My JTM45 -- Sozo vs. NOS Mustards -- Listen and Decide.

[OnTheFritz]

Oh, and by the way, I did measure the .018 NOS mustards that went into the JTM45 here before installing them and they all measured between .020 and .021.

So, ummmmmm, there you go. lol

Hmmmm, funny you didn't mention that way back at the start of this topic when it was pointed out that it wasn't a *fair* comparison, due to the different values.
And the fact that they all happened to be *off* in the direction closer to the .022 value seems rather suspect.

I don't know, sticky status for this thread has lost all credibility as far as I'm concerned.

[Ricky Lee]

I think sticky status should go to 6string he has done a fantastic unbiased job on the taste test!

[mushmouth]

Oh, and by the way, I did measure the .018 NOS mustards that went into the JTM45 here before installing them and they all measured between .020 and .021.

So, ummmmmm, there you go. lol

Hmmmm, funny you didn't mention that way back at the start of this topic when it was pointed out that it wasn't a *fair* comparison, due to the different values.
And the fact that they all happened to be *off* in the direction closer to the .022 value seems rather suspect.

I don't know, sticky status for this thread has lost all credibility as far as I'm concerned.

*shrug* I mentioned it here when it was brought up. Lots of people I talked to privately knew this already though.

The truth sucks, only because the truth is expensive.

[Jude]

I really have enjoyed all this conversation about Mustards, - Thanks very much for all your work Mushmouth!!!
I have a few NOS 0.022uf @400v caps and they genrerally test about 0.029uf before they are installed if I measure them on a "less than 2uf" scale and are closer to 22 on the "less than 200n" scale. I have to also say that I think the 0.018uf @400v ( which as discussed generally show a higher value closer to 0.022uf on a "less than2uf scale") option would be my next choice if I couldnt get my hands on Mullard 0.022uf

[Roe]

...
My question - - -

have any of you guys ever tried a higher value like a Mullard 0.033uf @400v or a 0.027uf @400v (im sure that I have seen these somewhere!!!) I guess these would let a bit more bass through the gate

these work great as PI coupling caps while .018 work great after v1

[pongo316]

IMO - Both sound good -the mustard more open , but don't forget the age of those things.

to my ear the Sozo need more time to break in as they are a lot newer.

What i did is ran my amp for about 200+ hrs to brake in my components and i must say the SoZo caps realy mellowed out then and sounded clearer.

IMO I like both syles of caps , depending on the amp builsd and Price

Great Thread

[electricskychurch]

i just measured 20 NOS mullard 0,022/400 from different batches and year :
about 60% were 0,022 uf ,some were between 0,021 and 0,023 .
one was 0,020 and two were 0,024.
all within 10% tolerance and most in the 5% .

i think that unless the 0,018 caps were really measuring about 0,020 and 0,021, there should be a difference to hear (especialy when you record it ).
for example, when i replace a 0,019 cap with a 0,022 in the bridge pu wiring of my 59' les paul ri, i can hear a difference.
but maybe there are some parts of the amp circuit where it could be less noticeable, i never swapped caps one by one yet, to compare; i just replaced the full set each time in my amps when i did some tests (it was between sealed PIO caps, mylar /paper caps and orange drops 715p , PIO and mylar /paper beeing NOS caps; in a tweed 5e3 deluxe)

[Doug H]

the difference between those sets of clips is so wide, I know you said nothing was moved, but it sounds like you slipped and flipped the presence or treble. Listen to the top end, it's like the sozos were recorded with treble on 10, and the mustards with treble on 5. I have to think there is something else going on here beside raw quality issues, like the NOS mustards rolling off some of the high end.

I don't really hear it as one being better than the other, the eq curves are too far apart to judge it that way, The difference is shocking really to find between any two caps if you ask me, let alone sozos and mustards.

I'm curous to hear the results of the 12 series test.

[tone chaser]

hats for this thread. mushmouth

[djoman]

Did you ever upload Sozo Premiums vs NOS Mustards?

Thanks for this test!!!
Really, it's Sozo that should do a fair test comparing everything (standard/premium/mustard) and uploading to their website.

Maybe if they did that test and noticed that the Mustard still sounded better, they would have to go back to the drawing board, releasing Sozo Deluxe caps.

I mean, seriously, if the Premiums doesn't sound pretty much exactly OR better than the old mustards. There's still some money to make in this market. Come on home rollers, start rolling Mustard replicas that beats the Mustard itself!

[SteadyEddie]

Wow. I've avoided trying real mustards based on my experiences with Sozos ... found them to be too dark and "cloudy" sounding. Maybe I need to get my hands on real mustards and evaluate them.