@rwdawson -
For parallels in cars, you cannot take a Yugo, put fancy tires on it and make it a Maserati, but there are certainly a number of performance tweaks available for most cars.
There's also an issue of component cost to retail price. Using normal distribution chains, you need to charge 10x your component costs to make money. Adding $100 in capacitors needs to translate into $1,000 or more to be worthwhile making.
I don't believe every speaker benefits from new caps, nor every tube preamp, nor do I necessarily believe all caps are worth their cost. I do however think that there's an interesting place for the careful listener to tweak.
If you are truly interested, I encourage you to consider building your own speaker kit. There's a number of them available from Parts Express, Madisound and others. You can learn a great deal, and tweak to your heart's content.
Best,
E |
Thanks @grannyring !
I will say, Mundorf top end caps are weird. Magico is a big fan of them. Now, as I often say, BUY WHAT YOU LIKE!
To my ears, the Mundorf supreme’s scintillate. They aren’t bright so much as they sparkle. Like they saturate the top end with color.
Again, BUY WHAT YOU LIKE, but that’s what I hear, and many, many love that. I prefer the calmer and translucent waters of the Clarity line myself, but that doesn’t prevent me from hearing the differences and understanding some are really going to want to bring that sound home.
Best,
Erik |
Gang,
Just FYI, I have measured capacitance, and ESR (equivalent series resistance) as I have modded speakers.
I have been fortunate enough to speak with capacitor manufacturers about this particular subject, and their experience mirrors my own: neither ESR nor absolute capacitance explains perceived sound quality.
For a while, there was a belief ESR mattered, probably because film caps were universally better than bi-polar electrolytic. From my experience it does not make a difference so long as you properly compensate for loss in ESR with additional resistance. Some high ESR films sound better than low ESR film caps. The original Clarity MR come to mind as relatively high ESR film caps(but my memory is now foggy).
@Kosst - See, your recommendation for Solen’s seems much more reasonable. I will say I’ve only tried Audyn’s top end, the TrueCopper, and these at the suggestion of SpeakerDoctor (RIP). At Solen's low end I have not been very impressed. I think if the OP wanted to experiment with top end Solen bypass caps, and maybe some Mundorf Supreme’s he’d learn a great deal.
If you look back at my first suggestions, I keep trying to suggest the OP spend moderate amounts and experiment for himself. I think that was the last paragraph in your previous post, right? How much is a pair of Solen top-end 0.1uF caps? Probably pretty easy to try out.
Best,
Erik |
kosst: You make lots of statements based on your experience that are pure opinion Here is your first mistake: it is based on experience and experimentation. That is not pure opinion. I make speakers and experiment with capacitors. Have you? and they’re not very resistant to scrutiny. This is your second mistake. The OP can easily scrutinize my suggestions by spending $40 on caps and trying them out. All I’m saying is look at the actual specs of the things and experiment instead of obsessing about price tags, ad copy claims, and the opinions of folks on a forum. Sorry that ruffles your feathers. Third mistake, this is exactly the opposite of what you have been saying. Sorry if that ruffles your feathers. In fact you made a number of claims about what matters without discussion about personal experience. You seemed to be relying on information from others without actually trying it yourself. Best, Erik |
kosst -
You make the most obvious arguments. Arguments which my experience has simply not born out.
Best,
Erik |
@peter_s
Usually a small value from around 1 to 5%.
I've had very good luck using 0.1uF bypass caps with 10uF main.
In the case of the Clarity caps, at low values their caps don't benefit from bypassing at all, but I've found that the larger one's do. Do not know why.
Best,
E |
BTW, the largest value cap is probably on the bass and a shunt. Do not replace electrolytic caps with foil unless you have measured the ESR.
Usually best left alone in the woofer section unless you know what you are doing. |
OP:
The TruCopper are limited in values and very very expensive compared to the reds. If memory serves, they start around $20 for 0.1uF, that's pretty pricey. Building up say a 4 uF cap would run you around $120-$150 each. This is why I recommend you try them out as bypass caps to start.
For far less, I'd recommend the Clarity CMR range, with Audyn 0.1uF bypass on values larger than 4-5 uF.
Again, these are BIG parts. You best be prepared to wire them. :)
It is a MUCH easier thing for a newbie to buy some bypass caps and listen. Cheaper too.
Best,
Erik |
Ah, yep. Try out the TruCopper Audyn's as bypass caps. :) Buy one or two pairs and try them out. I have had good luck with using aligator clips to tie them on without soldering first.
Be warned, they are physically much larger than the red versions, so don't go crazy buying them until you have some idea of space available. :)
Best,
E |
Hey Toyo,
Many Audyn fans out there, but they do vary. What speakers did you open up and what color are the caps?
My advice is if you want to play, get the Audyn True Copper 0.1uF caps and try them out as bypass caps to your treble and midrange.
Best,
E |
