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AC Capacitors

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In Reply to: Re: thanks! quick ? about caps posted by Jon Risch on October 26, 1999 at 10:38:41:

The best capacitors I have found for this application are the WIMA MP3-X2 series. They are across-the-line rated capacitors with a vacuum epoxy encapsulated paper film dielectric of similar construction to the Rifa (now Evox Rifa) capactors in your construction notes Jon. I have found their sonic properties to be better than any other capacitor in this size range. In addition, the construction is better and the leads are copper as opposed to the Rifa series. The vacuum epoxy impregnation is of course done to remove all air from the windings so they will not support a fire in case of catastophic failure due to voltage transient. A consequence of this construction is that the capacitor becomes a solid block of epoxy because in the smaller sizes (up to about 15MM PCM) the epoxy penetration into the paper dielectric is nearly complete. The sonic rewards of non-moving capacitor plates can be quite astonishing in many applications. I would encourage others to experiment with these amazing capacitors in all applications.
Dave

Follow Ups:

Re: AC Capacitors Brad 12:38:51 10/26/99 (2)
Dave:
What is your most reliable source for these across-the-line caps? What values do you use (10mf, by chance?) I am incorporating some of Buddha's noise filtering circuitry into my amp power supplies. I found some caps that will work from Tanner Electronic, but I am always looking for another source.
Thanks--Brad
- Re: AC Capacitors Robert 13:17:42 10/26/99 (0)
  Go here for the caps Dave named...
  - click on the
- Re: AC Capacitors Dave Ingels 12:54:20 10/26/99 (0)
  Brad
  Across-the-line type AC rated capacitors typically only range up to about 2.2uF depending on the manufacturer because of the high plate spacing and other safety considerations. I have tried values this high but they do not, in my opinion, sound as good as the smaller sizes. My recommendation was for sizes between 1000pF and 0.1uF which will be between 10mm and 15mm lead spacing. The larger sizes do not have as good epoxy penetration and I find, in direct comparison with the same value made up of smaller sizes, sound a bit 'softer' or more like conventional capacitors (albeit still much better than typical plastic wound capacitors). For larger or smaller capacitors than covered in this range, I have other types I prefer.
  WIMA capacitors are widely available from a number of distributors. I use a local distributor in my area.
  Dave

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