jantzen standard z cap vs claritycap ESA

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Disabled Account
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What about Clarity CSA?

ClarityCap CSA Capacitor 250VDC: Madisound Speaker Components

To me; they have more clarity, yes, a good choice of words here than the Standard Z. I prefer the Superior Z but maybe out of the price range for your budget here? The Standard Z is a good cap, the CSA just lets more detail through, less "masked" or "veiled".

For a very basic cap. the Audyn Q4 is a good choice.

Brand

just my opinion and personal experiences; some have other views, that's what makes this hobby so interesting!
 
I have all of them lying around here. Its simply a personal taste.
In my opinion the Q4s are the worst of the three. I dont like them very much, in my builds, they pronounced the 7Khz range very much and i dont like a sharp "s".
The other two are very similar. Both have a kind of "grain" from high mids to the heights.
If i had to buy one, i would go with the Standard Z, but if you like smoother high frequencies and overall a more "oldschool" sound without loosing details, spend more and buy the Superior Z.
 
Disabled Account
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I did and have some but CSA are easier to buy in USA now. ESA is also a good sounding cap. I do have some metal dome tweeters that the CSA makes sound on the bright side; are you doing a 2-way? Did you make a tweeter choice already?

I will be honest and say I have never listened to the ESA vs the CSA in a direct A/B comparison but the CSA is supposed be an improvement over the ESA?

Again, the Audyn Q4 is a good choice for "budget"; you could try those first maybe then upgrade later if need be.
 
I have all of them lying around here. Its simply a personal taste.
In my opinion the Q4s are the worst of the three. I dont like them very much, in my builds, they pronounced the 7Khz range very much and i dont like a sharp "s".
The other two are very similar. Both have a kind of "grain" from high mids to the heights.
If i had to buy one, i would go with the Standard Z, but if you like smoother high frequencies and overall a more "oldschool" sound without loosing details, spend more and buy the Superior Z.
i don't understand why you would chose the standard and not the esa
 
Disabled Account
Joined 2019
If you have a hard dome tweeter, the Standard Z might be a better choice; with a soft dome tweeter, the CSA or ESA might be a better choice. Just based on some of those I have on hand and tried.

Even when I use the much better Superior Z; I often use small value bypass capacitors. You could maybe try a budget cap. first then add budget bypass as a first cheap way???
 
Disabled Account
Joined 2019
Warmer than the CSA for sure; I haven't used ESA in a very long time. The CSA is only bright on some Ti dome tweeters I have but those tweeters are bright regardless. But, I think the Standard Z is less detailed than the CSA. Again, I haven't used any ESA in a long time. I might try an experiment if I can find in my stock Audyn Q4, Standard Z, ESA. CSA, Superior Z, etc. all of the same value if I have them all in my stock parts boxes. Do you have a tweeter choice yet? Hard dome? Soft dome? Ribbon, AMT, other???
 
Disabled Account
Joined 2019
OK, so soft. My personal order of choice would be:

1) Superior Z
2) CSA
3) ESA
4) Standard Z
5) Audyn Q4

Are you in a really big hurry??? I can look later to see what capacitors I have on hand and do a quick listening comparison once again since I haven't used the ESA in a very long time. That tweeter is good enough to justify the more expensive Superior Z; it will be more "musical", have better resolution, detail, etc. than all of the other choices based on my experiences recent and in the past.
 
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MY OPINIONS ONLY! Other people may say quite the opposite!

Will you do 1st order? 2nd order? Do you have a target X/O frequency in mind? What will be your woofer or mid-woofer??? BW1, LR2?, BE2?, BW2?...often times I do custom 2nd order with a Q between the standard 0.49 to 0.707, or 0.707 to 0.58, etc.
 
Disabled Account
Joined 2019
I have a EVO oil and aluminum; I found it softer than some others; it is accurate but it didn't match as well with my Vifa silk dome as the other choices I tried. (Again, this sometimes all just comes down to personal tastes and preferences.).

The CDE 940C as bypass do add a touch of magic; people will discuss and argue these things until the end of time I realize but I tried them on expensive Mundorf Silver/Oil and they helped even here!
 
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