Hi wg_ski,
A snap-in is a type of radial, but the internal attachments to the foil allow for higher current and pulses. For example, using a normal radial in a Carver M1.5 (or similar) is asking for trouble. I use snap-ins on a PCB I copied from the factory replacement (I still have one of those). Note the PCB has very thick mounting pins as well, not wire leads. I wouldn't really compare those two types of capacitor except for the lead arrangement.
Audiophile caps in general only equal good industrial brands - at the very best. Then you pay extremely high money for a typically over-sized part that doesn't fit the mounting space. If anyone can think of a better reason to avoid these things, please speak up, but those reasons should be more than good enough. It is all hype, marketing stories, and my favorite these days "white papers". Now if you buy from Ebay or other similar sources, you're on your own. Buy a lottery ticket while you are at it.
Hi Hal,
Yes, I use those. They are getting dear and are being phased out. Too bad.
I clearly remember radial caps appearing when all we had were axial caps. It made servicing look messy with the negative lead looped over.
PC sound cards can be used BUT they are often 5 V peak input and higher voltages may well damage them. Plus you still need a real 8R dummy load, non-inductive if you ever hope to have comparative readings. Nothing you see is valid otherwise. Sound cards also have various input impedances and capacitances, so making a divider is a bit more complicated and you need to characterise the sound card inputs. Scaling? Forget it. Your voltmeter also must be accurate to 50 KHz on AC volts if you want any kind of accuracy. That and the meter must have a basic accuracy that is good enough. Most cheaper meters have an LSD (least significant digit) that doesn't mean anything at all. Then there is calibration. If you don't believe me, work out the error specs on your meter. If it doesn't have those specs, they are horrible and you need a real meter. The average human will read a digital scale and take that as accurate reading. Not hardly!
I receive a steady stream of equipment repaired elsewhere that is "clean" or operating properly that are not. It isn't uncommon to see 1/2 to 2% THD on equipment that passed final check using a listening test, and maybe even an oscilloscope. Anyone who believes they can hear distortion below 1% is delusional. You can hear the difference on an A-B, but not checking equipment in isolation that you just repaired.