Tweaker's Asylum

Posted by paco (i) on November 26, 2000 at 01:16:18:

speaker: maggies 1.6 (2 ways, 600hz xover point)
woofer: 2nd order/12 dbs/3.5 mH/0.4 ohms DCR/25 uF shunt
tweeter: 1st order/6 dbs/22 uF

the following is referring to changes just in the tweeter capacitor,
so leaving the woofer untouched (with north creek 12 ga inductor
and ansar as shunt cap); both auricap and ansar are metallized
polypropilene, while jensen is zinc-metallized paper in oil, and
protected from microphony by a strong alluminium can
(so this comparison can also be regarded as a contribution to the old
controversy between "plastics" and "oilers"); BTW, i've not included other
famous brands (north creek, hovland, etc.) because they don't make
the 22 uF value, and i don't like paralleling

- low level detail: auricap a little bit more than ansar, jensen much more, so they have the highest resolution
- soundstage: auricap mostly wide, ansar mostly deep, jensen both wide and deep
- imaging: auricap more precise than ansar, but with some lack of air due to their rather flat sound; jensen better, offering the different layers of instruments more correctly, which is especially appreciated in big symphonic orquestra music (which sounds much less congested through the jensens)
- transients: auricap and jensen a little faster than ansar
- dynamics: ansar some more visceral impact than auricap, while jensen is the winner here due to its totally avoiding any trace of harshness
- highs: auricap more extended and sweeter in the top but a little bright, ansar less bright, and jensen as extended as auricap but with more body, warmth and credibility (a tubey character, i'd say)
- midrange: ansar fuller than auricap; auricap warmer than ansar; jensen beating both again here, providing you with a very warm, lovely musical texture
- upper bass & low midrange: auricap a little clearer, ansar a little louder; jensen clearer, louder and tighter
- timbres: auricap somewhat more realistic, but a little dry, ansar often more engaging, although perhaps a little blurred; jensen is again the clear winner here, for while they are as realistic and engaging as the former, they provide you with much more richness and airiness

overall sound:
- auricap has a delicate, sophisticated, although a little forward sound, which is at times a little bit tiny and nervous
- ansar is more full-bodied, maybe more impressive for some kinds of music, and at the same time a little darker and relaxed
- jensen offers a very full, rich, laid-back sound, with a clearly tubey, very refined character, being the only one of this sample whose overall sound gives you a taste of true liquidity

for my taste, to my ears and on my system the clear winner is jensen,
which has the wonderful property of transforming the music of my favourite cds into
beauty and emotion; i realized this when i saw that instead of just
doing critical listening, what i was really doing most of the time was
forgetting the comparison and just enjoying the music!!

to summ up, i think i can offer this (in a scale from 0 to 5)
- stock solen: 2
- auricap: 3
- ansar: 3.5
- jensen: 4.5

for more details on my maggies 1.6 mods you can see this:

http://www.integracoustics.com/MUG/MUG/tweaks/paco/index.html

which includes sources for ansar and auricap; a good jensen source is this:

http://www.jensencapacitors.com/

best, paco