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Do different vendor crossover caps really sound all that different?

Which speaker Crossover Capacitors do you prefer

  • Total voters
    78
F1nut said:
Do you have verifiable and/or documented evidence that a listener cannot tell the differences between cap brands?

I mean, you just saying you can't carries no weight according to you yourself.
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leaving me out of the question, I have seen nothing verifiable by anyone else either......

I see guys arguing both extremes, but I mean, I have always heard it was the one making the claim that bears the burden of proof, or some way to verify their claim.

I am not able to prove they do not, but at the same time, I see no proof positive either. Does that not speak volumes?
 
Guido57 said:
There is legend of a group that did a blind test at the end of a demonstration or such and listeners could not detect differences. I have read mentions of this test but no details as to which caps were compared, speakers involved, etc. Perhaps someone with direct knowledge will post here. In the mean time I will not hold my breath nor buy cheap caps for good speakers.
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Over the years, I have belonged to about a dozen forums, mostly under different aliases.
Each forum had a difference of opinion about this type of stuff, same with speaker cables and so on.

I would think by now, (Decades) there would be some proof or something that would settle all these questionable type of tweaks and items.
 
kevintomb said:
leaving me out of the question, I have seen nothing verifiable by anyone else either......

I see guys arguing both extremes, but I mean, I have always heard it was the one making the claim that bears the burden of proof, or some way to verify their claim.

I am not able to prove they do not, but at the same time, I see no proof positive either. Does that not speak volumes?
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The only thing that speaks volumes is some can and some cannot hear a difference. The same can be said for cables, amps, etc. Seriously, there are those that swear all amps sound the same.
 
I have different sets of crossovers for a pair of speakers. Different caps/inductors. One set is more resolving. The expensive set of course.

It's probably not a fair comparison.
 
As well as the poly cap upgrades I've detailed, I've also modded the capacitors in new speakers, and changed out the very cheap NPE's, with slightly less cheap NPE's. But, the replacement electrolytic caps had film bypass caps added. That inexpensive mod made a positive difference, with better resolved midrance, and a smoother frequency response. My wife noticed the differences as well.

As to interconnect cables, I've never really heard much difference between brands. Though, I did notice an improvement after spring-cleaning all the jacks and cable ends, in a system. Much better resolution, which was noticed by other audio engineers.

Now, speaker cables do seem to matter to me. Each upgrade I've done, was an improvement. Kimber Kable 8TC made an amazing difference, especially in bass extension and impact...! All IMHO. :)
 
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While I have my doubts about the fabulousness of the fanciest (by which I mean most expensive) caps, I definitely hear a difference between bad caps and replacements. And I can hear a difference between electrolytics and film caps, though which one is better depends on which high frequency balance I like like more - the difference is easily explained by different ESR of cap types.
And I definitely don't think it worth spending more on caps than a pair of speakers is worth. But that is me.
I think this is an area where people will always differ in their opinions about what is an improvement and what is an illusion, and what is worth it and what is a waste of money. So I think that people should not assume that any recommendation is definitive, and they should try caps out, seeing if each stage of price increase seems worth trying. Some will be satisfied with replacement electrolytics, and others will need to go whole hog.
 
bigaltx24 said:
IMHO, for older speakers I like the Evo oils. I have a pair of Wharfdale W70Ds that I originally recapped with Audyn Q4s, even after breaking them in they didn't sound much better than the caps I pulled out. I recapped them with the Evo Oils and some Russian KBG caps for the larger values. the difference was night and day. I have a pair Of KLH 6s that I need to do, and will probably use the Evo Oils. For newer speakers I like the Clarity PX caps. I've used them in a pair of Snell K IIs, Polk Monitor 7s and DCM TF350s, good results all around.
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Wht do you consider larger values? I am not finding anything "large" in the KGB. I'd love to do Evo Oil for 22uf and 47uf and something affordable for 100uf in a pair for Kirksaeters
 
PiobGuy said:
Wht do you consider larger values? I am not finding anything "large" in the KGB. I'd love to do Evo Oil for 22uf and 47uf and something affordable for 100uf in a pair for Kirksaeters
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~$80 plus shipping from PE for a pair of nice Audyns.
 
For people who say "things sound the same to them so why spend the coin?" I say, do one speaker and listen to PINK NOISE A/Bing the two and see if you hear a difference. I know that people don't regularly enjoy the sound of pink noise, but it's really the best way to tell if you can really hear any difference. The music you listen to may not capture the differences, whereas a piece you didn't audition may show these differences and you have yet to experience it.
 
To answer the OPs questions
I’m going with there may be a difference but no one could tell by listening. If they say they can it’s the placebo effect
 
I own 2 pairs of KEF 104aB's.. ALL SN are close. MY original pair I recapped with the Falcon Electronics recap kit. The other more scruffy pair only has the newest Falcon Electronics T-27 tweet, but no recap yet. Their IS a difference in detail and sharpness with the recapped set. I've owned the original pair since 1978, and acquired the second set in the late 1990's. I have swapped them in and out since recapping using several reliable sources. Even my Crown PSA2 sounds better after a detailed recap.

A few years ago a small capacitor manufacturer couldn't get the goop applied between the film and paper so their chemist re-did the math and produced a goop that allowed caps to be made with 3% variance instead of 15%. The recap industry was born.
 
audiocrzy said:
To answer the OPs questions
I’m going with there may be a difference but no one could tell by listening. If they say they can it’s the placebo effect
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So you're saying that you know how everybody in the world hears things, and that many of them are hearing things that aren't there?
 
Thats like asking the difference between a Firestone tire and a Pirelli or Michelin. But if you are just looking at Firestone and Goodyear then there won't be that much difference. That said on some cars with stiff suspensions the Good year was a good choice for my Odysseys because they were smoother and so much more quiet. Besides I never drove over 80. Now the MDX and my Dodge RAm are different stories. Michelin all the way.

Same goes for caps. But I use electronic crossovers so you are going to have to ask the others which is the best choice for the money. JUst know there are differences. THe main reason for better caps is to have a very low resistance so the caps don't lower the out put of the speakers and don't act more like a RC network which combined with the impedance of the speaker can cause all sorts of issues. So when buying get the tightest tolerances you can afford or are willing to pay.
 
toddalin said:
One guy did a recap and YouTube videos before and after and it's in a thread. The difference was obvious, even in a YouTube video.
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Obvious to you but audiocrzy couldn’t hear the difference. That is a part of the hobby but not hearing those differences shouldn’t dampen the enjoyment of listening to the music.
 
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