[etcarroll]

So here's the scenario, I bought an old SACD player for $33, Samsung 841. I'm looking to upgrade it based on previous diy threads on the same. I want to play mostly classical SACDs when done, but there will be rock and jazz in the mix.

I recently recapped my amp with Nichicon caps. At other end of signal chain I recently upgraded speaker xover with Sonicaps, and Sonicap Platinum bypass caps.

So I'm wondering, do I order cheapest caps that fill the upgrade requirements, (an option my miserly Irish heart likes), or do I get as  many Nichicon caps when they have caps that fill the requirements - looking for synergy with my amp, and hopefully improved sound.

Or, go with Sonicaps when able, for same hoped for improvement in sound.

The poll is for 7 days as there's a sale on Sonicaps till the end of the month.

Gene

[avahifi]

If you want to do something useful in matching capacitors, I suggest you think about matching capacitor VALUES channel to channel.

You will need a digital meter that measures capacitance, available at Radio Shack.

Then when replacing capacitors, replace them with pairs matched channel to channel to 1 percent if possible.  Of course you are going to have to start with a lot of each capacitor marked value to find good matched pairs for each application.

The value of a capacitor is what it actually measures, not the number printed on it.  For example if you have a 1 uf capacitor with a 10 percent tolerance, the part can actually be from 0.9 uf to 1.1 uF and be within specifications.  The difference between these two parts would be 20 percent!  Depending upon the use in the circuit, this mismatch can cause a significant difference in the phase gain characteristics between the two channels, which are supposed to be exactly the same.  Yes, you certainly can hear the difference in equipment with two different channels.

So, swapping out capacitors, try patching the hole in the bottom of the boat before polishing the hand rails.

Regards,

Frank Van Alstine

[etcarroll]

Ugh - I hear what you're saying Frank, but it implies I have a stockpile of caps on hand to find 'matched' pairs, much as is done with tubes.

I think what I'd do is check each pair to make sure they are within 5% of each other, any egregious outliers would force my buying a 3rd, then making a pair out of the threesome, with the remaining cap(s) becoming the start of my own personal stockpile.

[Wayne1]

FWIW, Danny Ritchie does sell Sonicaps, matched, with the measured value written on them.

[avahifi]

Well, if you are going to go to the work and expense of replacing capacitors, then you certainly do want to spend the money to acquire matched pairs.  The extra cost to do this will be worthwhile.

Frank Van Alstine

[James Romeyn]

"Synergy" is getting the right mix of different sound qualities to arrive at your intended overall effect.

For instance, if you got a particularly musical, smooth sounding whatever (tweeter), and the rest of components in the chain have the same quality, and you're selecting caps for a xo, I'm kinda thinking you might not want exactly the same quality in the caps, you might rather want something a little more forward, something that might be considered too aggressive in another application.

For this reason, I'd say, absolutely, no.  But that's worth what you paid for it.

There's a member, John something or other, who did the most incredible capacitor comparison, IIRC, right here at AC.  I found all John's advice to be spot on.  The Modular Pro Monitor described at my site employs paper in oil (PIO) caps, which sounded exactly as John described (by my ears), which turned out to be exactly what I found to best complement the sound I wanted and needed for this application: supremely musical, totally fatigue free, listen all day at any level (so much so that you really have to watch the listening levels to protect your ears).  In regard to the aforementioned qualities it is about as far from the classical "high end" sound as  you can imagine, which is what I love.  Yet is also very detailed, smooth, inviting, incredible glow around each image, stage depth like no other, in other words all the qualities typical audiophiles crave.  (The system is Trinaural, which compared to stereo is like a heavyweight fighting in a welterweight class, so it also has that advantage over stereo in image/stage qualities.)

[etcarroll]

^^^Yup, I've gone through John's post on capacitor testing, plus another I found on the interweb's.

[timind]

Answered no.
Agree with Frank though, if you're going to the trouble of replacing the caps it makes sense to match them.

[Quiet Earth]

I'm a little confused  . Are you talking about signal coupling caps and power supply (decoupling/filter) caps and crossover caps all from the same manufacturer? That might be a tall order.

If all of your components speak with the same voice and you've fallen in love with a certain coupling cap, then I would say yes, use it everywhere that you can. If not, then I would think about what it is you are trying to achieve when you select the cap, like James said.

I suppose you could say the same about electrolytic caps in the power supply.

Matching the coupling caps was a good suggestion, although crossover caps may be a whole 'nother ball of wax because the supporting parts in the other crossover (resistors, inductors, drivers) may not be identical. Matching speakers within a certain dB level seems like a complicated task.

[avahifi]

In speakers and in the electronic circuits too, please match the resistors and inductors within one percent, channel to channel too while you are at it. Matched speaker drivers are a good idea too, if you have the tools to do this.

Don't worry about the basic large power supply capacitors, as long as they are the proper voltage and capacitance rating they will be just fine.

Don't bother with matching the critical parts in AVA equipment, it has already been done for you at no extra charge. 

Best regards,

Frank Van Alstine

P.S.  Hot deal on a useful little digital multimeter.  The Cen-Tech #90899 is available for all of $2.00 from Harbor Freight Tools.