Author Topic: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps  (Read 22898 times)

tuyen

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AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« on: November 22, 2010, 09:35:54 AM »


Taken from - http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/Cap.html
Amp Ohm FE-XAL-AL 630VDC Polyester in Oil aluminium foil - 10% tolerance

Technical Specifications (according to manufacturer): "Ampohm Audio Capacitors are specially designed for high performance audio systems. These polyester film capacitors are hand wound using high purity aluminium foil and have their leads hand soldered before being assembled and hermetically sealed in an aluminium housing with phenolic resin and rubber end discs.The 1.0mm diameter tinned copper lead out wires are solder sealed to the eyelets in the end discs This construction results in these components being ideally suited for use as coupling capacitors or as replacements for components in existing designs. Line on label denotes outer foil."

Sound: The Amp Ohm polyester-in-oil alumnium foil is overall very coherent and neutral. This type has a pleasent midrange-highlight when in direct comparison to the Ampohm paper-in-wax alumnium foil type. The polyester-in-oil is very rich and extremely good in retrieving ambient information such as room or hall acoustics. Music is presented in a natural and full-bodied manner. Compared to the Duelund VSF-Cu copper-foil the image is more "see through". Compared to the Mundorf Silver-Gold-Oil the presentation is richer, especially noticable on massed strings or large vocal works. On small jazz-trio's etc the Silver-Gold-Oil high-lights micro detail a little more but doesn't quite reach the same level of overall coherence the polyester-in-oil does so well.

Verdict: 12+



Must try in the dac? Anyone have any experience with these already?

http://uk.farnell.com/ampohm-wound-products/fe-xal-al-2-2-10-630/audio-capacitor-2-2uf-630v/dp/1636660

Offline omodo

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #1 on: November 22, 2010, 10:13:46 AM »
I've tried nearly the entire ampohm range - with the exception of the polyester film, and use the regular alu foil/pio in my crossovers. AmpOhm went out of production for a short time but are back in production minus the polyester films, uk.farnell seems to be the only remaining stocks of them partly because they are so hard to order from unless you are in the uk. You can however order the UK stock from au.farnell/element14 but at a ridiculously inflated price.

http://au.element14.com/ampohm-wound-products/fe-xal-al-2-2-10-630/audio-capacitor-2-2uf-630v/dp/1636660

They also have a copper film range now which are meant to be better than the polyester film, but are not reviewed on the humble hifi page. AmpOhm are available from thetubestore.com at sensible (compared to Duelund, V-Cap, etc) but still boutique prices. I've tried the 0.22uF/630V briefly in my amps but went back to the original cheap MKP caps that Yamamoto uses.

http://thetubestore.com/ampohmpio-copper.html
« Last Edit: November 22, 2010, 10:19:27 AM by omodo »

tuyen

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #2 on: November 22, 2010, 12:24:26 PM »
I see what you mean about the inflated prices if bought from Farnell AU.

hrmm, can't seem to find copper ones in 2.2uf value (only 1uf max).

Are  you happy with them in your xo ? :D

Offline mcb

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #3 on: November 22, 2010, 06:20:11 PM »
Tuyen,

I had been reading about these a few weeks ago.  Could not find any of the polyester in oil in the sizes I was looking for (.22 and 2.2), you have done better than me.  The Farnell aus price is well over the top.  Any contacts in the UK?

I was considering the Paper in oils from the tube store.

.22 are for the front of my MingDa.  The 2.2 would be an alternative for the SatchMax.

Offline omodo

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #4 on: November 22, 2010, 09:49:52 PM »
very happy with them in xo.. also bear in the mind the humble hifi capacitor comparisons/ratings are in the context of speaker/crossover use, not electronics...

1uF might be ok for your DAC, it's basically setting the highpass filter in combination with your load impedance, if your load is fairly high impedance (say 50k) 1uF will still give you a 3.2Hz corner, which is plenty low.. (2.2uF is 1.4Hz in this situation)

Also, I sold a pair of 3.3uF Alu foil/PIO to Steve M in Perth to use in his Scott T DAC, maybe ask him for his impressions?

Offline kajak12

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #5 on: November 22, 2010, 10:05:48 PM »

Also, I sold a pair of 3.3uF Alu foil/PIO to Steve M in Perth to use in his Scott T DAC, maybe ask him for his impressions?
i find that funny six months ago more or less steve m wrote caps dont make a diffrence i guess he fell out of bed and woke up
still discovering the link between electronics and audio reproduction.so much to learn and so little time

Offline kajak12

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #6 on: November 22, 2010, 10:10:08 PM »
Tuyen,

I had been reading about these a few weeks ago.  Could not find any of the polyester in oil in the sizes I was looking for (.22 and 2.2), you have done better than me.  The Farnell aus price is well over the top.  Any contacts in the UK?

I was considering the Paper in oils from the tube store.

.22 are for the front of my MingDa.  The 2.2 would be an alternative for the SatchMax.
http://www.hificollective.co.uk/components/ampohm.html
great service i have bought a lot from them
still discovering the link between electronics and audio reproduction.so much to learn and so little time

Offline mcb

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #7 on: November 22, 2010, 10:47:15 PM »
Thanks for the link Mario.

tuyen

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #8 on: January 25, 2011, 03:26:15 PM »
I've been listening to the Aluminium foil paper in oil varients and have been thoroughly impressed.

Worth a try for the money that's for sure.  Mine are staying put in the killer ;)

Offline vitavoxdude

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #9 on: January 25, 2011, 05:34:22 PM »
Who is Steve M?
V
We all like different things so lets all agree to disagree and if any common ground is found then worship it.  Mine is the KD hence being present on this forum.

tuyen

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #10 on: January 25, 2011, 05:51:56 PM »
He is on SNA as Steve M.  Email address is stevem1960@hotmail.com      Lives up in Woodvale, WA.

Nice fella. He has played with a LOT of commercial hifi gear.    But seems he has recently started to dip his toes into the DIY stuff ;)









Offline kajak12

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #11 on: January 25, 2011, 09:20:19 PM »
I've been listening to the Aluminium foil paper in oil varients and have been thoroughly impressed.

Worth a try for the money that's for sure.  Mine are staying put in the killer ;)

bring them over next time to run against my duelunds in my system :D
this could be a winner
still discovering the link between electronics and audio reproduction.so much to learn and so little time

Offline vitavoxdude

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #12 on: January 26, 2011, 12:18:42 AM »
Thanks T
I think we all become dissalusioned with off the shelf kit eventually but as for improving what we have, well you can change the basic flavour of it but the old adage of polishing turds comes to mind, if its a poor design no amount of changing bits will make it into a great design.   There are some great designs out there without all the high price designer bits in! (all IMO-SNA)
V
We all like different things so lets all agree to disagree and if any common ground is found then worship it.  Mine is the KD hence being present on this forum.

Offline audiophool

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #13 on: February 05, 2011, 02:27:10 PM »
Just been looking around for some of the copper foil version of these, hificollective tell me that there will be no more as they are now out of production. (they did not have the value I wanted - only 1.0uf Cu left)
Pity, they had the best price.
I found stock @ the tube store but a deal dearer (naturellement), nearly up to Audio Note Cu.
Trying them as input coupling caps on my amp.

Offline mcb

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #14 on: February 05, 2011, 06:06:30 PM »
Hi audiophool,  I am not sure what rating you are after, these guys http://www.audiocap.co.uk/paper-in-oil-copper-foil-capacitors-64-c.asp may still have some of what you are after.

Offline audiophool

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #15 on: February 05, 2011, 08:20:26 PM »
Thanks for the thought, I did actually find them (and they didn't have 0.33 either) - I ended up ordering from the tube store and they are now on their way.

Offline audiophool

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #16 on: April 03, 2011, 12:58:57 AM »
These duly arrived and now have some 600 + hrs on them, they are in direct signal path as the input coupling caps. (Copper in Oil)
I also fitted a pair of Aluminium in Wax coupling the input stage to the driver.
Very happy with the overall effect.

Offline kajak12

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #17 on: April 03, 2011, 02:00:21 AM »
These duly arrived and now have some 600 + hrs on them, they are in direct signal path as the input coupling caps. (Copper in Oil)
I also fitted a pair of Aluminium in Wax coupling the input stage to the driver.
Very happy with the overall effect.
very good caps for small $$$$ enjoy 
still discovering the link between electronics and audio reproduction.so much to learn and so little time

Offline zeroalbedo

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #18 on: July 27, 2012, 02:08:59 AM »
What is happened with Ampohm caps in http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/Cap.html ?

Suddenly almost all Ampohms have been relegated -1 point by Tony Gee. Even the earlier 12+ "Amp Ohm FE-XAL-AL alu-foil / polyster in oil" lost its "Personal favourite" status.

Yes, I know he "has the right to change information without notice", but...

Offline stevenvalve

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Re: AmpOhm polyester film alu foil caps
« Reply #19 on: August 16, 2012, 02:48:42 AM »
What is happened with Ampohm caps in http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/Cap.html ?

Suddenly almost all Ampohms have been relegated -1 point by Tony Gee. Even the earlier 12+ "Amp Ohm FE-XAL-AL alu-foil / polyster in oil" lost its "Personal favourite" status.

Yes, I know he "has the right to change information without notice", but...
I quess other caps come along with new performance standards. After all, once you give 10 out of 10, you have nowhere to go but to refactor the ratings.