Capacitor shootout

F1nut

Capacitor info/ratings you might find interesting, http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/Cap.html

Dayton caps are made by the same company that makes Bennic.

F1nut

More cap info, http://ldsg.snippets.org/appdx-ec.php

Face

Great links, thanks Jesse!

Now let's see what the budget allows...

ben62670

Well the Dayton/Bennic caps are definitely sharper/more detailed on the highs. They are still warming up. I am also using silver speaker wire on them, and the cymbals, and rim shots are definitely right there. The sound of symbols is sweet. You can hear the shimmer much better with these. It is a little premature, but if they sound that much better already I am going to have to say they beat the Solen's. I haven't had anything get worse after burn-in yet.

F1nut

Solen caps are known for not sounding all that good at the upper end.

ben62670

dustradio wrote: »

get some mil spec tantium caps, they can last a lifetime and just kill others

Mil Spec means they can handle harsh environments, and not necessarily sound good

Ben

jakelm

Please let the Solens win....please let the Solens win.....:(:(


I dont want to have to take apart my speaks again....:mad:

ben62670

jakelm wrote: »

Please let the Solens win....please let the Solens win.....:(:(


I dont want to have to take apart my speaks again....:mad:

I wish they would. I did all my speakers in Solen's. I would only change the Solen's in the tweeter curcuit.
Ben

heiney9

Ben, all due respect it's a little early in the game to already have a clear choice ., IMHO.

ben62670

heiney9 wrote: »

Ben, all due respect it's a little early in the game to already have a clear choice ., IMHO.

I understand where you are coming from, but already they sound quite a bit better than the Solen's. I have about 30hrs on the Dayton's. I left Solen's in one speaker, and have the Dayton's in the other. The highs are very nice, and like I said the shimmer from the snare drum, and the cymbals is very nice. With the Dayton's the sustained sounds just fall off to quickly. This is not artifacts, but the recording sounding truer to life.

Early B.

Solen sucks. They should be ripped out of every component where they are found.

(Whew! I've been wanting to say that for a while.)




OK, maybe I'm being too harsh. But they are basic, entry level caps, so you can't expect much musicality from 'em.

Face

I wouldn't say they suck, they were a big upgrade from OEM for me. I am looking to upgrade again though, I just haven't decided on a brand or budget yet.

dorokusai

ben62670 wrote: »

Mil Spec means they can handle harsh environments, and not necessarily sound good

Ben

Mil Spec is an overused phrase in audio.

heiney9

They are a long way from sucking especially compared to $2 stock components. Are there better caps out there, yes there certainly are. Solens are a solid choice for the typical DIY'er on a budget with a budget speaker. They are not "cream of the crop" but neither is their cost.

I'm sure other like Bennic, Clarity, Madisound, etc are comparable and of course they all will have their own sound characteristics which some will like and dislike. I'm sure opinions run the typical gamut just like everything else audio.

God, you'd think Solen was made by Monster the way some people are hating :rolleyes::)

H9

heiney9

For those in doubt about Solens here is a good post(s) to read. I stand by my comments 6 mos. later.

In reference to my Monitor 5b upgrade:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showpost.php?p=622486&postcount=64

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showpost.php?p=623358&postcount=87

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showpost.php?p=647616&postcount=112

FWIW

H9

dorokusai

I'm not sure what this whole excercise is going to prove other than Ben stating his opinion. He could have just read about the caps and rolled dice for that matter.

ben62670

heiney9 wrote: »

God, you'd think Solen was made by Monster the way some people are hating :rolleyes::)

H9

I'm not hating them. They are definitely better than stock, but Dayton's are better than Solen's for the same price. I would not have used them in all my speakers if I "hated" them. I will end up changing out my Solen's on my upgrades. I would like to at least use Sonicaps on the highs.

Ben

heiney9

dorokusai wrote: »

I'm not sure what this whole excercise is going to prove other than Ben stating his opinion. He could have just read about the caps and rolled dice for that matter.

True. But worthwhile at least reporting his findings. I am somewhat interested but to lazy to do the experiment myself.

jakelm

ben62670 wrote: »

I understand where you are coming from, but already they sound quite a bit better than the Solen's. I have about 30hrs on the Dayton's. I left Solen's in one speaker, and have the Dayton's in the other. The highs are very nice, and like I said the shimmer from the snare drum, and the cymbals is very nice. With the Dayton's the sustained sounds just fall off to quickly. This is not artifacts, but the recording sounding truer to life.

Are you saying, because of this, they are better than the Solens?

I'm alittle confused at which cap you find better. Dayton or Solen? And was the mids tested or the tweeters?
Or am I missreading the whole thing? (which happens often)

heiney9

ben62670 wrote: »

I'm not hating them. They are definitely better than stock, but Dayton's are better than Solen's for the same price. I would not have used them in all my speakers if I "hated" them. I will end up changing out my Solen's on my upgrades. I would like to at least use Sonicaps on the highs.

Ben

The post wasn't directed at you Ben, it was directed to anyone who says they suck, which is certainly a valid opinion but more rhetoric than actual valuable information.

H9

jakelm

All caps suck and blow , right? Wax on Wax off...

ben62670

I like the caps that come on rolls, and you can hit them with a hammer:D

jakelm

Sonicaps will be in my 7's and center channel soon, I can tell. Probably best for the Peerless tweeter anyway.

Systems

Early B. wrote: »

Solen sucks. They should be ripped out of every component where they are found.

:eek:Oh crap I'm using a 43uf Solen for DC protection on my tweets.How much will a 43uf Sonic cap cost me now that I must upgrade?:(

ben62670

GV#27 wrote: »

:eek:Oh crap I'm using a 43uf Solen for DC protection on my tweets.How much will a 43uf Sonic cap cost me now that I must upgrade?:(

43 or 4.3?

Systems

ben62670 wrote: »

43 or 4.3?

Yes 43

ben62670

GV#27 wrote: »

Yes 43

That is a huge cap for a tweeter! That would most likely put the XO around 1000hz!

Systems

ben62670 wrote: »

That is a huge cap for a tweeter!

Yes it is let me explain.Im using an active crossover(xover point is 2k) and normally the output of the amplifier is directly conected to the driver.But if any DC offset where present it might destroy the tweeter.Therefore I use a large enough cap that will not have any effect on the slope of the crossover but will block any DC.

F1nut

You'd have to go with a 20 and 23 as Sonicap's largest is 30uF. Probably run $50-$60.

ben62670

GV#27 wrote: »

Yes it is let me explain.Im using an active crossover(xover point is 2k) and normally the output of the amplifier is directly conected to the driver.But if any DC offset where present it might destroy the tweeter.Therefore I use a large enough cap that will not have any effect on the slope of the crossover but will block any DC.

Thats smart thinking. with an 8ohm tweeter you could probably use a 20, and be happy with no adverse slope to the tweets. With a 4ohm tweeter you would have to run about 40 like you posted. keep in mind you may want to try a polarity sway to deal with the phase issue of a 6db sloped bass blocker;)