one large cap, or a few added up?

Everything else being equal, I would think it would be better to use several smaller caps in parallel. The smaller caps would likely have lower stray inductance, and lower esr (equivalent series resistance), both of which would then be further reduced by the parallel connections with the other capacitors (parallel connection reduces inductance and resistance, while it increases capacitance).

The only difference in phase effects that I can envision would correspond to the difference in stray inductance, which, although probably minimal, would be in the direction of favoring the parallel combination.

Regards,
-- Al

Hi John,

It's hard to say without having detailed information on esr, stray inductance, etc., and it may not make a significant difference either way, but my instinct would be go with whichever approach (within the same make/model series) minimizes the use of capacitors which are physically largest.

In other words, if the 50 and/or 33 are significantly larger than the 24, go with the five 24's. If not, and if the 12 is significantly smaller than the others, then perhaps go with the staggered values. My thinking is that a physically larger capacitor is likely to have significantly greater stray inductance.

Regards,
-- Al