Audyn Q4 vs Jantzen Standard Z

General
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How did you like the Sonicaps?

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To be honest, the SoniCaps have changed. I donā€™t think they are made by the same manufacturer they used to be because they look very different. They look cheaper now than before. Iā€™m not sure the new/old sound the same either.

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23

I use mostly Jantzen Cross Caps and a brand with a Polar Bear on it which I bought from RAD in Canada on sale: they seem OK to my ears and brands like Audyn are very expensive here. I used Standard Z Caps in my Classix II build and the speakers sounded good, if a little lacking high end sparkle, e.g. with cymbals and violin harmonics, but that could have been the nature of the design .

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Of those that have heard a difference in caps on a tweeter circuit; can you speak to your experience with the same concept on a midrange and/or woofer?

I would like to do this experiment myself. However the cost of the experiment can increase dramatically on the midrange and/or woofer of a three-way.

Cheers,

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Okay, Greg, I would advise you to pick a good textile dome mid, or very clean 4-5ā€ cone midrange. To start with on caps, picking ā€œdifferentā€ types is a way to hear a difference more easily. For example, the ASC X386/X387 poly-in-oil or the Obbligato Oil series vs a Clarity CSA/SA(ebay has good SA prices), Jantzen Standard, IMB/Hovland, or MultiCap; and one ā€œupper tierā€ cap to round out the types should be on hand too. I would say an Audyn Plus, AuriCap, Clarity CMR or PUR, and Jantzen Superior or Silver would fit the bill here.

I went back and forth between the ASC and Clarity SA for weeks. Both had admirable qualities that I liked, but one did prevail.

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Ok. I am done with the evaluation and comparison of the Q4 and Standard Z.

Results are, the Q4 has a better sound stage. Wider and deeper. It also sounds smoother.

The Standard Z has better transients and dynamics. Also, to me, the cymbals sound more natural. The Q4 made cymbals sound dry. That is just preference I think because most sound engineers like to make cymbals sound that way but in real life, they donā€™t. There are some that do, and cymbal makers have made cymbals to sound dry. I like wetter and warmer sounding cymbals, so the way Q4s make cymbals sound may be completely correct.

Next test is to replace the midrange caps with Q4s. Midrange goes from 420- 3700hz. I am using a 6.8 uF Standard Z cap on the mid. The high pass uses NPE caps. I will do another test with bypass caps on those.

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I still havenā€™t switched caps. I have been busy with other stuff. But tonight I played this and realized it comes down to the recording. His cymbals sound great with the Q4.

But most stuff I listen to, the Q4 makes things drier than anything I have tried.

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I was (am) a Sonor fan boy because Nicko played them. They definitely make some nice stuff.

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