Modulus-86 build thread

Tom, a correction. From what I know Black Gate == Unobtanium. I believe they haven't been made in a number of years. ;-)

My bad... :) I did consider comparing against the Duelund capacitors, but figured more would know BG. :D

I have yet to find an audiophool cap that measures better than a Panasonic/Nichicon/CDE/Wima/etc. part that I can get for a fraction of the price though Digikey/Mouser/et al. I did actually measure some Black Gate silver-in-oil 220 nF coupling caps. They were considerably worse (10-20x higher ESR and 4-5x lower SRF) than the comparable Panasonic part. The BG was $20. The Panasonic part (nice 630 V rated polypropylene cap) was $0.50.

Tom
 
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I stripped about a dozen pair of Black Gate F series electrolytics out of my old seldom used Rotel preamp and replaced them with Nichicon (~$20 total with freight). Sold the used BG's on eBay for average of around $15/pair and buyers were happy because the going rate is about double that.
That said, I might try some Mundorfs in a component or a crossover just to see what all the fuss is about and to also help me imagine it sounds better. To me these things border on religion and there will always be believers and skeptics and no point in arguing. It's all fun, one could blow that cash on something more rediculous, whatever puts a smile on your face is good by me.
 
To me these things border on religion and there will always be believers and skeptics and no point in arguing. It's all fun, one could blow that cash on something more rediculous, whatever puts a smile on your face is good by me.

Yeah. The purpose of a hobby is to spend your time and your money. Swapping components can be a way to do that. Each to his own.

I will say that random component swapping in the Modulus-86 is not recommended.

Tom
 
soongsc,

Sorry but my BS meter started alarming (and has repeatedly on several of your posts).

Sometimes your writing suggests to me that you presume that no one of technical discernment equal (or superior) to yours will read and ponder what you are saying. This might not, in reality, always be the case.

Things are complex enough without intentional technical obfuscation.

Just an opinion and something to ponder.

Best,

Anand.
 
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Things like ESR, DF, SRF etc.

So you don't consider the capacitance? To me, that's the most important parameter for a capacitor. The second-most important parameter, to me, is the dielectric. Then the ESR, physical dimensions and pin spacing, SRF, etc.

Also note that ESR and DF are related. It's a simple equation to go from one to the other if you know the capacitance.

Tom
 
I know what the parameters are and what they mean, I don't understand your claim that "Technical selection of caps would end up with certain ratios between the parameters." What exactly are you trying to say?

I think HC Andersen wrote about that back in the late 1800s. Are you volunteering to be the emperor's new tailor?

Tom
 
I think HC Andersen wrote about that back in the late 1800s. Are you volunteering to be the emperor's new tailor?

Tom

Um, what? Maybe I'm just being obtuse, but I really don't understand that response Tom. I'm starting to feel like I woke up in an alternate universe this morning where words and phrases have different meanings than they did yesterday. :D

Mike
 
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Um, what? Maybe I'm just being obtuse, but I really don't understand that response Tom. I'm starting to feel like I woke up in an alternate universe this morning where words and phrases have different meanings than they did yesterday. :D

Some people do indeed seem to live in some form of alternate reality. I don't think you're one of them, however.

Are you familiar with Hans Christian Andersen, "The Emperor's New Clothes"? You can read the English translation of it here. I think it may help you gain a new understanding of posts, such as Post #1488, and answer your question from Post #1490.

I think if I get any more tongue-in-cheek than that, my tongue will go out of alignment. :)

I like your signature line, by the way.

Tom
 
Some people do indeed seem to live in some form of alternate reality. I don't think you're one of them, however.

Are you familiar with Hans Christian Andersen, "The Emperor's New Clothes"? You can read the English translation of it here. I think it may help you gain a new understanding of posts, such as Post #1488, and answer your question from Post #1490.

I think if I get any more tongue-in-cheek than that, my tongue will go out of alignment. :)

I like your signature line, by the way.

Tom

Ok, I thought you were referring directly to my response.
Yeah, don't knock your tongue out of alignment, you need that for stuff. :D

Mike
 
So you don't consider the capacitance? To me, that's the most important parameter for a capacitor. The second-most important parameter, to me, is the dielectric. Then the ESR, physical dimensions and pin spacing, SRF, etc.



Also note that ESR and DF are related. It's a simple equation to go from one to the other if you know the capacitance.



Tom

It was assumed that we were talking about capacitor selection for a fixed circuit.
 
I know what the parameters are and what they mean, I don't understand your claim that "Technical selection of caps would end up with certain ratios between the parameters." What exactly are you trying to say? :confused:



Mike

Take a simple model of a real capacitor for example. ESR and ESL can effect circuit performance and stability which is circuit dependent. So you can do simulation to look at the effects. Then you will know what ratios a appropriate under certain conditions.