capacitors of every type and price :D

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norburybrook
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capacitors of every type and price :D

Post by norburybrook »

If you fancy putting something esoteric on your projects then look no further than the hifi collective in the UK.......why pay less!

https://www.hificollective.co.uk/compon ... itors.html


there's some seriously expensive caps in that little lot.....how about £138 plus vat for an Audio note copper 6.8uf 300v cap :D that's $220.56 at todays exchange rate :D


Let me know how they sound if anyone buys any :D

MC
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pompeiisneaks
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Re: capacitors of every type and price :D

Post by pompeiisneaks »

Weird they don't seem to have any 'snake oil' caps, i love those! :D

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xtian
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Re: capacitors of every type and price :D

Post by xtian »

Wow! They have such a varied lineup, I suggest just picking your favorite color.
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10thTx
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Re: capacitors of every type and price :D

Post by 10thTx »

Don't know if you guys saw this thread about "Do capacitors sound different?". 4pgs and 150+ replies Interesting thread.

http://el34world.com/Forum/index.php?topic=19534.0

I will state that I like a few of the Musicaps in two of my Dumblish inspired amps & not at all in a 3rd D-inspried amp. However, I found out that in some places they make the amp sound to hi-fi-ish. A few places they seemed to help and a few places they didn't make any difference and a few places it made the amp sound way too sterile.

I attached the results of an experiment I did on an amp I built for someone else. My amp had somewhat similar findings.

Again, I realize this is totally a subjective and personal taste review. Others may have very different or opposing viewpoints.

With respect, 10thtx
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R.G.
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Re: capacitors of every type and price :D

Post by R.G. »

Also with respect. I have no doubt that you heard what you report.

But do keep in mind that it is somewhere between difficult and impossible for one person to both do modifications to sound gear and choose which result is better where subtle differences are involved. The problem is not the integrity of the person, it's the nature of the human hearing apparatus and mind. Audio memory, ear fatigue, general fatigue, the tendency of a human mind to think that changes it makes are in general better, all contribute and overlap to make this a difficult process. Add to that variations of capacitance within the tolerance band, and you can perceive all kinds of things.

Again, with respect, it is a very difficult process for humans to do this kind of process. But if the changes you made sound better to you, then they are better.
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Re: capacitors of every type and price :D

Post by 10thTx »

do keep in mind that it is somewhere between difficult and impossible for one person to both do modifications to sound gear and choose which result is better where subtle differences are involved.
I certainly think there are challenges even for an experienced builder in doing modifications. I think much of this is simply a matter of personal taste and subjectivity. I believe "better" is usually subjective far more then not.

I think amp building is a blend of science/math and art (broadly defined). I think if an experienced and somewhat knowledgeable builder does one modification at a time and listens to it over some time and A/B's the mod to the original (especially at different volume and tone settings and environments), that even subtle modifications are reasonable efforts and can yield positive desired results. I think it's possible to have a reasonable measure of predictability around using a specific modfication.

If someone implements a modification and posts a schematic of that. Then others implement the same modification and then report similar results (or post soundclips indicating similar results), I think that adds a measure of "validity" to the modification (validity meaning it will yield similar results). Part of "emperical based research" is that someone else duplicates the findings of the original research and gains similar results.

I would argue that some entire amps are a collection of subtle modifications that went brought together as a whole are no longer subtle. Howard Dumble perhaps took a Fender amp and started modifying it. At one point, his schematic of this modified amp is discovered and others reproduce it and get similar results. That doesn't mean everyone will think a Dumble amp is "better", but it can indicate that using those modifications on a Fender amp may have a reasonable measure of predictability.

[On the D'Mars ODS schematic I posted earlier in this thread, I am willing to venture that perhaps one out of 4 or 5 modifications I left in & the rest of them I removed which finally yielded the posted schematic. The original idea was to borrow aspects of Marshall and Dumble topology and try to blend them together in a cathode biased amp where I could switch from 6V6 to 5881's. And I wasn't aware of anything quite like that out there, so I built an idea and began a lengthy process of modifying it one mod at a time. Now others have built the amp and gotten similar results per sound clips that are posted. On the Hoffman forum, I've seen others duplicate the So-Low Watt, HoSo56, Tweed Overdrive Special and Tweed BluezMeister & get similar results per report and/or soundclips. All of those were ideas first built in one form and then a length process of modifying the original idea took place]

Does attempting modifications have significant challenges? Yes. Can they achieve similar desired results with predictability when implemented within a reasonably similar situation? Yes. Does it make the amp "better"? The answer to that is very subjective.

I believe even in the field of applied science, there is a significant "human factor" involved.

I say all of the above respectfully and hope it is received that way. With respect, 10thtx
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xtian
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Re: capacitors of every type and price :D

Post by xtian »

The mods you describe are different than swapping components of same value for components of different material. Like, changing a preamp cathode from 1K5/25u to 2K2/1u is a mod that will have an audible and measureable effect, every time. But swapping a Mylar coupling cap for a polypro one, maybe not.
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10thTx
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Re: capacitors of every type and price :D

Post by 10thTx »

I think you've offered a fair response & that there is merit in qualifying subtle vs. significant changes as a factor in this discussion. I can see changing component values as being more "significant" then component types.

What I would want to know is if the mod (whether subtle or significant) creates the same perceived reported results by others.

It would be interesting if 10 experienced builders in an A/B blind test could perceive a difference in tone (whether positive or not) in an original ODS amp if 3 coupling caps were changed out to "hi-fi" caps of the same exact value.

With respect, 10thtx
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xtian
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Re: capacitors of every type and price :D

Post by xtian »

10thTx wrote: Thu Dec 21, 2017 5:40 pmIt would be interesting if 10 experienced builders in an A/B blind test could perceive a difference in tone (whether positive or not) in an original ODS amp if 3 coupling caps were changed out to "hi-fi" caps of the same exact value.
Very interesting, indeed.
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Re: capacitors of every type and price :D

Post by pompeiisneaks »

I agree, but the bigger problem is that it's pretty tough to get identical results on two separate builds, due to not only the cap 'type' changing, but the resistors, and capacitor values and response is slightly different in both amps, as are the transformers, etc. If you build identical circuits they're still not 'identical' in that they have subtle differences. I remember reading an article once that talked about how some fender original tweed amps coming off the same assembly line occasionally had one that sounded like crap, and some that were 'magical'. All with theoretically identical components bought en masse. To get at least a modicum of scientific result, I'd think a switch in the amp that somehow auto swapped out all or some caps for the differing types but that had been hand selected to have almost identical capacitance, may be more probable, but, still, even then, manufacturing processes may make them have identical capacitance, but still be 'off' a bit.

It's a fun thing to talk about though, just haven't seen anyone implement it so far.

~Phil
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sonicmojo
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Re: capacitors of every type and price :D

Post by sonicmojo »

You can also dial in your overall sound quite a bit with just power and instrument cables. I'm actually not kidding about this but I know I can't hear it as well as some other people. Everything adds up for sure and you don't have to always use the expensive ones. It all "depends".....
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