Is it always (usually?) best to use a close tolerance capacitor?
Put another way. I like building electronic DIY kits, I usually meter the components as well as checking the markings.
I know my metering device is probably crappy - but it does give consistent results on repeat tests of a given capacitor.
What I'm wondering is, if I have say a few 100pF ceramics in a kit and they measure say between 87pF and 112pF, is it worth me digging through my general stock for, say caps between 95pF and 105pF (or better)?
I'm sure the answer will be 'it depends on the circuit'; I know that say a RC filter or oscillator will be more accurate with high tolerance parts.
But more generally does 10-20% tolerance really matter given that the designer should have accounted for expected variances?
I guess the question is, what do other people do; go with all caps (etc) supplied as is (obviously not using and real duds) or try and 'better' the circuit?