[hugz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akwok The more expensive.. the better!

Haha I dunno if that's a joke or not. I've been on headfi tooo long. . .

I kinda get the feeling the black gate realised that their caps worked well in audio, and a bunch of audiophiles were willing to pay silly prices for them so they jacked up the price by 5 or 10.

I'm hoping that there are some brands of normal caps (ie companies that make caps NOT specially for the audio market) which work well in audio.. that way they're be priced at normal levels (since they're predominantly made for genertal purpose and not for crazy audiophiles)

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hugz I'm hoping that there are some brands of normal caps (ie companies that make caps NOT specially for the audio market) which work well in audio.. that way they're be priced at normal levels (since they're predominantly made for genertal purpose and not for crazy audiophiles)

Yes, there absolutely are. Try asking in the DIY forum.

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hugz Are black gate caps really the best? I find it hard to beleive that in the whole world of parts, no one makes a comparable cap. They're just so.... overpriced

best is a hard word to use.

bg's do sound very good. if you dont want to spend any time looking for a good sound, they are rock solid.

BUT if you do want to spend some time, then for some apps (like psu's for digital devices AKA dac's) there are better choices. if you want to see some fun stuff, look for test data for a bg vs an elna cerafine "passing" a 50k-hz square wave (the psu "loading" for moist digital devices, especically dac's) signal... one looks like the input wave, the other like a fuzzy and not to "steppish" version of the input.

there have also been complaints about the bg's lack of any real tallent at working AT their rated voltage. some dont make it even that high before poping.

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

So is the company producing Black Gates still planning to cease production? I've heard they were, then they weren't and now they are again

 

[Echopac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete7 Did you buy this amp new from Larocco Audio? Used from someone here on Head-Fi? Or did you just order it? Your PR II might already have the Black Gate upgrade and you don't even know it. If you bought it used from someone ask the person whether or not it has the Black Gate caps. I f you know for sure that it doesn't have them, contact Larry Milligan of Larocco Audio at larry@laroccoaudio.net, and tell him your interested in ugrading the caps to Black Gates. I'm assuming since you didn't know what Black Gates were, that you more than likely don't have any D.I.Y. headphone amp experience. You'd have to send your amp in to Larocco Audio and have Larry do it. It'll probably cost $50. If you just ordered the amp, again contact Larocco Audio and Larry will configure the amp that way for the additional cost. Good luck whatever the scenario is.

Take the cover off the PRII and see what you have, they most probably are Black Gate's. If you don't know what to look for, there will be 2 Black Gate capacitors, in the shape of a beer or soda can, and they are the largest components, other than the batteries.

 

[Samgotit]

As of 2005?

http://www.partsconnexion.com/blackg...production.htm

 

[a1rocketpilot]

There are other capacitors that come close to Black Gates apparently. Elna Cerafines and Silmics are reported to be superb and cost much less than Black Gates, along with the Nichicon Muze KZ line.

Aditya

 

[nothin]

Nice explanation here:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/capacitor.htm
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/amplifier.htm

 

[twc5964]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nerull Reference Audio Mods like Rubycon ZA/ZL better, and they're much cheaper too! ~Tom

I use them....great caps thats fer sure ! I've bought Blackgate N's,PK's and standards and were wowed by them after buku burn in.The Rubycon za/zl sound just as good to me.I used both brands in the power supply and signal path of my preamp and cd player.I prefer the Ruby's strictly for the excellent sound vs. great prices !

I was working on a heavy duty power supply for some equipment at work last week and sure enough...installed were Ruby's za/zl. I'm thankful SRAM'S offer these to the public for very decent prices.

 

[dhp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiGHFLYiN9 So is the company producing Black Gates still planning to cease production? I've heard they were, then they weren't and now they are again

I'm pretty sure there are. But a lot of dealers are massively stockpiling them for use in the future

 

[nothin]

Well, I know now that the component at the heart of an amplifier is the transistor.

But what capacitors do in amps?
And how can they affect sound quality?

 

[dhp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nothin Well, I know now that the component at the heart of an amplifier is the transistor. But what capacitors do in amps? And how can they affect sound quality?

they make noise in the signal path

 

[nothin]

A capacitor is a device that stores energy in the electric field created between a pair of conductors on which equal magnitude but opposite sign electric charges have been placed.

But I cant understand what they do in amps???

 

[amb]

Capacitors serve various functions in an amplifier.

In the power supply, they are used for line filtering, snubber (suppression), rectification filtering, power reservoir and rail decoupling. For line filtering, snubber and decoupling, ceramic or film capacitors are typically used for their non-polar, stability and superior HF characteristics. For rectification filtering and reservoir use, electrolytics are used for their large capacitance per unit size. In these applications, there is very little or no benefit in using expensive boutique-grade capacitors such as the black gates.

In the amplifier itself, capacitors are used for signal coupling (DC blocking at the input and output and in some cases inter-stage). Capacitors are also used for HF compensation (for stability in ultrasonic frequencies) and frequency response shaping (tone control, equalization, bass boost, filters, etc). In all these applications, good quality film capacitors will be better than electrolytic (even black gates). However, sometimes the capacitance required is too large to be practical for film caps, in such cases a "for audio" boutique-grade capacitor can be used to prevent loss of performance. However, even the best coupling capacitor is not as good as no capacitor, and many amps are designed to be "direct coupled" with no coupling caps in the signal path at all.

 

[nothin]

AMB, thanks for a good post!