monstertruck Posted November 25, 2007 Posted November 25, 2007 been reading up a bit on capacitors, but still did not understand much (need more layman explanation)... and hence posting some questions over here: 1. why are there so many varieties of capacitors? according to the voltage? 2. how does it affect or improve the existing sound after modification? what is the exact use of capacitors? (pardon me, as i have no background in engineering) 3. is Black Gate capacitors the best? 4. are you willing to mod your capacitors and how much is it usually to mod (the cost of the capacitors is already very high) and lastly with regards to power cords, 1. what is the power cord that you are using now? 2. read that there's not much difference between a budget and a hi-end power cord, as the latter is often produced by OEMs. 3. how much are you willing to invest in a power cord compared to cables/interconnects? Thanks in advance!
kelso1624705851 Posted November 25, 2007 Posted November 25, 2007 You can read up a comparison of 21 different caps here : http://www.vhaudio.com/21capacitorshootout.pdf of course ymmv, on another note resistors are worth upgrading too. You need to try the power cords before making assumptions.
monstertruck Posted November 25, 2007 Author Posted November 25, 2007 You can read up a comparison of 21 different caps here : http://www.vhaudio.com/21capacitorshootout.pdf of course ymmv, on another note resistors are worth upgrading too. You need to try the power cords before making assumptions. hi kelso, thanks! but the thing is, it's pretty troublesome to bring the equipment to test... do vendors offer trial for their power cords? or like in the case of Belden power cords, i guess we have to buy as is, and trial and error ourselves right?
Spunky Posted November 25, 2007 Posted November 25, 2007 think echoloft has lots of 2nd cables (IC/SC/PC) which u can buy at a fraction of their orig prices ;). If it doesn't suit u, can resell at min loss!!
monstertruck Posted November 25, 2007 Author Posted November 25, 2007 think echoloft has lots of 2nd cables (IC/SC/PC) which u can buy at a fraction of their orig prices ;). If it doesn't suit u, can resell at min loss!! ya lor, i saw this good lobang in the afternoon, and by the time i asked whether the Hubbell Plug is applicable to local power source boh (stupid question, as i've never seen the 'unique-looking' Hubbell before), it's gone! hahahahha.... zenn audio has one nice-looking power cord, but that looks a bit too loud (orange-y) for me.
annapurna Posted November 25, 2007 Posted November 25, 2007 been reading up a bit on capacitors, but still did not understand much (need more layman explanation)... and hence posting some questions over here: 1. why are there so many varieties of capacitors? according to the voltage? 2. how does it affect or improve the existing sound after modification? what is the exact use of capacitors? (pardon me, as i have no background in engineering) 3. is Black Gate capacitors the best? 4. are you willing to mod your capacitors and how much is it usually to mod (the cost of the capacitors is already very high) and lastly with regards to power cords, 1. what is the power cord that you are using now? 2. read that there's not much difference between a budget and a hi-end power cord, as the latter is often produced by OEMs. 3. how much are you willing to invest in a power cord compared to cables/interconnects? Thanks in advance! I'll answer your power cord questions based on my own experience in my system and other systems that I've heard : 1. I've owned/used and tried Kimber PK10 Palladian, PS Audio Xtreme Statement, Siltech SPO, VDH Mainstream, XLO, Nordost Vishnu, Stock Cable and many others 2. All the cables sounded different. In my system, Kimber Palladian sounded alot better than the others. The PS Audio Xtreme Statement produces very good bass but mid and high, not as good as Kimber. The Siltech is almost as good as the Xtreme Statement but alot less bass. I would rate Nordost Vishnu better than the Xtreme Statement but not as quiet as the Kimber. Replacing the stock cables in my CD player and my amplifiers with any of the above cables made a significant difference. 3. For my system, my Kimber Palladian cost almost as much as my interconnects as I regard them as a important "component of the system". In fact, I've 5 sets of Kimber Palladian, powering my CD player, mono block amps, turntable power supply and my pre-amp. If you add them all together, it probably cost more than the interconnects and spkr cables added together.
monstertruck Posted December 12, 2007 Author Posted December 12, 2007 I'll answer your power cord questions based on my own experience in my system and other systems that I've heard : 1. I've owned/used and tried Kimber PK10 Palladian, PS Audio Xtreme Statement, Siltech SPO, VDH Mainstream, XLO, Nordost Vishnu, Stock Cable and many others 2. All the cables sounded different. In my system, Kimber Palladian sounded alot better than the others. The PS Audio Xtreme Statement produces very good bass but mid and high, not as good as Kimber. The Siltech is almost as good as the Xtreme Statement but alot less bass. I would rate Nordost Vishnu better than the Xtreme Statement but not as quiet as the Kimber. Replacing the stock cables in my CD player and my amplifiers with any of the above cables made a significant difference. 3. For my system, my Kimber Palladian cost almost as much as my interconnects as I regard them as a important "component of the system". In fact, I've 5 sets of Kimber Palladian, powering my CD player, mono block amps, turntable power supply and my pre-amp. If you add them all together, it probably cost more than the interconnects and spkr cables added together. thanks annapurna, for your reviews!! surely enlighten me a lot, introducing me to a varieties of brands though i have not heard of most of them before... where do you buy or try/test the power cords ar? i may sound silly over here, but if this particular cord sounds good for rock music, bringing out the bass, and another bringing out the crystal-clear vocals, does it mean that i have to plug in different power cord when i listen to different genres? thanks!!
Monsieur Posted December 12, 2007 Posted December 12, 2007 I may sound silly over here, but if this particular cord sounds good for rock music, bringing out the bass, and another bringing out the crystal-clear vocals, does it mean that i have to plug in different power cord when i listen to different genres? thanks!! Yes, u can do that. not only PCs, even ICs and Spker cables sound different. So u can swop to different set of cables to listen to different music genres if u have different sets which u found suits the different music. Why not? or may i ask what is the thing that u worry about that stop u from doing that?
monstertruck Posted December 12, 2007 Author Posted December 12, 2007 Yes, u can do that. not only PCs, even ICs and Spker cables sound different. So u can swop to different set of cables to listen to different music genres if u have different sets which u found suits the different music. Why not? or may i ask what is the thing that u worry about that stop u from doing that? haha, i just thought that not many will go to the extra trouble to change the connections whenever they want to listen to a different genre. is there anyone out here who modify their capacitors and op-amps?
bolts1624705732 Posted December 12, 2007 Posted December 12, 2007 haha, i just thought that not many will go to the extra trouble to change the connections whenever they want to listen to a different genre. is there anyone out here who modify their capacitors and op-amps? My hypex modules were modified with caps and op-amp changes. Done by effectiveaudiomods.
annapurna Posted December 13, 2007 Posted December 13, 2007 thanks annapurna, for your reviews!! surely enlighten me a lot, introducing me to a varieties of brands though i have not heard of most of them before... where do you buy or try/test the power cords ar? i may sound silly over here, but if this particular cord sounds good for rock music, bringing out the bass, and another bringing out the crystal-clear vocals, does it mean that i have to plug in different power cord when i listen to different genres? thanks!! Most of the hifi shops in Adelphi and the others do sell powercords ontop of their other eqpt. Some of these shops allow home trial and depending on your relationship with them, you may or may not need to put a small deposit to bring back for home trial. It is important that you try powercords in your own system as powercords may sound different from what you hear at the shop. However, I would like to add that based on my own experience, a good powercord will most likely sound good in most system althought there may be exceptions, likewise for poor sounding powercords, it will sound bad on most systems. I do not normally change powercords to suit the different music that I listen to as it is too troublesome. Therefore, when I choose a powercord, I will choose one that is suitable for most of the music genre that I listen to. As for you, it is up to you but having more powercords means spending more money ;D
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