Black Gate (capacitor)
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Black Gate is the name of a brand of audio grade electrolytic capacitor made in Japan. They have acquired a reputation for very high quality for use in the signal path, and power supplies, of audio circuitry.
The quality of capacitors may vary considerably depending on its construction methods, the type of insulating materials used. They are also know to deteriorate (or "Drift") with time.
Said by some to be the most significant upgrade that can be made to Hi-Fi equipment, Black Gate capacitors continue to be held in high regard by many high-end Hi-Fi manufacturers; tending to be used only in their most expensive, or signature, lines due to their high cost.
Black Gate capacitors base their manufacture on something called 'The Transcendent Electron Transfer' theory. The manufacturer attributes the caps' sonic quality to the use of fine graphite particles used in the separator between its aluminium oxide anode and cathode.
[edit] Settling-in Period
Many "subjectivist" audiophiles believe that it can take many tens of hours of "burn-in", where equipment is left switched on weeks prior to proper auditioning before the maximum sonic benefits can be heard in audio circuits.
It can take many hundreds of hours before the maximum sonic benefits can be heard in audio circuits that use Black Gates. This long settling-in procedure is often a controversial issue when auditioning such equipment, as the frequency responses will tend to shift around greatly during this period - making the equipment sound different from one audition to another. Once completely 'burnt-in' however, the benefits can be heard clearly.
