth. The bang and stars in my eyes I will remember to my last day. What I don't remember is 15kV industrial line strike to my head after I woke up in a hospital three days later.
I still don't mind working on 500V B+ but 1200V on my 845 Bel canto set amp still prevents me from poking around there...
Once, in my youth and in a hurry and frustrated by the inability to find a wire stripers or utility knife in the mess I always create I tried to strip wires attached to a HV charged el cap with my teeth. The bang and stars in my eyes I will remember to my last day. What I don't remember is 15kV industrial line strike to my head after I woke up in a hospital three days later.
I still don't mind working on 500V B+ but 1200V on my 845 Bel canto set amp still prevents me from poking around there...
Then for any normal capacitor it will be a failure.
You will never ever even approach the quality and consistency of modern mass produced capacitors.
This is from the TDK/EPCOS factory in Northern India:
Now if the selling point is mojo/voodoo/fairy dust (not price/quality/productivity/consistency) , yes, somebody can make them at garage factory level, using something like:
Of course all that could improve soundstage, granularity, microdiodes, black noise and quantumization big time.
Not sure you notice the NONSENSE surrounding audiophoolery snake oil.
By all means please do, and you will probably improve them.
Knowing their weak point, I would rewind them reusing same ultra-expensive silver foil but wider dielectric sheet, so sover does not reach edges, you add, say, 2 mm on each edge so now migration path adds up to, say, >4mm instead of the fractions of a mm it probably has now.
It is technically feasible, of course, no big deal.
Of course, I doubt they wind their own (not impossible though, that Chinese girl must have some small batch customers) , most probably they order them from a real Factory using real machines like shown at the beginning,
You can load them with any kind of metal film, dielectric film, whatever, including silver foil, of course.
Even paper for PIO, or chemically treated aluminum for electrolytics, etc.
But again, if you have access to some lathe guy, he can make you a set of rollers for hand winding.
Then you may dip them in Epoxy for insulation and weather protection,although I have seen some Audiophiles rehouse capacitors in turned wood cases , insulated with beeswax.
https://www.dhtrob.com/impressies/elna_inhout_en.php
"they do pretty amazing things with components. I find these ideas useful because they are not too expensive to realise and their performce is above any doubt. Some of us may think of this as Voodoo or something like that, I find it worth a try. These modifications require a bit of skill in handcraft and patience, but that can not be of a problem when you're into building your owm tube amps...
That's also the case in the capacitor modification of which you can read about at "Kees & Olaf - Capacitor mod 2". In this section is told, how to replace the aluminum housing of an elco by a wooden housing. The sonic benefits were known to Kees & Olaf, ofcourse, and almost no one else... ...... Cees Piet gave me two Elna Cerafine's 100mF/100V built in African Amasakè. "To give them a try", he said. I'm using the same capacitor on the kathode of my powertube, the TJ300B. This one is also "modified", since it has no longer its plastic coat and is C37 treated. That would be a nice comparison test! Just swap them and you'll have your A - B comparison... The capacitor by Cees was built into wood, sealed with beeswax and then the wooden housing was lacquered with a natural lacquer called "'Schellak", for which I don't know the English word...sorry. The smell that came of these caps was very nice! Real perfume... At first I completed the listening evaluation on the Sony SCD XB-940, then these modified caps were put into place.
Well, this is something different!! Presentation of voices is way better, almost real, more transparent highs and there's more low-end response! And they're brand new! I often wondered why firms like the Swiss firm Audio Consulting (see Links) offers their built-in-wood-components for such an immense amount of money.. Now that I've heard the improvement by these caps, and knowing how much money is to be spend to get an equal improvement when buying audio equipment, these prices are (almost) justified..."
Ok, maybe they have a point. 😱
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When I approached Qvotrup some years ago and asked him if it's fair to offer silver capacitors for so much money knowing that they will die within a decade or so he said that for most people it probably is not a valid proposition but there is surprisingly large group who is willing to accept it for the real or imagined improvements those caps bring.
It's not about being right or correct it's about being a pig in the mud and get as much pleasure as you can sort of thing
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It's not about being right or correct it's about being a pig in the mud and get as much pleasure as you can sort of thing
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Trying to DYI wind two capacitors and end up with two nearly identical ones would be difficult. Caps with high voltage rating would be even a bigger nightmare. Trying to procure small amount of dielectric material and foil would also be a problem. With so many good choices in capacitors available, why bother?
Just waiting for tubes with homeopathic oil getters.
Just call me a little sceptical..
Because I would like to have all silver path in the amplification chain and a pair of caps meeting the requirement is $1000. It's a folly and an itch I would like to scratch before I die and I don't have$70k -to $200k on hand at the moment to do so. However, I do have 4 x 0.22 silver foil caps on hand which are dead or almost dead and except to take the silver and sell it or make a ribbon silver cable of it I don't see any other use for them. I think securing that $1000 will be easier thing to do at the end.
Nothing wrong with being skeptical but surely you do have your own preferences in parts choices and don't go on ebay and buy the cheapest xingzu cap because you like the color and it cost 12 cents do you ?
Sounds like fun.
This is probably not too far away from how Duelund got started on his capacitors. I have never used one of his, but it's my guess that whether it can bear the name snake oil or not, it will sound a lot different from a Solen. : )
. . . . . Thinking about it a little . . . . . Probably the first thing to do is open one of the shorted ones up and see what you've got to work with. If the foil is too thin to touch without tearing , you might be able to leave it on and use it with the paper but you'll have to deal with the oil . . . .
My understanding is that some of the oils used may not be suitable for salad dressing so best to treat it accordingly.
This is probably not too far away from how Duelund got started on his capacitors. I have never used one of his, but it's my guess that whether it can bear the name snake oil or not, it will sound a lot different from a Solen. : )
. . . . . Thinking about it a little . . . . . Probably the first thing to do is open one of the shorted ones up and see what you've got to work with. If the foil is too thin to touch without tearing , you might be able to leave it on and use it with the paper but you'll have to deal with the oil . . . .
My understanding is that some of the oils used may not be suitable for salad dressing so best to treat it accordingly.
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You're free to do anything for your satisfaction but believe me this makes no sense... anyway wishing you all the best.
Best Regards!
Best Regards!
Yes. Although I would start wanting science to back up the audio as the prices goes up.
I use these. They work perfectly well and cost 6 cents... I wouldn't use 500$ capacitors though - I can get a set of transformers for a tube amp for the cost of those 🙂
https://lcsc.com/product-detail/Polypropylene-Film-Capacitors-CBB_KYET-KP224J2J1004_C3019045.html
https://datasheet.lcsc.com/lcsc/2205231645_KYET-KP224J2J1004_C3019045.pdf
Would you still use them if you had silver transformers which retail more than a car?
Also, how would you want the science to back up your level of happiness?
Also, how would you want the science to back up your level of happiness?
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Maybe, but you have MILES of copper at the sound source end, from microphone picking up sound to mixer>recorder>various processors>final recorder (whatever media it´s stored into)>player ... there you can use silver wires into you silver guts amplifier, then silver speaker wires>cabinet wiring ,,, silver wire inductors, silver foil capacitors>internal wiring>tinsel wires.
But you would ¨still need silver voice coils ... WHAT speakers are you using?
Adding/substracting a humble silver foil capacitor in that LONG chain is the same as dropping a spoonful of sugar in the Ocean and expecting it to become sweet.
Now if all you want is to be able to brag at the local Bar (or DIY Audio, same thing 😉 ) about your "all silver circuit path" .... by all means do it,it´s a harmless excentricity and it only hurts your own wallet.
And of course silver miners, refiners, laminators, cap winders, resellers, etc. all need a job, so ...... you are contributing to World Economy.
Just hope you used silver solder throughout.
I mean äctual silver solder, not unclean lead/tin type containing 1% silver.
Not capacitors or transistors yet but I make my own chassis/cabinets/speakers/tweeters/voice coils/reverb tanks/transformers/metal corner protectors/horn drivers/horns/rubber feet/strip handles, using lathe turning/stamping/punching/molding/injecting/casting/silkscreening/tolexing/industrial oven painting plus standard carpentry operations.
Only operation I fully setup for and gave up (after a successful start) was in-house zinc plating, chemicals used all include sodium cyanide, plus other nasty chemicals, do not want grapefruit sized caverns in my lungs or anybody working for me, happy to still outsource that.
In fact when I leave/pick up a batch of 100 speaker frames I leave/pick them at the plater´s door, will NOT get inside the building at all.