OK. I have an SBH headphone amp. Gilbert built me a capacitor pack that has 2 switchable levels of filtering: huge (188K) and insane (282K) = 470K when both are on). The caps are in an SBH power supply look-alike case and this sits between the PS and the amp control/output unit: 3 units in all, connected by umbilical cords in series.
At the same time I got this I also was forced by my wife to by a new Audio Note 4.1x CD player. They have been breaking in together for about 350 continuous hours. The AN still has a way to go. I can't tell if the cap pack is broken in or not. I never owned one before. I don't know how it's meant to sound.
So, I listened to various CD tracks on the system for about an hour with with the full cap pack. Then I unplugged the SBH, took out the capacitor, and plugged ther system back in and listened to different music for another hour. Then I unplugged the SBH, put the full cap pack back in the system, turned on the unit and went out for supper. I listened again when i came back to various tracks I had already played. End of experiment....forever. (I don't like "analytical" listening).
What I can say is that there is, now, a large difference with and without the total amount of filtering. I did not try the in-between amount of filtering.
Here's what is different. With the cap pack set at full capacitance the different audio tracks and the instruments in each track pop in and out like a 3D movie of yesteryear. I actually could sense physical movement with my ears when new instruments came in/went out or when a track "shifted". (I am not sure what causes the latter, above and beyond turning the volume up and down. Do they actually change mike locations? Whatever it is you can hear and feel it). The effect is very pronounced. Along with the 3D in and out movement there is also the tendency to reveal every shred of sonic evidence about what is currently popping out at you, the good, the bad and the ugly!
Is the background darker? Is there more space between the notes? No, not really (too both), because the extra capacitance seems to amplify everything and bring it more forward, both in the front and the background. So, if there's any sound, there, you'll hear it. If there isn't, you won't. On some recordings it can become creepy. Are they "bad" recordings?
What's the total effect? It really depends on the recordings. On large-scale symphonic music, I find the new sound distracting, because there is already enough going on. Cut down the size of the "group" and things really do get a lot better. Slow the music down and that helps too. Now, listen to a single performer playing a solo or with a single instrument playing in the background or one-two more, well spaced out. In this setting, on good recordings, the cap pack I have brings out the very best in my source. You wait in awe to hear yourself or someone else fart.
One last comment about how Bill Callahan sounds alone with just a guitar - breathtaking. The same with Carla Bruni. Their voices were so crystal clear and the background was completely black. As they sang, it was as if I could hear the notes passing through space...sort of like the opening of the first Star Wars movie.
That's what i heard and that's all i know. I don't plan to unplug the cap pack any more.
