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Don't Neglect to check your Caps!

Lately, my system has been sounding oddly dark.

At first, I wondered whether my recently acquired VooDoo Dynasty ac cords were still settling in, then it occured to me that it might be worthwhile having my 18 year old Silverline monitors checked out. 

I found a local tech (Mike at Neal’s Speaker Service in Colfax, CA) who told me the tweeters were fine but the caps were on their way out. I gave him the go ahead to replace them and wow, what a difference!  One advantage to waiting as long as I did is that the contrast is dramatic and immediately apparent, not that I’d advocate this as a deliberate strategy.

I guess it’s like the slowly-cooking frog analogy. Our ears can adjust to slowly degrading sound and we won’t necessarily notice it until it reaches a tipping point. 

 

 

 

 

stuartk

Showing 1 response by 996turbo911

996turbo911
55 posts
 

Somewhat related question. Do capacitors deteriorate just with age, or does it have to do more with use? Or some combination? 

Say I have a component or speakers in storage long term, not being used but kept in a place with good conditions (no problems with heat, humidity, dust, or anything like that). Would it still have issues with caps eventually, or is that mainly caused by a signal passing through them to cause wear and tear?

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