Hovland Company MusiCap Brochure

M U S I C A P

®

by

HOVLAND

MusiCaps deliver exceptional dynamics, speed, focus, correct timbre and depth
of field, and true inter-transient silence.

Separate layers of polypropylene film & conductive foil
deliver superior clarity of reproduction that metalized
capacitors can not.

Custom stranded silver-plated copper leads no
copper oxidation to ever degrade the music.

1000V Teflon insulation on coupling MusiCaps
22 gauge leads. Large 16 gauge, stranded,
silver-plated copper leads on speaker
Musicaps.

Lead-free silver-bearing solder used
in tinning and attachment of leads.

+

Tight 5% tolerances. Manufactured entirely in U.S.A.

Hand soldered lead termination.

Extremely low DA, DF and ESR.

F E A T U R E S

100% pre-testing for absolute quality assurance.

Consistent, even, winding tension assures freedom from microphonics.

A single capacitor = a singular sound no time smear from multiple sections.

Value to value sonic consistency that is not found in other capacitors regardless of price.

What the reviewers say...

"If you want see-thru, high definition, detail
and listenability, try the MusiCaps."

Joe Roberts, Editor,

SOUND PRACTICES

"After auditioning a wide variety of caps, I
find these film-and-foil capacitors to be the
most musical performers—and by a large
margin. The MusiCap specializes in textural
liquidity (lack of grain) and delicacy of
treble nuances."

Dick Olsher,

Reviewer and Designer

"Without altering the overall timbral balance,
the Hovland [MusiCap] expands the harmonic
envelope and presents much improved low level
retrieval, resulting in better rendering of venue."

Bob Shedlock,

LISTENER MAGAZINE

"At last a polyproplene capacitor that has the
clarity of film capacitors with none of the ringing,
grunging, resonant, dis-harmonic coloration.
Finally a film capacitor that in most ways is more
refined than the finest megabuck silver/oil capaci­tors. Your capacitor artistry is profound."

Harvey "Gizmo" Rosenberg,

THE AMERICAN AUDIOMANIAC

To order, contact one of the following:

• Madisound Speaker Components 608-831-3433

• Antique Electronic Supply 480-820-5411

• Parts Connexion, Canada 905-681-9602

• Michael Percy Audio Products 530-470-8650

• Handmade Electronics 610-432-5732

• Wilmslow Audio, England 44-1455-286603

• HiFi-Tuning, Germany 49-30-396-6741

• SpeakerBits, Australia 61-3-9682-2487

OEMs and distributors contact Hovland Company. Phone [phone] fax [phone] e-mail [e-mail]

M U S I C A P is a registered trademark of Hovland Company

• Hong Kong Bush, Hong Kong 852-2525-3227

• Western Labo, Japan 81-42-925-5550

• Audio Parts, Korea 82-2-3272-2704

• Tang Hill International Ltd., Taiwan 886-2-8771-3363

• Octave Electronics, Malaysia 603-793-7939

• Well Audio Lab, Singapore 65-3380368

• SAC Thailand, Thailand 66-1-925-8125

H O V L A N D

M U S I C A P

Hovland MusiCaps enable sensitive audio circuits to achieve their ultimate level of
performance. By far the most musically accurate capacitor available, MusiCaps provide a
dramatic improvement in clarity, focus and dynamics when used in critical new designs, or
as an upgrade to existing tube or solid-state components.

The MusiCap line also includes capacitors expressly designed for use in speakers. Speaker
MusiCaps are a revelation in well designed dynamic crossover networks, or as an upgrade
to fine electrostatic speaker systems. A growing number of prominent high-end
manufacturers employ Hovland MusiCaps in their top speaker models.

The no-compromise design of MusiCaps dictates a painstaking manufacturing process
using costly materials. The result is a quality product which, while not inexpensive, delivers
immediately discernible benefits and will over the long run prove an exceptional value.

MusiCap Design

MusiCaps are constructed of a special variety of foil and polypropylene film, rather than the
sonically inferior deposited-particle "metalized film" used in other popular capacitors.
Polypropylene is chosen in part because of its superior ability to form an intimate bond with
the thin foil—neither teflon nor polystyrene mate as well. MusiCaps are individually machine­rolled, and the leads are carefully hand-soldered using lead-free silver-bearing solder. Our
leads are stranded, teflon insulated, silver-plated copper—a vast improvement over sound­degrading solid copper or steel leads. In addition, the winding method and density of
MusiCaps helps quell microphonic tendencies.

®

Capacitors

Sonic Consistency

From the outset, attention was given to creating capacitors which maintain their musical
qualities from the smallest to the largest value. Unlike other brands of capacitors which often
sound different as the value changes, MusiCap proprietary design parameters result in
remarkable value-to-value sonic consistency. 100% pre-testing and tight ±5% tolerances
assure absolute quality.

Size

As a result of the premium materials used to produce MusiCaps, they are approximately
100% larger than common metalized capacitors. Because of their greater size, 10µF is the
largest MusiCap value we can make. You may combine MusiCaps in parallel to obtain
custom values or values larger than 10µF. [Usage notes: MusiCap lead lengths are
approximately 2 inches on coupling caps, 4 inches on speaker caps; The red lead on
coupling caps, and blue striped lead on speaker caps is the foil inner edge. It is preferable
to connect the red lead (blue stripe for Speaker versions) towards the output of the circuit.]

MusiCap Speaker Capacitors

Critical loudspeaker crossovers deserve to have a transparent product specific to the
application. MusiCap speaker capacitors are identical in design to our standard MusiCaps
except for the larger leads, which are 16 gauge, fine-strand, sliver-plated copper. It makes
little sense to invest in expensive, high-quality speaker cable and internal wiring, only to have
the signal pass through solid leads of insufficient gauge. While a fully "MusiCap-ed"
crossover is supreme, just installing MusiCaps in the tweeter circuit can reveal much
additional detail and nuance.

Hovland MusiCaps — The component of choice when musical realism is your goal.