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09-30-2022, 12:31 PM
Hi Strelok
I believe you will find that almost no one uses ESR meters, l;east of all for MI.
ESR - equivalent series resistance
DF - dissipation factor
DA - dielectric absorption
These are all capacitor imperfections, of which, electrolytic capacitors suffer the most. ESR is only one factor and all three will "go crazy" after a few years and adversely effect audio performance. These imperfections contribute to the sound of vintage amps and some techs and amp builders prefer to mimic the effect by using series caps in new builds where a single cap could easily sustain the voltage. TUT3 Vox chapter shows a way to erode the cap performance in a controlled way (the cap itself is uneffected).
ESR effects both charging and discharging of the cap. TUT3 shows how to limit the charging current surges to protect the PT and the cap, without altering the low-impedance the audio circuit requires from the supply.
In general, the service life of an electrolytic cap is 14 years, as TUT state - that is, if you want their lowest-distortion performance. Regular application of voltage will keep the caps healthy and the amp tone consistent for a longer period of time than will transient use of the amp. This is a good reason to avoid collecting amps. Just find one or build one that is your daily amp.
The easiest fix is to either change the caps if they are suspect or to add a plastic cap in parallel to correct the high-frequency effects of the main filter.
As a cathode bypass, an electrolytic has a particular sound, where poly caps do not.
have fun
I believe you will find that almost no one uses ESR meters, l;east of all for MI.
ESR - equivalent series resistance
DF - dissipation factor
DA - dielectric absorption
These are all capacitor imperfections, of which, electrolytic capacitors suffer the most. ESR is only one factor and all three will "go crazy" after a few years and adversely effect audio performance. These imperfections contribute to the sound of vintage amps and some techs and amp builders prefer to mimic the effect by using series caps in new builds where a single cap could easily sustain the voltage. TUT3 Vox chapter shows a way to erode the cap performance in a controlled way (the cap itself is uneffected).
ESR effects both charging and discharging of the cap. TUT3 shows how to limit the charging current surges to protect the PT and the cap, without altering the low-impedance the audio circuit requires from the supply.
In general, the service life of an electrolytic cap is 14 years, as TUT state - that is, if you want their lowest-distortion performance. Regular application of voltage will keep the caps healthy and the amp tone consistent for a longer period of time than will transient use of the amp. This is a good reason to avoid collecting amps. Just find one or build one that is your daily amp.
The easiest fix is to either change the caps if they are suspect or to add a plastic cap in parallel to correct the high-frequency effects of the main filter.
As a cathode bypass, an electrolytic has a particular sound, where poly caps do not.
have fun
