Amp Capacitor Advice

Hi there flux addicts,
well, I have bitten the bullet and taken apart my amp after deciding that it is too expensive to buy a better one, and instead gone for the (hopefully cheaper and better) DIY method of replacing all the caps. I have bought a set of Black Gates (just the standard ones, but these babies better be good, 'cos they ain't cheap!) but can't find a few of the sizes that I need, so I was hoping that you guys could give me a little advice on what to get instead.

I need four 6800uf 63V ones (I think they are for the power supply section) and two little 1uf 100V ones for the signal section. The 6800uf can't be taller than 50mm otherwise they won't fit in the case, and the current ones (Teapo's) are rated to 105 degrees, so I guess the new ones should be as well.

What do you reckon the best ones to go for are, and where is a good place to get 'em from? I would obviously like something pretty good, but also not ridiculously expensive

Cheers people!


The Moog

 

For the 6800uF, there are two choices from farnell:
Vishays, FEC 248198 for £7.48 a piece
Panasonic EC, FEC 3198558 for £3.83 a piece

Are the 1uF 100V caps electrolytic? If so, the only part farnell have are Elna RE, FEC 3618857 for 4.9p each.

 

Cheers Isaac,
I saw those ones you mention at Farnell, and I guess I was wondering if they are any good? The whole purpose of the excersise is to put the best caps that I can reasonably afford in there to achieve the best possible sound without upgrading the whole shebam (and also so I don't have to open up the amps again at a later date ), so do you think the Panasonics or the Vishays are substantially better than the Teapos, and which is the better of the two (one would suppose that the Vishays are as they are more expensive, but that is not always the case)?


The Moog

 

www.hificollective.co.uk

A trustworthy source, and he is someone who builds hifi amps (good ones) - so he can tell you what the bits will sound like.

Chris

 

Cheers for the help guys,

Well, I have got my new bits and put them all in there, but on opening up one of the amps, I noticed that one of the resistors in there was a little toasted (almost all black ) so I thought that I may as well replace it.

Now luckily being a dual mono amp, there is a perfectly healthy resistor opposite it that is the same value (gold gold red yellow, which is 4.2 ohms right?), but I can't seem to find a 4.2 ohm resistor anywhere. Can someone point me in the direction of somewhere that sells 'em? Although I don't know the wattage of it, it is a carbon film type (but I guess you can stck any type in there) and it is about 10mm long. Thanks again,


The Moog

 

Please post a pic as the resistor may have discoloured. Two gold bands sounds odd....

 

Isaac,

I'll grab a pic for you when I get a second tonight, but it is definately gold-gold-red-yellow (or yellow-red-gold-gold depending which way you think is up ) as I have taken the colours off the resistor in the other channel that has not become a blackened charred mess, and is in perfect order.

Funnily enough, the amp with the slightly fryed resistor in it was bought second hand, so whoever had it first must have done something nasty to it. Mind you, it has worked fine for me for a few years now, but I though that better to be safe than sorry, and replace the thing while I have the amp open, and before it dies, goes open circuit, and kills my lovely speakers


The Moog