A critical investigation into the properties of metallised film capacitors for high quality sound reproduction

Dodds, PS 2009, A critical investigation into the properties of metallised film capacitors for high quality sound reproduction , MSc by research thesis, University of Salford.

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Abstract

This is an account of work carried out through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Industrial Capacitors (Wrexham) Ltd to assess the effects of metallised film polypropylene capacitors on key sonic attributes of reproduced sound. The capacitors under investigation were found to be electrically identical whilst exhibiting differing levels of mechanical resonance within the audio frequency band. Results obtained from subjective listening tests have shown this to have a measurable effect on audio delivery. The listening test methodology employed in this study evolved from initial ABX type tests with set program material to the final A/B tests where trained test subjects used program material that they were familiar with. The main findings are that capacitors used in crossover circuitry can exhibit mechanical resonance and that maximizing the listener's control over the listening situation and minimizing stress to the listener were necessary to obtain meaningful subjective test results. The main findings are that capacitors used in crossover circuitry can exhibit mechanical resonance and this resonance was identified to have a negative effect on reproduced sound in controlled subjective listening tests. In addition, new measurement techniques have been developed that could be used to identify low resonance capacitors during production and, hence, select capacitors that were likely to have superior reproduction quality without the need for further listening tests.

Item Type:	Thesis (MSc by research)
Contributors:	Duncan, PJ (Supervisor)
Schools:	Schools > School of Computing, Science and Engineering
Depositing User:	Institutional Repository
Date Deposited:	17 Aug 2021 07:40
Last Modified:	04 Aug 2022 11:28
URI:	https://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/61584

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