It’s not about the products circuit design or the price. The problem is the manufacturer being a petulant child and copyright striking a video that had no copyright infringement. Basic right to repair.
Marks channel blowing up as a result. We just saw this almost exact thing with Goldensound. Streisand effect on steroids now.
Marks channel blowing up as a result. We just saw this almost exact thing with Goldensound. Streisand effect on steroids now.
When used properly tantalum capacitors are excellent. I think you will find they are used in many applications specifically for their long life. A short search found the following
"Compared to standard electrolytic capacitors, tantalum capacitors generally have a significantly longer lifespan, often considered to have almost no known wear-out mechanism due to their solid electrolyte construction, making them more reliable and stable over time; while electrolytic capacitors can degrade over time due to potential electrolyte drying out."
There is a documentary about the extent electronics is all being throw out... and the huge amounts of garbage being created. Mass creators of electronics bank on it being thrown out. California has always been a major force against pollution, with many states and countries following suit.
There are lots of products that sounded exceptionally good, that unfortunately was too difficult and time consuming to reverse engineer to repair. It is equally interesting that Tom Evans, who seems can't repair his own products, doesn't want his equipment repaired. Does he think that little of his own goods?
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I used a multiplicity of tantalum capacitors (oftentimes many in parallel) in phono stage built perhaps 40 years ago now. This is still functioning in a phono stage my son in law is currently using. It still sounds better than many I have built since. The only repair was that the volume controls wore out.
Tantalums are not necessarily to blame for strengths or sonic limitations. Like many things its just in the manner they are used, having potential advantage over the alternatives. Because they can be proven to create distortions doesn't necessarily make their levels audible. And in replacing them with polypropylenes can create other issues, such as picking up of RF or other electrical noise by the increasing of their size. For Tom Evans to use them as prolifically as shown isn't necessarily a bad thing.
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Partially agreed, negative effects of coupling caps concerning audio quality should be neglible.
But it well documented that this type of tantals are prone to fall short and burn when used as blocking caps for DC supply lines.
You will find datasheets requiring series resistors of several ohms for reliable operation.
On the other hand - a DC blocking cap with several ohms series resistor is not what we call a low ESR blocker.
But it well documented that this type of tantals are prone to fall short and burn when used as blocking caps for DC supply lines.
You will find datasheets requiring series resistors of several ohms for reliable operation.
On the other hand - a DC blocking cap with several ohms series resistor is not what we call a low ESR blocker.
Like many feedback systems series resistance can be required to prevent regulators from going into oscillations. Tantalums are small, hence can have low impedance over a wide bandwidth. Hence a small inductor with a resistor across it between the regulator and the tantalum may be best to keep the impedances down. In many cases capacitors fail because of the RMS current they are required to handle. This is a standard spec for capacitors.
It's full of nasty tantalum capacitors. the build quality is very poor. its noisy and easy sounding.
These tantals do not fail due to rms current - which by the way in most of these applications is neglible - but due to current peaks.
RMS current can be a function of regulator instabilities or large ripple currents. Where do current peaks come from? This requires a low impedance load.
Have you measured its noise level? Please post results or link to noise measured by others.
I’m so happy this is giving Mark a boost. He’s one of the most pleasant people to watch on YouTube. When I need to destress, I watch a random repair of his. It’s really soothing. Highly recommended. You may learn a thing or two as well.
@njswede: Think his videos should display this statement: "WARNING: Mend It Mark videos have been known to create DIY addiction! You are warned that few have been able to view only a single episode!"
I totally agree, although not as relaxing as Bob Ross.
I find Adam Savage (mythbusters) enjoyable to watch, as he's also a really nice guy, and so enthusiastic.
Mend it Mark, like so many people who are really good at what they do, make it look so easy.
I used to consider myself a reasonably capable troubleshooter until I watched Mark repair the Tom Evans phono preamp. Isolating the problem down to a single shorted tantalum capacitor, with absolutely no documentation from the manufacturer, is as impressive as it gets. I'm humbled.
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