Recapping: anyone who has replaced capacitors in their amplifier?

[rwnano]

Wanted to understand how the sound differs from a old capacitor containing amplifier to the same amplifier with brand new ones?

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

 

[bornfi]

Wanted to understand how the sound differs from a old capacitor containing amplifier to the same amplifier with brand new ones?

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

It starts sounding clean.

 

[rwnano]

Signs that you need to recap

Hi, I;ve got a few old Pioneer amps (SA-*20 ones) I just wondered as some sound different to others, could this be a sign that the capacitors are starting to pack up? What are the signs in terms of sound quality that the capacitors or other components are starting to let go? Thanks

audiokarma.org

 

[bunny_hop]

A conversation paused is not a conversation ended

Did you manage make progress with this?

I have few amps which I suspect have some capacitors which are failing (40-50 years old so obvious!), I have to recapp them but have been delaying doing anything. They do work but need attention for sure.

Please share your experience

 

[rwnano]

A conversation paused is not a conversation ended

Did you manage make progress with this?

I have few amps which I suspect have some capacitors which are failing (40-50 years old so obvious!), I have to recapp them but have been delaying doing anything. They do work but need attention for sure.

Please share your experience

Had someone in Nehru place New Delhi do the Recapping

 

[bunny_hop]

Had someone in Nehru place New Delhi do the Recapping

All sorted then, how much do they charge for this service? did you buy the capacitors or they can sort that. Asking here so that other can benefit from these questions as well - thanks in advance

 

[hifimaddy]

All sorted then, how much do they charge for this service? did you buy the capacitors or they can sort that. Asking here so that other can benefit from these questions as well - thanks in advance

If the capacitor has leaks, it should be replaced as soon as possible. When recapping, always go with good caps like Nichicon, Rubycon, and Elna.

 

[frend2001]

It depends on which and what type of capacitors are being changed.

General rule of thumb is to never attempt a shot gun approach, meaning shouldn't change all caps in sight in one go.

Usually most benefit is gained by changing and slightly upping main and board specific filtering caps. And bypassing them with a small film cap. The bass response and high frequency resolution is improved thus.

Small value electrolytic caps in signal path changed with good film caps are known to give cleaner audio.

But this has to be done cap by cap and board by board. If a complete recap is done in one go and something goes wrong it is almost impossible to find what went wrong. So has to be done cautiously, thr rewards are generally good and at worst you at least get the reliability and age extension.

 

[hifimaddy]

It depends on which and what type of capacitors are being changed.

General rule of thumb is to never attempt a shot gun approach, meaning shouldn't change all caps in sight in one go.

Usually most benefit is gained by changing and slightly upping main and board specific filtering caps. And bypassing them with a small film cap. The bass response and high frequency resolution is improved thus.

Small value electrolytic caps in signal path changed with good film caps are known to give cleaner audio.

But this has to be done cap by cap and board by board. If a complete recap is done in one go and something goes wrong it is almost impossible to find what went wrong. So has to be done cautiously, thr rewards are generally good and at worst you at least get the reliability and age extension.

Absolutely. Replacing all the capacitors might end some problems, or it might make the sound worse. Only replace electrolytic capacitors if they are faulty or leaking. A few months ago, I considered recapping my Nakamichi deck, even though it sounded fine, and reached out to some experienced technicians in Europe for help. They advised me that if the capacitors aren't leaking, I should avoid recapping; it could ruin the sound, even with top-quality capacitors. They completely dismissed the idea.

 

[rwnano]

All sorted then, how much do they charge for this service? did you buy the capacitors or they can sort that. Asking here so that other can benefit from these questions as well - thanks in advance

Sanhwa capacitor in all the caps. They're from 2004 time so while in the capacitor plague times that's why got it replaced.

 

[srinisundar]

Sorry late for the show, i have changed completely all the capacitors in my sun audio amp thru @radium7 and it has given very good results.

 

[bunny_hop]

It depends on which and what type of capacitors are being changed.

General rule of thumb is to never attempt a shot gun approach, meaning shouldn't change all caps in sight in one go.

Usually most benefit is gained by changing and slightly upping main and board specific filtering caps. And bypassing them with a small film cap. The bass response and high frequency resolution is improved thus.

Small value electrolytic caps in signal path changed with good film caps are known to give cleaner audio.

But this has to be done cap by cap and board by board. If a complete recap is done in one go and something goes wrong it is almost impossible to find what went wrong. So has to be done cautiously, thr rewards are generally good and at worst you at least get the reliability and age extension.

Ok, thought its good to keep the original capacitor type - electrolytic as same than change to film? but if film is a good upgrade and works then why not

 

[availlyrics]

 

[Kannan_madhu]

Unless the amplifier is very old—around 20 years or more—recapping is usually not necessary. Also, many internationally branded capacitors available in the local market are often counterfeit, so it’s safer to either buy from reputable suppliers like RS Components or use reliable alternatives such as Samwha or Keltron.

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

unless you have the service manual, there is no gurantee that replacing all the caps would sound the same as how it is tuned at the factory. Every components that you replace will have some tolerance, which would add up to have a change in overall voltage or current level in the circuits. On many amplifiers it is crucial to keep this at the recommended levels, and there are tiny potentiometers on the circuit to adjust this. However without he manual you have no idea how much is the right value and you end blowing components down the line.
I did this myself on a Luxman L410 and the more bias voltage I kept, the amp started running warmer. It sounded more agile than how I got it, and I thought I became a master tuner- few days later when I tried to push it a bit and it ran into clipping blowing up two vifa tweeters worth 15k INR.

Never thought of doing it again without proper knowledge of what I am doing