John is right.? Film capacitors have no polarity.? Electrolytic capacitors are usually polarized, but film caps are not.? If you still want further instructions then do this: solder them so that the label is on the top, and you can read it left to right.? That way you know what you’re looking at twenty years from now when you think about refreshing them again.

As for the sound, it all depends on how much the old capacitors drifted from their original value.? You should generally expect them to sound “accurate” after a recap, by which I mean closer to how they were expected to sound by Dahlquist at the factory floor.? And since this is a pair of DQ-20s, that should mean they’re going to sound great. ?

Enjoy!

On Jan 14, 2025, at 3:02?AM, mickeymcauliff via <mickeymcauliff=[email protected]> wrote:

Hi all! New member here. I've the pleasure of being the permanent? caretaker of a pair of DQ20'S. I've done the cosmetics already and now is the time for 'the guts'. I've ordered new Solen caps from Josh at Madisound per the schematic. He's told be there is no polarity or direction..and I believe him! BUT I've also heard that there is an preferred direction with something about the outer cap goes to the lowest side of something? Listen, I'm no electrician so it's all foreign to me! Has anyone heard anything about this? I trust Madisounds information but thought I'd ask you all. Also what should I expect with the change? All the values are remaining the same and I'm only changing the 6 caps per speaker..nothing else. Any input with experienced folks that have done this, would be greatly appreciated. They sound great already but the insides must be getting tired. How much will this change the sound sonically? Thanks again for any input.?

Sincerely Mick

Thank you very much! Yes, Josh suggested everything about the makers mark facing up and that but was just checking in with you all for any and all suggestions. Yes, all of the values on the Solens caps are identical. So wish me and my soldering skills good luck. Lol

On Tue, Jan 14, 2025, 5:50?AM caffleck via <caffleck=[email protected]> wrote:

John is right.? Film capacitors have no polarity.? Electrolytic capacitors are usually polarized, but film caps are not.? If you still want further instructions then do this: solder them so that the label is on the top, and you can read it left to right.? That way you know what you’re looking at twenty years from now when you think about refreshing them again.

As for the sound, it all depends on how much the old capacitors drifted from their original value.? You should generally expect them to sound “accurate” after a recap, by which I mean closer to how they were expected to sound by Dahlquist at the factory floor.? And since this is a pair of DQ-20s, that should mean they’re going to sound great. ?

Enjoy!

On Jan 14, 2025, at 3:02?AM, mickeymcauliff via <mickeymcauliff=[email protected]> wrote:

Hi all! New member here. I've the pleasure of being the permanent? caretaker of a pair of DQ20'S. I've done the cosmetics already and now is the time for 'the guts'. I've ordered new Solen caps from Josh at Madisound per the schematic. He's told be there is no polarity or direction..and I believe him! BUT I've also heard that there is an preferred direction with something about the outer cap goes to the lowest side of something? Listen, I'm no electrician so it's all foreign to me! Has anyone heard anything about this? I trust Madisounds information but thought I'd ask you all. Also what should I expect with the change? All the values are remaining the same and I'm only changing the 6 caps per speaker..nothing else. Any input with experienced folks that have done this, would be greatly appreciated. They sound great already but the insides must be getting tired. How much will this change the sound sonically? Thanks again for any input.?

Sincerely Mick

Why not consider 20i caps for replacement ?

On Tue, Jan 14, 2025 at 9:43?AM Mickey McAuliff via <mickeymcauliff=[email protected]> wrote:

Thank you very much! Yes, Josh suggested everything about the makers mark facing up and that but was just checking in with you all for any and all suggestions. Yes, all of the values on the Solens caps are identical. So wish me and my soldering skills good luck. Lol

On Tue, Jan 14, 2025, 5:50?AM caffleck via <caffleck=[email protected]> wrote:

John is right.? Film capacitors have no polarity.? Electrolytic capacitors are usually polarized, but film caps are not.? If you still want further instructions then do this: solder them so that the label is on the top, and you can read it left to right.? That way you know what you’re looking at twenty years from now when you think about refreshing them again.

As for the sound, it all depends on how much the old capacitors drifted from their original value.? You should generally expect them to sound “accurate” after a recap, by which I mean closer to how they were expected to sound by Dahlquist at the factory floor.? And since this is a pair of DQ-20s, that should mean they’re going to sound great. ?

Enjoy!

On Jan 14, 2025, at 3:02?AM, mickeymcauliff via <mickeymcauliff=[email protected]> wrote:

Hi all! New member here. I've the pleasure of being the permanent? caretaker of a pair of DQ20'S. I've done the cosmetics already and now is the time for 'the guts'. I've ordered new Solen caps from Josh at Madisound per the schematic. He's told be there is no polarity or direction..and I believe him! BUT I've also heard that there is an preferred direction with something about the outer cap goes to the lowest side of something? Listen, I'm no electrician so it's all foreign to me! Has anyone heard anything about this? I trust Madisounds information but thought I'd ask you all. Also what should I expect with the change? All the values are remaining the same and I'm only changing the 6 caps per speaker..nothing else. Any input with experienced folks that have done this, would be greatly appreciated. They sound great already but the insides must be getting tired. How much will this change the sound sonically? Thanks again for any input.?

Sincerely Mick

I did. The 'purist' in me said to stay with the intended original. Can I ask though what the 6 original caps would be traded for? The 68uF are on a different invoice.?

On Tue, Jan 14, 2025, 6:52?AM richard adelberg via <richardadelberg=[email protected]> wrote:

Why not consider 20i caps for replacement ?

On Tue, Jan 14, 2025 at 9:43?AM Mickey McAuliff via <mickeymcauliff=[email protected]> wrote:

Thank you very much! Yes, Josh suggested everything about the makers mark facing up and that but was just checking in with you all for any and all suggestions. Yes, all of the values on the Solens caps are identical. So wish me and my soldering skills good luck. Lol

On Tue, Jan 14, 2025, 5:50?AM caffleck via <caffleck=[email protected]> wrote:

John is right.? Film capacitors have no polarity.? Electrolytic capacitors are usually polarized, but film caps are not.? If you still want further instructions then do this: solder them so that the label is on the top, and you can read it left to right.? That way you know what you’re looking at twenty years from now when you think about refreshing them again.

As for the sound, it all depends on how much the old capacitors drifted from their original value.? You should generally expect them to sound “accurate” after a recap, by which I mean closer to how they were expected to sound by Dahlquist at the factory floor.? And since this is a pair of DQ-20s, that should mean they’re going to sound great. ?

Enjoy!

On Jan 14, 2025, at 3:02?AM, mickeymcauliff via <mickeymcauliff=[email protected]> wrote:

Hi all! New member here. I've the pleasure of being the permanent? caretaker of a pair of DQ20'S. I've done the cosmetics already and now is the time for 'the guts'. I've ordered new Solen caps from Josh at Madisound per the schematic. He's told be there is no polarity or direction..and I believe him! BUT I've also heard that there is an preferred direction with something about the outer cap goes to the lowest side of something? Listen, I'm no electrician so it's all foreign to me! Has anyone heard anything about this? I trust Madisounds information but thought I'd ask you all. Also what should I expect with the change? All the values are remaining the same and I'm only changing the 6 caps per speaker..nothing else. Any input with experienced folks that have done this, would be greatly appreciated. They sound great already but the insides must be getting tired. How much will this change the sound sonically? Thanks again for any input.?

Sincerely Mick

He may be referring to the outer plate of the capacitor being attached to the lowest potential in the circuit, the black or ground side. This does have an effect on low level circuitry like preamps. I doubt seriously it would have any affect whatsoever on a crossover capacitor. As such with any film capacitor, you should be able to ignore polarity. Placing the label up is visually more appealing and potentially useful.?

It would not hurt to wire the cap this way; it is just not required. You need an oscilloscope to determine which cap lead has the outer foil attached on most caps. It is this side that is most likely to pick up hum unless it is attached to ref (ground). A few caps, even non-polarized, have bands around one end to indicate this connection.