New F&T 100uf 350v caps: Tip Of The Week

[bepone]

. Best sofar are the 550v axial series designed for Frag Jan Zuerst, very punchy and musical.

i just ordered a lot of them.. i like 550-600V margins at first place, but needed them a lot for ampegs (525V)

[WhopperPlate]

. Best sofar are the 550v axial series designed for Frag Jan Zuerst, very punchy and musical.

i just ordered a lot of them.. i like 550-600V margins at first place, but needed them a lot for ampegs (525V)

That’s exciting , I like the numbers . Gonna have to try out

F&T: different series comes with different specs. The 500v radial caps widely used are not intended specifically for tube amps but are very reliable. They may sound a bit grainy and shill. Avoid at the screens but may work at anode/plate.
The axial A series intended for tube amps seem to sound better. Best sofar are the 550v axial series designed for Frag Jan Zuerst, very punchy and musical.
…
LCR: great british sound and feel. lots of harmonics compared to F&T and Sozo royal caps

Thanks for the direction on F&t, and I agree %1000 on grainy and shrill in certain applications. There are at least a half dozen posts of mine echoing the same testimony . I chased my tail for years before I came to this understanding , I had naively figured their popularity meant they would be the best…it’s amazing what you will learn about an amp when you change every single component … I should thank F&t for inadvertently giving me so much experience .

Do you actually have Sozo royal caps? I thought these weren’t in production for some time . I have a pair in series with a Marshall super lead build , funny enough these what were I eventually chose as my preferred replacement for the F&t previously installed. Those really helped bring that amp to life , specifically the punchy lows .

LCR to me are borderline strident and wooly, with harmonics that are out of this world cool . A burly cap that punches and cuts . I have a set of a Marshall 50 watt NOS 68 replica with a reformed set on the screens and mains that plays like a dream and slaps real good , but it’s definitely a throaty beast . I turned it up the other day to remind myself how that sound and it hurt but I couldn’t turn away lol. Every Marshall that ever had them that I got my hands on were similar to this . I prefer the Dalys that I have experienced.

[Roe]

. Best sofar are the 550v axial series designed for Frag Jan Zuerst, very punchy and musical.

i just ordered a lot of them.. i like 550-600V margins at first place, but needed them a lot for ampegs (525V)

That’s exciting , I like the numbers . Gonna have to try out

F&T: different series comes with different specs. The 500v radial caps widely used are not intended specifically for tube amps but are very reliable. They may sound a bit grainy and shill. Avoid at the screens but may work at anode/plate.
The axial A series intended for tube amps seem to sound better. Best sofar are the 550v axial series designed for Frag Jan Zuerst, very punchy and musical.
…
LCR: great british sound and feel. lots of harmonics compared to F&T and Sozo royal caps

Thanks for the direction on F&t, and I agree %1000 on grainy and shrill in certain applications. There are at least a half dozen posts of mine echoing the same testimony . I chased my tail for years before I came to this understanding , I had naively figured their popularity meant they would be the best…it’s amazing what you will learn about an amp when you change every single component … I should thank F&t for inadvertently giving me so much experience .

Do you actually have Sozo royal caps? I thought these weren’t in production for some time . I have a pair in series with a Marshall super lead build , funny enough these what were I eventually chose as my preferred replacement for the F&t previously installed. Those really helped bring that amp to life , specifically the punchy lows .

LCR to me are borderline strident and wooly, with harmonics that are out of this world cool . A burly cap that punches and cuts . I have a set of a Marshall 50 watt NOS 68 replica with a reformed set on the screens and mains that plays like a dream and slaps real good , but it’s definitely a throaty beast . I turned it up the other day to remind myself how that sound and it hurt but I couldn’t turn away lol. Every Marshall that ever had them that I got my hands on were similar to this . I prefer the Dalys that I have experienced.

Many have made similar claims about the F&Ts. Typically techs who repeatedly change the radial caps on Marshalls and plexis notice the difference, esp. with relatively high filtering (50w amps from the 80s have 100uf on screens and on the plates).

I had the sozo royal caps and used them in several amps before I totally gave up on them. I donated the caps to a friend who absolutely wanted to try them. Comparred to the LCRs they lacked harmonics and punch.

[WhopperPlate]

Many have made similar claims about the F&Ts. Typically techs who repeatedly change the radial caps on Marshalls and plexis notice the difference, esp. with relatively high filtering (50w amps from the 80s have 100uf on screens and on the plates).

I had the sozo royal caps and used them in several amps before I totally gave up on them. I donated the caps to a friend who absolutely wanted to try them. Comparred to the LCRs they lacked harmonics and punch.

Sweet sweet vindication lol ahhhh

Edit: it stands to reason that mostly Marshall guys notice these things . Those amps generally have a pretty interactive power supply and are usually played at high volumes by guys getting overdrive. High decibals and stressing components and next thing you know the differences in components become more obvious .

Yes , those LCRs are formidable… when they are still reformable lol.

Anyone out there who uses modern radials with any opinions ?

[dorrisant]

Has anyone tried the MOD brand of caps?

I have been using them in everything for a while now. It seems that they are better (less shrill) than F&Ts.

Just wondering how they compare to what you've tested. I'm curious about how they stack up for the price.

[WhopperPlate]

That’s one I have only briefly tried , and in that context they were present with a forward treble , I need to investigate them further

[Roe]

Allegedly, JJ filter caps have higher ERS, which may explain why they feel and sound softer.

Also, some of them, esp. radials, form very slowly with a 100k resistors, which is not a good sign (the axials seem better though)

[Guy77]

I have used these 2 different series of Nichicon caps for 50 watt and 100 watt D-Style builds and they are noticeably tighter sounding than the F&T caps. If you enjoy the bouncy F&T these maybe too tight for you.

I used these for the first 2 caps for the Power Supply. 2Rock is now also using these (220uf pictured below) in there 100 watt builds.

20240216_182510.jpg

[dbharris]

I used some of those brown Nichicon PS series caps in my 100W 102 and liked them.

I have a set of the Jupiter "wet" electrolytics for my 2nd Gen 50W build I just started. Has anyone used those? I just wanted to try something new.

-Dan

[Mark]

Well, I don’t doubt it’s hard to quantify what is going on with the components. I have yet to find someone prove to me that different resistors sound different. I’m not saying it’s not possible, I haven’t heard it.

I have heard the difference between silver mica and ceramic caps and it’s quite distinctive. In fact I had an issue with the treble response in my Mesa Boogie SOB and changing the treble cap and the input to the P.I. to ceramic caps cured the issue.

[Mark]

Damned double post. The reply went through but the screen didn’t change.

[bepone]

I like to think about this type of electronic like gastronomy, cooking the favorite sauce! All it matters, every component makes the difference at the end, it is cumulative

[WhopperPlate]

Well, I don’t doubt it’s hard to quantify what is going on with the components. I have yet to find someone prove to me that different resistors sound different. I’m not saying it’s not possible, I haven’t heard it.

If you are patient and have alligator clips you can prove it to yourself … it’s like ear training … a beginning musician might not be able to discern the difference between a perfect fourth and a perfect fifth , but with time and effort they learn to know it instantaneously…

Similarly, if someone with a more developed sense of pitch tells me whether it’s a perfect fourth or a perfect fifth , I could distrust them and get out a tuner and begin measuring things exactly to prove the math , but if I practiced enough I could learn to listen closer like them .

Same analogy with learning a foreign language ; at first it’s all gibberish, but spend enough time around ain’t and you will pick up the meaning. what makes us think it’s any different with anything else?

I digress, pull out those alligator clips and swap in parts long enough and you can prove it to yourself .

I like to think about this type of electronic like gastronomy, cooking the favorite sauce! All it matters, every component makes the difference at the end, it is cumulative

Prove it

[WhopperPlate]

I used some of those brown Nichicon PS series caps in my 100W 102 and liked them.

I have a set of the Jupiter "wet" electrolytics for my 2nd Gen 50W build I just started. Has anyone used those? I just wanted to try something new.

-Dan

Warm , singing , I like them for fender

[dbharris]

I used some of those brown Nichicon PS series caps in my 100W 102 and liked them.

I have a set of the Jupiter "wet" electrolytics for my 2nd Gen 50W build I just started. Has anyone used those? I just wanted to try something new.

-Dan

Warm , singing , I like them for fender

Thank you! That should suit this amp nicely.

-Dan