Urushi Capacitors by Mr.Teramoto @ Feastrex

[tuyen]

1uf 1000v:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Urushi-Capacitor-1uF-1000V-Mr-Teramoto-Feastrex-/200641304604?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item2eb727581c

0.47uf:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Urushi-Capacitor-0-47uF-1000V-Mr-Teramoto-Feastrex-/200641304099?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item2eb7275623

0.15uf:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Urushi-Capacitor-0-15uF-1000V-Mr-Teramoto-Feastrex-/200641303317?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item2eb7275315


We gave up finding off the shelf capacitors, and Mr Teramoto came up with his magic. Urushi finished capacitors. He needs to treat them one by one with his hands.

Urushi material acts like poison ivy juice. If you touch them before it cured, you will remember it for life!

Specifications:
Voltage Rating, 1000Vdc, 500Vac
Capacitance Tolerance, 10%
polypropylene film and double metallized electrodes
Capacitor body Length x Diameter
0.15uF, 34mm x 18mm
0.47uF, 34mm x 27mm
1uF, 34mm x 29mm

Interesting! May have to grab some to try!

[omodo]

interesting..  

http://www.kenjitoki.com/ukproject/urushi.html

do you know what the underlying/donor capacitors are? the listing seems to indicate some type of metalized polypropylene, wrapped in twine, with a coating of urushi laquer, so perhaps they are an off the shell item, much like Yamamoto's ebony tube and resin encased Illinois PHC

So perhaps the cultural significance or reverence of Urushi is being used to add mystique or magic, and damping with the urushi/twine is use to improve the performance, again like the Yamamoto casings, and in a western style with less cultural significance the ClarityCap MR.

The ClarityCap MR is manufactured in such a way to substantially reduce the negative effects of resonance on sonic quality which is inherent in a wound component. This results in a sonic characteristic which is difficult to equal. Manufactured from metallised polypropylene film the component is housed in a coloured acrylic tube and encapsulated in an epoxy resin to assist in the overall sonic performance

[tuyen]

Not sure what the donor caps are omodo, but you might well be right about it being same same to a claritycap mr

only one way to find out tho isn't there!

Now that I'm used to the Jensen 1uf paper tube copper foils on the DDDAC, will grab a pair of claritycap mr and hopefully some of Hal Teramoto's modded caps too. See how they go!

Also interested in trying a pair of Tom Fung's CICADA copper caps.  Any experience?
http://www.cicada-audio.com/eproduct.htm

[omodo]

they look pretty good! any idea on pricing for the copper ones?

i've got a spare pair of MR in 1uF you can borrow to try

[tuyen]

hrm, they aren't cheap. the last quote I got was US$138/each for 2.2uf   & US$103/each for 0.33uf   ..   apparently that was very special price for me..  HA HA.

So my guess for 1uf would be there abouts..    does seem like the quality is there though.


Would love to take you on your offer to try out your spare MR!

[stevenvalve]

I am a cap junky. I will look into these.

[vitavoxdude]

Hmmmmmm cap junky, ha ha yeah know where your at.
Looks very much like more 'snake oil' wrapping them in twine and DOPING the body.  There is certainly no DOPING around when it comes to pricing them though, ehh?
Memo to self - go out and buy 10 000 SCR or similar pp caps at 2 dollars a cap and 10000m of hemp small stuff and some leathal chemical based glue, lock self in room for 1 month and emerge with break through product, only 299 dollars each and specially sanctioned by a golden air oldie.  Theres no fool like an old fool.
V

[omodo]

I hardly think attempting to controlling resonances in capacitors is snake oil???

http://www.sonicstate.com/news/2008/05/27/aes08-if-the-cap-fits-it-must-sound-better/

[vitavoxdude]

I was referring to applying a binding to an ordinary pp cap and charging big bucks for it not a cap especially designed with vibration due to voltage, not the same thing.
Damping can be both a good and a bad thing, depends where it's occurring.  I damped externally some Solens ( a modestly priced PP cap) with various things from bluetac, epoxy resin (potting compound), wood enclosure (tight fitting) and foil tape.  Have you tried it yet? My take on all this is you have to internally damp the cap as external treatment whilst better than nothing does not provide a complete cure.  Speaker crossovers are where the effect of vibrations are usually at its most disruptive and some wise manufacturers place their passive crossover in an external enclosure to overcome the direct excitation through structural and air borne vibration.

Here is the specs of the caps touted:

0.47uF 1000V by Mr.Teramoto@ Feastrex 60 USD each on flebay so NOT big bucks compared to some! 

Voltage Rating, 1000Vdc, 500Vac
Capacitance Tolerance, 10% 
 polypropylene film and double metallized electrodes 
Capacitor body Length x Diameter
0.15uF, 34mm x 18mm
0.47uF, 34mm x 27mm
1uF, 34mm x 29mm

The caps mentioned only looked to have a binding applied externally which is not the same as the clarity caps which have been designed with quelling vibration from voltage by its internal construction.  Just look at that 10% tolerance figure....................hardly bleeding edge compared with many others but I suppose 60 bucks is cheap if you surround your product in mysticism.  Please buy some so we can compare directly to some untreated Solens or similar and judge for ourselves.
V 

[omodo]

I have no desire to purchase the urushi caps as I attach no more significance to the urushi coating than if they were coated in mission brown fence paint, in fact the latter would be more culturally significant to me However I wouldn't immediately pass judgement on the work or efforts of an elderly japanese gentleman as snake oil, especially with the reputation his drivers and other products have, no doubt his donor capacitors and treatments have been carefully selected over years of listening tests and typical japanese fanaticism...

Damping the external mechanical vibrations that speaker crossovers are subjected to is hardly relevant here, with the intent being to damp internal vibrations caused by the charge/discharge cycle??  (and the eBay listing specifically stated they were developed for use in Feastrex amplifiers)

regarding specs, sure 10% is a bit on the high side, but curious about your objection to the "polypropylene film and double metallized electrodes" is it the polypropylene or the metallized electrodes that is the issue? curious to know...

[tuyen]

I don't think products Hal tweaks is based on snake oil.   Especially having experienced some of the tweaks he has demonstrated to me while I was at the Feastrex factory.  I heard the difference between transformers that were treated and untreated on the power supply for the field coil drivers with my own ears!

None of their products are based on mysticism. When I met Hal, he was more then happy to demo all his tweaks and products (including urushi coated phase vs gold plated, bronze plated phase plugs on their drivers,   little wooden pyramids under the speaker cabinets  using different types of wood).  

Feastrex system is still one of the best systems I have heard to date!  

Either way,  pair of Hal's caps are on the way over, so we will have to wait and see

[Jehuty]

I am a cap junky. I will look into these.

Go go Steven! Will be interested to know how they fare against the Duelunds  I guess for the money, the urushi caps can't really go wrong...

[kajak12]

I don't think products Hal tweaks is based on snake oil.   Especially having experienced some of the tweaks he has demonstrated to me while I was at the Feastrex factory.  I heard the difference between transformers that were treated and untreated on the power supply for the field coil drivers with my own ears!

None of their products are based on mysticism. When I met Hal, he was more then happy to demo all his tweaks and products (including urushi coated phase vs gold plated, bronze plated phase plugs on their drivers,   little wooden pyramids under the speaker cabinets  using different types of wood).  

Feastrex system is still one of the best systems I have heard to date!  

Either way,  pair of Hal's caps are on the way over, so we will have to wait and see

Your a legend tuyen nothing will stop you buddy fcuk everybody ENJOY YOUR JOURNEY WITH YOUR OWN EARS

[vitavoxdude]

And there was me thinking everyone was out spring cleaning as its gone awfully quiet here of late. 
So Tuyen if you get a couple of them then the proof can be in the eating. 
What value is coming and what voltage?
Where are you going to try them i.e. what position in the circuit?
I'd be very keen to have a blind listening test with these caps with some of the usual suspects below and up to their price point.
There is a fair dossier of cap tests now available on the web but I have never seen these particular caps reviewed / tested so could be a first for the KDAC forum. 
V

[kajak12]

And there was me thinking everyone was out spring cleaning as its gone awfully quiet here of late. 

I'd be very keen to have a blind listening test with these caps with some of the usual suspects below and up to their price point.
There is a fair dossier of cap tests now available on the web but I have never seen these particular caps reviewed / tested so could be a first for the KDAC forum. 
V

Quiet!!!!!!! Some of us have to work for Tiffany hand bags our time is limited on posting 


Blind testing caps!!!!!!
I thought about blind testing LCD TV'S luckily i trusted my vision other wise i could of purchased a black and white vintage tv without knowing,i have tuned my system all with 100% vision would it sound different with blind testing YES!!!!! It wouldn't work due to my soldering skills blind are very poor.Trust your ears its a gift for music lovers if you don't use it collect postage stamps

[vitavoxdude]

And there was me thinking everyone was out spring cleaning as its gone awfully quiet here of late. 

I'd be very keen to have a blind listening test with these caps with some of the usual suspects below and up to their price point.
There is a fair dossier of cap tests now available on the web but I have never seen these particular caps reviewed / tested so could be a first for the KDAC forum. 
V

Quiet!!!!!!! Some of us have to work for Tiffany hand bags our time is limited on posting 


Blind testing caps!!!!!!
I thought about blind testing LCD TV'S luckily i trusted my vision other wise i could of purchased a black and white vintage tv without knowing,i have tuned my system all with 100% vision would it sound different with blind testing YES!!!!! It wouldn't work due to my soldering skills blind are very poor.Trust your ears its a gift for music lovers if you don't use it collect postage stamps

Yeah M, you need to start saving your pennies for when the missus wants to change the carpets and the wall colour to match the new suite so keep getting in the overtime (ha ha).
You can conduct a simple a/b  test blind with the person listening not knowing which cap is in circuit. It's a lot easier this way as you cannot exercise the bias of sighted changes and wanting the more expensive cap to be the best, preconceptions are hard to put aside for all but the most resoloute.  Looks like people are waking up to post.
Night night.
V