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

[Guy77]

I recently purchased a handful of F&T and IC 100 uf 350v caps from a well known European reseller.
I guess ever since F&T got sold the new owner is making their caps half the size of the old 100uf 350v caps.
This was the first thing I noticed.

When I went to measure them all the F&T caps most of them measured 80uf. I know this is within the 20% margin but to have 10 caps all measure 15 - 20% lower seemed odd and not something I would be happy with.

When I measured the 10 IC caps they were all 99 to 101uf.

Something to look out for when you are buying new caps.

Maybe we should have a section called "Tip of the Week" where we all share are retail discoveries!

Happy Friday!
Guy

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[martin manning]

Are fakes a problem with F&T's?

[bepone]

Maybe we should have a section called "Tip of the Week" where we all share are retail discoveries!

you are putting them in series do difference is even smaller, 40uF compared to 50uF.. nothing to worry about.. Ic is to be avoided, im removing them from everything (mostly fenders), first, they are ugly , second - not reliable..

[Guy77]

Are fakes a problem with F&T's?

I didnt hear about fakes but who knows these days. I think that Mersen who bought F&T is making them smaller so that they can fit into more customers electronic components and thus more sales.
Maybe making them smaller has caused this issue with them reading smaller uf?

Hi Bepone. Thanks for the info regarding IC and yes I place 2 in series in my builds.

Cheers
Guy

[maxkracht]

I've heard rumors on here that Fender gets lower spec Illinois caps than what you would receive from a distributor. I do see a lot of early failures of those in fender amps and replace a lot of them preventatively, but I see a lot of fender amps in general, so maybe this is some sort of cognitive bias. I do like the yellow axial Illinois film caps. I haven't had any problems with those.

[Roe]

The F&T type A caps are intended specifically for tube amps but the AH type is not apparently: https://www.ftcap.de/fileadmin/user_upl ... _11_16.pdf

[Stevem]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but if that brand or any brand for that matter reduced the physical size of its filters while still using the same type of dielectric material then when a amps power supply is pushed to the point of sag then there's going to be ghost notes showing up and a lesser amount of peak wattage will be made reguardless if the filter checks in within the ball park of its rated mfd.

[Guy77]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but if that brand or any brand for that matter reduced the physical size of its filters while still using the same type of dielectric material then when a amps power supply is pushed to the point of sag then there's going to be ghost notes showing up and a lesser amount of peak wattage will be made reguardless if the filter checks in within the ball park of its rated mfd.

That's an interesting point Steve, sorry I dont have an answer, maybe someone else here does.
I may try the TAD Gold Cap series. They are slightly larger than the same F&T cap. Although it maybe that F&T is actually making those caps for TAD!
Thanks for posting the spec sheet Roe. The ones I purchased were the A series. Interesting that they are the same size as the AH series.

G

[bepone]

I see there is discussion of caps.. i dont know if someone is following the news, but there is a lot of new caps of 550 and 600V which are really good news.. also multican, double, triple..not expensive, solving all our problems. No more series connections and loosing the valuable space inside1

I'm sure experienced user can detect the vendors and brands easily.. for the others, heat up the chair

[Roe]

I may try the TAD Gold Cap series. They are slightly larger than the same F&T cap. Although it maybe that F&T is actually making those caps for TAD!

G

the TAd gold caps are made in asia and sound good but I've had to replace a few that did not last long. https://www.tubeampdoctor.com/en/tad-pr ... al-radial/

the TAD audio caps, by contrast, are made in Germany, quite possibly by F&T. They are particularly good for vintage fenders (and similar amps like dumbles): https://www.tubeampdoctor.com/en/tad-pr ... udio-caps/

[brewdude]

I once read something (perhaps a quote from Ken Fisher?) regarding the shrinking of components with regard to its effect on tone, and he suggested to place them further apart as if they were larger components.

I don’t know if this is truly valid advice, but it kind works in my own fuzzy logic.

[WhopperPlate]

What I want to hear discussed more:

Which brand of electrolytic caps do people prefer sonically?… beyond simply getting the job done and meeting spec …most people here seem to be ear blind to these changes…

I will start

F&t : shrill and thin in the midrange , even if they are bouncy and fun to play .

Sprague: warm and loose . Not very fast articulate , but punchy

ARS: my favorite . Punchy lows and clear treble . A little soft in knocking midrange in comparison to the LCRs they say they replace .

JJ: dull sounding , even muddy , open up eventually but never hit my mark .

Vishay BC: upper midrange heavy . Easy to play , a little thinner on the low mid punch , harmonics ring clear. Overdrive feedback is forgiving and generous.

Edit:

Jupiter : very warm and punchy . Subdued high end , did I say warm ? Easy to play . Like them on the preamp cathodes .

IC: despite their poor reputation, they have a decent harmonic content and bass response.

Obviously my experiences lie largely in the territory of axials , and I would love to hear some actual critical feedback concerning the modern radials that are encouraged to be used .

I once read something (perhaps a quote from Ken Fisher?) regarding the shrinking of components with regard to its effect on tone, and he suggested to place them further apart as if they were larger components.

+1 on the discussion of component size and proximity effects, especially electrolytic .

I remember Jim at Scumback speakers saying how Dumble once advised him to switch to IC caps for the amp he was designing to get the tone he was chasing …said the other brand if caps used weren’t correct type and they were spaced too close together …

[xtian]

…most people here seem to be ear blind to these changes…

Yup. Me. I'm ready for your double-blind audio test with repeatable source signal, measurements of capacitance and ESR. Bring it on.

[WhopperPlate]

…most people here seem to be ear blind to these changes…

Yup. Me. I'm ready for your double-blind audio test with repeatable source signal, measurements of capacitance and ESR. Bring it on.

Well I suppose I won’t be having any amps built by you anytime soon lol

At one point I felt this necessary to prove to myself what seems obvious … instead I simply tend to measure how far my grin goes from ear to ear …

But by all means , I implore others to do whatever it takes to open up their ears .

Beyond that, it’s not like having an objective opinion without test equipment is a foreign concept for anyone who plays guitar… I have seen a video on YouTube of a grandma doing listening tests between a 6ps and a 715 orange drop , with clearly a preference for the one that wasn’t going to “break glass” (guess which) … whereas many experienced guys on here would advice that there is only negligible differences … so grandma must be wrong, right? Lol

Moral of the story; generally you don’t need eyes to read measurements if you have discerning ears …if…

I am not saying throw away your meters and scopes … I am just saying there is more than meets the eye… and if you can’t measure a difference , yet hear one , then we obviously aren’t quantifying or measuring every parameter …I have learned to be careful not to throw away my observations because it doesn’t line up with theoretical assumptions …

Sooooo, back to : who has experienced tonal opinions on filter caps besides me ?

[Roe]

F&t : shrill and thin in the midrange , even if they are bouncy and fun to play .

Sprague: warm and loose . Not very fast articulate , but punchy

ARS: my favorite . Punchy lows and clear treble . A little soft in knocking midrange in comparison to the LCRs they say they replace .

JJ: dull sounding , even muddy , open up eventually but never hit my mark .

Vishay BC: upper midrange heavy . Easy to play , a little thinner on the low mid punch , harmonics ring clear. Overdrive feedback is forgiving and generous.

the BC vishay axial 450v (and 400v) caps sound great for vox, plexi, TW express and even blonde/brownface fenders. very british midrange

Rifa 450v axials: a bit crisper and cleaner than the BCs

The TAD Audio caps made in Germany: great for BF/SF Fenders (or Dumble), similar to old Sprague but great quality. Do not seem to work as well in plexis,
TAD Gold caps (asian): aims at the old LCR sound and sounds closer than the F&T radials argubly, but less reliable (I've replaced several Tad gold cap radials, but not the axials sofar).

Sprague: can sound great and punchy. Quality has been an issue for quite a few years. In any case, best for Fenders/Dumbles, not Plexis

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.

JJ: I have better experience with axials than radials so far. they form better and sound good. will test more

LCR: great british sound and feel. lots of harmonics compared to F&T and Sozo royal caps