capacitor choice...confused!

[littlerick]

I am looking for the 4 10000uf caps to place in the 4780 stereo board (the blue one).

On RS component site they start at £3.53 each and go upto £24.88 each... That is a huge difference in price. Can anyone explain in "im an idiot" terms what the possible difference would be in using either in set up.

[AndrewT]

good commercial/industrial capacitors perform very well as the smoothing capacitors in a Power PSU.
I recently bought and I have run out already, so I'm buying more of the Epcoss b41231 b5229m 22mF 25V and b41231 c7109m 10mF 35V.
They are low profile. Lot's of different values and voltages available.

http://www.epcos.com/inf/20/30/db/aec_2011/B41231.pdf

[littlerick]

So what would be the outcome on a amplifier if i used £3 caps instead of £24 caps. Would there be a £21 difference in sound or would it just be down to reliability of part.

Sorry for noob questions.

[AndrewT]

I would expect to hear the difference between 8*10mF for two 8ohms channels @ £40
compared to 4*10mF for two 8ohms channels @ £96, no matter how expensive the latter 4 were. Unless you were to change to plastic film for smoothing at enormous size.

Undersizing, in my opinion cannot be made up for by spending extra cash on dearer capacitors.

That is my opinion and I have stated it or similar many times on this Forum.
Many disagree with me and my contention that each 8ohms channel needs +-20mF for extended passband.

[Original Burnedfingers]

Originally Posted by AndrewT

good commercial/industrial capacitors perform very well as the smoothing capacitors in a Power PSU.
I recently bought and I have run out already, so I'm buying more of the Epcoss b41231 b5229m 22mF 25V and b41231 c7109m 10mF 35V.
They are low profile. Lot's of different values and voltages available.

http://www.epcos.com/inf/20/30/db/aec_2011/B41231.pdf

AndrewT,

Do you feel the 85c caps will hold up as well as the 105c caps in a power supply?

[suntechnik]

FOr a PSU HITACHI AIC HP3 might be a good starting point.
NICHICONs are not so much more expensive.
ELNA SILMIC, JENSEN, MUNDORF 4 poles gonna be costly.

My GRAAF gear stuffed with BlackGates cannot complain.

[atupi]

Best price/performance in my opinion: Panasonic TSHA Buy Aluminium Capacitors TSHA Al electrolytic cap,10000uF 50V Panasonic ECOS1HA103EA online from RS for next day delivery.

[KatieandDad]

This is a question that has been asked a million times before and never seems to get a reasonable answer.

In order to come to some sort of conclusion you need to ask yourself a few questions:

1. What are you expecting out of the amplifier ?
2. How much are you prepared to spend ?
3. How good are your speakers ?
4. How good is your source equipment ?

If all you are after is an above average cheap amplifier at reasonable cost then there wont be much gain in spending hundreds of pounds on the capacitors.

A 10 000uF Panasonic with reasonably low ESR will sound just fine in most applications. You also need to consider the maximum surge current of the caps as it is this which helps to improve the bass imaging.

Some guys have gone to EXTRAORDINARY lengths to try to get their gain clones to sound like expensive amplifiers. Some (may) have succeeded but the return for the extraordinary expense is really minimal and can only be heard by the most discerning audiophile and using good peripheral equipment.


I'm not a lover of gain clones. I built one once using LM3886s and was impressed by how cheaply a reasonable amplifier could be built, but in the same breath was not sold on them. I very quickly sold it on and went down the Pass route. Some guys love them - let them enjoy their toys.

[AndrewT]

Originally Posted by AndrewT

good commercial/industrial capacitors perform very well as the smoothing capacitors in a Power PSU.
I recently bought and I have run out already, so I'm buying more of the Epcoss b41231 b5229m 22mF 25V and b41231 c7109m 10mF 35V.
They are low profile. Lot's of different values and voltages available.

http://www.epcos.com/inf/20/30/db/aec_2011/B41231.pdf

I have just ordered another 50 off epcos b41231 c7109m 10mF 35V

[KatieandDad]

Funny how, when you put in a quantative statement, all goes quiet...