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Crossover capacitor voltage ratings....

Hello,   I recently started to replace my +20 year old electrolytic capacitors in my PSB Gold i's and have hit a snag.  There are four 100uf 100v bi polar electrolytic caps in each crossover that need replacing.  I found three prospective companies with "audio quality" caps that I may go with for the job.

*Audio Note Kaisei 100uf 100dcv*   or    *Elna RBD 100dcv*   or   *Mundorf (raw) ecap 100uf 100dcv*

Question is....the new caps I just listed all have a voltage ratings as "100dcv".   I assume that this refers to DC current.  So, would the "100dcv" ratings be good-to-go in the crossover where the current capacitor are rated simply as "100v"??  See the issue?  Or should I seek out a voltage on the new cap which is slightly higher?  Or even rated as "100acv"?  If that's the case the pickin's get slim indeed...    Wheeew...

Note:  if any opinions on the above capacitor's sound please chime in!!                Jon
chills
6 responses Add your response
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Chills,
Bill  (grannyring) is very experienced and knowledgeable in these matters, I'd give much regard to his recommendations. Solen is a solid choice and reasonably priced however you can find better. My speaker's simple crossover used a single Solen capacitor at the tweeter. How did it sound? Very good. I replaced the Solen with the Duelund CAST and as a result, very good became superb!

Duelunds are fairly expensive and not practical for all upgrade applications.  The alternative capacitors listed by Bill are worth investigating and are affordable compared to the Duelund. Any of the these would be a noticeable improvement over your current electrolytic capacitors. 
Charles 
rodman99999
6,130 posts
 
An interesting article, which includes a treatise on  amplifier voltages and output power ratings, keeping in mind that your crossovers may often be facing your amplifier’s peak output voltages(or, possibly, clipped signals) on louder music passages. That’s IF you represent the average music listener: (http://www.rocketroberts.com/techart/powerart_a.htm) 
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,479 posts
 
Parts Connextion sells Solen and here is the price and size;

100uf / 400VDC, PB Series, 56mm D x 72mm L, Eachp

$28.21 $28.21 pcX USD Price

They are Solen fast cap brand, You will not find a lower priced film cap this large, however the other caps I mentioned do sound better. I have used all the caps mentioned various times.

http://www.partsconnexion.com/capacitor_film_solen_pb.html

The Mundorf Evo oil is smaller and will cost some $60 each at Sonic Craft, Clarity caps are great sounding and also available at Parts Connextion.

Lastly, resistors are not very expensive and can have an even bigger impact on the sound. Mills MRA available at Sonic Craft would be a nice upgrade at some $4-5 each.





georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
chills
Don’t forget Solen caps, one of the largest if not largest manufacturers. "Some" of the boutique caps are just re-baged Solens. If you do your homework you’ll see they are identical in every dimension, capacity, voltage rating, even the same lead length.

http://solen.ca/product-category/capacitors/

Cheers George

grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,479 posts
 
100 volts AC = 140 volts or so vdc (1.4 x AC volts = DC volts)
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,479 posts
 
Your speakers even if they are rather inefficient and you play your music very loud would be driven with 10-15 volts max. Most of the time only 1.5 - 4 volts. You are fine with 100 vdc!

I would not use electrolytics. If you want the best sound out of the speaker than use film caps. They will cost more and take more room. Check how much room you have and look up these caps for price and size;

solen fast cap
Mundorf Evo in oil
Clarity ESA or SA

These will sound much better if you have the room. The Mundorf Evo are smaller....

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