Sozo Capacitor test inside

  • Thread starter Thread starter stratotone
  • Start date Start date

Which sounds the best?

  • They sound the same

    Votes: 12 100.0%

  • Captest 5

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Captest 6

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    12
stratotone
stratotone
Active member
www.sozoamplification.com

On the last 18 watt I've built, I did a clip with stock caps and then one with the sozos I just put in. One thing - Sozo claims that you need to 'burn in' the caps for 40+ hours before they start sounding good. So, I'm going to do another clip after they have 'burned in' - my amp is on right now with a Weber mass muting it, and my iPod blasting through it. :)

Here's how I tested it: I recorded a guitar direct to my PC. Then took that file and made a 320kb MP3 file, and put it on my iPod. Plugged my iPod into the 18 watt, and miked it. Used the same amp settings for both clips, and the playing is obviously going to be the same.

Don't listen to these clips expecting mystical tone - the ipod going into the amp was hissy as hell, and I was afraid to hit the input too hard from the iPod - I didn't want any iPod clipping. Just look for differences between the two files. Here are the clips:




Can YOU tell any difference, and if so, which do you prefer?

Pete
 
I don't hear a dif, but I definitely don't have golden ears.
 
I thought 5 sounded a bit better. More definition and clarity, but better overall. Not very much difference though IMHO.
 
Dammit, I had them backwards. I opened them both in separate windows and was going back and forth and I had them backwards. I prefer 6. :-o
 
After about 5 listens I will say 5, lower notes are a tad tighter.
 
Here's a pic of the high-tech test rig...

18watttestrig.jpg


:D
 
6 sounded a little more clear to me, IMO. Either way though, I love my Sozo caps I installed on my Marshall.
 
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Code001":6caea said:
6 sounded a little more clear to me, IMO. Either way though, I love my Sozo caps I installed on my Marshall.
Click to expand...

Did they sound better after they 'burned in' or did they pretty much sound the same right after you installed them? BTW, one of my cathode bypass caps is .68k - the sozo is freakin' HUGE, looks almost like a filter cap on there! :)

Pete
 
They sounded better right when I installed them. In fact, I never even burned 'em in because I'm too lazy (and don't have any real, practical way of doing it). One of my caps is also a .68, and yes, they're HUGE! I noticed that everything was a little more clear and the mids sounded better to my ears. This was in my JCM800 2204, btw.
 
after a few listens, 6 is sounding more clear and punchy to my ears!
 
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Code001":96ede said:
They sounded better right when I installed them. In fact, I never even burned 'em in because I'm too lazy (and don't have any real, practical way of doing it). One of my caps is also a .68, and yes, they're HUGE! I noticed that everything was a little more clear and the mids sounded better to my ears. This was in my JCM800 2204, btw.
Click to expand...

Well, you burn em in by playing through the amp, I'm just an impatient bastard. Plus it's easier for me to keep the mic placement for a few days than to try and keep it that way for weeks.

Pete
 
6 sounds more clear and articulate. 5 Sounds more muddy and bassy, but bad bassy.

I prefer 6 all the way.
 
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stratotone":9deba said:
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Well, you burn em in by playing through the amp, I'm just an impatient bastard. Plus it's easier for me to keep the mic placement for a few days than to try and keep it that way for weeks.

Pete
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm just playing the amp like normal. I don't feel the need to burn them the way you're doing it. I can wait. :oops:
 
You replaced Mallory caps with Sozos? I'm not surprised the sound is more clear. You should try comparing Sozos with some metal polypropylene capacitors next. :-k
 
6 does seem to be a bit clearer. I agree with James in trying some metalized polypropylene caps.
 
FYI, Sozos are clip #5. From reading the website, the amp should sound 'smeared' at first until burn in.

...and #5 sounds a lot more 'smeared' than the other clip. I probably had 40-50 hours on the mallory caps, so they were more burned in or whatever than the Sozos. Mallories have a little more bite and high end in my opinion, and don't sound as congested. I know MP3s aren't the best type of sound file, but even on the original wav files I did, you can hear the same difference, it's just a little more dramatic.

BTW, I also used a capacitance meter (my fluke will measure caps) and all caps, sozos and the mallories were close to tolerance, most were within 5% and only one was a little further out (still within 10%), so I don't think the values made that much of a difference.

Pete
 
So I suppose until the Sozos are "broken in" we're not going to know the full story. Are you prepared to make more clips? :) It'll be interesting to hear how they'll compare to the Mallory caps after they're broken in...

And yes, I can keep double posting on both forums too. :)
 
Me too. I know some folks on both sides of the forum fence that might find this interesting.

And yeah, I want to see if it does make a difference. It's one of those things that people who have installed these caps say happens, but you also wonder if it's just because they get used to how the amp sounds. I'm pretty surprised nobody has done a test like this... maybe they have, I'm just not aware of it.

Pete
 
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