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BGT bypass film caps - 7-cap (of the same value) shootout.

Posted by carcass93 (A) on July 19, 2015 at 16:07:25

This is the first installment of 2-phase cap shootout, where in the 1st phase, 7 caps of different brands, but of the same value of 1.0uf, are compared for the best sonics.

Second installment, comparing caps by the 2 brands which were winners in the 1st phase, but of different values, ranging from 0.1uf to 3.3uf, will follow.

To preface - a big thank you to unclestu, who inspired this experiment with his posts, pointing out that bypass cap is essential for best sound quality. Also, to Mouser.com, which made this comparison possible with their prompt service.

Here are the contenders, all of the 1.0uf value, all 5% tolerance, with voltage rating from 50V to 100V (not in the order presented in the picture):

- Vishay/Roederstein
- Vishay/BC Components
- WIMA
- EPCOS/TDK
- Panasonic
- Kemet
- Cornell Dubilier - CDE

Test methodology:

1. There are 2 identical BGT circuits, consisting of 47000uf Nichicon electrolytic cap and 9V battery, without bypass cap.
2. System is listened to without BGT, versus with BGT attached to unused "negative" RCA analog output of CD player (XLR out goes to pre), to make sure it sounds better with BGT (it does).
3. System is listened to with BGT #1, versus BGT #2, to make sure it sounds identical (it does).
4. Bypass cap #1 is soldered to BGT #1, and listened to versus BGT #2 (no bypass) - sounds better with bypass.
5. Bypass cap #2 is soldered to BGT #2, listened to versus BGT #1, and the worse circuit is taken out.
6. In that circuit, bypass cap is replaced with the next one, listened to versus previous winner, and so on - pretty much the "playoff" system, but with only 1 game in each round.
7. The loser(s) that were "close" are set aside, to have a second listen later.

After going through the steps above, I have a clear winner, which you can see in the next picture. It's the EPCOS/TDK Polyester film capacitor, 1.0uf 100V DC, priced at $0.99 a piece at Mouser - the second CHEAPEST of the 7 test participants.

The winner of "silver medal" is WIMA Polyester cap, 1.0uf 100V DC, priced at $1.29. "Bronze" goes to Vishay/Roederstein Polyester cap, 1.0uf 100V DC, at $1.88 apiece.

The most expensive cap in the test, Vishay/BC Components Polyester cap at $3.88 apiece, was unremarkable, and probably takes place #4 - but I didn't bother to listen carefully amongst losers.

Edits: 07/19/15

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