It depend on what you consider as "reputable" capacitor. If Duelund, Jupiter, Audio Note, V-Cap, Mundorf, Miflex - then they definitely sing better after some time.. If Wima, Kemet and Panasonic - then, I don't know
Ok, I should have better said 'capacitors of reputable manufacturers'. Do you get it then?
Best regards!
Best regards!
Have a look at Miflex, a very, very large capacitor manufacturer supplying industry across the board.
Very reputable!
Maybe you are just poorly informed in some things, not your fault.
Knowing that, is why I covered my system, hiding the components (Technics, etc) before inviting over several audiophools for a listen.
This was some years back, as I fondly remember it.
Even the speakers are hidden behind large open-cell foam frames.
I stated that I wanted them to see if they could hear any differences and if possible, make/models of the components, inferring that the hidden components were of "high quality".
I even served them wine, the brand of which was not known to them. 😉
The only other person that knew what I had set up was a friend of mine who knew these audiophools, because I certainly don't associate myself with that elite class of "up in the air" fools.
The session went smoothly, with diverse music being played for judgement purposes of course.
Lots of smiles, nods, and some discussions between songs.
Some program material was on CD, some on records.
I kept the "secret" up until the very end of the session.
They almost unanamously conceded that I had some, as they put it, "high end new equipment lurking under the covers"
And I also noticed that they got anxious, naturally, as humans do.
I got a good laugh when I tore off the masks from the system and looked at their faces - I should have videotaped it for youtube entertainment, but at the time I just didn't think of it.
They even liked the wine - from an $8.99 bottle of Cupcake "Red Velvet".
Face it, this esoteric high end stuff is just a bunch of bull when you boil it all down.
This "better over time - break-in" thing is a delusion that some people naturally believe in, and attribute it to the components, (capacitors, audio equipment in general),.. there have been clinical studies about it.
And I can indeed understand the syndrome, and its basis.
It's nothing new, of course.
For keeping things simple, a reasonable explanation of it is that people become accustomed to a particular sonic signature, their brains are "trained" to expect it, kept in memory.
Bear in mind, even varying atmospheric pressure and humidity plays a part in hearing as well - our eardrums adapt to changing pressures with subtle variations in hearing abilities.
When a "change" is made to the sonic signature, the brain senses this, and it takes some time to "adjust" to the new sound, just as someone buying a new clock that ticks on their living room wall.
Because at first, the "tick tock" sound is noticeable to them, perhaps for a few days or weeks, maybe months.
Eventually, the brain becomes accustomed to the noise, and they don't hear or notice it, their conciousness blocks out the annoying tick-tock.
Consider a guest stopping by, and making a comment about that ticking clock on the wall... they are "new" to the scene, while you are not, you've gotten "used to it".
The bottom line is - you've gotten used to that new capacitor, thinking it's been seasoned and broken in, which it has not.
All that bull about capacitors, phono cartridges, speakers, etc, having to "run in" is just that - bullcrap.
Last edited:
Parameters do not change, period, within the short time supposedly taken for so called "run in".
Electrolytics will degrade in decades, also paper in oil caps, so in principle "sound" could change.
But modern resistors, plastic capacitors, *wire*😱 , in a few days or weeks?
Forget it, completely delusional.
SPECIALLY because the "measuring instrument" is gullible, unstable, poor memory, psychologically modifiable **human brain** , as unreliable as possible and then some.
Specially dedicated snake oil sellers?
Electrolytics will degrade in decades, also paper in oil caps, so in principle "sound" could change.
But modern resistors, plastic capacitors, *wire*😱 , in a few days or weeks?
Forget it, completely delusional.
SPECIALLY because the "measuring instrument" is gullible, unstable, poor memory, psychologically modifiable **human brain** , as unreliable as possible and then some.
Maybe your Internet University provides better answers?
Specially dedicated snake oil sellers?
May be so. When I change any component of my system and sound (to my ears) improve after some while, I call it "break in" of the new part.. Others might call it "brain adaptation"... or something else.
And if I like Duelund capacitors, but others like Panasonic - I cant tell that I'm right and they are wrong... its a matter of taste, which is very individual..
Most definitely so.
Indeed, like human DNA, people have different tastes, unless human cloning is in the mix.
But the actual "breaking in" is as my previous post describes, a matter of adaptation.
The same goes for re-arranging furniture, etc., in the home - you eventually get used to it.
Last year, I installed some new LED lighting under the kitchen cabinets.
The older flourescent tubes had individual switches on their housings.
So for 15 years I was "used to" subconsiously reaching for each switch, knowing where it was without looking or thinking, under the cabinet.
My brain was "trained" for it.
But once I changed over to new LED lighting, with a single, common, dimmer switch for ALL the lighting, and now being located near the kitchen sink, it took me a few months..... months!...... to get "used to" the "new" way to turn on the lights.
Because I instinctively kept reaching for those now non-existent switches that I did for 15 years.
Indeed, like human DNA, people have different tastes, unless human cloning is in the mix.
But the actual "breaking in" is as my previous post describes, a matter of adaptation.
The same goes for re-arranging furniture, etc., in the home - you eventually get used to it.
Last year, I installed some new LED lighting under the kitchen cabinets.
The older flourescent tubes had individual switches on their housings.
So for 15 years I was "used to" subconsiously reaching for each switch, knowing where it was without looking or thinking, under the cabinet.
My brain was "trained" for it.
But once I changed over to new LED lighting, with a single, common, dimmer switch for ALL the lighting, and now being located near the kitchen sink, it took me a few months..... months!...... to get "used to" the "new" way to turn on the lights.
Because I instinctively kept reaching for those now non-existent switches that I did for 15 years.
BTW, there are many blind tests of "capacitor A" vs " capacitor B" in internet.. but no test of 2 identical capacitors with the only difference that one is brand new, another with around 200hrs on it.. Will be very interesting to make such a test
It won't be interesting to me.
Because nothing changes within a (solid) capacitor with use.
It's merely two metallic plates seperated by an insulating material. - solid physical materials.
They don't move, they don't change dimensions, they don't do anything.
The only "age related" changes are with electrolytic capacitors over time - decades, and those old wax/paper types prone to exploding 50 years later.
Some hold up to spec better than others, depending on their chemical properties and in-service parameters.
Try not to "overthink" this subject, it's really not worth the brain power.
I respect that you have a strong belief system around this subject.
Have you ever used the Miflex KPCU-1 capacitors?Or are your conclusions solely without first hand experience?
His comments aren't beliefs, sorry.
These are just facts about the components discussed.
Facts, not hearsay, not hype, nor any put-downs.
You have to have a solid fundamental understanding about electronic devices, theory, and actual experience with those things, not allowing internet driven critics or bias cloud reality.
Inspecting the website that sells those expensive Myflex caps, the description reads like so many snake oil sales pitches.
Terms like "dark sounding" "purely musical" "warmer and richer" and the such really turn my stomach.
These are just facts about the components discussed.
Facts, not hearsay, not hype, nor any put-downs.
You have to have a solid fundamental understanding about electronic devices, theory, and actual experience with those things, not allowing internet driven critics or bias cloud reality.
Inspecting the website that sells those expensive Myflex caps, the description reads like so many snake oil sales pitches.
Terms like "dark sounding" "purely musical" "warmer and richer" and the such really turn my stomach.
Last edited:
I'd love for someone to purchase one of those crazy-priced caps, bust one open, and find a $0.29 cent Xicon cheapie mylar cap buried inside.... I'd laugh my azz off.
It's been done already.
Saw a video.
It's been done already.
Saw a video.
a friend told me, "Tony, i was invited to a listening session by audiophiles whose gears were in the millions of pesos, but to my ears, the sound of their system is not worth a million pesos......"
I do.
My belief system is called Physics.
Developed with great effort by the brightest Human minds for the last 300 years or so.
And put to test every second, non stop.
IF it failed the constant tests, nothing would work.
You could not drive anywhere (car engines follow Physics Laws, particularly Thermodynamics)
You would not have electricity at home, no lamps, no electric motors, no compressors, so no heating, no fridge, no air conditioning, no TV, not Internet, no DIY Audio Forum 😛
You would probably be dead: no Modern Medicine would exist.
Even worse, the amplifier you are trying to "improve" would simply not exist without solid Physics/Electronics, go figure, making the capacitor choice irrelevant.
Quite sincere. Life expectancy in the Middle Ages, prior to the Enlightenment, was just about four or five decades.
Best regards!
Can you be a bit more specific please, went to the site of Milflex. Nothing on running in capacitors that I could find.
That's because capacitor burn-in is a myth propagated by audiophiles.
Any capacitor that changes its parameters over a couple of hours is faulty.