Glossary: Capacitor | Sweetwater.com

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 0-9

Capacitor: An electronic component, also sometimes called a condenser. Capacitors, which come in many shapes and sizes, basically do nothing more than store electrical voltage, somewhat like a battery. They are comprised of two (or more) electrical conductors (plates) separated by an insulator. Current cannot flow "through" a capacitor without breaking it (by breaking down the insulator). Thus they do not pass any DC, but do pass AC in varying degrees by the charging and discharging of the two plates. In electrical circuits their behavior in terms of the time it takes them to store and release their voltage charge can be used in more ways than your credit card at the mall. Their use can be as simple as removing a DC component from an AC signal or short-term power for memory in electronic instruments, but they are also used in very sophisticated audio and digital circuits (as control elements). Capacitors are important ingredients in most EQ circuits, power supplies, oscillators, clocks, filters, and the list goes on and on. They are everywhere. A typical mixing board could have hundreds or thousands of capacitors.
There has been a great deal of eyebrow raising (an exercise much practiced in the audio industry) about the relative merits of different types of capacitors used in audio circuits. Many audiophiles hold that the quality of these components can have a significant impact on the audio quality (especially long term) of a device. This type of thing is one of many that may separate more expensive equipment from the cheap stuff.

C-weighting	Cabinet	Cabinet Grand
Cache RAM	Cadence (or Close)	Cadillac Tailpiece
California Rebel	Camber	Canned Music (Slang)
Canon	Cans	Cantilever
Cantus Firmus	Capacitance	Capacitor
Capo	Capstan	Capsule
Capture	CardBus	Cardioid
Carillon	Carrier	Cart Machine
Cartridge	Carved-top Guitar	Case Candy
Cassette Tape	Cat's Eye	Cat 5
Cat 6	Cathode	Cathode Biased
CBR	CBS Era	CCIR
CCIR 468-weighting	CCIR ARM-weighting	CC Number
CD+G	CD-ROM	CD-RW
CD24	CDDA	CD Extra
CDR	CD Text	Cedar
Celesta	Cent	Center Frequency
Center block	Center Tap	Centronics
Centronics 50	Challenge/Response	Chambered Body
Chamberlin	Chamfer	Channel Separation
Channel Status Bit	Channel Strip	Channel Voice Messages
Chart	Chase	Chatoyancy
Chipset	Chitarra Batente	Choke
Chooser	Chops	Chord
Chordophone	Chorus	Chroma
Chroma Keying	Chromatic (Chromatic Scale)	Chromatic Tailpiece
CIRC	Circle of Fifths	Circuit Breaker
Circumaural	CISC	CITES
CITES	Cittern	Clamping Voltage
Class-D Amplifier	Class A	Class AB
Class B	Class H	Classic
Claves	Clavinet	Clavioline
Claw/Drum Claw	Clear Coat	Clearwood
Clef	Click and Hold	Click Track
Client Ref	Clipboard	Clipping
Clock	Close-miking	Closed Ear
Cluster	CLV	CMOS
Common Mode Rejection	CMRR	CMYK
CNC	Coaxial Cable	Coda
Code	CODEC	Coercivity
COI KB 2200	Coil	Coil Tap
Coincident	Coloration	Comb Filter
Combination/Combi	Combo Amp	Combo Organ
Comb String Converter	Commission	Common Time
Comp/Comping	Compact Disc	Compact Flash
Companding	Compass	Compensation (guitar)
Compilation Score	Compile	Component Video
COM Port	Composite Track	Composite Video
Compound Interval	Compound Meter	Compound Radius
Compression	Compression (data)	Compression Driver
Compressor	Concertina	Concert Pitch
Condenser Microphone	Conductor	Confidence Monitoring
Conform	Conga	Consecutive interval
Console	Consonance	Con Sordino
Constant Directivity	Constant Q	Contact Mic
Contact Pressure (Headphones)	Continue	Continuity
Continuo	Continuous Controller	Contour Amount
Control Panel	Control Room	Control Surface
Control Voltage	Conversion Latency	Convolution
Cool	Copy	Copyleft
Copyright	Coral Sitar	CoreAudio
CoreMIDI	Corrupt/Corruption	COSM
Coulomb	Counter	Counterpoint
Count off (Count in)	Coupling	CPU
CPUCycle	Crash	CRC
Crescendo	Crest Factor	Critical Band
Critical Distance	Cross-Modulation	Crossfade
Crossover	Crossover Cable	Crossover Distortion
Cross Platform	Cross Stick	Cross Stick Crosstalk
Cross Switch	Crosstalk	Crotchet
CRT	CRV	CS-80
Csound	CS Update	Cue
Cue List (Cue Sheet)	Current	Current Limiting
Cursor	Cut	Cut-Only Equalizer
Cutaway	Cutoff Frequency	Cycle