hi there
i bought a new NAD C 326BEE and after opening it up i spotted some generic capacitors which are actually chinese ¾ûÉúµçÈÝ,ÉîÛÚ¾ûÉúµçÈÝ,ÉîÛÚµçÈÝÉú²ú³§¼Ò-¾ûÉúµç×Ó,ÉîÛÚµçÈÝרҵƷÅÆ£¡
so my question is is it worth recapping with better quality caps ?
also if yes which ones to choose ? i know ELNA Silmic II, Nichicon Fine Gold/Muse and Panasonic FC/FM series
thanks for your reply
i bought a new NAD C 326BEE and after opening it up i spotted some generic capacitors which are actually chinese ¾ûÉúµçÈÝ,ÉîÛÚ¾ûÉúµçÈÝ,ÉîÛÚµçÈÝÉú²ú³§¼Ò-¾ûÉúµç×Ó,ÉîÛÚµçÈÝרҵƷÅÆ£¡
so my question is is it worth recapping with better quality caps ?
also if yes which ones to choose ? i know ELNA Silmic II, Nichicon Fine Gold/Muse and Panasonic FC/FM series
thanks for your reply
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BEE wasn't afraid to put those caps there.
Why bother putting his design in question?
Nono, I'm not cruel. Just pointing at what should be an interresting fact.
I prefer the Panasonic FC/FM in most of my audio-design, and also to repair vintage HiFi.
Feel free to test it out, but i have doubts that the amp will be ravolutionary changed to the positive. Got any friend with identical amp?
Test it out afterwards. Blindtest, and I doubt You hear any difference.
(OK, Now I have the whole forum over my neck here)
Why bother putting his design in question?
Nono, I'm not cruel. Just pointing at what should be an interresting fact.
I prefer the Panasonic FC/FM in most of my audio-design, and also to repair vintage HiFi.
Feel free to test it out, but i have doubts that the amp will be ravolutionary changed to the positive. Got any friend with identical amp?
Test it out afterwards. Blindtest, and I doubt You hear any difference.
(OK, Now I have the whole forum over my neck here)
i know i heard something different when i changed original PSU caps on the previous amplifier to Nichicon Gold Tune which are specifically (or atleast so they are marketed) made for that.
why i started this thread is.. these days manufacturers tend to use cheaper components where it's possible to get the certain manufacturing price. so when i opened it i immedieatly saw an unkown brand to me nad thought if its worth changing
why i started this thread is.. these days manufacturers tend to use cheaper components where it's possible to get the certain manufacturing price. so when i opened it i immedieatly saw an unkown brand to me nad thought if its worth changing
I have NAD 316BEE and I have changed almost every capacitor inside, including two big ones. And I can tell you it is now completely different amp. Capacitors make big difference, but you will have to play a lot to tune the sound the way u like it. I suggest you start with big capacitors in power supply section and leave small ones as they are.
Agree.
But I understand what the OP feels: you buy a new good amp and think you can improve it even further. I used to do it while ago, not any more.
These are the caps inside this NAD series:
http://nadelectronics.com/img/img.php?100914143724-C316BEE_Tech3.jpg/1200
However, if he really wants it, TANDBERGEREN's recommendations are really good. And I'll add one more option: the "new" Panasonic FR series, which replaces the great FM ones.
Link: http://www.ttieurope.com/attach/18893
BEE likely didnt put those chinese crapacitors there - that was most likely done by some penny pinching accountant who thinks he can be an engineer.
Replace them with the Panasonics, if for no other reason than to assure reliability. I've never really bought into the boutique capacitor thing - simply fit good quality parts.
Replace them with the Panasonics, if for no other reason than to assure reliability. I've never really bought into the boutique capacitor thing - simply fit good quality parts.
interesting... totally different caps than in mine... pic : http://shrani.si/f/3P/fR/1onoCO5S/20130522003.jpg
If you recap your amp, just use ubiquitous but good ones, rated 105*C:
Power supply: Nichicon PW series (105*C)
Elsewhere: Panasonics FC/FM/FR series (105*C)
After recapping, leave the amp running for a while and then check bias values 2 or 3 times.
P.S.: avoid the "boutique" expensive ones.
hi there
i bought a new NAD C 326BEE and after opening it up i spotted some generic capacitors which are actually chinese ¾ûÉúµçÈÝ,ÉîÛÚ¾ûÉúµçÈÝ,ÉîÛÚµçÈÝÉú²ú³§¼Ò-¾ûÉúµç×Ó,ÉîÛÚµçÈÝרҵƷÅÆ£¡
so my question is is it worth recapping with better quality caps ?
also if yes which ones to choose ? i know ELNA Silmic II, Nichicon Fine Gold/Muse and Panasonic FC/FM series
thanks for your reply
So what did you finally do?
Overall recapping? With what capacitors? What capacitors did you use for power supplly?
The only thing I changed is the pre in/out main factory jumpers to Cardas that already had run in time. Vast improvement. Huge difference, yet in a subtle way? I'm not sure how best to describe it. It's sonic signature remained the same, its obvious its the same amplifier. It's just a more "perfect" version of the same amplifier.
I'm never in any kind of rush to swap any caps on any amp regardless of age. I'm convinced cap swapping become 'over rated' somewhere along the way. Seems like the go to thing after an amp reaches any given age, determined by user. Or tech willing to agree to flip a quick buck. To swap caps out way before there time is due. I will opt to shy away from buying a 5 or 7 or 10 (or 25 for that matter) year old amp if I see the words "refreshed with upgraded caps". Even if it seems like an otherwise great deal. I really don't like the thought of never knowing if I got to hear the actual amp. Or am I hearing a different amp because they can make a drastic difference? The caps on an oldest amp I ever have owned (Luxman) were still within spec. Granted they put good quality film caps in it at the factory. Not bad for a 35+ year old piece.
If you want better quality caps sell the amp and buy one that already has them in it would be my suggestion.
I'm never in any kind of rush to swap any caps on any amp regardless of age. I'm convinced cap swapping become 'over rated' somewhere along the way. Seems like the go to thing after an amp reaches any given age, determined by user. Or tech willing to agree to flip a quick buck. To swap caps out way before there time is due. I will opt to shy away from buying a 5 or 7 or 10 (or 25 for that matter) year old amp if I see the words "refreshed with upgraded caps". Even if it seems like an otherwise great deal. I really don't like the thought of never knowing if I got to hear the actual amp. Or am I hearing a different amp because they can make a drastic difference? The caps on an oldest amp I ever have owned (Luxman) were still within spec. Granted they put good quality film caps in it at the factory. Not bad for a 35+ year old piece.
If you want better quality caps sell the amp and buy one that already has them in it would be my suggestion.
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I have no experience with replacing old electrolytic caps in amplifiers (need to develop some soldering skills to deal with small capacitors).
But I do have very very positive results on replacing old electrolytic caps in crossover of speakers.
For example I have Chario Silhouette 100 speakers.
They are about 10-12 years old and originally they had Elna Ceraphine 22uf 100V capacitor in parallel to woofer.
When I bought these speakers I immediately noticed that voices they produce are very small and distant. In general sound was kind of empty, no feeling of "something in the air".
Even cheap garbage speakers did better job on voices.
When I took these capacitors out they measured 28uf instead of 22uf spec which is a sign of aging capacitors. I think that also ESR got increased there with time, but I have no appropriate tool to measure it.
I replaced old capacitors with Elna RBD 100v 22uf and their sound is great again. Difference is a day and night.
So, looks like relatively good quality Elna Ceraphine capacitor got aged well enough during these 10-12 years!
I did such replacement (electrolytic in parallel with woofer) for junk brand speakers and got similar improvement there also.
I agree that not in all applications such aging can cause noticeable decrease in functionality (like in my case with speakers).
But its hard to know if there is decrease or not in every and every case.
Besides that people are getting used to sound of their aged gear and they say "my trusty old amp is working with no problems for 20 years!".
So I think if you have some interest, skills for a work and time to invest, then you can take some 100$ aged C326bee and replace all its electrolytic capacitors to new capacitors (~50-60$).
But before doing it you need to understand first which capacitor to use in which place in scheme I think this is a separate hard topic.
So, for people who don't have the interest, skills, time only money can help for selling old gear and buying better one
I will agree with
I plan to do the recap work for my NAD c326bee, but first I need to build list of capacitors to buy.
Maybe I will created separate thread on this work and ask for help from people here.
But I do have very very positive results on replacing old electrolytic caps in crossover of speakers.
For example I have Chario Silhouette 100 speakers.
They are about 10-12 years old and originally they had Elna Ceraphine 22uf 100V capacitor in parallel to woofer.
When I bought these speakers I immediately noticed that voices they produce are very small and distant. In general sound was kind of empty, no feeling of "something in the air".
Even cheap garbage speakers did better job on voices.
When I took these capacitors out they measured 28uf instead of 22uf spec which is a sign of aging capacitors. I think that also ESR got increased there with time, but I have no appropriate tool to measure it.
I replaced old capacitors with Elna RBD 100v 22uf and their sound is great again. Difference is a day and night.
So, looks like relatively good quality Elna Ceraphine capacitor got aged well enough during these 10-12 years!
I did such replacement (electrolytic in parallel with woofer) for junk brand speakers and got similar improvement there also.
I agree that not in all applications such aging can cause noticeable decrease in functionality (like in my case with speakers).
But its hard to know if there is decrease or not in every and every case.
Besides that people are getting used to sound of their aged gear and they say "my trusty old amp is working with no problems for 20 years!".
So I think if you have some interest, skills for a work and time to invest, then you can take some 100$ aged C326bee and replace all its electrolytic capacitors to new capacitors (~50-60$).
But before doing it you need to understand first which capacitor to use in which place in scheme
I think this is a separate hard topic.So, for people who don't have the interest, skills, time only money can help for selling old gear and buying better one
I will agree with
I plan to do the recap work for my NAD c326bee, but first I need to build list of capacitors to buy.
Maybe I will created separate thread on this work and ask for help from people here.
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