What exact values of bypass capacitors (mF/volt) should I use?

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tanchiro58

Hi DIYers,

I am replacing all the high quality coupling capacitors (output) in my amp and need suggestions that what exact values should I use for the bypass capacitors and what brand is the best candidate for a bypass capacitor? I am using Jensen 0.22mF/630V PIO/Paper in tube but I can see some other designer using Jensen 0.47mF/630V. Is there any effective difference between two different values (mF) sonically? Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Tan
« Last Edit: 19 Sep 2007, 10:12 pm by tanchiro58 »

BobM

Fundamentally, lower values have higher cutoff's in terms of frequency when in a bypass is used in a signal path as a coupling capacitor. So a 1.0uF cap would allow frequencies lower in value to pass through (better bass) than a .01uF cap. Generall signal path caps are relatively small in size, like 1.0uF or .47uF, so you would need to bypass them with something even smaller, like a .001uF cap. But bypasses affect the high frequencies only in this instance. I have commonly seen people use larger value coupling caps than prescribed for better bass response and then using a bypass for the higher frequencies.

There's also issues of planned low frequency cutoff in phono stages where the size of the cap acts like a wow and flutter filter of sorts.

In a power supply I don't think the value is overly critical, as long as you keep the 1000 to 1 ratio or larger in mind. So bypassing a 100uF cap with a .1uF cap is appropriate, but a .01uF bypass is also OK.

I'm sure the engineers here can give you far more detail than I can. But this is what I've found in practice.

Bob