Do pricey capacitors sound better?

Some audio capacitors cost an arm and a leg. Does it really matter?

[edd]

Interesting but his question was about caps in speaker crossovers.

[JoeJ-]

It's really all completely relative. In all of my years (decades now) of extremely careful listening and countless "A/B comparisons", I have noticed a "trend" of the following things:

1. If a capacitor is in the direct audio signal path, (whether it be in an amplifier OR in a speaker crossover), it being in a direct signal path makes a MORE significant difference in sound quality than a capacitor that is ONLY in the power supply of a component, however, as Paul mentioned, the power supply caps can definitely affect the sound to a noticably significant degree also, just not QUITE as much as the ones that are in a direct audio signal path. (And I'm just talking here about the differences between different TYPES of capacitors, (as in electrolytic, polypropylene, mylar, etc.), with all other parameters such as their uF value, etc being good and equal or the same between the different types.)

2. There is a significantly noticeable difference and improvement between the sound quality from using a cheap, "basic" quality electrolytic capacitor, (especially if it is old and "worn out" or "leaky" or just plain bad), and a "Mylar" (or polyester) type capacitor.

3. There is a slight to significant improvement in sound quality when you go from a Mylar/polyester type to a good quality polypropylene capacitor.

4. There is a VERY significant improvement in sound quality if you go directly from a cheap electrolytic to a good quality polypropylene right away. (Probably the "BEST" option overall)(provided the necessary uF value is attainable and practical (physical size-wise) with a polypropylene vs. the electrolytic, with polypropylene capacitors being significantly larger in size for the same uF value)

5. There is a very slight improvement in sound quality between a GOOD quality ("entry level") polypropylene capacitor and a VERY expensive, "boutique" brand polypropylene capacitor. (A case of progressively diminishing returns on investment here)(This is VERY subjective, relative, and "debatable")(depends on who you talk with about it)

Therefore, I personally think that you usually get the "most" VALUE FOR THE MONEY, out of just simply upgrading any capacitors that are actually in the direct signal path from cheap "stock quality" electrolytics up to at least a GOOD, ("entry level") polypropylene capacitor, getting as high of quality one as you can afford, (*see note below/at bottom*), and then also, if you can also afford to get a VERY High Quality "film/foil" type of (very small uF value) "bypass" capacitor on both the power supply main filter electrolytic capacitors, (which are impractical to replace with polypropylene ones in their entirety due to their extremely large uF values), AND also put some of the same VERY high quality film/foil type (very small uF value again) "bypass" capacitors across the good quality polypropylene ones you just upgraded to in the direct signal path, then THAT method is probably the MOST cost effective way to upgrade amps and especially speaker crossovers to a VERY significant degree, WITHOUT it costing an absolute "fortune"!...

(Because extremely expensive "boutique" grade polypropylene capacitors can cost up to hundreds of even thousands of dollars EACH, whereas the more "entry level" (but still GOOD) quality polypropylene capacitors are closer to about $1/uF, so that's what I would suggest to someone who wants a significant improvement in sound quality of a vintage speaker or amp, but doesn't want to (or simply cannot) spend literally thousands of dollars in upgrade costs...

This is all basically just my personal opinions though, based on my own years of personal experience in upgrading and improving speakers and amplifiers on a more "meager" or "normal person's" budget, so do with this information whatever you will...

Feel free to spend as MUCH as you want on new extremely high-end polypropylene capacitors like Duelund, or Jupiter caps or something similar, but you're not going to notice quite as much significant sound quality improvement between those extremely expensive polypropylene capacitors and just simply a really good quality "entry level" polypropylene capacitor, as you most DEFINITELY get between the cheap "stock" electrolytic capacitors in most vintage gear and speakers and the "entry level" good quality polypropylene capacitors, so take that into consideration when spending your hard earned money, especially on older vintage gear which usually ALSO needs OTHER upgrades too, not ONLY just recapping!

(*Note mentioned above*)
There is a VERY useful article about (audio grade) capacitors and direct relative sound quality comparisons between almost ALL of them available, and that article is easily found if you look it up in Google...

humblehomemadehifi.com
"capacitor test"

That guy is a "major nerd" audiophile when it comes to capacitor comparisons, so his article, ("book" actually!), is a REALLY great read if you want to upgrade the caps in pretty much ANY audio gear or speakers! He is ALSO continually updating his list with new capacitors that he continually tests and compares to all of the others in his VERY extensive list, on a regular basis, so that article is definitely one of the absolute BEST references for audio capacitors that I've EVER seen anywhere, online or otherwise!

Hopefully this information will help out at least one person out there who is looking to upgrade an older amp or speakers. Good luck and happy listening!...

[MichaelLivingston-me]

His question wasn't about an amplifier, it was about capacitors in a speaker crossover.

[ryanjofre]

ATTENTION PAUL:
Your fan wants to know about capacitor upgrades in speaker crossovers.
I really appreciate your input here and I’d love it if you would make another video about crossover capacitors.

IME an ultra low esr/high frequency filtering cap in the power supply can make an even bigger difference in/of themselves than upgrading the “audio stream” coupling caps.

Replacing a lytic in the audio stream with a film cap is always a worthwhile upgrade, if you can find a good film cap in the value you need that will fit. 😂
Upgrading an inferior audio stream film cap(like metalized polyester) with something like a Polypropylene film/foil cap is a VERY worthy upgrade ime!

[sebastianbachert]

Great video. Thank you, Paul! And thanks for the explanation of the bypass caps. You already mentioned it in some of your videos. Totally interesting point!! Best regards.

[volpedo]

Not sure changing the caps in the power amplifier will improve the performance of the caps in the speakers. 😉

[jamesgilmore-thewaterplusg]

Dear Paul, First I loved the content in this video. Second, I noticed the original question was about replacing caps in his speakers. I think you may have jumped to your experience in the Phase Linear 400 story. I mean you no disrespect. I very much enjoy your videos. Many Thanks, James

[mattlehnardt]

Paul, your rambling is Gold spilling over from a fountain of wealth of knowledge. thanks.

[gotham]

The original question was about speaker crossover caps, not amplifiers.

[algirdasbag]

Thank you, Mr. McGowan, for this and other videos! I adore the way you answer - politely, professionally and with deep knowledge of every case. Please don't stop! All the best to you and PS Audio! 🤝

[nearchd]

Bigger farad caps are always costly, its better to parallel smaller once to get similar filtration bcoz these 10 pcs cost less than 2 pcs big caps

[stimpy]

I owned that Phase Linear amplifier and their 4000 preamp. That was one combination that fed my Dalquist DQ-10’s. Wish I would’ve known about that bypass Cap circuit change at the time. The Sound of this amp was pretty good for the day until I switched over to an Audio Research SP-3a 1 and a D 76 A amplifier to drive the same speakers. it was then that I understood what a true musical experience was about.

[stever]

For the person who sent the email, I found a slightly richer and more organic signature with the Clarity CMR than with a standard OE electrolytic..albeit a pricey cap....many other boutique caps can be tried.

I will say this, if your internal wire for your speaker is 20+ years old, I would look into replacing that as well. The fresh wire will really let everything flow as intended since it's the last signal path before the speaker driver. Replacing the internal wire on my vintage Polks was a night and day difference...good luck!

[janinapalmer]

Capacitors in signal circuits are limited by their ESR tan of the loss angle series or shunt inductance and capacitance / frequency linearity

[robertduvall]

Bob Carver started under the Tradewell store in Edmonds, WA - where I lived. Phase Linear was up in Lynnwood. Everyone I knew worked there to get the gear. I was in High School then.

[engjds]

Spot on, I heard Nichicon make the best audio caps?

[janinapalmer]

My amplifier uses special 'Audio Grade' caps in the power supply which keeps the source impedance as low as possible over the entire audio frequency

[AllboroLCD]

PSU caps definitely matter, though I'm in the camp of as long as your working with reputable name brands (Nippon, Sanyo, Panasonic, Nichicon) youve got nothing to really worry about in regards to needing to "upgrade" them.

[Nanook]

He asked about the caps in his speakers and you went to caps in amps, a different subject. Regarding caps in speakers, commonly used are non-polar electrolytics, and these are basically two polarized electrolytics back to back. They suffer from being quite non-linear and thus introduce audible distortion. They also tend to have high internal inductance and result in attenuation of the higher audio frequencies. Replacing these with high quality oil caps invariably results in much cleaner definition in the high end and lower distortion in the upper midrange.

[tallpaull]

I rebuilt my speaker crossovers with high end parts, ClarityCap, 16 awg air core inductors, Mills resistors, PE pure copper wire… then installed some 0.1uf Miflex KPCU bypass caps and immediately noticed the difference. I did one speaker first so I could listen and compare.