[cujobob]

Danny,

On DIY audio a few years back I read some stuff you posted about  bypassing caps, why it works, etc....but how can someone determine which value bypass caps will work?  For example, in my current speakers, I have an 8 uF and 1uF cap in the tweeter's signal path, would I bypass them both and with what values?  Obviously, the .01 platinum caps are cheaper, but I'm not sure how to decide on a value.  Someone mentioned to me they used a .01 uF cap on the 1 uF and bypassed the 8 uF with a .1 uF...didn't understand why, thats all.

The detractors say it can cause phase distortion, is this something you've ever noticed?

[Danny Richie]

The detractors say it can cause phase distortion, is this something you've ever noticed?

Yeah, those guys really make me laugh. Technically it can but the phase shift is in a range beyond what humans can hear. Even if it were low enough to cause any measurable shift down into the top octave, it pales in comparison to the phase shafts in the lower ranges that the crossover causes.

The smaller the cap the faster it will discharge. But the best value is not necessarily the smallest. The larger it is the more it can take on the characteristics of the by-pass cap.

Typically for loudspeaker crossovers, a value in the .1 range is best for most applications.

In the case of by-passing an already small 1uF value it may indeed be best to go with a value as low as a .01uF.

[cujobob]

Some people say just get good caps but unfortunately, an 8 uF cap of high quality is just insanely expensive.  I use Sonicaps, very good basic caps, but I've had great results with my Neo 2X and the platinum bypass caps.  Thanks for the response.  I'm actually going to replace the 1 uF cap with a lesser value as they're a bit bright...probably .75ish so would just bypass then.

On another topic, do you happen to know of a good switching device so one could use both a HT receiver and a two channel setup without having to replace the cables each time?  I figure one may have been used during some blind testing ...