Electrolytic capacitor difference

[danwojaz]

Hey quick question for everyone. I have noticed on mouser when ordering electrolytic capacitors, there is an “audio grade” filter. So, my question is, is there a difference from “audio grade” and general purpose ?

 

[jwin615]

Hey quick question for everyone. I have noticed on mouser when ordering electrolytic capacitors, there is an “audio grade” filter. So, my question is, is there a difference from “audio grade” and general purpose ?

Pretty much just quality materials, low ripple, low esr. They're probably tested more rigorously (I e. 1 out of every 100 vs 1 in 1000).
No difference in a pedal. No use in power sections. Stick to long life low esr nichi/chemi/rubi-cons and you're good

 

[danwojaz]

@jwin615 Thank you. Have you ever done a sound comparison, or is it just that they better quality ones last longer and have slightly less noise?

 

[jwin615]

Oh, I think they have tighter tolerances as well. .. and that's probably the biggest reason for increased cost. You want repeatable results, sometimes even matched when building hifi/pro audio. That's their market. Not pedals and car stereos.

@jwin615 Thank you. Have you ever done a sound comparison, or is it just that they better quality ones last longer and have slightly less noise?

No. If you can hear the difference of a quality electro and an audio grade electro in a guitar pedal, there's 100 other things about guitar pedals that will worry you more. If you are recapping a studio pre, console or something, go for it. On a 9v rail, it won't make a difference over a good cap. You can use them for bragging rights, as I'm sure some do... But any minute improvement will be lost to the noise floor of the rest of the circuit/chain. Even better, just don't use electros in the signal path.
I say this as someone who leans to using higher quality components when able.

 

[danwojaz]

Oh, I think they have tighter tolerances as well. .. and that's probably the biggest reason for increased cost. You want repeatable results, sometimes even matched when building hifi/pro audio. That's their market. Not pedals and car stereos.



No. If you can hear the difference of a quality electro and an audio grade electro in a guitar pedal, there's 100 other things about guitar pedals that will worry you more. If you are recapping a studio pre, console or something, go for it. On a 9v rail, it won't make a difference over a good cap. You can use them for bragging rights, as I'm sure some do... But any minute improvement will be lost to the noise floor of the rest of the circuit/chain. Even better, just don't use electros in the signal path.
I say this as someone who leans to using higher quality components when able.

Yeah I have slowly increased the quality of all of my components over time. I used to buy everything from Tayda, but now I only buy hardware and resistors from them. I actually like their pots.

For film caps, I usually get wina , and electrolytic nichicon / rubicon from mouser .

I have had too many bad transistors and op amps from Tayda ( even though I ground myself before handling them )

 

[Stickman393]

Radial Audio electrolytics seem to be phasing out of production these days.

Seems like nichicon has seriously rolled back their offerings. Elna's silmics were discontinued.

Honestly: it's probably just marketing for the most part. I've taken to using low impedance, miniature nichicons: particularly the UPW and UHE lines.

No discernable difference in sound as far as I can tell.