[sdiy] Sonic qualities of parts..

[Robert Lorentz]

I'm sourcing parts out for the JH String Filter and was intending to
use the WIMA polyester film caps recommended by his BOM.  Sourcing
from Mouser, I found these caps in some of the values required, but
many weren't available.  Browsing around I noticed a similar boxed
capacitor from AVX (metallized polyester film) that is available in
every value required.

Instead of mixing caps, I thought it best to stick with the AVX that
are available through all values that I need.  They're also about 1/3
the cost.

This brought me to consider how it's often stated that certain caps
are higher "audio quality" than others.  I understand that different
materials and construction techniques result in different
characteristics of a capacitor, but how do these differences translate
in to real, tangible, and measurable, differences in audio circuitry?
And to what degree does it actually matter?  Sure it feels good to
throw the most expensive capacitor with a 400volt rating in to every
Cxx spot on a board, but is this achieving any meaningful results?


I started my audio adventure in the domain of guitar
amplifications/effects and these "quality" statements regarding caps
(et al) were thrown about *extremely* loosely.  Whether the statements
are accurate or not, the people stating them to me certainly didn't
know any tangible details... I peg the group here as a much more
scientific bunch that won't see this email as heresy

Robert