Конденсаторы Black Gate

[PHD]

BLACK GATE



Конденсаторы Black Gate (BG) поистине обладают легендарным статусом и до своего исчезновения с рынка эл. компонентов считались лучшими в «мире электролитов». Проверить на «лучшесть» при помощи объективных замеров не представляется возможным, поскольку даташитов не существует. Никакой официальной информации нет. По слухам, раньше существовали даташиты с цифрами, отпечатанные типографским способом на бумаге. Возможно, кто то и когда то такие замеры проводил в домашних условиях, но в подобных вариантах всегда слишком много сомнительных моментов. На сайте фирмы Rubycon , которая в последние годы выпускала BG вы не найдёте даже упоминания названия этих электролитических конденсаторов. Производители утверждают, что у не полярной серии показатели -174дб (и лучше) по соотношению сигнал\шум, крайне низкое количество искажений, очень низкий уровень третьей гармоники…. Вообще, параметры кажутся фантастическими.

http://sharksystems.narod.ru/blackgate/english.htm

Так или иначе, по бесчисленным отзывам аудиофилов всего мира конденсаторы Black Gate действительно обладают экстраординарными качествами звуковоспроизведения и могут облагородить звучание многих устройств.

Немного истории.

Придумал данную технологию производства конденсаторов японский инженер-изобретатель Kazuo Ishi. Фирма Jelmax, основателем которой и является Казуо Иши, запатентовала эту технологию ещё в далёком 1978-м году. Первоначально у Jelmax не было своего постоянного подрядчика, который бы выпускал BG, и они пользовались услугами различных небольших компаний. Этим объясняется некоторая разница в дизайне внешнем и внутренним ранних и поздних версий BG. В 1988-м году эта небольшая фирма наконец обзавелась своим производителем, фирмой-гигантом Rubycon, на заводах которой и изготавливались все последующие разработки BG.



Конкретно на конденсаторы BG существует 2 американских патента, где подробно описывается технология производства данных конденсаторов. Вот они:
5,057,972
6,853,537

BG электролиты необычные. Вместе с электропроводящей жидкостью в них используется чистый графит в виде порошка. Отсюда, и название электролитов - «чёрная решётка»(чёрные врата).

Из патента:

"An electrolytic capacitor is provided having a capacitor paper graphite fine particle distributed therein in an amount between 0.5 and 7% by weight based on the weight of the capacitor paper."

Однако, как и обычные электролиты, они способны высыхать и, соответственно, со временем выходят из строя. Срок годности производители отмеряют 20-25 лет. Это несколько выше показателей обычных электролитических конденсаторов, хотя мы знаем, что довольно часто и другие электролиты не высыхают в течение десятков лет….

Существует несколько серий конденсаторов BG.



Самая известная из них - серия Standard (самая дешёвая и худшая из всей линейки), PK - те же стандартные, но в уменьшенных размерах, так же, спец-серии для использования в АС, БП (высоковольтные), но для нас наибольший интерес представляют серии K, FK (for audio) и все неполярные N, NX…..



Отличия между сериями заключаются в пропорциях использования графитового наполнителя. В серии «Standard» графит заполняет анодную и катодную части сепаратора конденсатора. В сериях K,FK, а, так же в неполярных сериях графит присутствует в ощутимо большом объёме и им обложена ещё и внутренняя поверхность конденсатора. Полярные Black gate (как, впрочем, и другие) отличаются от неполярных, тем, что в последних диэлектрический слой нанесён на обе обкладки, в то время как, в полярных только в анодную часть.




В неполярной серии NX Hi Q при производстве (предположительно) добавляется ещё небольшое количество редкоземельного металла палладия (как при производстве керамических конденсаторов), что позволяет использовать этот вид BG в цифровых частях цапа и в качестве альтернативы плёночным полипропиленовым и полистероловым конденсаторам.


Именно, использование частиц графита для наполнения сепараторов делает производство конденсаторов «Black gate» сложным, а от того и дорогим. Всё дело в том, что графит обладает мощной электропроводностью и при попадании частиц графита на обратные стороны сепараторов приводит к закорачиванию анодной и катодной частей конденсаторов. Нужно исхитриться скрутить конденсатор таким образом, чтобы замыкания не произошло. Фирма Jelmax разработала специальный рецепт изготовления бумаги сепаратора, в который интегрированы частицы графита и электролитической жидкости таким образом, что отрицательная и положительная стороны не замыкаются. Вероятно, первоначальные эксперименты приводили производителей к большому проценту брака. В заводских условиях определённый процент брака просто неизбежен.

Из статьи про BG:

«The addition of graphite brings some problems with it thougth, construction is more difficult since the real care has to be taken in doping the electrolyte otherwise it will short which meant that these capacitors were more expensive that standard electrolytic caps and in some configurations much more so.»

В свою очередь, высокая себестоимость производства привела к тому, что реальная цена конденсаторов BG увеличилась в несколько раз и применение данных электролитов в «обычных» устройствах стало невозможным. Постепенно, BG стали элитными, эксклюзивными устройствами, которые стали использоваться в аппаратуре класса «Hi-End», а так же, оказались самыми популярными элементами в среде Dyer-ов. К сожалению, современный мир рынка жесток и, чтобы выжить необходимо производить товары широкого потребления. Конденсаторы должны быть дешёвыми и ставится во многие дешёвые устройства….. Именно этот момент и стал «камнем прикновения» для производства BG. Ограниченное потребление и узкий сегмент использования BG привёл постепенно к закрытию производства BG (вследствие не рентабельности) и в августе 2007-го года к закрытию фирмы Jelmax.

Наиболее «продвинутым» вариантом использования конденсаторов Black gate считается конфигурация «Super E-Cap». В этой конфигурации используются электролиты только неполярных серий соединённые встречно-паралельно, вот по такой схеме (L-long-длинная нога, S-short-короткая нога):




Сколько будет стоить такая установка во многие части большого устройства говорить не приходится.

Функционирование.

Неприятной особенностью использования этих конденсаторов является тот момент, что они необычайно долго формуются. Некоторые пользователи говорят, что до 300-т часов, некоторые не более двух суток…Из своей личной практики я сделал вывод, что приблизительно 3 -4 суток непрерывной работы аппарата (и дольше). За это время звучание аппарата будет несколько раз меняться: теряться бас, будет возникать пелена в звуке, звук наоборот становится излишне «жирным» и т.д. Кроме того, перед каждым прослушиванием требуется минут 20-40 приработки, чтобы войти в рабочий режим….Если вам вздумается уехать на недельку-другую куда-нибудь на море, то по приезду вас ждёт неприятный сюрприз - вы снова будете формовать их пол дня… Зато это окупается потрясающими музыкальными особенностями этих устройств.

Особенности звучания.

Как известно, любой электронный компонент, будь то конденсатор, резистор, Оу, провода внутренней разводки, межблочник, потенциометр и т.д. - всё имеет свои оттенки звучания и вносит свой характер в общий стиль музыкальной подачи. Компонентов «без окраски» практически не существует. Однако, одни компоненты вносят большую лепту, другие влияют в меньшей степени на конечное звучание аппарата.

Применение конденсаторов BG в звуковой аппаратуре может сильно изменить качество звучания аппарата.

Вся линейка этих конденсаторов имеет общий, узнаваемый, самобытный характер звука. Прежде всего, за счёт очень низкого количества искажений BG дают высочайший уровень детализации звуковой картинки! Можно расслышать по какой тарелочке ударил барабанщик, шорох в студии, шум ветра в отдалении, мелкие стуки, мельчайшие детали фонограммы - всё становится прослушиваемым. Поскольку BG существенно понижают уровень высших гармоник, то всё это звучит без малейшей доли резкости: звук лишён металлических ноток и проярчённости, столь свойственных многим современным аппаратам. С этой точки зрения, так популярные сегодня конденсаторы Nichicon KZ Muse далеко позади…. По этой же причине, звук становится трёхмерным, утрачивается так надоевшая плоскостность звуковых образов - всё звучит в пространстве и имеет объём. Эти особенности, свойственны даже начальной серии «Standard», хотя и несколько в меньшей степени.

Ещё одной особенностью является то, что звучание, начиная от серии стандарт и, поднимаясь к топовым неполярным моделям, становится всё более мягким и насыщенным низкими частотами. Баса становится больше и, создаётся впечатление, что приподнимается нижняя середина + низкочастотная область. Звук становится более тёмным, прозрачность и детализация звучания при этом растут…. Возможно, что BG несколько подчёркивают голосовой диапазон.

Квинтесенцией всех звуковых качеств, становится Super E-Cap, где все эти особенности наиболее выражены: мягкость подачи, высочайшая детализация + прозрачность, лёгкая темноватость. Наиболее «нейтральными» по звуку представляются конденсаторы серии «Standard», «F», «C». Насыщенное и богатое на оттенки звучание обеспечивают серии N, NX, FK.

Black gate уходят в историю….

К сожалению, на сегодняшний день BG всё сложнее достать, а из «третьих рук» они становятся невыносимо дорогими. Альтернативы этим выдающимся устройствам предлагаются в виде Elna Silmic 2, Nichicon KZ Muse и др., но такого богатого звучания последние всё равно не дают. Возможно, вскоре мы увидим аналоги BG от какой-нибудь китайской подвальной компании, а может быть возникнут ещё более интересные и ещё более качественные технологии производства электролитических конденсаторов….А, Black Gate…. пусть просто останутся красивой легендой.

[Igodor]

Вопрос по маркировке серий Black Gate.
Я так понимаю, что если на корпусе не указана серия, то это серия Standard ?
Интересуют в частности те чёрненькие , что на первом фото после заголовка "Black gate уходят в историю…."

[PHD]

Igodor,
Да, без уточняющей надписи-это Standard. Они и на фото.

Вот тут кое-какая информация по типам:

[Igodor]

А как-бы этот листик в хорошем разрешении поглядеть ?

[PHD]

Originally Posted by Igodor

А как-бы этот листик в хорошем разрешении поглядеть ?

Наверное, только что сохранить на рабочий стол и увеличить. Хорошего качества нет в наличии, к сожалению.

[Igodor]

Подкину несколько полезных ссылок по BlackGate.

http://www.acoustic-dimension.com/blackgate/bgmain.htm
http://www.thlaudio.com/bgcapitme.htm
http://www.hificollective.co.uk/comp...gate_caps.html

[PHD]

Ещё техническая информация (english): http://www.acoustic-dimension.com/blackgate/bgtech.htm
http://www.partsconnexion.com/t/reso...gate_index.pdf
http://www.octave-electronics.com/Pa.../bg_tech.shtml
http://www.sinergy.cc/threshold/Blac...pacitors22.pdf

Здесь ещё продаются BG по вменяемым более менее ценам:
http://www.ecrater.com/search.php?ci...++FK&x=25&y=11
http://www.ecrater.com/p/2306697/bg-fk-1000u-16v

[PHD]

Cтатья Мартина Колэма о BG (англ.):

The Black Gate Story
by Martin Colloms

Опубликована впервые в журнале "Хай-фай" в июле 2002г.

Ticking away in the background, you might even say on the outer fringes of audio design, is the question of how the actual audio building blocks sound - the components themselves, not the made up equipment nor the circuits. We are talking about resistors, amplifying and rectifying devices, capacitors and wound components, transformers and inductors not to mention connectors and wiring.

An electronics designer uses these parts to craft the circuitry and layout of an audio product. Even now, in certain academic circles, the existence of sound quality differences between technically well behaved amplifiers is disputed. However, many others contend that not only do the design and form of theoretical and practically expedited circuits matter, but also the specific components or parts have their own sonic characteristics.

Many such parts are customized through experience and unique build and specification aspects known for many proprietary audio ranges. Companies such as NAIM and Audio Note exemplify such attention to detail. Taking one of many possible examples, substituting a given, selected power transformer for one of nominally equivalent size, voltage and power, will probably not generate an equal sound quality for the unit built using it. In elevated audio circles, there is rather more to a transformer spec than the standard figures for regulation and volt- amperes.

It's some years since some reviews of component sound quality were published in HFN- RR and there is understandably a limited following for this material. Since then, in audiophile design circles, one branded range of parts has been gaining a cult following for sheer sound quality. If true, this is an important finding because the industry is finding that the supply of traditional higher quality discrete audio compatible parts is declining. This is due to the inexorable advance of surface mount technology and larger, more complex integrated circuits. The opportunity is diminishing for design creativity through the considered selection of electronic parts in audio products. One aim of this review is to alert designers of the possibilities and generate broader international recognition of parts of real quality. We should also help sustain the valuable endeavors of a dedicated band of audio enthusiasts.

Black Gate is the name of the range of otherwise humble capacitors, which has attracted our attention.
A Japanese inventor Kazuo Ishi patented a new way of making electrolytic capacitors back in 1978. Rubycon, a noted Japanese company, makes a large number of types under license.


I last looked at such a passive component when reporting on the Moorcroft patent for the 'T' network capacitor for power supply reservoirs, their successful use licensed in the UK to Aerovox. With test power amplifier chassis in place it was possible to compare that new three terminal design with a variety of conventional two terminal devices [HFN-RR Aug '97].

For these 'T' network components the emphasis was on the internal structure and current paths of the capacitor and a way was sought to maximize the performance of the device by separation of charge and load paths combined with a significant reduction in high frequency impedance.

Capacitor designers are painfully aware of the limitations of various types, for example the odd and varied properties of the film dielectric in the case of the plastic capacitors. Other aspects include the conductive layer, is it an 'ethereal' vacuum deposition or perhaps one with solid metal foil? For electrolytics, a wayward construction of aluminum foil is used with a deeply etched oxide insulation, paper or fibre separators, the whole bathed an electrically slow [slow ionic charge movement] and complex conductive goo.
Generally the goo or electrolyte has a closely guarded composition and is an ionic electrolyte, the standard way of achieving an electrical barrier connection to the oxide layer on the foil. It's been known for a long time that this electrolyte is imperfect and amongst other details of construction it may well dominate the electrical performance [distortion, bandwidth, loss factor] and in association, the sound quality. For those not in the know, I here point out that the humble electrolytic power supply reservoir can significantly contribute to amplifier sound quality. Causing much vexation, such differences can't generally be found even with the most searching measurements of the complete amplifier itself.

It was again time to put some components to the test, and what better choice than the ongoing developments in Black Gate technology.

Cherry-Picking
I can't hope to do justice to the Black Gate range as a totality so I've cherry picked from the line, mainly dipping into the stores at UK agent Audio Note for my selection. My task was complicated by early reports that a significant running in period was required [several days] which unfortunately turned out to be true. Certainly there were first impressions available right away which gave helpful clues but at least a day or two was needed to begin to properly gauge the result. For the first series of tests I set up an open structure, a 'breadboard' [actually a maple chopping board] mounted solid state amplifier of known quality, to allow relatively easy substitution of the test capacitors in a range of circuit positions. Later I also experimented with a trusted audiophile CD player which it would not be fair to name.

I experimented with small, medium and large decoupling capacitors [standard type 470u 50V, 470u 16V, 22u 50V, and 47uf 25V] as well as standard power reservoirs [10,000uF 80V, 4,700u 35V and 220 + 220u 350V 'Heart of Muse'. Then came the NH type non polarized at 100uF 160V, 4,700 35V, singly and back to back, complemented by the NX type of completely symmetrical non polars [470uF 16v, 22uF 50V, 20uF, 50V, 22u 6.3V, 0.47uF, 50V, and the delightful 0.1 uf 50V]. I also tried some of the N and NX types in the ultimate back-to-back configuration. Finally I checked out the bi-polar higher current crossover capacitors, [6.8u, 50V].

Certainly the Black Gate capacitors are very, very expensive and I was consequently hoping for some significant advance over normal types. However I couldn't possibly have predicted the magnitude of the sound quality changes I heard. The changes were so dramatic that of necessity I made multiple repeat comparisons over many days, and ultimately weeks for this project.

Do please note that the use of these devices is not a 'fix all' solution, you cannot just throw them at a design. Painstaking comparisons showed that each type and value needs to match the requirements of the specific circuit and circuit position as well as be technically and sonically compatible with existing types of capacitor or indeed other BGs when used.

While parallel combinations of Black Gates were generally foolproof, on some occasions adding BGs in parallel to conventional capacitors could actually make things worse. For example, even one of the best 100uF BG 'N' types when added to a fine sounding 10,00uF Great Supply Nichicon reservoir didn't help matters, while by contrast a much smaller 0.47uF NX really did lift this combination significantly when used as this reservoir bypass.

With no significant measurable differences to speak of, judgments must be made by ear. You need to know you equipment thoroughly, be used to assessing small differences in sound quality and be open minded, expect poorer as well as better results. If BG devices are going to help you, will likely hear something right away, while the full benefit may not develop until week of use has passed. In the case of the Nichicon and 100uF bypass tetst I can only speculate that the high frequency current in the system must have been in some sort of disordered exchange, power sharing above 10kHz or so, because while the sound became clearer, it also became sharper and more aggressively forward in the treble.

With the 0.47u NX bypass such tonal changes were placed out of band while the improvement was heard as improved yet subtle clarity, and a purer sweeter upper treble; less noise and grain was now evident.


So strong was the BG effect, that existing selected quality 0.1uF polypropylene de-couplers on the power amp supply lines had to be removed from the circuit as they were found to audibly degrade the performance advantage even of a 47uF 25V standard polarized BG used with no other supplemental high frequency decoupling.

If the standard BG electrolytics were exceptional, and in my view surprisingly so, and rated I my comparisons as typically 50% better for sound quality than conventional good quality electrolytics, then the 'non polar' types were simply extraordinary.

Chosen by trial and error for the right value and circuit location, by the end of the process the overall sound quality of my audio test amplifier was transformed by the addition and/or substitution of BG polars and non-polars. Moreover these capacitors as a whole proved just as effective in many of the digital areas of an experimental D/A converter as in its analogue sections, as they were for the test amplifier. Here we are talking of clocks buffers and signal related microprocessors

Cobwebs over the sound stage that you hadn't realized were there, were now magically swept away. Substantial gains were also present in every aspect of sound quality. The difference was so great that we were forced backwards time and again to cross -check the non BG types and also to refer back to other known reference grade audio types to make sure that we were not fooling ourselves.


Running-In
When you are very familiar with how a product sounds, it is often surprisingly easy to detect subtle changes between electronic components used in it. This is even more obvious when the product is both very short and simple, and very good.

I have previously reported on running-in phenomena with other components, the most obvious being the moving coil loudspeaker. Nevertheless amplifiers, CD players etc may be observed to run in over a period of time, usually no less than several tens of hours. Sometimes the rate of improvement will be slow, almost imperceptible, and several weeks may pass before you actually realize the sound has got better. Assessing these changes is made easier by a valued stock of long term, well run-in, reference products.
A top quality amplifier, first auditioned from brand new may be surprisingly flat and mushy sounding, almost average, but if of real quality then rapid improvement may be heard over the first few hours of use.

While in general Black Gates sound pretty good out of the box, the potential performance ceiling is so high that the process of improvement during running in can appear to go on for many tens of hours!


Take the 10,00uF 80V high current polar reservoir, performing very well in the power supply of the test solid state amplifier First trials showed it was certainly the best of this type in this test station, compared with top grade alternatives including 'T network, Elna and Great Supply. Nevertheless on a raw value basis these BGs did not at first appear to be worth a quoted up to 6 times that of the other types.

And then they ran-in.......................

As the days went by the BG reservoirs gradually and inexorably built up their lead to a point where their contribution to sound quality was so great that a temporary return to those other well regarded reference capacitors resulted in amazement, confusion and real disappointment.

Certainly this big BG reservoir is very expensive [about £100 each in singles] but in a circuit which can fully exploit their potential I consider there's no other device of this type and value which can make such a contribution to sound quality.

The Technology:
Aspects of BG technology are protected under trademarks and also seven patents, for Germany, Japan and the USA. First released in 1978 the technology began with an advanced modification for the electrolyte of the capacitor, namely the inclusion of finely divided graphite. Do this incorrectly and the capacitor may become a short circuit!
Chemically neutral, the particle size is appropriate for the exploitation of tunneling, an ultra fast and virtually lossless quantum conduction mechanism far superior to the lazy ionic transport of a standard electrolyte, this resembling a chemical battery. With this dramatic conduction improvement, self noise and distortion is claimed to be reduced by between 10 and 300 times depending on type [and cost!] and the ESR, or unwanted internal impedance may be improved right across the board, by between to 2 and 10 times, over the frequency range, and especially over a wider range of temperature. Normal ionic conduction is known to be rather temperature dependant and many audio electrolytic capacitors sound and measure at their best at a respectably high temperature such as 40 degrees centigrade, a known factor in the sometimes encountered extended warm up of some hotter running power amplifiers.

The top BG models are specified to have extraordinarily low distortion, for example at 10kHz , 200mV drive, reading -148 dB for harmonics for the NX non-polar series [eg 15V 1,500 uf] compared with an average of -88dB of distortion for three commercial standard, types of equivalent rating. I am not saying that -88dB of capacitor distortion in this test is directly audible in any case but the figures do give a clue to the special properties of the non-polar BG.
Special measuring equipment, itself upgraded with BG capacitors to reduce inherent distortions, was required to define that noted distortion improvement of some 50 dB, or 300 times.


Sound Quality

The test amplifier;
So comprehensive are the BG advantages at this point of exploration that it's hard to know where to begin, Referenced to the benchmark of the known best non BG capacitors [including Nichicons, Elna Cerafines etc], the sound stage of the test amplifier after its treatment was remarkably expanded in width and depth, yet its focus is still more solid. Images now hung in space, set in floodlit pools of detailed acoustic ambience. Subtleties which were previously just hinted at were now firmly and expressively delineated. Every point in the audible frequency range was clarified, sharpened, resolved. Rhythm and timing are redefined. Musical notes appear to linger in time and space, of near perfect entity and with breathtakingly natural instrumental and reverberant decay compared with previous experience of that design.

Colorations which were previously blamed on circuit behavior and specific active devices, if you like its technology makeup, were in this unit now seen to be largely the fault of the previous capacitors and these familiar errors were almost banished by the progressive and graded installation of the Black Gates.

If these comments seem extreme I offer in my support the experiences of several other listeners, some hard-bitten and difficult to impress. In general they were shocked by the magnitude of the changes I could make in the test system with these capacitors, and when the combination of BG parts was felt to be in balance with this particular test unit, agreed that the overall audio system improvement was not the usual 10 or 20 % resulting from the insertion of a new and better review amplifier, but rather a complete order of magnitude.

I also tried 4,700 35 V polars for the main reservoir of a high performance CD player, and with substantial benefit, if not quite as great in context as for the amplifier. Here I suspect that the complexity and chosen technology of this player design had set a natural limit to performance and that the BG additions had moved it closer to that limit. For this player a gain of about 15 % in sound quality was noted once it had all run-in, with a scattering of non-polars also used for local decoupling. Despite the cost I valued even this project to be well worth while.

In one simple test an inexpensive old standby CDP, a Marantz CD 60SE was tried with the BG non-polar crossover capacitors as output couplers. It had already been modified where the bi-polar Elna Cerafine output capacitors had been replaced to advantage by 4u7, 400V ICW polypropylenes. Known to be good capacitors it was a surprise to hear how the player changed with just this substitution by BG. Overall the sound lifted about 8% with the most notable feature being a more relaxed quality, a more spacious sound stage with better flow and rhythm. I have also heard them sound well in an audiophile loudspeaker application but have not personally made direct comparisons in this higher current application for which they are really intended. I did however try them for power decoupling and they are clearly not as good as the appropriate N or even polar types of comparable capacitance.

Tests have continued to the non-polar supply reservoirs, in this case 4,700u 35 V. For a single ended FET preamp with multiple pass regulators, the gain in quality over the polar BG was substantial. Compared with standard non BG types one again hears reductions in coloration and grain, deeper silences, greater image depth and ambience.
Following the apocryphal BG story to the very end I added further non-polars in the reverse orientation, the costly back-to-back arrangement, and heard an additional gain about equivalent to that already described. A month later and I can hear continuing incremental improvements in clarity and focus.

Amongst these many winners there is one true star in the series. It is also one of the cheapest and the smallest. It is the 0.1u 50V NX, [non- polar]. This almost grain of rice sized electrolytic it seems can be put almost anywhere, on IC supply pins, as audio speed ups, digital and analogue. Chuck out the films and ceramics which would otherwise be needed because they will audibly detract from the NX benefit. They seem to be able to clean up the sound while maintaining a musical balance and yet do not significantly interfere with the designers intention. They are small enough to fit almost anywhere.

Comment

A word of caution is needed to temper my evident enthusiasm for these capacitors.
I have found that the magnitude of audible improvement is dependant on the equipment to which they are applied. Some circuits seem capable of exploiting and revealing the gains which are possible. Others seem to have a closed nature, and reach a natural limit beyond which it is more difficult to make gains in sound quality. We listen through a long chain of components and equipment and some of these set inherent barriers to improvement.

Taken overall, and in circuits which are capable of exploiting the BG advance, the gain in sheer sound quality is in many cases roughly and simply proportional to the one-off amateur cost of the BG part. Even the lowest cost capacitors in this technology are significantly rewarding and should not be overlooked, while the top grade, non-polar components, do, in my view change the rules for the design of high quality audio equipment.

Revised MC Feb 2003

[PHD]

Конденсаторы Black Gate в разных устройствах:

[PHD]

Теория Black gate (англ.).
Black Gate Theory 黑金刚电解电容的原理

You may be especially interested to know how much difference in electrical performancethere is between Black Gate capacitors andordinary capacitors at the same voltage and capacity. A technical magazine in Japan conducted and reported an official test of several 63V/ 2200µF electrolytic capacitors from various manufacturers. These were purch--ased at random in Akihabara, Tokyo: the largest marketplace for retail ele--ctronics in Japan. The major findingsfrom this test are shown in Figure 3 and 4. As the figures show clearly, Black Gate capacitors were superior to all other capacitors with 1/2 to 1/10 the impedance and the E.S.R. The report attracted lots of attention all over the world, and surprised everyone.As shown in table 1. the Black Gate tested was rather small in size compared with the other capacitors and it had the best tan of all the capacitors, while exhibiting the smallest L. C. (leakage current). This means that Black Gates will have a longer life in any comparable app--lication than any other electrolytic capacitor. Furthermore, in the E.S.R. (equivalent seriesresistance) data in Figure 4, you can clearly see the characteristics that make our Black Gates' performance standout from all the rest. As you may be aware, E.S.R.can be expressed as: E.S.R. = impedance x tan

The E:S. R. value reveals the real strength or weakness capacitors. The reciprocal of this value is "Q". When the value of "Q" increases, the resolution of proximate two signals increases. Therefore, the amount of signal information that is accurately transmitted is also increased. This aspect of Black Gate capacitor performance is superior in almost every frequency range. At its best point, this value forBlack Gate capacitors is cut to 1/2 to 1/10 the levels of ordinary capacitors and provides an incredible, ideal curve Black Gate have distinctive noise level advantages over dry-type capacitors
As described before, dry-typeelectrolytic capacitors perform an internal electron transfer. However, due to their constructionlimitations, they are limited to low voltage ranges and have no self--recovery function. Further, they aresignificantly more expensive than the wet-type. We compared these dry-type electrolytic capacitors,ordinary wet-type electrolytic capacitors, and super-small Black Gate capacitors from our "PK" series (designed to be espe--cially compact). As figure 5 shows, the dry-type capacitors generated largecontact noise (because of their con--struction method) that was more than 60 dB higher than the Black Gates. And the dry-type capacitors didn't even offer better electron transfer. Instead, they will actually decrease the S/N ratio to any appliance they are installed in.

Next, we compared ordinary wet-type capacitors and Black Gates, using identical materials and production processes for everything except the se--parator. The results are shown in Figure 6. The performance differences are obvious. In a CLT-1 distortion comparison, Black Gate capacitors had 40 to 50 dB less harmonic distortion than ordinary wet-type capacitors. This means that the ion transfer distortion normally found in the separator has been eliminated in Black Gate capacitors.

As show in Fig. 7, the Black Gate does not show any deterioration in performanceat temperatures as low as -40°C as compared with conventional ele--ctrolytic capacitors. This benefits electronic equipment for use in low-temperature environments. It is known that conventional elec--trolytic capacitors show substantial deterioration in performance due to the freezing of an electrolyte.

Excellent discharge characteristics
As explained above, the Black Gate uses conductive graphite particles as a bypass for electrons. This makes the product suitable for instantaneous charging and discharging of large electronic energy as with strobe flash equipment. Generally, the luminous curve at the tine of discharging depends on the capacitor's E.S.R. value. The smaller the E.S.R. value, the higher the peak illu--minance level. The Black Gate is therefore very promising for use as a Plasma discharging ca--pacitor as well. The use of a Black Gate capacitor in an inverter for a fluorescent lamp can del--iver a substantially improved level of performance thanks to its very high power transfer efficiency. It is possible to make a compact, lightweight, low-cost power supply unit using a Black Gate capacitor.

From audio frequency up to giga-hertz applications - Non-polarized Black Gates beat them all.
Among the many accomplishments of the various Black Gate capacitor series, non-polarized Black Gates deserve special mention. Ordinary non-polarized electrolytic capacitors are made by facing oxide-coated positive electrodes toward each other so that the internal electrical pot--ential changes to match every alternation of current direction. They cause greater deterioration of both phase and distortion characteristics than ordinary capacitors do. They are produced in small quantities and sometimes appliances containing these capacitors are rejected. But, Black Gate BG-NX non-polarized capacitors, conductive separator particles function as gateelectrodes in stabilizing the zero potential of alternating current. Non-polarized Black Gate capacitors offer enhanced performance. They beat out every other kind of capacitor. The fine graphite particles play an important role here, as well. The BLACK carbon particles functioningas a GATE electrode is where the name "Black Gate" comes from. In addition, the aluminum oxide as the dielectric has the same effective quality as sapphires; the best capacitors on earth. The extremely thin, super-small electrodes maximize the capacitance for a given area of aluminum oxide, and they work without resonance at even giga-hertz frequencies. We achieved a super-small BG-NX Hi-Q of 0.1µF for the first time ever in the world. They have an amazing one-thousandth of the high frequency distortion of ceramic capacitors. When all is said and done, Black Gate capacitors conquer the full range, from audio to giga-hertz frequencies. There are no better capacitors.

With no internal resonance the Super E-Cap becomes the ideal capacitor
Our unlimited pursuit of the technology used in Black Gates finally led us to develop L-cancelingpairs of non-polarized Black Gates. We connected two identical non-polarized Black Gates (BG-Ns or BG-NX's). Together they cancel the resonance generated by their internal inductance. This method results in ideal capacitors whose impedance an E.S.R. values decrease as the frequency increases. We named these capacitors "Super E-Caps". This system completely eliminated the internal resonance of the capacitors. As a result, we were the first to be able to completely eliminate ripple and EMI noise in DC/DC converters and switching power su--pplies. This problem had Plagued electronic appliance designers, but we solved it. Details of this system are described in the catalog for Super E-Caps and in our Technical Reports, No. 71 and 85. We suggest you read these reports for more information. (Recently granted patent No. 2,606,771,U.S.P.5,379,181).

The Black Gate WK, WKZ was created by expanding the ability of our non-polarized capacitors to the maximum
In polarized electrolytic capacitors, there exist no capacitor action from cathode to anode electrodes. This is the reverse current. More precisely, not , only a positive direction current but also a negative direction current forming a part of an alternate current flow in the capacitor which cause distortions and noises. In a larger scale, the flows generate a gas by heating the electrolyte which is a cause of short life.
Particularly, smoothing capacitors in a rectifier which is connected to a power supply directly or through a transformer are a subject to reverse pulses from the rectifier. They are constantly the subject to high intensity reverse pulses when they are used in a primary smoothing circuit for a switching power supply. These capacitors are also causes of generation of EMI noises and heat. WK and WKZ have a remarkable structure which enables a complete non-polarized capacitor suppressing all the reverse pulses by applying a oxide film having a large resisting voltage exceeding by 1/2 of the operation voltage to the cathode electrode. All the problems above have been, th, us, resolved and extremely low noise, high power and long life have been attained. Thisis a result of realizing the features of the Black Gate at their maximum level which no other type of capacitors can not realize. See Technical Reports No. 89 and 90.
Recently, it has become a realproblem that electromagnetic waves emitted from inside of electronic devices give a harm to a human body or high grademedical appliances. Harmonic noise having a wide frequency range generated by a power supplies or circuits of cell phones, digital cameras or personal computers are real problems which give anxiety to users of such devices. There is a moveto restrict the problem by contacting atreaty on a world wide base.The harmonic noises are generated by electrolytedue toits non-linear characteristics used for a pulse transmission circuit when a pulse signal passes through capacitors. Particularly, a larger amount of harmful electromagnetic waves are generated from capacitors used for switching power supplies or DC/DC converters.Since the electromagnetic waves are generated from capacitors used for eliminating the noises due to their fun--ctional incompleteness, there is no ways other than replacing the ideal capacitors that do not generate noises.
Fig. 8, A and B are comparison curves showing non-linear distortion characte--ristics, impedances and E.S.R. char--acteristics of electrolytic capacitors widely used in smoothing circuits, of power supplies in ordinary personal computers, etc. and Black Gate N series.

These curves clearly show that the source of the electromagnetic waves is the electrolytic capacitors.
In Fig. 8, A, the difference between ordinary electrolytic capacitors and Black Gates reaches 50 dB and the difference of E.S.R. value is 10 times in Fig. 8, B. These figures show that total difference is amount to a big value of 60 dB. In other words, it is understood that ordinary used electrolytic capacitors generate harmful electromagnetic waves of 1000 times larger than the waves generated by Black Gates. With the ordinary electrolytic capacitors, improvement of only 6 dB or 10 dB in suppressing the harmful electroma-gnetic. waves can be obtained by taking some measures which are far away from 60 dB. The fact is proved that only Black Gates can reduce the level of harmful electromagnetic waves to -160 dB for the first time which level is below natural noise level (-120 dB). Black Gates also can be said to be the sole elements that suppress the harmful electromagnetic waves. See Technical Report No. 111.

If Olympic game for capacitors is held, Black Gate will win a championship in decathlon without fail


Black Gate capacitors, we applied almost all of the path as electron transfer channels. As described in the earlier paragraph concerning impedance, Black Gate capacitors offer better characteristics than ordinary capacitors with five times the capacitance. In addition, they crate only 1/1000 (-60 dB) the internal distortion, offer 100 times faster internal signal transfer rates, and have 2 to 3 times the power transfer efficiency of ordinary capacitors. These performance levels are previously unprecedented. They are beyond the comprehension of people who cling to old, wrong ideas about electrolytic capacitors. But, these performance levels have been independently verified. They are FACTS! When you use Black Gate capacitors throughout your appliance design, you will get surprising results. Our Technical Reports are useful guides for your application of Black Gate capacitors in designing appliances. Jelmax´s decade-long accumulation of valuable knowledge has been published in first class technical magazines and in over a hundred Technical Reports. These reports have been very well received and are considered trustworthy in the information they present. The contents of many of these reports have been used as topics for in-house education programs and as texts used by technicians and educators, because they contain valuable information not available in books or schools. Some of these reports have been translated into English and have been well received around the world. Copies of these reports are available upon request. Black Gates have already been adopted for use in appliances manufactured by dozens of firstname electric appliance manufacturers both in and outside of Japan. They have contributed to tremendous increases in the performance of these appliances. Black Gate capacitors are welcomed as one of the biggest electronic parts innovations in the 20th century. The applications are limitless in all sorts of electronic devices and equipment, such as radios, TV sets, cameras, VTR's, tape recorders, stereos, audio appliances, CD players, digital processors, communications equipment, medical instruments such as , MRI/CT/DSA/US, electron microscopes, AD/DA converters, AC/DC power supplies, DC/DC power supplies, works stations, fax machines, high resolution copying machines, printing machines, laser instruments, NC tools, etc. Black Gate capacitors are now recognized all over the world as indispensable components in decreasing the noise found in high resolution portable equipment for multi-media use. The spreading use of Black Gate capacitors is guaranteed since it would be impossible to develop capacitors superior to Black Gates. The primary technology used in Black Gates is described in Reports No's. 50, 51, and 52. We strongly recommend that you read these reports.

Improving the target S/N ratio of appliances and reducing component distortion
As explained above in detail, distortion noises due to ions which are to exist essentially disappeared from the inside of the Black Gate because the Transcendence Electro Transfer took place based on the surprising tunnel effect inside the electrolytic capacitor of ion transfer. This is a big news which has never heard before. As a result that the largest noise source in electronic circuits has disappeared, the target S/N (Signal to Noise Ratio) of all the appliances has been improved at a degree which has never been experienced before with a rapid decrease in circuit noise level. We replaced all the , capacitors with non-polarized Black Gates of the set in CLT-1, a distortion measuring device having the highest sensitivity. Then measured the distortion of itself. Remarkably, the result showed that improvement with more than 20 dB was realized. Consequently the limitation of the measuring value reaches - 180 dB. This is an evidence that S/N of all the electronic devices are also improved by more than 20 dB.
For more details, see the Technical Report No. 110.

The Idling Process
If a Black Gate capacitor mounted on an electronic device is actuated, a signal current flows into it and the electrodes are gradually activated, reducing non-linear distortion and phase distortion substantially while improving the efficiency of power transfer efficiency. The time required for this process va, ries widely with the capacity, voltage and signal level. A total of about 30 hours is the standard level. Once this process of idling is completed, the effect continues as long as the capacitor is kept at the same place and the operating environment does not undergo a substantial change. The effect of idling has been proved with all types of electronic equipment-analog, digital, high-frequency and other devices. It must be noted that idling is different from aging, which applies a direct current voltage without giving signals.