Mornin' Oh wise ones...
Not exactly a DIY but close enough I trust.
I'm in the process of recapping a crusty SP-5's electolytics and wonder if anyone has any thoughts on replacing the Elpac capacitors with something different or shall I leave well enough alone. Auricaps, Dynacaps etc worth putting in there? Couple of ceramic disk capacitors as bypasses to the main power supply electolytics to something else? Recommendations?
Thanks,
Brooks
Not exactly a DIY but close enough I trust.
I'm in the process of recapping a crusty SP-5's electolytics and wonder if anyone has any thoughts on replacing the Elpac capacitors with something different or shall I leave well enough alone. Auricaps, Dynacaps etc worth putting in there? Couple of ceramic disk capacitors as bypasses to the main power supply electolytics to something else? Recommendations?
Thanks,
Brooks
Kind of surprised you don't already have 10 vehemently different opinions on this one.
My personal taste is that I'm not much of a fan of boutique caps. I prefer to stick with things more commonly available through places like Mouser and DigiKey.
For smaller electrolytics, I would mostly go with Panasonic low impedance 105 degrees from DigiKey. They are, in general, awesome caps in terms of durability and resistance to high temperatures and ripple currents.
For the big EL's, I'd check with www.tedss.com to see what they have.
For bypass, I'd go with some sort of metalized film type instead of ceramic. Maybe something from Aerovox. I'd also see whether, if there were any not too big electrolytic coupling caps in the signal path, I could replace them with film types.
But, on top of these, I'd probably also make a call to Audio Research to see whether someone there would be kind enough to share some suggestions about what they would do, considering the parts that are available now versus the parts that were available back when they designed that thing.
My personal taste is that I'm not much of a fan of boutique caps. I prefer to stick with things more commonly available through places like Mouser and DigiKey.
For smaller electrolytics, I would mostly go with Panasonic low impedance 105 degrees from DigiKey. They are, in general, awesome caps in terms of durability and resistance to high temperatures and ripple currents.
For the big EL's, I'd check with www.tedss.com to see what they have.
For bypass, I'd go with some sort of metalized film type instead of ceramic. Maybe something from Aerovox. I'd also see whether, if there were any not too big electrolytic coupling caps in the signal path, I could replace them with film types.
But, on top of these, I'd probably also make a call to Audio Research to see whether someone there would be kind enough to share some suggestions about what they would do, considering the parts that are available now versus the parts that were available back when they designed that thing.
Recap info
Thanks for the info. I was secretly hoping to get a variety of answers but I'll bet that these preamps either work or are sitting on shelves for 'one day...'. One of my next phone calls is to ARC - I'm on the road at the moment so hard to find some time for that during working hours. 1977 technology needs some upgrades so I figured I'd pester wiser folks than me. Good advice on the caps especially the expensive electrolytics that ARC is selling.
BC
Thanks for the info. I was secretly hoping to get a variety of answers but I'll bet that these preamps either work or are sitting on shelves for 'one day...'. One of my next phone calls is to ARC - I'm on the road at the moment so hard to find some time for that during working hours. 1977 technology needs some upgrades so I figured I'd pester wiser folks than me. Good advice on the caps especially the expensive electrolytics that ARC is selling.
BC
SP-5 final fix
Hi folks,
Final issues with the SP-5 rebuild completed. Have more in it that it's worth but it was a good project. The list:
- all electrolytics replaced
- replaced CR8&9 (15v zeners)
- replaced both AM-5 modules (ouch)
Usual noise issues improving the more it's played and sounding better by the minute. May well do some cap swapping and some HEXFREDs to see how the sound improves.
BC
Hi folks,
Final issues with the SP-5 rebuild completed. Have more in it that it's worth but it was a good project. The list:
- all electrolytics replaced
- replaced CR8&9 (15v zeners)
- replaced both AM-5 modules (ouch)
Usual noise issues improving the more it's played and sounding better by the minute. May well do some cap swapping and some HEXFREDs to see how the sound improves.
BC
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