Thanks, Paul, for answering my question! And thanks to everyone who commented. A little background info, for those commenting. Yeah, I can solder and will replace the caps myself. I've had the crossovers apart, when I (partially) bypassed them to use one of Phil Marchand's XM-44 active cross-over kits in a vertical bi-amp configuration. Phil was kind enough to build high and low pass cards for me with custom crossover points and slopes. Really loved the way the Duetta's sounded like that, but one of my amps died (was using identical stereo amps, one per side). For unrelated reasons, I put the speakers aside. It was because I've had the crossovers apart that I'm trying to avoid replacing the caps. You can get to them, but as far as I remember not completely remove them without taking the speakers apart. Which I ain't gonna do 'cause it's too easy to screw up the ribbons or introduce a rattle. If you have to retension the ribbons you're in a world of hurt. So replacing the caps in-place is the way to go and I'm not really looking forward to that. Eric Elliot nails it when he says it's easier to detect bad caps that are in other gear. One of the caps in my Threshold pre went south and it was obvious. Had that one recapped by a Threshold specialist.
Soldering is a skill that just about every audiophile (enthusiast) or musician should learn , it's easy (most of the time) fun and rewarding when you realize you can do it yourself.
You can literally save thousands of dollars on gear. It's just components, pcbs, wires, and some solder!! And you can fix yer gear, but yeah desoldering takes patience and control. Don't skimp on tools for desoldering, but to get started all you need is a Hakko or Weller iron and some ROHS compliant solder (plz...I promise some of the most beautiful instruments and equipment do not use lead, it is a myth that it affects sound quality negatively)
I disagree on the fun part of this, but it is definitely rewarding to be able to say you fixed something that was once broken. or breath new life into old vintage equipment. I guess the fun could be in being able to use the stuff that you fixed.
Did a complete recap/crossover rebuild of some Klipsch Quartets. Converted all caps to films with Clarity Cap and air core inductors. What a difference! A really beautiful speaker now that sends shivers up my spine.
When possible, no matter the item, if you can replace any electrolytic with a film just do eeeeet. Seriously it is a no brainer as films will normally out live any of us while electrolytic caps begin drying out the moment they are plugged in for the best ones and the crappy Chinese ones they begin the moment they are made.
one thing I would say is sometimes be careful when it comes to replacing capacitors. and I mean in the way that I had an older arcam amplifier that I had purchased out of the '80s. I just love the sound of it and I really enjoyed the quality I was getting from it with my speakers and it had never had the capacitors replaced. so a year and a half ago at a friend suggestion I took it to a guy who works on HiFi and for $150 he replaced all the capacitors that needed to be replaced and he did say some of them were off value and going bad. anyway when I got that thing home and hooked it up it sounded a lot different and not better to me. long story short I ended up selling the amplifier because I ended up just not enjoying the sound of it anymore.
This is exactly what I'm worried about happening to both my infinity rs-3B's and reference studio monitors. Not to mention messing them up. What do you think?
@@stevenneese2823 I would worry less about messing them up and more about messing up the sound. That said though it can be more detrimental to not replace the capacitors instead of replacing them. Now in speakers it's not as critical per se but in an amplifier if you have a bad capacitor that's going bad and leaking for example, it can leak out on to the main circuit board and damaged further components and it could hit a point where the amp is effectively destroyed, so obviously it's important to replace these capacitors. I have learned however that there is such a thing as leaving well enough alone. Meaning if something's working well and there's no problems with it and you take off the lid and equally there's no problems with it that you can see, then don't mess with it. It's kind of like having a vintage car that's running great and just because someone told you that the engine needs to be pulled out and overhauled you decide to do it and afterward you have more problems than you did when you started. I will add that every pair of vintage speakers that I've heard that have been recapped, I think they ended up sounding better.
the problem there could be determined by the fact that they replaced capacitors but with some low quality ones, meaning many good amps from 80's used bipolar and quality (fot the time) caps, and because the capacitors in the signal path are responsible of the sound signature, capacitors must be replaced with caps with same specifics.
I wasn't the questioner but thank you Paul for making me believe I could recap old speakers myself. I'll now get another 20 years from my original wharfedale mk1's
Funny thing, but I've got a fair-sized collection of audio gear that's mostly around 40 years old and I haven't had to replace a single cap. Capacitor replacement seems to be a peculiarly American fixation. I ran this past an electronics tech friend - with a view to putting paid repair work his way, if needed - but he tells me that it's not unusual for even electrolytics to still be performing within tolerances if they haven't been overworked or stored badly. Before the naysayers weigh in, my old ears are in pretty good shape (17Hz-17kHz) and yes, I do know what high-quality audio sounds like. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" seems appropriate.
It probably dosn't sound like it used when new. Electrolytic capacitors all age. This is not a georgraphical issue. Greetings from Germany - replace your caps! You will hear the difference.
@Fat Rat Oh....so you did buy those 15k DeVores and you've not been telling us. 👎 Ffs mate share the goodness....."So this is re-e--e-l" Seems everything round here is Sunnyboys!
@Fat Rat getting some good bargains...connections in the industry or just sales given the current circumstances? Definitely gets to a stage where you're happy and that's all that matters. Too much arsing about round these parts.
Hi,@@matekochkoch ! I'm sure the caps have aged; they just haven't aged enough to depart from their specified tolerances. I've owned several items from new, or nearly-new, and they still comfortably outperform more recent equipment.
Basically, If your equipment is over 30 years old or so, (the approximate average *useful* lifespan of an electrolytic capacitor, depending on service use), and especially if the equipment has many larger value electrolytic capacitors in it, like amps, power supplies, and most older speakers generally do, then just get in there and test the caps with a good quality digital meter, (preferably when the caps are OUT of the circuit for best accuracy, even though there are some more expensive capacitance meters that say they can measure them while they are still IN the circuit, I still like to desolder them first, at least on one lead, before testing them, that way you *know* that nothing *else* in the circuit that they are connected in is affecting your readings of their value), and if any of them are out of tolerance of their marked capacitance value by anything more or less than about 25% of their marked value, then they *have* gone bad and need to be replaced ASAP, or you can run the risk of damaging your equipment or your tweeters in your speakers, etc!... Capacitors only keep getting worse, and further and further away from their marked value over time, and equipment usually starts operating improperly, (or sometimes not at all), after the capacitors in it get "out of spec" by more than about 25% of their required and marked value, (sometimes even less than that), so if your equipment starts acting funny or not behaving or sounding like you know it should, then it's probably time to replace its capacitors! At least the electrolytic ones, as Paul mentioned!
To test amplifier caps run a full-range sweep through your system. If the caps are bad you’ll notice distortion in the higher registers. I found this by accident when testing a speaker build.
If you have to ask... then the answer is yes. Caps fail... first it’ll mess up the sound; then it’ll leak and damage your equipment. There’s lots of good soldering videos on TH-cam; but making a long story short; get a temperature controlled soldering station (with a desoldering gun if you have more than a few to do; otherwise some solderwick will do); use the biggest tip that will fit in the space (bigger tip = better heat transfer); put a small amount of fresh solder on the tip to act as a heat bridge when desoldering; use plenty of no-clean flux; get some magnification (I spent the $$$$ and got a stereo microscope, but even just a simple desk magnifying glass helps a lot); and get some flush-cutters and needle-nose pliers. Oh, and it’s probably obvious but don’t use plumbing solder and flux - it’s corrosive. Get a good electronics grade solder and no-clean flux (leaded is easier to work with and makes better connections; just be sure to wash your hands afterwards... and it’s not an environmental issue because you’re never going to throw your gear away, right?). Oh, and get some low-value or dead PCBs to practice on before attempting surgery on your fancy high-end gear!
Being one who owns some vintage gear, I learned that for amps and receivers it is fairly easy to tell when the caps have aged just by the change in sound. Caps in crossovers on speakers though are harder to tell. I don't have any vintage speakers anymore, but I would imagine the sure way to tell on those is with measurements.
Many thanks for a very helpful video , I have exactly this going on right now with a vintage pair of Wharfdale Linton XP2’s. I picked them up for less than $20 in a charity shop. I’ve tested the bass drivers which are not blown thankfully but they sound dreadful. A neighbour suggested the caps have probably dried out and you just confirmed it - greetings from England! I
I pick my 1971 whafedale dovedails 3 up from my local charity shop today £30 I'll just use my ears & hope they are ok,if not I'll just sell them on life's to short.
@@jasonemanuel9070 probably the wisest attitude. I spent a load of time messing around with the Lintons and even purchased a replacements bass driver off Ebay ..only for the speakers to end up unused sitting the garage ! I've since replaced them with a pair of NAD speakers which are incredible and like yours cost me £30 .
@@stevieG. Can't go wrong with nad,hope you end up loving them,I took a gamble on the dovetails but been listening all day & night now,they are incredible well pleased.
I really respect Paul for his genuine efforts on such a topic. He could have been telling people reasons to buy his own stuff and reasons to not dare to keep old stuff alive. How many other CEOs will be honest on such topic? I just restored my 20 year old Velodyne servo subwoofer with new caps and it was worth every penny.
Fat Rat Sure, I started very early soldering stuff. Actually my initial effort included a lot of desoldering components from old TVs and other electronics to build my own component selection in my early teens. Frankly I have worried a lot about lead and other toxins poisoning as I didn’t really consider the toxicity of electronics in my teenage years. But at least I didn’t eat it. Now I use lead free soldering and btw, I recently got my own SMT oven at home. I enjoy doing stuff in my own lab as sort of hobby. How about you and hobbies?
@Fat Rat I miss the moments where I could be in a mode of just listening but it stopped when I got my first iPhone and Steve Jobs reprogrammed my brain to not allow to run one task at a time. Music while working, shopping, eating (need less of this) and exercising (and more of this) sort of is almost mandatory to me. I do remember the moments where I sat down and listened to tiny details using my Stax electrostatics with closed eyes for hours...perhaps our brains get sort of used to work in multi task mode and it's not just because we decide it as an action. Nowadays I wouldn't be able to complete just one album of music without my phone or computer beeping one or more times due to some incoming message or e-mail. Yes, I could just turn it off or put it in another room, but then my mind will have this underlying awareness that I'm "disconnected" from an eco-system of people. Not sure if this is all good or bad. @Fat Rat, I imagine you live as some audiophile Crocodile Dundee away from the stress of urban Australia and in some peaceful outback town.
@Fat Rat I must admit my career is bound in being on the forefront of technology and there is no easy escape from the madness. My hobby is also my career. If I didn't enjoy technology I probably could get my weekends to be all about climbing mountains and such things. Your JAMO speaker was R&D'ed lead by someone I worked with for many years btw. I'm originally from Denmark where speaker development is sort of in the genes of people. In our kitchen here in California we have a pair of JBL 8" 2-way in-wall speakers above those eye-level cupboards. For a kitchen, I'm quite impressed with the musicality of these speakers and they have an excellent wife appeal by being almost invisible, but I'm sure those Jamos are better sounding.
A lot of speakers, even some pricey ones, use crappy electrolytics in their crossovers. Replacing them with good quality film types will be worth the investment, even if the caps are not old and bad.
Capacitor replacement depends on the speaker. Some crossovers are very simple, but some are very complex with many capacitors that are selected and matched.
Pauls right nobody wants to work on them , I found someone to restore my perfectly working Sansui G-8000 and they wanted 2k for labor , I work so much i haven't had the time, until this cov19 got me layed off so now its all re-capped and sounds amazing got it for 1400.00 and spent about 100.00 in caps best 1500.00 amp i ever had for the price smooth warmth ! With Scale !
Sorry to hear you got laid off! I hope you fall into the category of making more on unemployment with the extra $600 a week. I'm usually against this system of making people more money than they were making before they were laid off but for some reason, I feel the opposite with you!🤔🤗😇 And that's the biggest compliment I can give! Now get that 580 review up already🤓😝
@@xanderguldie Caps, at least in the U.S. are not inexpensive, at least if your are using good caps like Solen. They start at about $5 each for the small values, and go up from there. Even a 47 micro Farad Solen runs over $20.
@@doowopper1951 I was talking about the labour, wich was $2000. So the caps weren't even included. Still those caps are also pretty expensive. Over here they are pretty affordable. Lots of good stuff from Germany.
I recapped seventies Technics and changed the small transistors on the front end. Lazy dragging noisy sound was instantly transformed to happy rhythmic thumping. Didn't use any hoodoo audio voodoo caps either. RX30 series, FC and few others. Also changed the caps in my Sony 's to polys. This kind of a "fabric was lifted" off the tweeters experience.
Madisound is also a great source, but you know what, so are Mouser, Newark, and Digi-Key. Long lasting film capacitors are great, and I use them when budget and space are not limiting me to electrolytics, but they don't have to be Mundorf or Clarity: WIMA, Vishay, and Cornell Dubilier make very nice ones as well. Much better to spend $20 on a couple of 22 uF WIMAs and replace that failing cap now than wait around to drop (an obscene) $200 on the same value set of Mundorfs down the road for a 0.001% improvement in sound. Paul forgot to mention that you want to make sure the uF rating is the same as the cap you are replacing, and you will typically want a voltage rating that is the same or a bit higher.
Weird. I just linked an article in another thread here from Digikey on supercapacitors. 😁 www.digikey.ro/Site/Global/Layouts/DownloadPdf.ashx?pdfUrl=0EAE246075A94268BAEFC45FBF6AB088
@@kalijasin Interesting... As the sheet says they must be more for mobile or digital devices as 5.5V, 1000uF caps are unusual for non-class D, but that's a good find!
Paul is spot on with replacing caps in any spkr crossover or electronic (Audio) devices. Heat plays a major factor in shortening the life span of a cap and time as well. Internally the electrolyte fluids or paste tend to dry up within 10 to 15 years in normal room temps as long as they are in use. If you read the Manufactures shelf life expectancy of Electrolyte caps it is usually 2 yrs and then they start to degrade. If in use most average caps start to degrade after a 1000 hrs. Sometimes spending more on Boutique electrolyte caps, can result in longer life expectancy 16000 hrs or more in some cases, before they start to degrade. Mind you this is strictly for Electrolyte, Film caps can last 50 to 100 years depending on temps.
Service life of electrolytics, all other things kept equal, is highly dependent on size. Small parts dry out much faster. I have some large 35V 10000uF capacitors in a power supply that I designed and built back in my college days (1970's). They're still in good condition, perhaps due partly to the fact that they are considerably bulkier than their modern replacements would be. Operating temperature is also quite important. Keeping temperature down greatly extends life. Today, much of consumer electronics employs miniaturized surface-mount electrolytics, and they are notorious for short service life. In Japanese culture, equipment like that is often replaced after two years, if not sooner, so the manufacturers make no attempt at choosing parts to last longer.
@@marianneoelund2940 50 yr old power cap vs Modern day fresh cap sound quality. 50 yr cap maybe hear 2 to 4 instruments with the background instruments fighting with each other creating a smorgasborg. Is it a cello or violinist fighting for front row center, and maybe a couple vocalists , which is fine for most people. Fresh cap on the other hand 10+ instruments and 10+ vocalists. Now where getting into the audiophile world. Mind you Orchestral music is one way of hearing all those wonderful instruments and vocalists and testing your system. I agree small caps dry out faster than big size caps with more fluid.
@@jp-rj7yq You might find this interesting: www.nichicon.co.jp/english/products/lifetime/ Electrolytic cap "spec life" may sound like a low figure, e.g. only 2000 hours, but that's under severe operating conditions, with temperature close to the device max rating. The predicted service life increases greatly under more moderate conditions. For example, a 105C rated electrolytic with a spec life of 2000 hours, but operated below 45C and only 20% of rated current has a predicted service life of at least 130000 hours or 15 years. Increase the operating temperature to 55C and the life drops to 64000 hours. The aging effect of electrolytics is primarily to increase ESR. In a speaker crossover, that reduces the tweeter drive efficiency and allows unwanted higher frequencies to reach the midrange (and woofer, if it has a 2nd-order filter). This is undesirable because you don't want drivers to be interfering with each other in the upper driver's range. But the use of film caps, which is often practical for the midrange, will avoid the issue.
I replaced the caps in a pair of Realistic Minimus-7 speakers as a practice and to see if it really made that much of a difference. These things were over 30 years old and it made a HUGE difference. I didn't know if just replacing only the caps was the thing to do, so thanks to Paul for this video. I now plan to replace the caps on my 30 year old Paradigm Export Monitors. Can anyone recommend an appropriate brand and type? I usually buy from Parts Express.
I just put my instruments on them. If the ESR's are terrible they get replaced. On my vintage Wharfedale W (1960 to 1975) series speakers, I have found the Mundorf E-Cap NPE’s do a very good job of maintaining the speakers original voicing.
I had to replace 16 caps in my 70's era mirrored Dahlquist DQ10's. Halfway through the job. Got Jantzen caps for my Quart Reference towers . . . recapped and refoamed my AR28s's . . . . it took 60 caps to restore my Harman/Kardon Citation 5.1 (Steve Mantz). Should have it all done by the end of April.
Surely a better answer would be to buy a suitable quality ESR meter and test each capacitor individually rather than simply replacing each willy-nilly? For less than US$75-100, you can find something that will do the job. Heck, a PEAK brand ESR meter can be had for less than about US$150 ish if you want a top brand. Once purchased that meter will last a lifetime and allow checking of equipment every few years or so for reassurance everything is running optimally.
Heard a lot of good things about the Calipers. And the Stages I always kinda wanted to at least hear the Studio Grands. I was speaking with Brian Cheney of VPMS about building a custom pair of stands/subwoofers for my Duettas but failed to pursue it. I really wish I had, as that was shortly before Brian died and I can't really think of anyone else who would take on such a project at a price affordable to mortals,
I have a friend with an Audio Research SP3 preamp and it started humming so he gave it to me to fix for him. All the filter cap cans were open. I replaced them all with separate electrolytics and it worked fine. I checked the electrolytics in my Audio Research SP6 and all were bad but I didn't have a hum due to the 4.7 MFD Wonder Caps I have bypassing the 300 MFD electrolytics. I replaced them all but didn't use the most expensive caps but it does sound ok. I've had some slight random noises in one or both channels ever since I put them in. Not sure if its wonder caps going bad or what. Everytime I mess with it I get the noise to go away but when I put it together the noise comes back.
Greetings Paul. Love your channel thus far. I have a pair of Jbl 4312s and cannot wait to replace the caps. Cosmetically they're in great shape just a little dull in the 2k- 5k section. I'm pretty decent at handling the iron, so I'm confident this project should turn out well.🔉
There’s an elephant in the room that needs to be addressed. I combed through the comments and there are a LOT of comments but none mentioned the elephant.. and I was kind of busy while watching the vid but I don’t remember any mention of the large gray mammal there either. Enough preamble. If you are replacing non-polarized (no symbols on the casing showing any positive negative indications) capacitors then just melt those those babies out put and throw the new one in and you’re done. If you’re replacing POLARIZED capacitors then you have to make sure you locate the plus and or minus sign on the casing and install accordingly. If you find a black stripe on one side that will almost always be the negative side and one of the two legs (wires) will be closest to the negative indicator and will be the negative leg. And visa versa. On the PCB board there will usually be a circle where the cap is installed and half that circle will be colored in, usually black and will have one hole for the NEGATIVE leg of the cap. And the other side won’t be colored in but will have a hole for the positive leg. And BOOM, you’re done. If you put them in the wrong direction then BOOM they can and will explode and obviously, the larger the cap, the bigger the boom (and associated fire and electrocution etc..) Let me qualify that I am not an electrician and that just about everything I’ve learned has been by first doing it the wrong way and suffering the consequences. That approach definitely makes the lesson stick, and burn, and bleed…etc. here’s another great way to learn these things and that is to have someone else do all the dumb work for you (don’t thank me, I’m glad to be of service). If you are qualified electrician reading this and you run across bad info, then please correct me. It just seems to me that if people are being encouraged to solder for the first time then there’s no way they are going to know about the positive, negative exploding thing. Have a nice day 😊
I need to replace my 1uf electrolytic cap, can I replace it with a same value 1uf polypropelyne cap or do I need to go above 1uf or below 1uf in size??
Great call Paul! All please keep in mind that caps have different sonic signatures. Some make a huge difference on a tweeter so read thru detailed reviews first. Buy 25usd solder gun and learn how to solder , have fun there are plenty of tutorials on you tube.....than make your speakers play like never before. Unfortunately 25yrs old tweeter may have dried out as well so..... Do not wait 25 yrs , do it with new speakers😂 Even 5Kusd speakers use 3usd poly caps , once replaced with thru high end audio only designed cap for say 30usd or more it will blow you away how awesome these speakers will sound..... Check out Danny at GR research if you want to got few steps further... Have fun!
@@MrsZambezi You just have no clue that all, try 3 different caps in one key location and than we can talk... Nichicon KZ, Elna Cerafine, AudioNoteKasei.... All three will have differnt sonic signature heard right away clearly different ....
With old Apogees it's not so much the crossover that needs attention, it's the panel tensioning system. The panel was clamped on the sides, and then the clamping mechanism was pulled outwards using springs to keep the panel taught. Over time, the panel stretches to the point where the clamp can no longer keep it tight. Parts for older Apogees including new panels are available from Graeme Keet in Australia. www.apogeeacoustics.com/index.htm
My old Grundig console needs a cap job. The power amp is starting to "fart" or run out of power at the higher volumes. The capacity or instant ability to provide power to the demands of the power amp is compromised over time. Its an old tube set so it should be easy.
The Duetta Sigs use decent quality Sprague film caps which should still be in good condition.You could upgrade these with better film caps but not really necessary from an aging point of view.I don`t have to worry about aging crossover caps because my Duetta Sigs are actively driven fortunately.
@@chrisglass19 The active filter is a Diy kit produced by a local kit supplier called Sage,sadly no longer in business.I was not impressed by the DAX after seeing a schematic of the circuitry which included 6 op amps in series for each leg of the crossover.The Sage crossover only uses a 3 transistor input buffer and output buffer working in feedback free differential class A with high performance discrete class A current and voltage regulation.In conjunction with high performance passive parts,Vishay foil resistors,Relcap foil polystyrene caps and Rubycon Blackgate electrolytics the sound is very transparent;better than the DAX.
How do you know if your caps have aged? My dentist tells me. All I can say is I was repairing my pots in my IRS IIIa's this winter and broke a cap wire off in one of the 4 speakers. So I replace just the cap and repeated it in the speaker pair to make them match. They now sound different then the other set I have sitting right beside them. Couldn't get the original TI cap so I got one with the same exact specs but it's not the same. Bottom line is when it comes to audio equipment I have a 3 B's rule, if they are not bulging, burning or bleeding they are staying the way they are.
Ouch those are film caps you broke no wonder you don't like the sound. The pair of grey miniature soda can size are the electrolytic caps. They should definitely be replaced. A good film cap that might be as good as your old ones if you want to try . www.partsconnexion.com/jantzen-mkt-cap.html . Bennic films are not my favorite that's for sure.
I have a pair of Threshold SA1 monoblocks made in 1987. I hear Krrrr krrr sound from both focal 1038 speakers and I have been advised to change all 8 caps in them. Will do after lockdown is lifted in India.
Paul , to hell with parts exspress, I only trust and buy from Madisound speakers in Madison Wisconsin, they only deal in high end sprakers components and crossover parts . They are full of knowledge instead of full of sheeeeeiit like P. E.
I mean this in a genuine way,but think of it this way, given the age & given the mere fact that you are even asking...???? There you go & soldering is a bit of an art form,but with a bit of practice,you'll suss it,better yet,grab an old broken piece of junk,pull out the PCB & do some practice,good luck 😁
I purchased a Zenith console radio and the plastic insulated wires are mostly bare as you can shake off the dried and cracked insulation, however all of the cloth type insulation is perfect. I thought about cutting on end of now mostly bare wires and slipping shrink tubing on it then solder it back together rather than replacing each wire. What do you think?
I run yamaha , iv found after a year of turning on my system it sounds like its scratching .bozak l.s. 400 speakers with yamaha rx-v620 amp .maybe my ears or the speakers. Haven't tested yet but still learning. Hoping I can rework the amp because the speakers are ,well old and hard to rework .
Isn't it possible that some capacitors are hand selected ones? A 100 micro farad labeled capacitor does not have 100 micro farad capacitance. It could often be 10% off. More expensive capacitors, 5%. An error of 10% or 5% does not matter much in power supply filter circuit, but it could matter in EQ circuit or crossover circuit.
I attempted to replace the caps in my Infinity RS 3b speakers but after spending three days trying to find the same values as what was originally in them I just gave up. It seemed to me that nobody had replacement capacitors of the same values. I sold the speakers because audio paranoia had set in and I just couldn’t take the stress.
The Apogee Scintilla's and the Full Range being particularly bad. In fact the full range had a mid range driver that went down to 0.14 ohms I mean that's just silly. However the person writing in those speakers have a more reasonable nominal load of 4 ohms.. Apogees make Maggies sound second class or they used to I haven't heard any of the new lot. I'm looking for a pair of Apogees funnily as I heard a pair driven by some Kronzilla amps and it was AWESOME!!!
Indeed! I've been using various Adcoms over the years to drive my Duettas, and they seem perfectly happy with them. Nelson Pass designed certain Adcoms (notably the very first GFA-555, and the original 5800 but not the 5802), but Adcom invariably strayed from the Pass design when "improving them". I used to buy every 1st gen -555 I ran across. My home theater setup has the Duetta sigs as the main speakers, an Apogee LCR for center, and then ribbon monitors for the sides and rear.
I would argue that if you're really an audiophile, then you know how to work on your equipment. The biggest issue I have with audiophiles is their tech illiteracy which translates to bad or outright wrong advice that is said with confidence and determination. Soldering is really easy if you have a good iron. You can even buy training kits on Aliexpress for a few bucks to learn how to solder anything from big caps to small surface mount components. Furthermore, once you know how to do it you'll spend less money and time getting old gear repaired. I've repaired a lot of stuff that has no manual and was going to a landfill despite being perfectly fine just because nobody knew how to work on them anymore. It's kinda sad
I have some 36 year old filter caps, and that amp still sounds like it did after burn in. I have some 30 year old speakers that still have the original caps too. They still sound the same as new. But I know time is ticking and nothing lasts forever, so I share his "audio paranoia". 😅
What about caps in old amps? I have a Sharp Optonica SM1616 from, I believe, the late 70s. Everything looks original inside. Sounds great to my ears, and I don't have audiophile speakers anyway just some Bang & Olufsen Cx100 which are from the mid 80s. Would it be worth it to replace the caps just to breathe some new life into it?
As that OP, I have to say I don't fear soldering. But that's the least of the issues. Access can be be an issue, and sourcing the right parts is actually the thing I don't want to deal with. Thanks for the comment.
It is interesting when Paul mentioned brand of caps he said that it matters to him and he likes good brand like mundorf. But it his flagship speakers he is using bottom of the barrel, cheapest bennic caps
Well to be honest I never wear them it just messes up my hair, some think it’s cool to wear them back to front I just think yes if you have bad hair or no hair at all then hell yes wear one, if you have got good hair like me then show it off and do not wear a stupid cap...But seriously you know when your caps have aged because they start to look a bit thread bare and have lost their original colour through washing them over years and years, then you know it’s time to buy another one or two replacements 👍🤣👍
hi Paul hope you'll be fine, my question is that is there any difference in sound quality by using troidal transformer compare to E I core transformer?
It's almost impossible to see when to replace capacitors! Do you have a device from the 70's or early 90's so you should replace them? Capacitors may start to leak or start to get high resistance (ESR) or other things. you do not always see it on the capacitor. you have to solder it out to start measuring it. Some can measure correctly but others do not
You can test them in circuit with an ESR meter I would say 90% of the time it is reliable. Used to work in a repair shop. Sometimes you might find 2 electrolytics in paraell (they are connected + to + and - to - together and then you'll need to remove one of them.
@@cat-lw6kq You do not get exactly the right result when they are in the circuit. There may be a resistor or transistor or something above the capacitor. A capacitor can fail in several ways, making the sound worse. The rule is that if you have a device from the early 90's or 80's then you should replace capacitors.
I find it odd that Paul Mcgowan didn't mention one must be aware of "capacitor forming" after replacing electrolytic capacitor in one's x-over loudspeaker.
Forming (or really re-forming, electrolytic caps are formed as supplied new, it just breaks down with time) applies to polarised electrolytic caps used for eg supply rails and reservoirs. These get a dc voltage on them when in use. But speakers don't have any dc voltage. Trying to reform bipolar caps in a crossover by playing them at max for ages .. Good luck with that. Bipolar electrolytic are just the worst, even when they were new. They have lousy esr esl and leakage even when new. Their value drops dramatically at high frequency, even when new (not what we want in audio). Their value is also nit constant vs frequency. (Search Steve benchs articles on capacitors) cf Modern parts are massively better due to materials as Paul commented, production techniques and simply need, switch mode power supplies have become ubiquitous and operate at high frequency. All electrolytic also degrade with age and temperature, its just life. Replacing old electrolytics is always going to be an improvement, in some cases a major one, in some cases may prevent your tweeters being blown. Even if you just use (quality) modern electrolytics .. Replacing with film types is a further step. Film caps have superb frequency response, linearity, and will last more or less forever
Since you still up Paul ! Go ahead and send me the Ps Audio sprout 100 for a review on me channel 😆 Please 😆 losn lease agreement ? I'm almost caught up on my reviews, i will be caught up by friday ! Have a good1 buddy , finished the Sansui G-8000 today ! Over 40 hours of a PITA I went from old nichicon to new nichicon power caps were still good me glad ! Point to point wiring !!
OMG ..sodder ...nooooooo SOLDER ....now I was going to get your wonderful equipment ...but after that pronunciation I’m considering Accuphase ....JUST JOKING ....love your videos and the wonderful products your company makes ...
Even their most standard capacitors beat 99% of other capacitors. We’ve seen time and time again that a 40 y/o nichicon measures just as well as the day its being manufactured.
Fancy !. Any regular lead based electronics solder will be fine, silver is really nice but the fancy brand name snake oil isn't worth anything imho, they just get rich off customers backs. BTW, avoid lead free solder, that's required for production these days but a pain for DIY ers to work with, it doesn't flow
You need to open up the speaker to see which parts are used. Polyester to polypropylene is molded and you do not need to swap them on such new speakers. electrolyte has weaknesses and should be replaced! Change electrolyte to polyester or polypropylene if possible! The best electrolyte is no better than the cheapest polyester
Capacitors are also known as condensers. General motors switch from points and condensers to HighEnerygy Ignitions, 50,,0000 volts, somewhere around 1974. They neede more volts for the highere ACTIVATON ENERGEY from the leenar air fuel mixchures at idle for emmmissions controles. THNKES YUS AND thummbs usps!
“Condenser is a term used for a capacitor in the past. In time the term ceased to be used, with capacitor turning into the most commonly used term from 1926. Condenser and capacitor are one and the same viewed from electrical perspective. However in other fields of study, condenser may likewise allude to various different things. Condenser from mechanical perspective is additionally another name for consolidating vapor to water. Condenser as well means an optical system which focuses light beams from a light source into a narrower beam. Energy in capacitors is stored in the electric field, while in the case of condensers energy is stored in the electrostatic field (they work as heat capacitors). Condenser can represents a device that converts vaporous material (gas) into its fluid state. All condensers work on the principle of using a cooling system to remove the heat from the gas. Condensers are utilized as a part of thermal power plants, air conditioning systems, distilleries and so on.” www.differencebetween.net/technology/difference-between-capacitor-and-condenser/
Paul Lazarro: LOL! I wish! I cant because potaotes are beaically all starch ans the starch gets turned into sugars and then sugras cause inflammation. A cup of potaotes is like acuo of sugers and I have to stay far away from sugars b ecaus eit causes me deoression and I am on veruous meds. Is this the article you wnated... Hash browns Hash browns or hashed browns are a popular American breakfast dish that first started showing up on breakfast menus in New York City in the 1890s, a simple preparation in which potatoes are pan-fried after being shredded, diced, julienned or riced, in the style of a Swiss Rösti. In some cultures, hash browns or hashed browns can refer to any of these preparations, while in others it may refer to one specific preparation. THANK YOU, YOUA REM INE GOODS FRENDS! THUMS UPOS.
You MUST use non-polar caps for speaker crossovers! Poly, Mylar, Film caps are naturally non-polar, but standard electrolytics ARE polarized. If you need large values and must go with an electrolytic, it must be the special non-polar type. If you buy from Parts Express, anything sold in the speaker crossover section will be OK.
Electrolytic types are certainly polarized (directional), unless you buy a "non-polarized" type which is actually two polarized capacitors back to back. But "non-polarized" electrolytics which are popular for speaker crossovers can be pricey. You can substitute two polarized capacitors back-to-back in series, where each has double the value of the part they're replacing. Or better, if practical (if required capacitance is low enough), replace electrolytics with film types. Film and ceramic capacitors are not polarized, however film capacitors do have an inner and outer foil and in some types of sensitive circuitry you want to pay attention that the outer foil is connected to the lower-impedance circuit node.
The opposite.. most (all film / foil types) are not. Normal electrolytic caps ARE but these are not suitable for use in speakers, as others also note any elects used in speakers are bipolar type which is really two polar elects back to back inside the same can. .. and they suck.
Those thing sdont sound good for guitars pickups. They gopt a thign about they are WARM like BUMBLEE BEE capacitors. Its just amrketign to sells thme. My fren dis putting back int eh Orange drop capacitors. The WARM is just another weay pf saying it is rolling of the treble. I SONT LIKNES THMES. Thams you and thumbbs UP!
@@HareDeLune in general they have an outer 'can' that is wrapped around the ends - i haven't described very well though you will see what I mean if you look up some images of electrolytics and polyprops. Be aware that polyprops or other replacements can have a much greater physical size - building an external crossover box or replacing with electrolytics with a by pass cap (parallel cap of high quality of maybe 100th the value) can be ways around this.
@@HareDeLune the basic concept is really simple, but if you've got small boxes or limited space and just go ordering polys for elecs you might not fit them in! - physical size is always given on specs - 1st step remove xover see what youve got and take it from there, you might only be changing a few parts and if you stick to type there won't be an issue, though just check the sizes ( - the KEFs 'ive just done are not simple however... ) another idea; post a query about upgrading caps on your specific speaker on one of the many excellent forums - notably 'diy audio'.
Yeah I think the same. I have 30+ old stereo gear, original made in Japan parts inside and still going good. I'm not going to replace parts to made in China crap
The professionals desolder capacitors and check them out one by one with dedicated test gear and they replace only if needed. No we can assume new are better than existing ones if they were expensive.
I always assumed amplifiers hummed after a number of years because they began to forget the words to the music they played.
That explains so much, my amp does the same, and the older I get I notice I do it too 😂
😂
I love it , That was the funniest thing I've heard in years FIVE STAR 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 comment ❤👍
Awesome that you helped your grandson get into soldering! Kudos to you
Thanks, Paul, for answering my question! And thanks to everyone who commented.
A little background info, for those commenting. Yeah, I can solder and will replace the caps myself. I've had the crossovers apart, when I (partially) bypassed them to use one of Phil Marchand's XM-44 active cross-over kits in a vertical bi-amp configuration. Phil was kind enough to build high and low pass cards for me with custom crossover points and slopes. Really loved the way the Duetta's sounded like that, but one of my amps died (was using identical stereo amps, one per side). For unrelated reasons, I put the speakers aside. It was because I've had the crossovers apart that I'm trying to avoid replacing the caps. You can get to them, but as far as I remember not completely remove them without taking the speakers apart. Which I ain't gonna do 'cause it's too easy to screw up the ribbons or introduce a rattle. If you have to retension the ribbons you're in a world of hurt. So replacing the caps in-place is the way to go and I'm not really looking forward to that.
Eric Elliot nails it when he says it's easier to detect bad caps that are in other gear. One of the caps in my Threshold pre went south and it was obvious. Had that one recapped by a Threshold specialist.
Soldering is a skill that just about every audiophile (enthusiast) or musician should learn , it's easy (most of the time) fun and rewarding when you realize you can do it yourself.
It's desoldering that is the real art. It's often too easy to damage the PCB when desoldering.
You can literally save thousands of dollars on gear. It's just components, pcbs, wires, and some solder!! And you can fix yer gear, but yeah desoldering takes patience and control. Don't skimp on tools for desoldering, but to get started all you need is a Hakko or Weller iron and some ROHS compliant solder (plz...I promise some of the most beautiful instruments and equipment do not use lead, it is a myth that it affects sound quality negatively)
I disagree on the fun part of this, but it is definitely rewarding to be able to say you fixed something that was once broken. or breath new life into old vintage equipment. I guess the fun could be in being able to use the stuff that you fixed.
Did a complete recap/crossover rebuild of some Klipsch Quartets. Converted all caps to films with Clarity Cap and air core inductors. What a difference! A really beautiful speaker now that sends shivers up my spine.
When possible, no matter the item, if you can replace any electrolytic with a film just do eeeeet. Seriously it is a no brainer as films will normally out live any of us while electrolytic caps begin drying out the moment they are plugged in for the best ones and the crappy Chinese ones they begin the moment they are made.
Was this done as a blind test comparing one side versus the other pre/post replacement? If no, the data is null.
one thing I would say is sometimes be careful when it comes to replacing capacitors. and I mean in the way that I had an older arcam amplifier that I had purchased out of the '80s. I just love the sound of it and I really enjoyed the quality I was getting from it with my speakers and it had never had the capacitors replaced. so a year and a half ago at a friend suggestion I took it to a guy who works on HiFi and for $150 he replaced all the capacitors that needed to be replaced and he did say some of them were off value and going bad. anyway when I got that thing home and hooked it up it sounded a lot different and not better to me. long story short I ended up selling the amplifier because I ended up just not enjoying the sound of it anymore.
This is exactly what I'm worried about happening to both my infinity rs-3B's and reference studio monitors. Not to mention messing them up. What do you think?
@@stevenneese2823 I would worry less about messing them up and more about messing up the sound. That said though it can be more detrimental to not replace the capacitors instead of replacing them. Now in speakers it's not as critical per se but in an amplifier if you have a bad capacitor that's going bad and leaking for example, it can leak out on to the main circuit board and damaged further components and it could hit a point where the amp is effectively destroyed, so obviously it's important to replace these capacitors.
I have learned however that there is such a thing as leaving well enough alone. Meaning if something's working well and there's no problems with it and you take off the lid and equally there's no problems with it that you can see, then don't mess with it. It's kind of like having a vintage car that's running great and just because someone told you that the engine needs to be pulled out and overhauled you decide to do it and afterward you have more problems than you did when you started.
I will add that every pair of vintage speakers that I've heard that have been recapped, I think they ended up sounding better.
the problem there could be determined by the fact that they replaced capacitors but with some low quality ones, meaning many good amps from 80's used bipolar and quality (fot the time) caps, and because the capacitors in the signal path are responsible of the sound signature, capacitors must be replaced with caps with same specifics.
Learning to solder at seven years old ! That’s awesome ! I didn’t learn the shoulder till I was like 15 years old..
I wasn't the questioner but thank you Paul for making me believe I could recap old speakers myself. I'll now get another 20 years from my original wharfedale mk1's
Funny thing, but I've got a fair-sized collection of audio gear that's mostly around 40 years old and I haven't had to replace a single cap. Capacitor replacement seems to be a peculiarly American fixation. I ran this past an electronics tech friend - with a view to putting paid repair work his way, if needed - but he tells me that it's not unusual for even electrolytics to still be performing within tolerances if they haven't been overworked or stored badly.
Before the naysayers weigh in, my old ears are in pretty good shape (17Hz-17kHz) and yes, I do know what high-quality audio sounds like.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" seems appropriate.
It probably dosn't sound like it used when new. Electrolytic capacitors all age. This is not a georgraphical issue. Greetings from Germany - replace your caps! You will hear the difference.
@Fat Rat Oh....so you did buy those 15k DeVores and you've not been telling us. 👎
Ffs mate share the goodness....."So this is re-e--e-l"
Seems everything round here is Sunnyboys!
An obvious sign of failure is a leaking or bulging can. The big power supply filter caps seem to be less prone to failure.
@Fat Rat getting some good bargains...connections in the industry or just sales given the current circumstances?
Definitely gets to a stage where you're happy and that's all that matters. Too much arsing about round these parts.
Hi,@@matekochkoch ! I'm sure the caps have aged; they just haven't aged enough to depart from their specified tolerances. I've owned several items from new, or nearly-new, and they still comfortably outperform more recent equipment.
Basically, If your equipment is over 30 years old or so, (the approximate average *useful* lifespan of an electrolytic capacitor, depending on service use), and especially if the equipment has many larger value electrolytic capacitors in it, like amps, power supplies, and most older speakers generally do, then just get in there and test the caps with a good quality digital meter, (preferably when the caps are OUT of the circuit for best accuracy, even though there are some more expensive capacitance meters that say they can measure them while they are still IN the circuit, I still like to desolder them first, at least on one lead, before testing them, that way you *know* that nothing *else* in the circuit that they are connected in is affecting your readings of their value), and if any of them are out of tolerance of their marked capacitance value by anything more or less than about 25% of their marked value, then they *have* gone bad and need to be replaced ASAP, or you can run the risk of damaging your equipment or your tweeters in your speakers, etc!...
Capacitors only keep getting worse, and further and further away from their marked value over time, and equipment usually starts operating improperly, (or sometimes not at all), after the capacitors in it get "out of spec" by more than about 25% of their required and marked value, (sometimes even less than that), so if your equipment starts acting funny or not behaving or sounding like you know it should, then it's probably time to replace its capacitors! At least the electrolytic ones, as Paul mentioned!
To test amplifier caps run a full-range sweep through your system. If the caps are bad you’ll notice distortion in the higher registers. I found this by accident when testing a speaker build.
If you have to ask... then the answer is yes. Caps fail... first it’ll mess up the sound; then it’ll leak and damage your equipment. There’s lots of good soldering videos on TH-cam; but making a long story short; get a temperature controlled soldering station (with a desoldering gun if you have more than a few to do; otherwise some solderwick will do); use the biggest tip that will fit in the space (bigger tip = better heat transfer); put a small amount of fresh solder on the tip to act as a heat bridge when desoldering; use plenty of no-clean flux; get some magnification (I spent the $$$$ and got a stereo microscope, but even just a simple desk magnifying glass helps a lot); and get some flush-cutters and needle-nose pliers. Oh, and it’s probably obvious but don’t use plumbing solder and flux - it’s corrosive. Get a good electronics grade solder and no-clean flux (leaded is easier to work with and makes better connections; just be sure to wash your hands afterwards... and it’s not an environmental issue because you’re never going to throw your gear away, right?).
Oh, and get some low-value or dead PCBs to practice on before attempting surgery on your fancy high-end gear!
Great advice.
Thanks!
Apogee....What a wonderful speaker....
Being one who owns some vintage gear, I learned that for amps and receivers it is fairly easy to tell when the caps have aged just by the change in sound. Caps in crossovers on speakers though are harder to tell. I don't have any vintage speakers anymore, but I would imagine the sure way to tell on those is with measurements.
Many thanks for a very helpful video , I have exactly this going on right now with a vintage pair of Wharfdale Linton XP2’s. I picked them up for less than $20 in a charity shop. I’ve tested the bass drivers which are not blown thankfully but they sound dreadful. A neighbour suggested the caps have probably dried out and you just confirmed it - greetings from England! I
I pick my 1971 whafedale dovedails 3 up from my local charity shop today £30 I'll just use my ears & hope they are ok,if not I'll just sell them on life's to short.
@@jasonemanuel9070 probably the wisest attitude. I spent a load of time messing around with the Lintons and even purchased a replacements bass driver off Ebay ..only for the speakers to end up unused sitting the garage ! I've since replaced them with a pair of NAD speakers which are incredible and like yours cost me £30 .
@@stevieG. Can't go wrong with nad,hope you end up loving them,I took a gamble on the dovetails but been listening all day & night now,they are incredible well pleased.
@@jasonemanuel9070 you got a result there, well done.
I really respect Paul for his genuine efforts on such a topic. He could have been telling people reasons to buy his own stuff and reasons to not dare to keep old stuff alive. How many other CEOs will be honest on such topic? I just restored my 20 year old Velodyne servo subwoofer with new caps and it was worth every penny.
Fat Rat Sure, I started very early soldering stuff. Actually my initial effort included a lot of desoldering components from old TVs and other electronics to build my own component selection in my early teens. Frankly I have worried a lot about lead and other toxins poisoning as I didn’t really consider the toxicity of electronics in my teenage years. But at least I didn’t eat it. Now I use lead free soldering and btw, I recently got my own SMT oven at home. I enjoy doing stuff in my own lab as sort of hobby. How about you and hobbies?
@Fat Rat, 😮
@Fat Rat I miss the moments where I could be in a mode of just listening but it stopped when I got my first iPhone and Steve Jobs reprogrammed my brain to not allow to run one task at a time. Music while working, shopping, eating (need less of this) and exercising (and more of this) sort of is almost mandatory to me. I do remember the moments where I sat down and listened to tiny details using my Stax electrostatics with closed eyes for hours...perhaps our brains get sort of used to work in multi task mode and it's not just because we decide it as an action. Nowadays I wouldn't be able to complete just one album of music without my phone or computer beeping one or more times due to some incoming message or e-mail. Yes, I could just turn it off or put it in another room, but then my mind will have this underlying awareness that I'm "disconnected" from an eco-system of people. Not sure if this is all good or bad. @Fat Rat, I imagine you live as some audiophile Crocodile Dundee away from the stress of urban Australia and in some peaceful outback town.
@Fat Rat I must admit my career is bound in being on the forefront of technology and there is no easy escape from the madness. My hobby is also my career. If I didn't enjoy technology I probably could get my weekends to be all about climbing mountains and such things. Your JAMO speaker was R&D'ed lead by someone I worked with for many years btw. I'm originally from Denmark where speaker development is sort of in the genes of people. In our kitchen here in California we have a pair of JBL 8" 2-way in-wall speakers above those eye-level cupboards. For a kitchen, I'm quite impressed with the musicality of these speakers and they have an excellent wife appeal by being almost invisible, but I'm sure those Jamos are better sounding.
I had bipolar electrolytic caps in my speakers.
They preferred happy music one minute, then sad music the next.
I can always tell when my caps have aged when the electrolyte spurts out the bottom and runs all over the circuit board.
A lot of speakers, even some pricey ones, use crappy electrolytics in their crossovers. Replacing them with good quality film types will be worth the investment, even if the caps are not old and bad.
Capacitor replacement depends on the speaker. Some crossovers are very simple, but some are very complex with many capacitors that are selected and matched.
Pauls right nobody wants to work on them , I found someone to restore my perfectly working Sansui G-8000 and they wanted 2k for labor , I work so much i haven't had the time,
until this cov19 got me layed off so now its all re-capped and sounds amazing got it for 1400.00 and spent about 100.00 in caps best 1500.00 amp i ever had for the price smooth warmth ! With Scale !
Wtf, what a ripoff. How many caps were in that thing?
Sorry to hear you got laid off! I hope you fall into the category of making more on unemployment with the extra $600 a week. I'm usually against this system of making people more money than they were making before they were laid off but for some reason, I feel the opposite with you!🤔🤗😇 And that's the biggest compliment I can give! Now get that 580 review up already🤓😝
@@xanderguldie Caps, at least in the U.S. are not inexpensive, at least if your are using good caps like Solen. They start at about $5 each for the small values, and go up from there. Even a 47 micro Farad Solen runs over $20.
2K for a restauration by a professional is not too much. 2K for a repair by an amateur is way too much.
@@doowopper1951 I was talking about the labour, wich was $2000. So the caps weren't even included. Still those caps are also pretty expensive. Over here they are pretty affordable. Lots of good stuff from Germany.
I recapped seventies Technics and changed the small transistors on the front end. Lazy dragging noisy sound was instantly transformed to happy rhythmic thumping. Didn't use any hoodoo audio voodoo caps either. RX30 series, FC and few others. Also changed the caps in my Sony 's to polys. This kind of a "fabric was lifted" off the tweeters experience.
The large caps are not hard to remove and replace. It’s the smaller caps close to other small components that is tricky.
Madisound is also a great source, but you know what, so are Mouser, Newark, and Digi-Key. Long lasting film capacitors are great, and I use them when budget and space are not limiting me to electrolytics, but they don't have to be Mundorf or Clarity: WIMA, Vishay, and Cornell Dubilier make very nice ones as well. Much better to spend $20 on a couple of 22 uF WIMAs and replace that failing cap now than wait around to drop (an obscene) $200 on the same value set of Mundorfs down the road for a 0.001% improvement in sound. Paul forgot to mention that you want to make sure the uF rating is the same as the cap you are replacing, and you will typically want a voltage rating that is the same or a bit higher.
Weird. I just linked an article in another thread here from Digikey on supercapacitors. 😁
www.digikey.ro/Site/Global/Layouts/DownloadPdf.ashx?pdfUrl=0EAE246075A94268BAEFC45FBF6AB088
@@kalijasin Interesting... As the sheet says they must be more for mobile or digital devices as 5.5V, 1000uF caps are unusual for non-class D, but that's a good find!
@terrywho22, and car audio, speaker with amp, portable audio, audio with usb.
@terrywho22, definitely 👍
@@kalijasin Oh yeah, car audio... That's kind of a big market!
Paul is spot on with replacing caps in any spkr crossover or electronic (Audio) devices. Heat plays a major factor in shortening the life span of a cap and time as well. Internally the electrolyte fluids or paste tend to dry up within 10 to 15 years in normal room temps as long as they are in use. If you read the Manufactures shelf life expectancy of Electrolyte caps it is usually 2 yrs and then they start to degrade. If in use most average caps start to degrade after a 1000 hrs.
Sometimes spending more on Boutique electrolyte caps, can result in longer life expectancy 16000 hrs or more in some cases, before they start to degrade. Mind you this is strictly for Electrolyte, Film caps can last 50 to 100 years depending on temps.
How do you explain my Hitachi Oscilloscope from around 1975 that still works perfectly ?
My bad Audio devices sound quality degrades.
Service life of electrolytics, all other things kept equal, is highly dependent on size. Small parts dry out much faster. I have some large 35V 10000uF capacitors in a power supply that I designed and built back in my college days (1970's). They're still in good condition, perhaps due partly to the fact that they are considerably bulkier than their modern replacements would be.
Operating temperature is also quite important. Keeping temperature down greatly extends life.
Today, much of consumer electronics employs miniaturized surface-mount electrolytics, and they are notorious for short service life. In Japanese culture, equipment like that is often replaced after two years, if not sooner, so the manufacturers make no attempt at choosing parts to last longer.
@@marianneoelund2940 50 yr old power cap vs Modern day fresh cap sound quality. 50 yr cap maybe hear 2 to 4 instruments with the background instruments fighting with each other creating a smorgasborg. Is it a cello or violinist fighting for front row center, and maybe a couple vocalists , which is fine for most people. Fresh cap on the other hand 10+ instruments and 10+ vocalists. Now where getting into the audiophile world. Mind you Orchestral music is one way of hearing all those wonderful instruments and vocalists and testing your system. I agree small caps dry out faster than big size caps with more fluid.
@@jp-rj7yq
You might find this interesting:
www.nichicon.co.jp/english/products/lifetime/
Electrolytic cap "spec life" may sound like a low figure, e.g. only 2000 hours, but that's under severe operating conditions, with temperature close to the device max rating. The predicted service life increases greatly under more moderate conditions. For example, a 105C rated electrolytic with a spec life of 2000 hours, but operated below 45C and only 20% of rated current has a predicted service life of at least 130000 hours or 15 years. Increase the operating temperature to 55C and the life drops to 64000 hours.
The aging effect of electrolytics is primarily to increase ESR. In a speaker crossover, that reduces the tweeter drive efficiency and allows unwanted higher frequencies to reach the midrange (and woofer, if it has a 2nd-order filter). This is undesirable because you don't want drivers to be interfering with each other in the upper driver's range. But the use of film caps, which is often practical for the midrange, will avoid the issue.
I replaced the caps in a pair of Realistic Minimus-7 speakers as a practice and to see if it really made that much of a difference. These things were over 30 years old and it made a HUGE difference. I didn't know if just replacing only the caps was the thing to do, so thanks to Paul for this video. I now plan to replace the caps on my 30 year old Paradigm Export Monitors. Can anyone recommend an appropriate brand and type? I usually buy from Parts Express.
www.partsconnexion.com/capacitors-ele-mundorf-e-cap-ac-series.html
just replace the electrolytic caps
www.partsconnexion.com/jantzen-elko-cap.html
I just put my instruments on them. If the ESR's are terrible they get replaced. On my vintage Wharfedale W (1960 to 1975) series speakers, I have found the Mundorf E-Cap NPE’s do a very good job of maintaining the speakers original voicing.
I bought my speakers in '81. I've replaced the woofers foam surrounds.
Guess I should have a peek at my crossovers and order some new caps...
Great Advice yes all you would need to do is send in your crossover
I had to replace 16 caps in my 70's era mirrored Dahlquist DQ10's. Halfway through the job. Got Jantzen caps for my Quart Reference towers . . . recapped and refoamed my AR28s's . . . . it took 60 caps to restore my Harman/Kardon Citation 5.1 (Steve Mantz). Should have it all done by the end of April.
Thanks very much, Paul!
Sounds like "It's about that time" for my speakers, as well.
Then, the amp... : P
You will need to do a bit of research as to what brand of elco to put in your amp or risk to make it worse. In any case stay away from Chinese parts.
@@hugobloemers4425
Thanks!
Another commenter suggested replacing only electrolytic caps?
Surely a better answer would be to buy a suitable quality ESR meter and test each capacitor individually rather than simply replacing each willy-nilly? For less than US$75-100, you can find something that will do the job. Heck, a PEAK brand ESR meter can be had for less than about US$150 ish if you want a top brand. Once purchased that meter will last a lifetime and allow checking of equipment every few years or so for reassurance everything is running optimally.
Sold Apogees once back in the Audio Gallery days but I liked the smaller Calipers the most.
Heard a lot of good things about the Calipers. And the Stages I always kinda wanted to at least hear the Studio Grands. I was speaking with Brian Cheney of VPMS about building a custom pair of stands/subwoofers for my Duettas but failed to pursue it. I really wish I had, as that was shortly before Brian died and I can't really think of anyone else who would take on such a project at a price affordable to mortals,
I have a friend with an Audio Research SP3 preamp and it started humming so he gave it to me to fix for him. All the filter cap cans were open. I replaced them all with separate electrolytics and it worked fine. I checked the electrolytics in my Audio Research SP6 and all were bad but I didn't have a hum due to the 4.7 MFD Wonder Caps I have bypassing the 300 MFD electrolytics. I replaced them all but didn't use the most expensive caps but it does sound ok. I've had some slight random noises in one or both channels ever since I put them in. Not sure if its wonder caps going bad or what. Everytime I mess with it I get the noise to go away but when I put it together the noise comes back.
I have mission 734i speakers that are stunning. They have replaced caps using Mundorfs. Beings speakers back to life!
The best way to measure a speaker outside is to turn it upside down and place it on a large concrete ground plain and lay the mic on axis 1 metre away
Interesting subject for me 🔍.tnx
When they go into a store and forget why they're in there, that's a pretty good sign.
Greetings Paul. Love your channel thus far. I have a pair of Jbl 4312s and cannot wait to replace the caps. Cosmetically they're in great shape just a little dull in the 2k- 5k section. I'm pretty decent at handling the iron, so I'm confident this project should turn out well.🔉
There’s an elephant in the room that needs to be addressed. I combed through the comments and there are a LOT of comments but none mentioned the elephant.. and I was kind of busy while watching the vid but I don’t remember any mention of the large gray mammal there either. Enough preamble. If you are replacing non-polarized (no symbols on the casing showing any positive negative indications) capacitors then just melt those those babies out put and throw the new one in and you’re done. If you’re replacing POLARIZED capacitors then you have to make sure you locate the plus and or minus sign on the casing and install accordingly. If you find a black stripe on one side that will almost always be the negative side and one of the two legs (wires) will be closest to the negative indicator and will be the negative leg. And visa versa. On the PCB board there will usually be a circle where the cap is installed and half that circle will be colored in, usually black and will have one hole for the NEGATIVE leg of the cap. And the other side won’t be colored in but will have a hole for the positive leg. And BOOM, you’re done. If you put them in the wrong direction then BOOM they can and will explode and obviously, the larger the cap, the bigger the boom (and associated fire and electrocution etc..)
Let me qualify that I am not an electrician and that just about everything I’ve learned has been by first doing it the wrong way and suffering the consequences. That approach definitely makes the lesson stick, and burn, and bleed…etc. here’s another great way to learn these things and that is to have someone else do all the dumb work for you (don’t thank me, I’m glad to be of service). If you are qualified electrician reading this and you run across bad info, then please correct me. It just seems to me that if people are being encouraged to solder for the first time then there’s no way they are going to know about the positive, negative exploding thing. Have a nice day 😊
I need to replace my 1uf electrolytic cap, can I replace it with a same value 1uf polypropelyne cap or do I need to go above 1uf or below 1uf in size??
Great call Paul!
All please keep in mind that caps have different sonic signatures.
Some make a huge difference on a tweeter so read thru detailed reviews first.
Buy 25usd solder gun and learn how to solder , have fun there are plenty of tutorials on you tube.....than make your speakers play like never before.
Unfortunately 25yrs old tweeter may have dried out as well so..... Do not wait 25 yrs , do it with new speakers😂 Even 5Kusd speakers use 3usd poly caps , once replaced with thru high end audio only designed cap for say 30usd or more it will blow you away how awesome these speakers will sound..... Check out Danny at GR research if you want to got few steps further... Have fun!
Caps do not have different sonic signatures, whatever that is!
@@MrsZambezi You just have no clue that all, try 3 different caps in one key location and than we can talk...
Nichicon KZ, Elna Cerafine, AudioNoteKasei.... All three will have differnt sonic signature heard right away clearly different ....
With old Apogees it's not so much the crossover that needs attention, it's the panel tensioning system. The panel was clamped on the sides, and then the clamping mechanism was pulled outwards using springs to keep the panel taught. Over time, the panel stretches to the point where the clamp can no longer keep it tight. Parts for older Apogees including new panels are available from Graeme Keet in Australia. www.apogeeacoustics.com/index.htm
Yeah, tensioning the panels is another task I've been dreading. Thanks for the comment.
My old Grundig console needs a cap job. The power amp is starting to "fart" or run out of power at the higher volumes. The capacity or instant ability to provide power to the demands of the power amp is compromised over time. Its an old tube set so it should be easy.
The Duetta Sigs use decent quality Sprague film caps which should still be in good condition.You could upgrade these with better film caps but not really necessary from an aging point of view.I don`t have to worry about aging crossover caps because my Duetta Sigs are actively driven fortunately.
What are you using for an active crossover? DAX or ??
@@chrisglass19 The active filter is a Diy kit produced by a local kit supplier called Sage,sadly no longer in business.I was not impressed by the DAX after seeing a schematic of the circuitry which included 6 op amps in series for each leg of the crossover.The Sage crossover only uses a 3 transistor input buffer and output buffer working in feedback free differential class A with high performance discrete class A current and voltage regulation.In conjunction with high performance passive parts,Vishay foil resistors,Relcap foil polystyrene caps and Rubycon Blackgate electrolytics the sound is very transparent;better than the DAX.
Your videos are great. Really, I wish we were neighbors and I had something as informative to offer you. Great stuff.
How do you know when tubes needs to be replaced on a tube amplifier??
How do you know if your caps have aged? My dentist tells me.
All I can say is I was repairing my pots in my IRS IIIa's this winter and broke a cap wire off in one of the 4 speakers. So I replace just the cap and repeated it in the speaker pair to make them match. They now sound different then the other set I have sitting right beside them. Couldn't get the original TI cap so I got one with the same exact specs but it's not the same. Bottom line is when it comes to audio equipment I have a 3 B's rule, if they are not bulging, burning or bleeding they are staying the way they are.
Ouch those are film caps you broke no wonder you don't like the sound. The pair of grey miniature soda can size are the electrolytic caps. They should definitely be replaced. A good film cap that might be as good as your old ones if you want to try . www.partsconnexion.com/jantzen-mkt-cap.html . Bennic films are not my favorite that's for sure.
I have a pair of Threshold SA1 monoblocks made in 1987. I hear Krrrr krrr sound from both focal 1038 speakers and I have been advised to change all 8 caps in them. Will do after lockdown is lifted in India.
I want your amps! :-)
@@chrisglass19 You have to visit India then but please do so when the lockdown is lifted.😀
Paul , to hell with parts exspress, I only trust and buy from Madisound speakers in Madison Wisconsin, they only deal in high end sprakers components and crossover parts . They are full of knowledge instead of full of sheeeeeiit like P. E.
I mean this in a genuine way,but think of it this way, given the age & given the mere fact that you are even asking...???? There you go & soldering is a bit of an art form,but with a bit of practice,you'll suss it,better yet,grab an old broken piece of junk,pull out the PCB & do some practice,good luck 😁
I purchased a Zenith console radio and the plastic insulated wires are mostly bare as you can shake off the dried and cracked insulation, however all of the cloth type insulation is perfect. I thought about cutting on end of now mostly bare wires and slipping shrink tubing on it then solder it back together rather than replacing each wire. What do you think?
"one end" not "on end"
I run yamaha , iv found after a year of turning on my system it sounds like its scratching .bozak l.s. 400 speakers with yamaha rx-v620 amp .maybe my ears or the speakers. Haven't tested yet but still learning.
Hoping I can rework the amp because the speakers are ,well old and hard to rework .
Isn't it possible that some capacitors are hand selected ones?
A 100 micro farad labeled capacitor does not have 100 micro farad capacitance. It could often be 10% off. More expensive capacitors, 5%.
An error of 10% or 5% does not matter much in power supply filter circuit, but it could matter in EQ circuit or crossover circuit.
I attempted to replace the caps in my Infinity RS 3b speakers but after spending three days trying to find the same values as what was originally in them I just gave up. It seemed to me that nobody had replacement capacitors of the same values. I sold the speakers because audio paranoia had set in and I just couldn’t take the stress.
20 or 30 year old speakers are a bargain only if you are able to replace the caps, maybe binding posts, and definitely woofer surrounds.
The Apogee Scintilla's and the Full Range being particularly bad. In fact the full range had a mid range driver that went down to 0.14 ohms I mean that's just silly. However the person writing in those speakers have a more reasonable nominal load of 4 ohms.. Apogees make Maggies sound second class or they used to I haven't heard any of the new lot. I'm looking for a pair of Apogees funnily as I heard a pair driven by some Kronzilla amps and it was AWESOME!!!
Indeed! I've been using various Adcoms over the years to drive my Duettas, and they seem perfectly happy with them. Nelson Pass designed certain Adcoms (notably the very first GFA-555, and the original 5800 but not the 5802), but Adcom invariably strayed from the Pass design when "improving them". I used to buy every 1st gen -555 I ran across. My home theater setup has the Duetta sigs as the main speakers, an Apogee LCR for center, and then ribbon monitors for the sides and rear.
Tell me what soldering iron to buy
I would argue that if you're really an audiophile, then you know how to work on your equipment. The biggest issue I have with audiophiles is their tech illiteracy which translates to bad or outright wrong advice that is said with confidence and determination. Soldering is really easy if you have a good iron. You can even buy training kits on Aliexpress for a few bucks to learn how to solder anything from big caps to small surface mount components. Furthermore, once you know how to do it you'll spend less money and time getting old gear repaired. I've repaired a lot of stuff that has no manual and was going to a landfill despite being perfectly fine just because nobody knew how to work on them anymore. It's kinda sad
I have some 36 year old filter caps, and that amp still sounds like it did after burn in. I have some 30 year old speakers that still have the original caps too. They still sound the same as new. But I know time is ticking and nothing lasts forever, so I share his "audio paranoia". 😅
What about caps in old amps? I have a Sharp Optonica SM1616 from, I believe, the late 70s. Everything looks original inside.
Sounds great to my ears, and I don't have audiophile speakers anyway just some Bang & Olufsen Cx100 which are from the mid 80s. Would it be worth it to replace the caps just to breathe some new life into it?
Great work demystifying cap replacement. I fear many are like the OP and think it’s a huge endeavor instead of a relatively simple
Process
As that OP, I have to say I don't fear soldering. But that's the least of the issues. Access can be be an issue, and sourcing the right parts is actually the thing I don't want to deal with. Thanks for the comment.
short the caps that you replace to avoid a shock
I change my caps every day... From my Olympics to Baseball to Yamaha to every brand cap possible ... every time I go out for a walk
It is interesting when Paul mentioned brand of caps he said that it matters to him and he likes good brand like mundorf. But it his flagship speakers he is using bottom of the barrel, cheapest bennic caps
Electrolytic capacitors have a working life of 15-20 years, according to most manufacturers.
Well to be honest I never wear them it just messes up my hair, some think it’s cool to wear them back to front I just think yes if you have bad hair or no hair at all then hell yes wear one, if you have got good hair like me then show it off and do not wear a stupid cap...But seriously you know when your caps have aged because they start to look a bit thread bare and have lost their original colour through washing them over years and years, then you know it’s time to buy another one or two replacements 👍🤣👍
Ha ha, saw what you did there
Wow, what a cap-disasiter...
If they are getting coupons from AARP
hi Paul hope you'll be fine, my question is that is there any difference in sound quality by using troidal transformer compare to E I core transformer?
No.
@@MrsZambezi OK Thanks
You know what they say Paul,
Paranoia, they destroy ya!
No Kinks fans?
My Omega speakers do not have any crossovers (better to say capacitors) 😄
my cap has definitely aged...it reads Hulk Hogan...WWF champion
I have 55 year old speakers that I dont know if they have replaced.
It's almost impossible to see when to replace capacitors!
Do you have a device from the 70's or early 90's so you should replace them?
Capacitors may start to leak or start to get high resistance (ESR) or other things. you do not always see it on the capacitor.
you have to solder it out to start measuring it. Some can measure correctly but others do not
You can test them in circuit with an ESR meter I would say 90% of the time it is reliable. Used to work in a repair shop. Sometimes you might find 2 electrolytics in paraell (they are connected + to + and - to - together and then you'll need to remove one of them.
@@cat-lw6kq You do not get exactly the right result when they are in the circuit. There may be a resistor or transistor or something above the capacitor.
A capacitor can fail in several ways, making the sound worse.
The rule is that if you have a device from the early 90's or 80's then you should replace capacitors.
I find it odd that Paul Mcgowan didn't mention one must be aware of "capacitor forming" after replacing electrolytic capacitor in one's x-over loudspeaker.
Forming (or really re-forming, electrolytic caps are formed as supplied new, it just breaks down with time) applies to polarised electrolytic caps used for eg supply rails and reservoirs. These get a dc voltage on them when in use. But speakers don't have any dc voltage. Trying to reform bipolar caps in a crossover by playing them at max for ages .. Good luck with that. Bipolar electrolytic are just the worst, even when they were new. They have lousy esr esl and leakage even when new. Their value drops dramatically at high frequency, even when new (not what we want in audio). Their value is also nit constant vs frequency. (Search Steve benchs articles on capacitors) cf Modern parts are massively better due to materials as Paul commented, production techniques and simply need, switch mode power supplies have become ubiquitous and operate at high frequency. All electrolytic also degrade with age and temperature, its just life. Replacing old electrolytics is always going to be an improvement, in some cases a major one, in some cases may prevent your tweeters being blown. Even if you just use (quality) modern electrolytics .. Replacing with film types is a further step. Film caps have superb frequency response, linearity, and will last more or less forever
Since you still up Paul ! Go ahead and send me the Ps Audio sprout 100 for a review on me channel 😆 Please 😆 losn lease agreement ? I'm almost caught up on my reviews,
i will be caught up by friday !
Have a good1 buddy , finished the Sansui G-8000 today ! Over 40 hours of a PITA I went from old nichicon to new nichicon power caps were still good me glad ! Point to point wiring !!
Why did my 30 year old Linn preamp just stop working?
Love this guy
OMG ..sodder ...nooooooo SOLDER ....now I was going to get your wonderful equipment ...but after that pronunciation I’m considering Accuphase ....JUST JOKING ....love your videos and the wonderful products your company makes ...
When you say 25 years ago, do you mean 1995 or do you mean 1975 like when my dad says 25 years ago? Love your videos :)
Noia ?!!? how do i know if i need to change a pair of noias?
Are Nichicon caps the best?
Fir the price their great why so many audio companies use them
Even their most standard capacitors beat 99% of other capacitors. We’ve seen time and time again that a 40 y/o nichicon measures just as well as the day its being manufactured.
Nicotine caps :0
Definitely good enough for most applications, with quite good service life. About 1000x the quality of Chinese BSD capacitors, which you should avoid.
"here's a picture of me when I was younger"...
EVERY picture ever taken of you is when you were younger...see where I'm going with this ??
I have some Cardas soldering wire quad eutectic silver solder with rosin flux - is this the correct solder to use?
Yes!
Fancy !. Any regular lead based electronics solder will be fine, silver is really nice but the fancy brand name snake oil isn't worth anything imho, they just get rich off customers backs. BTW, avoid lead free solder, that's required for production these days but a pain for DIY ers to work with, it doesn't flow
Look for signs of leakage and puffed up bloated tops... You can also measure them
How do you know if your caps have aged? when they are receiving social security checks
ive had my caps done on my caliper sigs you should talk to graz !
You need to open up the speaker to see which parts are used. Polyester to polypropylene is molded and you do not need to swap them on such new speakers. electrolyte has weaknesses and should be replaced! Change electrolyte to polyester or polypropylene if possible!
The best electrolyte is no better than the cheapest polyester
Capacitors are also known as condensers. General motors switch from points and condensers to HighEnerygy Ignitions, 50,,0000 volts, somewhere around 1974. They neede more volts for the highere ACTIVATON ENERGEY from the leenar air fuel mixchures at idle for emmmissions controles. THNKES YUS AND thummbs usps!
Do you have a refrigerator full of hash?
“Condenser is a term used for a capacitor in the past. In time the term ceased to be used, with capacitor turning into the most commonly used term from 1926. Condenser and capacitor are one and the same viewed from electrical perspective. However in other fields of study, condenser may likewise allude to various different things. Condenser from mechanical perspective is additionally another name for consolidating vapor to water. Condenser as well means an optical system which focuses light beams from a light source into a narrower beam. Energy in capacitors is stored in the electric field, while in the case of condensers energy is stored in the electrostatic field (they work as heat capacitors). Condenser can represents a device that converts vaporous material (gas) into its fluid state. All condensers work on the principle of using a cooling system to remove the heat from the gas. Condensers are utilized as a part of thermal power plants, air conditioning systems, distilleries and so on.”
www.differencebetween.net/technology/difference-between-capacitor-and-condenser/
And then there are ventilators as well which is just a different word for Fan.
Paul Lazarro: LOL! I wish! I cant because potaotes are beaically all starch ans the starch gets turned into sugars and then sugras cause inflammation. A cup of potaotes is like acuo of sugers and I have to stay far away from sugars b ecaus eit causes me deoression and I am on veruous meds. Is this the article you wnated...
Hash browns
Hash browns or hashed browns are a popular American breakfast dish that first started showing up on breakfast menus in New York City in the 1890s, a simple preparation in which potatoes are pan-fried after being shredded, diced, julienned or riced, in the style of a Swiss Rösti. In some cultures, hash browns or hashed browns can refer to any of these preparations, while in others it may refer to one specific preparation.
THANK YOU, YOUA REM INE GOODS FRENDS! THUMS UPOS.
Hugo Bloemers: THNAKES you Mistre Hugo. You have alway ebeen the gpod frends. THMUPPS UPS!
7 years old and learning how to solder? That sounds a bit dangerous don't you think?
When they start getting ads to join AARP.
Any advice on recapping an amplifier without getting shocked? That is a deterrent to those who have never done this before.
If you're asking that question them you're not ready.
Remember i think most Caps are directional.
You MUST use non-polar caps for speaker crossovers! Poly, Mylar, Film caps are naturally non-polar, but standard electrolytics ARE polarized. If you need large values and must go with an electrolytic, it must be the special non-polar type. If you buy from Parts Express, anything sold in the speaker crossover section will be OK.
Electrolytic types are certainly polarized (directional), unless you buy a "non-polarized" type which is actually two polarized capacitors back to back. But "non-polarized" electrolytics which are popular for speaker crossovers can be pricey. You can substitute two polarized capacitors back-to-back in series, where each has double the value of the part they're replacing. Or better, if practical (if required capacitance is low enough), replace electrolytics with film types.
Film and ceramic capacitors are not polarized, however film capacitors do have an inner and outer foil and in some types of sensitive circuitry you want to pay attention that the outer foil is connected to the lower-impedance circuit node.
The opposite.. most (all film / foil types) are not. Normal electrolytic caps ARE but these are not suitable for use in speakers, as others also note any elects used in speakers are bipolar type which is really two polar elects back to back inside the same can. .. and they suck.
I get mine from Ukraine and Russia that were overstock from the WW2 era.
Those thing sdont sound good for guitars pickups. They gopt a thign about they are WARM like BUMBLEE BEE capacitors. Its just amrketign to sells thme. My fren dis putting back int eh Orange drop capacitors. The WARM is just another weay pf saying it is rolling of the treble. I SONT LIKNES THMES. Thams you and thumbbs UP!
Only replace the electrolytic capacitors.
Oh?
Are they marked as such, so it's easy to tell the difference?
@@HareDeLune in general they have an outer 'can' that is wrapped around the ends - i haven't described very well though you will see what I mean if you look up some images of electrolytics and polyprops. Be aware that polyprops or other replacements can have a much greater physical size - building an external crossover box or replacing with electrolytics with a by pass cap (parallel cap of high quality of maybe 100th the value) can be ways around this.
@@robh9079
Hmm, sounds a bit complicated.
Paul made it seem so simple...
@@HareDeLune the basic concept is really simple, but if you've got small boxes or limited space and just go ordering polys for elecs you might not fit them in! - physical size is always given on specs - 1st step remove xover see what youve got and take it from there, you might only be changing a few parts and if you stick to type there won't be an issue, though just check the sizes ( - the KEFs 'ive just done are not simple however... )
another idea; post a query about upgrading caps on your specific speaker on one of the many excellent forums - notably 'diy audio'.
Yeah, don't try tube amps.
if sounds good and nothing wrong dont fix it,fixing it might cause you trouble,capacitors today esp. in amps are mostly made in china
Yeah I think the same. I have 30+ old stereo gear, original made in Japan parts inside and still going good. I'm not going to replace parts to made in China crap
They start falling out of your mouth.....lol
The professionals desolder capacitors and check them out one by one with dedicated test gear and they replace only if needed. No we can assume new are better than existing ones if they were expensive.
My dentist told me all my caps need to be replaced.
Well that’s more serious and expensive than old caps you wear on your head that after time look worn out and you need to buy a new one 🤣
Your dentist is cheeky , u should cap his teeth , : )
Athur V brilliant didn’t think of that one...well done nice one☝️👍😜
He probably told you that ceramics will last for ever. It will make Mundorf seem like a discount brand.