Jupiter "Audio path coupler" capacitor
Some
time ago Hans Kortenbach sent me an e-mail with including an attachment about
the use of beeswax in audio related components. An interesting note as beeswax
seems to have way of preserving things, due to some specific substances, as
only beeswax can do... Also a sort of enquete was held among older radio repairsman
about "the best encountered capacitor". Almost all of these men ansered:
"Waxed capacitors". These capacitors were the most reliable ones throughout
the years... Interesting stuff to read about! And what a surprise it was when
I "surfed" the internet and encountered the Jupiter beeswax capacitor!
This was at WelborneLabs,
who had an introductory price on them as they were brand new... Quickly I ordered
a few 0.22mF, with copper leads, for the price of $13 each (p&p excluded). Only
a few days later (!) I had them at home and opened up the package. These are
really beautiful made capacitors! You can feel the wax as they are not built
in plastic or metal! They are also pretty heavy, most of the times a good sign.
I'm using Jensen copperfoils (no plastic, C37 teated) at the moment, also having
some Ultratones, Icars and VitaminQ's as reference. All have 0.22mF, so there
should be no difference..
Cees Piet was with me at the time, and I quickly replaced the Jupiters for the
Jensens after listening for quite a time (for reference). Immediately after
swapping the party began! This was not a minor difference! All of the sudden
the music seems to "poor" out of this "path coupler"....
Everything in the music seemed to be unleached.. Fantastic! What a good capacitor
this is!. Also compared to the other references this rather big difference was
obvious, no shit! If you're into buying your coupling capacitor, you should
give these caps a try! You won't be disappointed, I can assure you! The only
disappointment in using these, is when you already have bought some (expensive)
Audio Notes or exclusive teflon-caps, and realise you don't need them anymore....
After a few weeks of listening, I'm still as enthousiastic about these caps
as in the beginning! They have really gotten better, although the improvement
gained in the beginning when swapping these, is not as big as then! Again a
big hurray for "natural materials"?.
ps. These caps have been listened to as coupling device on my preamp; a choke loaded Standard 4019A.
_______________