Hi,
A friend brought his original Pass Labs Aleph 3 to me to check out a couple of weeks ago, and when I peeked under the hood I could see some of the power supply filter caps had crowned tops. The little 220uf caps all tested high for ESR, so I changed all the electrolytics out for the original factory values. Now that friend has brought me his Aleph 30. The caps in this amp don't show physical deformities, but since it's a 17 year old Class A amp and easy to work on, I'm going to replace them.
The Aleph 30 is an improvement over the 3, so I'm curious about the difference in total capacitance in the power supply:
I've gone through various replacement options offered by Digikey, and have narrowed my choice down to the following:
I'll use Nichicon KA for the 220uf values.
Thanks in advance.
A friend brought his original Pass Labs Aleph 3 to me to check out a couple of weeks ago, and when I peeked under the hood I could see some of the power supply filter caps had crowned tops. The little 220uf caps all tested high for ESR, so I changed all the electrolytics out for the original factory values. Now that friend has brought me his Aleph 30. The caps in this amp don't show physical deformities, but since it's a 17 year old Class A amp and easy to work on, I'm going to replace them.
The Aleph 30 is an improvement over the 3, so I'm curious about the difference in total capacitance in the power supply:
- Aleph 3 stock caps: Panasonic UP 25v 22,000uf x 8 = 176,000uf
- Aleph 30 stock caps: Panasonic UP 50v 10,000uf x 12 = 120,000uf
I've gone through various replacement options offered by Digikey, and have narrowed my choice down to the following:
- CDE 380LX 50v 10,000uf x 12 = 120,000uf
- Nichicon LLS 35v 15,000uf x 12 = 180,000uf
I'll use Nichicon KA for the 220uf values.
Thanks in advance.
I agree with pico on the Nichicon's for the PSU. 35V rated is all that is needed with a +/-24VDC supply and the extra capacitance will be good.
The KA's are a good cap, or you could look at Nelson Pass's favourite being the Elna Silmic II for the 220uF.
The KA's are a good cap, or you could look at Nelson Pass's favourite being the Elna Silmic II for the 220uF.
I appreciate the replies. There is a third option:
Nichicon KG 35v 10,000uf x 12 = 120,000uf
So, original capacitance, but from Nichicon's top audio grade series.
Nichicon KG 35v 10,000uf x 12 = 120,000uf
So, original capacitance, but from Nichicon's top audio grade series.
What size diameter caps are they?
Are they snap in?
Just go with the most amount of filtering from a decent brand
Are they snap in?
Just go with the most amount of filtering from a decent brand
Last edited:
i vote for nichicon KZ for that 220 uF (and any other position where space, rating and budget allow)
Funny enough I added some KZ to my Digi-key cart about 15 min ago. I used KA on the Aleph 3 as I wanted 105c caps for that little cap furnace. The Aleph 30 seems less oven like inside, so KZ it is!