Orange Drop Capacitors

The (un)Famous Orange Drop Capacitors

The original manufacturer of Orange Drop capacitors, Sprague Electric Company, ceased operations in the early 2000s. This closure created a significant void in the market, given the component’s popularity and perceived superiority. As demand persisted, a problematic trend emerged: the proliferation of counterfeit Orange Drop capacitors, primarily originating from manufacturers in Asia.

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Balanced and Unbalanced Audio Interfaces

Balanced and Unbalanced Audio Interfaces

Understanding the differences between balanced and unbalanced interfaces, and best practices for interconnecting balanced and unbalanced equipment, is important for achieving optimal audio performance and minimizing noise issues.

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Discrete op-amp

Discrete Transistors vs. Op-Amps

In the world of high-end audio (Hifi or music gear), the debate between using discrete transistors and integrated operational amplifiers (op-amps) has been ongoing for decades. This article examines the technical merits of discrete transistor designs in comparison to op-amp-based circuits, particularly in the context of audio applications.

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JFETs circuit

High-End Audio Components: JFETs

JFETs are key elements in high-impedance devices like MEMS sensor buffers, microphone preamplifiers or Moving Magnet (MM) phono preamplifiers. (Don’t misfit with MOSFETs!). Nevertheless, there are somehow controversial components for Hi-fi aficionados. Generally, BJTs high […]

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NICHICON MUSE KZ High-end Audio Electrolytic

High-End Audio Components: Capacitors

Capacitors come in two main types: electrolytics and non-electrolytics. There are not ideal elements, less to say, and intrinsically present Equivalent Series Resistance (the famous ESR), current leakage, dielectric absorption and, as usual with real […]

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Vishay MBB0207 Metal Film Resistor 0.6W 1% 50ppm

High-End Audio Components: Resistors

Resistors have two main issues when you want to design a low noise, low distorsion system : noise and linearity. Imagine also that you design a RIAA filter : tolerance and linearity are major concerns […]

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