So I was going through my CES 2016 pictures and ran into these images of what is inside Light Harmonic DACs/gear:
The capacitors in the back are from Japanese company, ELNA. It is their SILMIC II series which are for audio applications. This is what they have to say about them: http://www.elna.co.jp/en/capacitor/onkyou/silmic.html
"The "SILMIC" series of aluminum electrolytic capacitors for acoustic applications uses an entirely new type of electrolytic paper. The primary constituent of the newly developed electrolytic paper is silk fiber. This paper was believed unfathomable as an aluminum electrolytic capacitor. The new product beats the silk fiber and mixes it with Manila hemp fiber to provide an aluminum electrolytic capacitor used for high-grade music. Therefore, the series exhibits a superior acoustic characteristics.
[...]
At Elna, we have moved forward with development activities based on the perspective that this "softness" of silk can mitigate vibrational energy, which is generated from the electrodes in the capacitor. Also, this silk softness will mitigate the vibrational energy of the music propagating through the air and striking the capacitor. Ultimately, the softness will mitigate the mechanical vibrational energy that comes from transformers or rotating systems within the final product.
[...]
Due to the increase in surface area at the interface between the electrolytic paper fibers and the electrolytic solution used for driving the device, we also discovered an increase signal propagation speed (the ESR is reduced). For example, the ESR at 1kHz in the GBL electrolytic fluid for a given thickness and density ended up approximately 20% less than for the separator paper made from Manila hemp alone.
Except for the electrolytic paper, we used the exact same materials and conditions to produce a 63V 15000µF block-type capacitor and a 50V 1000µF radial lead-type small-footprint capacitor. When these were subjected to aural evaluations, the high range peak and midrange roughness were reduced substantially. Also, the low range richness and power were increased in the obtained high-quality sound.
In the "SILMIC" series, we also use anode growth foil with more unetched parts and a 55µm low multiplier high-purity cathode foil in order to improve the signal propagation. Through a synergistic effect with the characteristics of the silk, we have made it possible to produce a powerful, yet-mellow, sound that was not possible in the past by using aluminum electrolytic capacitors."
Ok, the lower ESR is a good, objective outcome. But what is with the lay assumption of how something feels to how it would sound? Silk is soft to touch. But why would that have an equiv. effect to audio as they imply? Just because we use silk, that translates into "mellow" sound???? How can "roughness" be reduced? And what is roughness?
The capacitors in the back are from Japanese company, ELNA. It is their SILMIC II series which are for audio applications. This is what they have to say about them: http://www.elna.co.jp/en/capacitor/onkyou/silmic.html
"The "SILMIC" series of aluminum electrolytic capacitors for acoustic applications uses an entirely new type of electrolytic paper. The primary constituent of the newly developed electrolytic paper is silk fiber. This paper was believed unfathomable as an aluminum electrolytic capacitor. The new product beats the silk fiber and mixes it with Manila hemp fiber to provide an aluminum electrolytic capacitor used for high-grade music. Therefore, the series exhibits a superior acoustic characteristics.
[...]
At Elna, we have moved forward with development activities based on the perspective that this "softness" of silk can mitigate vibrational energy, which is generated from the electrodes in the capacitor. Also, this silk softness will mitigate the vibrational energy of the music propagating through the air and striking the capacitor. Ultimately, the softness will mitigate the mechanical vibrational energy that comes from transformers or rotating systems within the final product.
[...]
Due to the increase in surface area at the interface between the electrolytic paper fibers and the electrolytic solution used for driving the device, we also discovered an increase signal propagation speed (the ESR is reduced). For example, the ESR at 1kHz in the GBL electrolytic fluid for a given thickness and density ended up approximately 20% less than for the separator paper made from Manila hemp alone.
Except for the electrolytic paper, we used the exact same materials and conditions to produce a 63V 15000µF block-type capacitor and a 50V 1000µF radial lead-type small-footprint capacitor. When these were subjected to aural evaluations, the high range peak and midrange roughness were reduced substantially. Also, the low range richness and power were increased in the obtained high-quality sound.
In the "SILMIC" series, we also use anode growth foil with more unetched parts and a 55µm low multiplier high-purity cathode foil in order to improve the signal propagation. Through a synergistic effect with the characteristics of the silk, we have made it possible to produce a powerful, yet-mellow, sound that was not possible in the past by using aluminum electrolytic capacitors."
Ok, the lower ESR is a good, objective outcome. But what is with the lay assumption of how something feels to how it would sound? Silk is soft to touch. But why would that have an equiv. effect to audio as they imply? Just because we use silk, that translates into "mellow" sound???? How can "roughness" be reduced? And what is roughness?
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