Is there a good/bad list of Caps online somewhere?
I've come across a few brands that I know are good (Nichicon/Rubycon) and I know that the CapXon are bad (2 monitors and a modem, all had CapXon and all were swollen and breaking open).
Dismantling a set of Logitech X-230's for my arcade cabinet (decided to not use the eBay amp) and I have to replace a resistor as per another thread, and noticed it has Chang caps, and no idea if those are any good or not.
I've come across a few brands that I know are good (Nichicon/Rubycon) and I know that the CapXon are bad (2 monitors and a modem, all had CapXon and all were swollen and breaking open).
Dismantling a set of Logitech X-230's for my arcade cabinet (decided to not use the eBay amp) and I have to replace a resistor as per another thread, and noticed it has Chang caps, and no idea if those are any good or not.
Check who farnell is stocking. they don't sell any junk.
Same with some other major distributors probably, but I know farnell US (newark).
Add panasonic to the short list. Vishay has good initial quality but no long life electrolytic caps (I've found).
CDE and United Chemicon are sort if middle market. Their end of life test is not as strenuous as above.
The top three do sell 500 hour service life parts for people who are going to throw the prototype away after a few hours, or repair shops that want to see the customer again next year. Buy 3000 up rated service life parts. After the baggie label is off, you can't tell by looking which grade you have.
All others, whonoze? A certain country where things are assembled has a culture of cheating on tests left over from their previous production system. Who is watching at 3 AM on Sunday AM? Where did the reject pile go? (into a box & shipped, sometimes, while everybody parties too long in the lunch room. ) QA people have to be suspicious b******s. How much power QA has depends on the management, and who audits at 3 AM on the wrong day.
Same with some other major distributors probably, but I know farnell US (newark).
Add panasonic to the short list. Vishay has good initial quality but no long life electrolytic caps (I've found).
CDE and United Chemicon are sort if middle market. Their end of life test is not as strenuous as above.
The top three do sell 500 hour service life parts for people who are going to throw the prototype away after a few hours, or repair shops that want to see the customer again next year. Buy 3000 up rated service life parts. After the baggie label is off, you can't tell by looking which grade you have.
All others, whonoze? A certain country where things are assembled has a culture of cheating on tests left over from their previous production system. Who is watching at 3 AM on Sunday AM? Where did the reject pile go? (into a box & shipped, sometimes, while everybody parties too long in the lunch room. ) QA people have to be suspicious b******s. How much power QA has depends on the management, and who audits at 3 AM on the wrong day.
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From buying power supplies, I always read that (in general) Japanese caps are great, Chinese are not. And on the list was always the Rubycon, Nichicon, and the ones you mentioned.
Should have a Tier List, like they do for power supplies. Not necessarily a rank in order, but rather a list broken into 3 or 4 tiers, like Best, Good, Ok and Garbage.
That way can also split brands up, since (like Nichicon) they seem to have a few dozen series, so some series may be top tier and some mid-tier.
Should have a Tier List, like they do for power supplies. Not necessarily a rank in order, but rather a list broken into 3 or 4 tiers, like Best, Good, Ok and Garbage.
That way can also split brands up, since (like Nichicon) they seem to have a few dozen series, so some series may be top tier and some mid-tier.
Farnell is getting good quality out of their house brand, which is assembled in *****. I've installed a few dozen. Same with CDE & United, no problems yet although I see a lot of junk from that country under other names.
I've put several hundred e-caps in organs; not as strenuous service as TV horizontal or switcher supplies, certainly.
Depends on who is watching the output in a certain countries. Farnell has figured how get only the good stuff out of there; other vendors that assembler performance is up to the team. I've had US production managers figure out how to ship the reject pile; QA has to watch constantly and have an aggressive company culture.
I've put several hundred e-caps in organs; not as strenuous service as TV horizontal or switcher supplies, certainly.
Depends on who is watching the output in a certain countries. Farnell has figured how get only the good stuff out of there; other vendors that assembler performance is up to the team. I've had US production managers figure out how to ship the reject pile; QA has to watch constantly and have an aggressive company culture.
Other good brand names: Panasonic, Elna, United ChemiCon (UCC) / Nippon ChemiCon (Nicht), Vishay Spraque, BCC, Murata, Kemet, Würth
I see lists of what he carries, but not seeing anything about brands that are bad, good, better etc...
Before I forget the one question I had in the OP... anything about CHANG Caps? Good/Bad/Decent? If have the amp apart and replacing the one resistor, if those are bad caps I'd swap for Rubycon's I have in my bins.
Hey Georgetown... I think I'm there in a few weeks for that craft beer festival you guys have happening. 😀
I haven't come across the brand before... only repairs I have done so far, all had those CapXons in them. But, like I said, if already got the amp pulled apart and soldering in a resistor to fix the volume issues for the bass... may as well recap it.
Once built into the arcade cabinet, it'll be way more a hassle to fix if they go bad.
I haven't come across the brand before... only repairs I have done so far, all had those CapXons in them. But, like I said, if already got the amp pulled apart and soldering in a resistor to fix the volume issues for the bass... may as well recap it.
Once built into the arcade cabinet, it'll be way more a hassle to fix if they go bad.
I would go for the Rubycon's. Depending on your Budget BCC or Vishay are very reliable - have seen them often in expansive measurement equipment. Used Nichicons and also UCC in some of my Designs for Psu caps.
Because of my limited knowledge, when I go to DigiKey.ca, first two things I filter is to show in stock items only, and nichicon/rubycon. 😀
But, when it comes to series... I have no clue. Which is why a tier list would be handy.
But, when it comes to series... I have no clue. Which is why a tier list would be handy.
digikey US site has the service life in the selector table. Same as Newark. I look for over 3000 hours. I use 10000 hrs @ 105C if I can get it, forget the price adder. Other distributors make you look up the datasheet for service life, worse others don't even link to the datasheet.
People doing switcher supplies and RF service have to look at other quality indicators. I've gotten no **** buying long service life grade, in organ class AB amps mixers filters & preamps.
People doing switcher supplies and RF service have to look at other quality indicators. I've gotten no **** buying long service life grade, in organ class AB amps mixers filters & preamps.
Ya, that's what I go by, once I have all the specs match, I look at price and service life.... longer life, less chance of replacement. 😀
But, some people say certain series are better than others because of other specs, like, I think one person said lower ESR for example... which I guess is good?
I know they have audiophile series caps for example (ie. Nichicon MUSE) which when I read about them, seem pretty 50/50 whether or not they make a difference, or if just marketing to charge more.
But, some people say certain series are better than others because of other specs, like, I think one person said lower ESR for example... which I guess is good?
I know they have audiophile series caps for example (ie. Nichicon MUSE) which when I read about them, seem pretty 50/50 whether or not they make a difference, or if just marketing to charge more.
There is no such thing as a 'good cap', because what actually matters is whether the cap is appropriate for that position in that circuit. A particular cap could be good in one circuit and bad in another. Hence designing by brand is poor engineering.
For example, in some circuits low ESR is good. In other circuits low ESR is bad. In many circuits ESR does not really matter at all, unless it is ridiculously high.
There are 'bad caps' i.e. caps which are so poorly made that they are likely to give poor results in almost any circuit. Some of these caps are very cheap. Some are very expensive.
For example, in some circuits low ESR is good. In other circuits low ESR is bad. In many circuits ESR does not really matter at all, unless it is ridiculously high.
There are 'bad caps' i.e. caps which are so poorly made that they are likely to give poor results in almost any circuit. Some of these caps are very cheap. Some are very expensive.
Yup! What he said (DF96).
It's also very helpful to try to get the same lead spacing so the part actually fits.
In audio, ESR has no bearing on performance unless it's exceptionally bad. You need to know the dissipation (Tahn) of the part. That matters more some times than others.
-Chris
It's also very helpful to try to get the same lead spacing so the part actually fits.
In audio, ESR has no bearing on performance unless it's exceptionally bad. You need to know the dissipation (Tahn) of the part. That matters more some times than others.
-Chris
Well... I can understand the specs matching the project, that's a given, but what if you hop onto DigiKey, use the filters and you have a match for what you need... but... you have 3 options... all Nichicon, where all specs seem to be identical, just 3 different series, and different prices.
I just remembered when I grabbed caps for my Samsung monitors, which work just fine... but in the forum I was on, after I bought them (of course, always get feedback AFTER buying stuff) someone posted I coulda gone for a much better series than I got for a few cents more.
Could be he was full of s#@t and/or just trying to be annoying... or... maybe some series are just build with better quality materials.
I just remembered when I grabbed caps for my Samsung monitors, which work just fine... but in the forum I was on, after I bought them (of course, always get feedback AFTER buying stuff) someone posted I coulda gone for a much better series than I got for a few cents more.
Could be he was full of s#@t and/or just trying to be annoying... or... maybe some series are just build with better quality materials.
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The larger size capacitors normally have better dielectric. It's more important that they fit though.
-Chris
-Chris
So, what makes something like the MUSE or FG series so good for audio?
I've heard people way they're audiophile level caps... also heard people say it's a marketing gimmick.
Basically... if you were building something high end, audiophile level amp for example... you had the choice between 2 caps... physically the same size/shape, both match your specs, same manufacturer... only difference is that one is a regular plain cap for $1, the other is listed as audiophile level and $5... who would buy the $5 cap and why?
I've heard people way they're audiophile level caps... also heard people say it's a marketing gimmick.
Basically... if you were building something high end, audiophile level amp for example... you had the choice between 2 caps... physically the same size/shape, both match your specs, same manufacturer... only difference is that one is a regular plain cap for $1, the other is listed as audiophile level and $5... who would buy the $5 cap and why?
I tend to buy from Mouser.
I look for Low ESR and Long hour rating
I also get the 105C rated ones if they will be exposed to heat.
I look for Low ESR and Long hour rating
I also get the 105C rated ones if they will be exposed to heat.
I cheat. I buy some and test them on my HP 4263A LCR meter. Depending on the application, that guides my choices. Sometimes the "audiophile" product wins, sometimes it is something else. I also test at various frequencies, again depending on the value and purpose of the part. Buy good brand name parts, don't bother testing the "deals".
Sometimes the 85°C parts test better. ESR is reasonably pointless as a test parameter, you want dielectric losses tested, that is what messes up your signal. No, paralleling a small capacitor across a lossy big one is of zero help. In power supply filter and bypass capacitors, the opposite is true.
That HP LCR meter I bought brand new? Second best investment I have ever made! The best investment was the HP 34401A I bought at the same time when they were first introduced. Still using both and they have both held their calibration well. I've had these approximately 20 years now. Wow.
Buy good equipment. New if you can, used if you can swing that. They aren't cheap and I have a ton of second hand equipment that can be relied on as a testament to that.
-Chris
Sometimes the 85°C parts test better. ESR is reasonably pointless as a test parameter, you want dielectric losses tested, that is what messes up your signal. No, paralleling a small capacitor across a lossy big one is of zero help. In power supply filter and bypass capacitors, the opposite is true.
That HP LCR meter I bought brand new? Second best investment I have ever made! The best investment was the HP 34401A I bought at the same time when they were first introduced. Still using both and they have both held their calibration well. I've had these approximately 20 years now. Wow.
Buy good equipment. New if you can, used if you can swing that. They aren't cheap and I have a ton of second hand equipment that can be relied on as a testament to that.
-Chris
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