uh, apparently; did you watch david C's clip?
that's pretty much a 100% double-blind test, and it's pretty damn revealing.
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Difference in Capacitors
- Thread starter pedroims
- Start date
that's pretty much a 100% double-blind test, and it's pretty damn revealing.
I linked this a page or two ago. I think it's interesting, some say it doesn't apply to a guitar circuit. I'm not taking any side in this argument, but I do believe that any and all nuance is probably lost in YouTube compression even if there were a difference, it just isn't quantifiable in a mass context...certainly not through Internet videos. High quality headphones sure make a difference, but the source is still meh. I don't think it's something that can be proved or disproved at the end of the day. People's ears are theirs, tricked or trained. I liken it to the pain scale at an ER. If the patient says they're in pain, they're in pain. Everybody's happy.
Any chance one of you techies would do some waterfall plots for us, with different caps? If there is indeed some audible difference, it would show up on the plots.
I purposely have avoided trying to characterize what I think I'm hearing. It's all subjective and I'm not sure how best to describe it in a way that would mean to someone else what it means to me.
Best suggestion, if you're curious, is to buy a couple of caps and give it try.
Best suggestion, if you're curious, is to buy a couple of caps and give it try.
Measured with a good LCR meter?
Measured with a cheap hand-held LCR meter?
Trusting the marked capacitance?
Unless it was the first one, I'm unlikely to believe they had the "same value".
Just a note about the Sprague Atoms.
Sprague quit making the original guts YEARS ago. Current Sprague Atoms are modern Sprague electrolytics crammed into Sprague Atom cans with the price marked up.
Somehow I figure not a lot of bass enthusiasts have one.
I wonder whether someone at MIT could measure through a couple of capacitors. Wouldn't consume any resources.
I watched both of David C's videos. I did not listen to every test in the first video, but the tests that I did listen to made his point well. I've got a decent computer sound system and I don't know what the internet compression may have contributed (or taken away), but I could not tell a difference.
Second video at 10:45 - start there and watch. David shares with us that he prefers a certain quality of cap in his guitars, something above the minimum quality, simply because that's his preference.
That's fine with me.
Is it fine with everybody if I pay $4 to $7 each for a few caps and install the one that I think sounds like I want it to?
Thanks!
Second video at 10:45 - start there and watch. David shares with us that he prefers a certain quality of cap in his guitars, something above the minimum quality, simply because that's his preference.
That's fine with me.
Is it fine with everybody if I pay $4 to $7 each for a few caps and install the one that I think sounds like I want it to?
Thanks!
It might sound contradictory to some, but even though I've found no direct influence from different cap types, cool old (or new) caps are cool.
I also don't think my wiring sounds any better because I use cloth wire or clean the flux from my solder joints, but something doesn't have to have a real direct effect for me to like it. Some things just have a cool vibe to them, or some feeling of satisfaction in quality regardless of whether it directly affects a change in function.
Pure function is one thing, pure cool is another. I'm not at all against fancy caps, I just like to have a good understanding to use in guiding my choices.
It might sound contradictory to some, but even though I've found no direct influence from different cap types, cool old (or new) caps are cool.
I also don't think my wiring sounds any better because I use cloth wire or clean the flux from my solder joints, but something doesn't have to have a real direct effect for me to like it. Some things just have a cool vibe to them, or some feeling of satisfaction in quality regardless of whether it directly affects a change in function.
Pure function is one thing, pure cool is another. I'm not at all against fancy caps, I just like to have a good understanding to use in guiding my choices.
I look at this as part of fit and finish. You could jam a couple feet of wire in there and make a mess of the control cavity (ahem...G&L Tribute) without much audible impact. Or, you can make it nice and neat using quality wire and components. It is a "pride in workmanship" thing, not an audio thing.
It is like when a friend of mine was restoring a Mustang and tracking down the right stickers for parts nobody would ever see. It didn't make it run or look any better, but it sure made him feel good knowing how much attention he paid to every detail.
wvbass, how did you know what my control cavity looks like???
My major point was, none of us likes feeling like we have to explain or justify everything we do. Personal preference is justification enough for a lot of things around here.
I'm challenged by David's vids and I'd like to come at this cap thing in a fresh way somehow.
My major point was, none of us likes feeling like we have to explain or justify everything we do. Personal preference is justification enough for a lot of things around here.
I'm challenged by David's vids and I'd like to come at this cap thing in a fresh way somehow.
I didn't really have a position on this topic when I started researching - just inquisitiveness over such conflicting opinions. I suppose that made it easier for me as I had nothing to lose or prior position to step back from, just to settle my position wherever the evidence led.
I do plan to embark on some other research over the next year that has me a bit more nervous however. In these cases I've already settled on a solid stance, but looking back I'm questioning how reliable the evidence I've based these positions upon actually is. I'm preparing for a very real chance I may fail to confirm my positions, and in fact end up proving myself wrong.
Oh well. Testing onward!
