Replacement of the electrolytic capacitors 100 uf 160v

[Applemacman]

Hi all,

Just in case anyones interested, I started twicking my bottlehead. I replaced the 100 uf 160 volts electrolytic capacitors for Audio Note Kaisers and although they are expensive I loved the smoothness of sound and the tightness of the bass achieved by these caps. Great for Rock and Jazz and classicsl so glad I did this.

[Doc B.]

I guess the Kaisei is the current Black Gate? I do agree that a film cap would probably be a better choice for an upgrade in this particular spot.

[mcandmar]

That is what they are alluding to.  Similar money to Poly caps too.

https://www.hificollective.co.uk/components/audio-note-kaisei-electrolytic-capacitors.html

[Pingu]

That’s an interesting suggestion, most are using big film caps. Anyone else done this?
Would be good to know others impressions. I’ve used the usual the Panasonic bricks as they were easy to fit and reasonably priced for “real world” usage
Martin

[Deke609]

For those that think that some caps sound better than other caps (I'm one of them), I believe the thinking is generally along the lines of, "If you must use electrolytics (e.g., because of space constraints), then use [X brand] because they sound better (not as bad); but film caps sound better and are preferred, especially in key signal path positions (e.g., coupling capacitors)".  You don't see a lot of recommendations that people throw out their Mundordf, Duelund, VCap, etc. film caps and replace them with Kasei or other expensive electrolytics.  That said, there's a bit of a frenzy over no longer made "Black Gate" 'lytics and so you could probably find someone on the net stating that they're the best unobtainium thing going.

I'd personally stick with the Panasonic film caps.

cheers, Derek

[Laudanum]

Well, those lytics are $20 cheaper than the Mundorf MKP film caps that I used.  But seems to me that a film cap would be the most logical choice, regardless.  For the record, I think I do happen to have a couple of Black Gates stashed somewhere that would fit the bill in terms of capacitance and voltage rating.  But I believe the series I have were intended for power supply, not signal coupling caps.   I think I would have used film caps anyway, even if I did have the "right" series of Black Gates.