So is it possible to build caps intended for audio uses ?
I know some caps are built only because there are crossovers in the majority of the speakers. Some are better choices than others, depending on your "cooking / aptitudes".
Some transistors are better than others for some aplications also and some are indicated as "special for MC amps"... does this mean they where built with that intention ?
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Ones in a while a cap comes that is made for Audio. Usually it is from smaller companies
like Jensen, Mundorf or RTI. Usually they are big and expensive and most of the time they have a particular effect on the sound. For example i made the experience that it can help to use a Mundorf tin foil in a system that sounds too sharp. Non of this kind of caps is totally neutral though and i think that is also not the idea. They are made for tuning and if they would sound like a piece of wire they would not sell. I am aware that caps sound different and i have tried numerous. I try to avoid coupling caps in electronics when i can but i have found some industrial caps that sound more neutral then boutique caps and they are smaller and less expensive. Never the less i use particular caps when the customer demands it. For example an expensive speaker sells better when i use parts that have an audiophile reputation.
Talking about transistors for Audio the "golden age" of audio transistors was in the 70th.
Companies like Siemens, Phillips, Motorola and the like made pioneering work and transistors like the BC550, BC560 are still in use today. What really changed everything then was the work the Japanese did. Toshiba, ROHM, Sony, Yamaha, Hitachi and the like developed wonders of transistors like lateral Fets, ultra low noise Fets and BJts that are still unbeaten today, 35 years later. That seems to look like a miracle because technology moves on fast usually. One reason is that semiconductor physics has being know for a long time but the main reason that the majors did not put in any more big money into developing audio transistors is that our life style has changed so the large scale high quality Audio market is shrinking. Something else also happened in the 70th and that was the appearance of the NE5534. Many until today think that it is technically and audibly transparent so why look for something better ?
Still i see hope. There are a lot of interesting N-Fets like the BF862 ( developed for Cell Phones ) and i watch closely what happens with silicon carbide and SIT Mos. Unfortunately there is not much activity to develop P-Channel Fet´s. I like to design parallel symmetric so that bugs me. On the BJT front Sanyo has a lot of Video transistors that are really good for audio.
I was talking here about low level transistors mainly that have low noise, low distortion and high speed. The situation with power transistors may be different.
like Jensen, Mundorf or RTI. Usually they are big and expensive and most of the time they have a particular effect on the sound. For example i made the experience that it can help to use a Mundorf tin foil in a system that sounds too sharp. Non of this kind of caps is totally neutral though and i think that is also not the idea. They are made for tuning and if they would sound like a piece of wire they would not sell. I am aware that caps sound different and i have tried numerous. I try to avoid coupling caps in electronics when i can but i have found some industrial caps that sound more neutral then boutique caps and they are smaller and less expensive. Never the less i use particular caps when the customer demands it. For example an expensive speaker sells better when i use parts that have an audiophile reputation.
Talking about transistors for Audio the "golden age" of audio transistors was in the 70th.
Companies like Siemens, Phillips, Motorola and the like made pioneering work and transistors like the BC550, BC560 are still in use today. What really changed everything then was the work the Japanese did. Toshiba, ROHM, Sony, Yamaha, Hitachi and the like developed wonders of transistors like lateral Fets, ultra low noise Fets and BJts that are still unbeaten today, 35 years later. That seems to look like a miracle because technology moves on fast usually. One reason is that semiconductor physics has being know for a long time but the main reason that the majors did not put in any more big money into developing audio transistors is that our life style has changed so the large scale high quality Audio market is shrinking. Something else also happened in the 70th and that was the appearance of the NE5534. Many until today think that it is technically and audibly transparent so why look for something better ?
Still i see hope. There are a lot of interesting N-Fets like the BF862 ( developed for Cell Phones ) and i watch closely what happens with silicon carbide and SIT Mos. Unfortunately there is not much activity to develop P-Channel Fet´s. I like to design parallel symmetric so that bugs me. On the BJT front Sanyo has a lot of Video transistors that are really good for audio.
I was talking here about low level transistors mainly that have low noise, low distortion and high speed. The situation with power transistors may be different.
I am surprised. A cap for Audio :CORNELL DUBILIER|FCA1210C105M-G2|CAPACITOR ACRYLIC FILM 1UF, 16V | Farnell Deutschland
Must be a huge market
Not necessarily Joachim. Flexible production sequences coupled with the convenience of distributor data bases makes it relatively simple to re-brand or re-label a part of existing production for different target markets.
The automobile industry must be the most advanced in this respect.
But there are also examples of opamp-makers building the same die in differently labelled packages for different markets, like the audio OPA1632 and it's THS counterpart for modem and other network applications. Sometimes the only difference is the value of the internal comp cap.
jan
The situation with Opamps is more relaxed. The OPA1632 is an excellent part. I use it in the FPS and the Suesskind Rauschfrei. It is also the main gain block in the latest Rowland and Levinson balanced gear. Rowland goes so far on his webpage to saying that discrete circuits are slow, noisy and distorted against the OPA1632. I can not second that but one needs a complex circuit and a lot of competence to beat it.
For loudspakers i don't see the need to go anywhere else than the mundorf tinfoil...they are the clearest and calmest of all the caps i have tried.
The Audio Beat - Raidho Acoustics C1.1 Loudspeakers
The Audio Beat - Raidho Acoustics C1.1 Loudspeakers
MiiB, i like them too but they have an identifiable sound as coupling caps in electronics.
They have a way to sweeten the sound that can be the correct poison.
I find the RIFA PHE426 more neutral there. Compare to DC coupled and then you know. In speakers they have the advantage of low microphonics i think.
Maybe it would be interesting to make one of your speakers active. It won´t sell though, i know.
Mundorf uses several vendors so it is hard to say who makes them. When you do not need them in quantity Mundorf prices are very fair so i see no reason this time to search for a more affordable alternative.
They have a way to sweeten the sound that can be the correct poison.
I find the RIFA PHE426 more neutral there. Compare to DC coupled and then you know. In speakers they have the advantage of low microphonics i think.
Maybe it would be interesting to make one of your speakers active. It won´t sell though, i know.
Mundorf uses several vendors so it is hard to say who makes them. When you do not need them in quantity Mundorf prices are very fair so i see no reason this time to search for a more affordable alternative.
Audio-Direkt
As far as i understand the price list a 1uF ZN costs 8,65€ so this is very similar.
On the Solen Website they are more expensive.
As far as i understand the price list a 1uF ZN costs 8,65€ so this is very similar.
On the Solen Website they are more expensive.