Aging of capacitors within crossover networks

"You don't think the person building the crossover tests them all? This reflects the old fashoned way of thinking about quality control tests.

The modern approach is that the output of a production process is monitored by testing a sample of what is being produced. The test results are used, not to verify that the tested items are good, but to detect if the production process is correct. If tested samples fail, the production process is fixed. After doing this for a while all the output is good, and does not require testing. Quality of the product depends on the production process, not on testing. A small percentage of the output continues to be tested, but only to detect if something goes wrong with the process.

From personal experience, I recommend that drivers need new suspensions after 6 or 7 years. Despite their looking fine, I was shocked to find mine COMPLETELY deteriorated. The improvement in sonics via slam, immediacy, bass, and naturalness was astonishing. This is far more critical than capacitor aging.

The premise that

more expensive = better sound

or

more botiquey = better sound

is what I find to be a fallacy. Sometimes it's true, sometimes its' not. Unless you try every reasonable value of every type cap in a particular application, there can be no conclusions drawn one way or another. IMHO, the manufacturer is a lot more likely to have done experiments like that than any end user is likely to do.

most expensive parts do not equal necessarily better sound. Case in point re: caps - I'd take a vintage (read: cheap-ass $2 or so) paper-in-oil cap over ANYTHING made by Blackgate, for values where it's appropriate (mostly power supply stuff). there couldnt' be a greater difference in price vs. hype vs. quality of sound. The cheap ugly oil cap sounds and performs way better than the overrated Elytic.

-Ed

What do you think of this statement by Rod Elliott of Elliott Sound Products:

"Non-polarised electrolytics are a different matter, especially when used in crossover networks. These have a tendency to lose capacitance as they age, shifting the crossover frequency with disasterous results (sonically speaking). Because the loss is gradual, you may possibly not even hear it until the tweeter has almost stopped working, as you get used to the sound over a period of time. Unless all bi-polars age at the same rate (unlikely), you will start to notice a difference between the two speakers. This is your cue to head off to the electronics shop and buy some replacements (non electrolytic, preferably)."

Because of this I started the thread.

Gee, Ed, I'm glad I never said any of those things and never recommended Blackgate.

I'll say it another way:
1. Speaker manufacturers use the best-sounding parts they can WITHIN SEVERE PRICE CONSTRAINTS.
2. There are LOTS of better-sounding caps out there that lots of us know about and have heard in our own systems that sound better than the generally inexpensive stuff most manufacturers use in their crossovers.

Stop accusing me of saying what I didn't.