Typical capacitor values for audio

[jBam]

Hi gang - another basics question from me ...

After years of digital tinkering in spice I'm deciding to go all in this coming year and want to start doing what most of you do... lol... actually building stuff !! Sure, I'm good with an iron, comfy building kits etc... but these silly spice projects just seem cool and I want to start making them real.

Silly as it sounds (to me), I'm only really just getting head around resistors (not basics, but more what all the crap in data sheets actually mean). Capacitors... I know what they do etc, know the types... but I'm not all over it in terms of tinkering.

I'm about to load up on bits and pieces to start breadboarding things, mainly compressor designs. But wouldn't mind just getting a random foray of capacitors for audio related fun - eq / filter related.

Is there a kind-of good "list" of cap values (and perhaps type / value combo) to have on hand? Like, do you all have a pile of "go-to" values and types for general use, or is it more project specific??

Almost changed the title to "general component values" ... but I'll keep it capacitor related. I might come back with diode and transistor questions!

No worries if it's more project specific - happy to trawl through schems more to get a feel (which I've been doing, but super keen to just finish this mouser cart and thought I'd reach out in case you all just stock up on some standard values).

Many thanks for any guidance!!

 

[CJ]

10 pf
47 pf
100 pf
250 pf
500 pf
.001 uf (1 nf)
.005 uf (5 nf)
.01
.047
.1
.47
1uf
2.2 uf
4.7uf
10 uf
22 uf
47 uf
100 uf
220 uf
470 uf
1000 uf
2200 uf
4700 uf
10,000 uf

That should do it

Stomp box parts vendors are a good place to shop for low voltage versions of the above
Somebody at the lab had a real good link for hi voltage orange drops etc but I forget

 

[jBam]

Thanks CJ!... legendary... just what i needed

 

[ruffrecords]

There are many places that do packs of caps with, for example, 5 of each value spanning a useful range. Same for resistors.

Take a look at half a dozen designs you are interested in and write down all the component values in a single list. Then you will see the most common ones.

Cheers

Ian

 

[jBam]

There are many places that do packs of caps with, for example, 5 of each value spanning a useful range. Same for resistors.

Take a look at half a dozen designs you are interested in and write down all the component values in a single list. Then you will see the most common ones.

Cheers

Ian

Yeah, and thanks Ian! I've been looking at that, and thought it'd be... well... easier, but Web searches are so bloody marketed... for instance (for resistors) I type in "resistor kit" and i get a hugely honed selection of results (I feel like)... or so much "temu" and untrustworthy stuff. In fact... I can't escape vishay smd resistors with any combo of wording I can think of... i assume the wonders of internet (that eternally sells me sh#t based on previous searches) thinks I'm only interested in vishay, even though I've never been interested in smd.

I'm kinda sold on just filling out a mouser cart (or whoever... but reputable) and paying a little extra for sanity.

Unless there's an audio specific pack you can recommend? So many ive seen go right into the Mhz+... all I really want is a pack of useful values for audio

EDIT: Sorry... you already mention "useful range" ... could you possibly point me to one!... or a shop you give thumbs up toM

 

[totoxraymond]

For every component, i tend to order when needed, and if it's a component that mightbe used again likea capacitor, i just order a little bit more than needed. Often i try to reach the next price cap per volume.

For example i buy most through hole resistor by 100 so they'll cost 0.02€ per resistor. Same for most caps unless they're specific / expensive. Lately i ordered 1k 100nF decoupling caps because i know these guys will be used and tve price drop was interesting.

Then the difficulty is to keep everything well stored and know what you allready have.

 

[jBam]

For every component, i tend to order when needed, and if it's a component that mightbe used again likea capacitor, i just order a little bit more than needed. Often i try to reach the next price cap per volume.

For example i buy most through hole resistor by 100 so they'll cost 0.02€ per resistor. Same for most caps unless they're specific / expensive. Lately i ordered 1k 100nF decoupling caps because i know these guys will be used and tve price drop was interesting.

Then the difficulty is to keep everything well stored and know what you allready have.

Out of interest, are you just a hobbyist like me? Or are you in a workshop? I'm trying to work out that break point between having enough to throw around and having way too many (mainly talking resistors here now)... 10 is too little. 100 seems like a lot.

Is ordering in 100s for key components the right thing? Not every value e.g. CJ suggested for caps (think 10ish of each is good for now with caps... although a little more research is pending), but for general favorite values in throw away experiments, should I stock up like that?

I'm thinking of doing 100s for go-to resistors, and then maybe 10s-20s of the rest.

Just not sure how quickly I'll go through stuff experimenting, and of course see that 100 pack price point.

EDIT: lots of minor edits

 

[DB_]

I think a shared Mouser Cart/Project for a DIY Audio Starter Pack would be amazing.

 

[totoxraymond]

Out of interest, are you just a hobbyist like me? Or are you in a workshop? I'm trying to work out that break point between having enough to throw around and having way too many (mainly talking resistors here now)... 10 is too little. 100 seems like a lot.

Is ordering in 100s for key components the right thing? Not every value e.g. CJ suggested for caps (think 10ish of each is good for now with caps... although a little more research is pending), but for general favorite values in throw away experiments, should I stock up like that?

I'm thinking of doing 100s for go-to resistors, and then maybe 10s-20s of the rest.

Just not sure how quickly I'll go through stuff experimenting, and of course see that 100 pack price point.

EDIT: lots of minor edits

Well i'm a hobbyist just like you.

I should add that i have way more pending projects than completed projects. (I'm working hard to invert those numbers).

Again, it depends on the value balanced by the 'usability' of said components.

A quick check on mouser tells me that a 10k resistor (1%, metal film, though hole) is 0.09€ at unity, 0.04€ for 10 and 0.018 for 100. So if i need say 30 of them for a project, buying 30 will cost 1.2€ while buying 100 costs 1.8€. I'll spend 60cts more now, but:
1. It's only 60 cts
2. I'm quite sure i'll end up using them
3. Shelf life in near infinity with resistor

Now talking about a 12pdt rotary switch, i surely wouldn't buy more than needed.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Over the decades I have accumulated a huge assortment of components.

I standardized on a small handful of aluminum electrolytic values. Likewise a small assortment of film caps. I covered a wide range of resistor values because resistor are (were) cheap. I have several parts bins like this but older.

JR

 

[jBam]

Well i'm a hobbyist just like you.

I should add that i have way more pending projects than completed projects. (I'm working hard to invert those numbers).

Again, it depends on the value balanced by the 'usability' of said components.

A quick check on mouser tells me that a 10k resistor (1%, metal film, though hole) is 0.09€ at unity, 0.04€ for 10 and 0.018 for 100. So if i need say 30 of them for a project, buying 30 will cost 1.2€ while buying 100 costs 1.8€. I'll spend 60cts more now, but:
1. It's only 60 cts
2. I'm quite sure i'll end up using them
3. Shelf life in near infinity with resistor

Now talking about a 12pdt rotary switch, i surely wouldn't buy more than needed.

Yeah, cool ... I think that's where I'm at too. Lots of the obvious values, and smaller amounts of less used values. Very good point on shelf life too.

Glad I'm not going too crazy filling up to th 100 mark

 

[totoxraymond]

Yeah, cool ... I think that's where I'm at too. Lots of the obvious values, and smaller amounts of less used values. Very good point on shelf life too.

Glad I'm not going too crazy filling up to th 100 mark

Well as i said, i didn't buy an assortment of components. I only buy some when needed.

I accumulated quite a lot over the years though...

 

[jBam]

I think a shared Mouser Cart/Project for a DIY Audio Starter Pack would be amazing.

Yeah - and I mean, sure... I'll be happy to share when I wrap it up too!

 

[metalockpick]

The type of circuitry you're working on will dictate the voltage rating necessary. For example, most op amps are usually less than + or - 24VDC, So 50 volt capacitors would do. However, tube gear anode capacitors need to operate at a bare minimum of 100V and often 630VDC is the best default voltage value. Now, so long as the capacitor will physically fit in the circuit, too high a voltage rating is not an issue, where to low a voltage rating can be disastrous...
Another factor to consider is lead length. For PC mounted gear, long leads are irrelevant, and require trimming before insertion. Long leads on the other hand are very helpful for breadboarding or in repairing of vintage tube gear or other gear without a space-efficient layout, or for use in point-to-point circuits.

 

[Newmarket]

Wrt quantity - 50 off is a common multiple with RS/Farnell etc and seems about right for general stock.
Remember you can often combine components serial/parallel for a specific value.

 

[Script]

you can often combine components serial/parallel for a specific value.

+1

I tend to buy for breakpoints with values that indeed get used often.
__
As for resistors, I decided to NOT use part bins, mainly because I think it's a massive waste of space.

Instead I store them in the little bags they come in. My entire assortment is ordered by value and fits into one box.

Same value but different wattage (1/4W vs 2W etc, usually different size) sometimes go into the same bag here, labelled accordingly.

Some bags have smaller bags inside with resistors matched previously but not used at the time -- comes in handy for future use.

 

[ruffrecords]

Yeah, and thanks Ian! I've been looking at that, and thought it'd be... well... easier, but Web searches are so bloody marketed... for instance (for resistors) I type in "resistor kit" and i get a hugely honed selection of results (I feel like)... or so much "temu" and untrustworthy stuff. In fact... I can't escape vishay smd resistors with any combo of wording I can think of... i assume the wonders of internet (that eternally sells me sh#t based on previous searches) thinks I'm only interested in vishay, even though I've never been interested in smd.

I think instead of doing a general search you should stick to established distribution like Mouser, Digikey, Farnell, RSWW and Rapid. Not only will this reduce the vast number of results but it will also ensure the quality of the the product you buy.

Cheers

Ian

 

[jBam]

So - I'm learning a lot here as per usual. I might still search for starter kits, but bothering to read up and try and pick parts to suit my needs is... pretty handy!

Shelf Life... got me switched on. Here's a good quick read:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...8QFnoECBkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1HqCk6fmC8rh5fX2O8awSv
(That link is massive sorry!).

The "de-aging" section bottom right in particular was very new to me!

While tantalum have the enviable shelf, I'm not too keen to blow too many thing up at first haha... So - I'm thinking about mainly C0G for audio path stuff. Any thoughts? I'm happy to buy more specific stuff later, but for tinkering and bread boarding, it would be good to have a longish shelf life stock of audio related values.

Electrolytics?... not sure just yet. They're pretty short on the shelf it seems. I'm expecting to get a variety, but not really "stock up".

 

[jBam]

Oh - and for other discussion points: I'm not doing any tube / high voltage stuff. Just keen for line level for now... 24V +/- max I'd imagine. 500 series or maybe 18V is more likely.

 

[PermO]

It's a bit of an investment, but I would start with figuring a storage system first.

I spend some years in a broadcast repair workshop that was really well equiped and I noticed the joy of having everything organized and a well lit workspace really makes a big difference.

So I copied what I liked about that place to implement in my own little workshop.

As a cheap substitute for the expensive wall of Lista cabinets I got myself a "drawing cabinet" and I filled it up with the red small Lista parts boxes.


Yes it's an expensive way to store those cheap resistors, but it's so convinient to have them all in order and to have a good overvieuw of what to order with the next order "oh 47K is running low"

This one cabinet holds all my small bits.

I just bought a 1/4W carbon film E series box with all resistors, added extra 1K, 10K, 100K to start with.
I buy parts per project, but usually get some extra to be able to build a second unit or repair the stuff I build.

I do visit dump stores and radio markets to find parts and check market place websites as sometimes you can find a lot of stuff for cheap from people that are clearing their attic or shed.