My Capacitor comparisons: Mundorfs, VCap, Sonicap Platinum, Auricap, etc

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poseidonsvoice

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I love that you hate my tweakiness.  Please, more one liners!

Oh that’s nothing. You had me rolling on the floor with this one:

http://tweakaudio.com/EVS-2/IFI_SPDIF_IPurifier.html

 Looks like you dropped your Class A amp idea in favor of the 1200AS craze too. Who knows what diabolical riske tweaks will be incorporated there?!

Fun to watch, thanks for the entertainment...

And still going at it at age 70!

Anand.

hi2alex2

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Sorry if I've missed it but has anyone noted that said caps function differently in a low voltage environment i.e. line level or preamp vs high current i.e. speaker level? In my experience I noted significant/what seems to be greater inductance in high voltage caps (e.g. 600v)  vs lower voltage caps (e.g. 100v) when used in low level sources. The result is undesired and significant bass truncation.

I've not measured this so my experience is only subjective.

thoughts?

hi2alex2
Springfield, OR.

Tyson

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Just an update as I have some cool news.  If you've read anywhere in this thread you know I'm a Jupiter cap fanatic.  However I've found something better AND cheaper.  What?!!  Haha that never happens, right!?

Check out the new Miflex caps, the copper version are amazing.  I've been replacing all of the coupling and/or output caps in all my amps from the Jupiter copper to the Miflex caps.  IME the Miflex have better tonal density, more punch, more detail and present a blacker background.  In almost every respect that I care about, the Miflex are a serious step up. 

Highly recommended, especially since they cost 1/2 to 1/3 of the Jupiter caps.  That's some crazy good value right there.

wushuliu

Just an update as I have some cool news.  If you've read anywhere in this thread you know I'm a Jupiter cap fanatic.  However I've found something better AND cheaper.  What?!!  Haha that never happens, right!?

Check out the new Miflex caps, the copper version are amazing.  I've been replacing all of the coupling and/or output caps in all my amps from the Jupiter copper to the Miflex caps.  IME the Miflex have better tonal density, more punch, more detail and present a blacker background.  In almost every respect that I care about, the Miflex are a serious step up. 

Highly recommended, especially since they cost 1/2 to 1/3 of the Jupiter caps.  That's some crazy good value right there.

Looks like another bargain like the old AmpOhms. Thanks for the heads up.

EDIT: I'll probably get the Aluminum. That seems like a hell of a bargain. I remember liking those with ampohm.

pinon

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I have fallen for Miflex Copper Oil also. I replaced Jupiter HTs coupling caps with Jupiter Coppers in my Decware Torii IV some years ago. I recall liking the more neutral balance and solid sound, along with the refined resolution of the coppers. Though more deep and refined mid-bass down than HTs, in my setup I still found the Coppers a little less resolving/articulate lower down than I would have liked, nicely deep, but a little thickish.

Then a couple years ago I found Miflex Coppers. In an attempt to solve slight dark/thick tendencies I had to work around at times, I lowered the Jupiter 0.10 values to 0.082 when I ordered Miflex Coppers. I have little doubt this was a good move for my tastes with this amp. But I was impressed how far it went beyond what I imagined to be value reduction effects. The Miflex Coppers are "less there" in terms of cap sound to me, solving some spacial thickness/density veils with the Jupiters, more clear with the Miflex as a comparator. I burned them in quite a while on my FryBaby2, the FryBaby really helping with the more oppressive burnin stages for me. Though parts always benefit from several days or more of amp time, the FryBaby helps me get close enough to read things well. Right off I heard enough balance, free flow and freshness to resolve fears of "losing" from pulling the Jupiters, more spacious, but also having rich harmonic "musicality."

At first appearing a little less resolving than Jupiter Copper, the pretty complete resolution was more balanced across the spectrum and "real" sounding to me. More open space, with really good fine detail, revealed nice edge complexity, and immediacy. Fear of hardness that can sometimes come with clearer caps never showed up. Sounding a little like a cross between Audyn Copper Max and Jupiter Coppers, especially after settling with music, I am not at all sure they are less resolving than the Jupiter coppers, perhaps more that they reveal resolution in different ways. Maybe the ways the Jupiter coppers are weighted "warmer" and fuller, especially lower down, contributes to a bit more obvious sense of resolution mids up? But I am all about fine detail complexity, having learned to use it to help solve hardness without warming/dulling effects often chosen to increase "forgiveness"....and I don't wish for more resolution when listening with the Miflex.

For my tweeters, I "bypassed" (more enhanced) some 3.3 Jupiter VTs with 0.22 Miflex Coppers...a nice completion of the VTs here.

0.10s to .022s, I have used quite a few in bypass work in my amp and pre also. Excited, I tried some Miflex poly/coppers I also liked on first impressions, enough not to AB more than liking what they replaced. I need to compare those more analytically, but they stayed in several positions...also good at a pretty rich open complexity and good balance that did not seem to harden the sound. I am using some Miflex aluminum/oils as well, good also. Though useful to me, I have not fallen for them like the coppers, but it has been so long since I compared them, I can't recall exactly why.

Anyway, I too am glad Miflex showed up for us!

Edit: hopefully just the batch, but when I first bought Miflex Copper Oils, I got occasional minor leaks with the heat inside the amp. I found cleaning them well with alcohol and rubbing on some Weldbond glue re-sealed mine nicely. Noticing recently that soniccraft had a bunch in with a nice sale, I have been putting them in my cart, so guess I love them enough not to worry about it!
« Last Edit: 19 Jul 2019, 11:22 pm by pinon »

brj

Is the only difference between the Miflex KPCU-01 and -02 the lead configuration?  Spec sheets seem to the be same otherwise...

I'd heard rumblings of a new Polish made copper foil cap a while back, but never really dug into it.  Looks like they've really taken off.  I have the 100V 8 uF Jupiters Copper Foil caps as the only passive component on my tweeters, and never really thought to keep looking after that.  Aside from maybe a Sonicap Platinum or Duelund Silver Foil bypass cap as an experiment.  Most of the comments I've seen have been related to use in components (coupling, etc.) rather than speakers, and I'm not sure I'd want to try and extrapolate from that...

Jon L

Miflex copper seems like an interesting alternative, especially from cost point of view. 
Looks like humblehomemadehifi already compared Miflex copper to Jupiter copper and Duelund Cast Copper..

http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/Cap.html

wushuliu

Listening to the Miflex Aluminum now. Really impressed.

Tyson

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Listening to the Miflex Aluminum now. Really impressed.

Yep, Miflex is the real deal :)

mresseguie

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Listening to the Miflex Aluminum now. Really impressed.

Are you using these in crossovers or in a component such as a DAC or a preamp?

 

wushuliu

Are you using these in crossovers or in a component such as a DAC or a preamp?

Modded JLH-based headphone pre. They sound great out the gate and then get better and better. So good I bought some of the copper too. Stock up now while prices are good or before they stop making them, like what happened with Ampohm.

mresseguie

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Thanks!

I finally pulled the drivers out of my Adelphos speakers to check the caps' values. I'm looking at a 12uF I 250v and a 6.2uF 200VDC. One is an Erse and the other is a Sonicap Generation 1.

Now, under which circumstances would one wish to use the copper or aluminum caps? Also, I notice that neither Sonic Craft nor Danny offers a 200VDC. Could I still use a 600VDC in place of a 200 VDC cap?

Michael

wushuliu

Thanks!

I finally pulled the drivers out of my Adelphos speakers to check the caps' values. I'm looking at a 12uF I 250v and a 6.2uF 200VDC. One is an Erse and the other is a Sonicap Generation 1.

Now, under which circumstances would one wish to use the copper or aluminum caps? Also, I notice that neither Sonic Craft nor Danny offers a 200VDC. Could I still use a 600VDC in place of a 200 VDC cap?

Michael

You'd want to replace the caps to the tweeter. I don't know Jeff's crossover for the Adelphos but I'm guessing the Sonicap is the tweeter cap. That's the one you'd want to replace. 600V will work just fine. Since 6.2uF will be pretty expensive maybe split the difference and combine two caps, 1/2 expensive, half not so expensive. Clarity Cap CSA would make a great inexpensive half that performs better than the Sonicap Gen 1.

Tyson

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You'd want to replace the caps to the tweeter. I don't know Jeff's crossover for the Adelphos but I'm guessing the Sonicap is the tweeter cap. That's the one you'd want to replace. 600V will work just fine. Since 6.2uF will be pretty expensive maybe split the difference and combine two caps, 1/2 expensive, half not so expensive. Clarity Cap CSA would make a great inexpensive half that performs better than the Sonicap Gen 1.

I agree, replace the tweeter cap, but the 6uF is only moderately expensive, I'd just get the copper KPCU from Miflex for the tweeter cap.  Bypass it with a .22 KPCU to get you to exactly the 6.2 value.

For the 12uF, I'd recommend getting 2 of the aluminum 6uF caps from Miflex, the KPAL, wired in parallel they'd give a nice improvement on the midrange cap.  You could even get a 0.1 bypass copper KPCU cap to give it a bit of copper flavor (I've done this in the past, it works quite well and sounds very, very good).

Those Sartori drivers in the Adelphos are very nice, you will definitely hear a big improvement using the better caps. 

And 600v is fine.  They are just 'overbuilt' vs the minimum specs for a speaker crossover (ie, thicker wire, higher voltage rating, just generally tougher). 

Wayne1

Another new entry into the pure copper film cap is Jantzen.

Troels has some comments about the Jantzen Amber-Z-Cap:

http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/AMBER-Z-CAP.htm



Waterclocker

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Hey everyone!  My first post here!

I've been obsessed with capacitors and the improvements they can provide.  I currently have the Alumen Z-Cap in my 8008-Corner speaker build and I'm loving the sound I get from them.  I purchased the Tekton Perfect SET for another listening area, but I think I've been spoiled by the Alumen and 8008.  I'm missing the smooth and refined sound(bass is very good though).  I think I'll try the Alumen on the mid to avoid spending a fortune to get the right value and then use the new Amber Z-Cap on the tweeter.  Troels review of them states subtle differences, so I think they would blend well with each other.  Any thoughts?  I would consider the Miflex, but they are MASSIVE in the values I need if doing the mid and tweeter with them.  I could do the Miflex for the tweeter, but what would pair well for the mids?  The Clarity CMR would also be an option, but I'm looking to go a step above if possible.  Mids are 18uf (Clarity PX) and tweeter looks to be 3-4uf(Mcap EVO) (value glued face down, gotta remove to check :( )

ieatsound

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what about jantzen amber-z cap?

teavml

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I am a new forum member and I am starting a new project.  I recently picked up a pair of Dahlquist DQ-10 loudspeakers because they were the speakers that introduced me to hi fi almost 50 years ago.  I loved those speakers in 1973!  Sort of like running into an old sweetheart.  I am going to try and upgrade the crossovers by rebuilding them as best I can with modern components.  I will likely use Sonicaps for most of the capacitors but the crossover base circuit starts with a 80uF cap. and I don't think Sonicaps go that high.  I am trying to figure out what cap manufacturer to use for that big cap.  Any advice would be welcome.

willief23

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Teavml you could get 2 40uf caps and wire them in parallel(next to each other) and then get the total value of 80uf. sonic gen 1 caps are good for the money but you can also go even higher/better than those. Jantzen Audio Silver Gold Z-Cap and Jantzen Superior Z-Cap would be a few steps up from Sonicraft gen 1 caps for close to the same price. For higher end caps some examples are Miflex kpcu-01 or kpcu-03, Intertechnik Audyn True Copper or Audyn True Copper Max, and Rike Audio Q-CAP are a few really good ones.  Also you can add a very small 0.01uf or 0.10uf bypass Dueland Silver Cap which would add a little more detail to any of the main caps you choose. The dueland silver bypass cap will work best with copper, slightly warm sounding or neutral sounding caps.