[bacardi]

hey guys i'm in the process of replacing caps in my old amp, though i don't what to do about these:
 
[blue ones]
 

 
[red ones]
 
 

 
are those film caps? If so then what kind of replacements should i get and also should i look at the same tech specs i did with the electrolytic ones?
 
And one more question about these black rubycon caps:
 

 
These are the last electrolytic ones i need to replace, though i have a question about soldering, since i noticed that one of the connectors (on each of them) is soldered to these cables:
 

 
Should i also solder one of the connectors on the new caps like that? Thanks

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Why were you replacing them? The red caps look like they may be rebranded Wimas, which would already be fairly ideal in the space provided. If you get boutique film caps to replace them, the form factor is going to be cylindrical and larger, which would be difficult to fit.

 

[bacardi]

Well i replaced most of the caps, since they were quite cheap, and old hmm.. i guess i'll just leave the film ones alone then.. Any clues on re-solidering those black electrolytic ones? Cheers

 

[Avro_Arrow]

Replace those big power supply caps with some
Nichicons (or similar good quality) rated for power
supply use. Look at the ripple current spec.
Higher is better. You can use a larger capacitance
value as well as long as it still fits. Re-solder the wires
just like they were before. I wouldn't bother to replace
the red and blue film caps, they look pretty good already.
I also noticed some op amps in there. You might be able
to replace those too with newer, better sounding ones.
Make sure you know what they do before you replace them.
 
Good luck with it!

 

[bacardi]

Thanks yeah I have 2 Nichicons here waiting to be thrown in there and they're almost too big hehe but i didn't realize that changing the op-amps will help imporve the sound quality on speakers? I did that on my sound cards though, i thought that's different? Cheers By the way, there's a small cap there behind the 2 black caps, rated 1uF and 160V since i can't find any quality ones at the dealers here with these specs, how safe will i be if i replace it with a 2.2uF or 4.7uF one and higher or same voltage cap? Thanks
 
Quote:

Replace those big power supply caps with some
Nichicons (or similar good quality) rated for power
supply use. Look at the ripple current spec.
Higher is better. You can use a larger capacitance
value as well as long as it still fits. Re-solder the wires
just like they were before. I wouldn't bother to replace
the red and blue film caps, they look pretty good already.
I also noticed some op amps in there. You might be able
to replace those too with newer, better sounding ones.
Make sure you know what they do before you replace them.
 
Good luck with it!

 

[tomb]

I'm not personally familiar with the Rubycon CE's, but generally speaking - I'm not sure replacing those with Nichicon's would be considered an upgrade.  Rubycon makes some of the best capacitors available.  Their only problem is that they don't seem to be distributed very much in this country.  I was sort of hoping that would change now that they're not so tied up making Black Gates.
 
Sort of wondering if your effort on re-capping is misplaced.  It looks like you have a very modern complement of caps.  It's not like there are a bunch of paper electrolytics or wax caps in there just waiting to fail.  In fact, seems like I see a bunch of Muse ES's and FG's in those smaller electrolytics.  Those are pretty much state-of-the-art today. 

 

[Avro_Arrow]

I think he has already replaced many of the caps...those are the ones you are seeing.
I tried to find some data on the Rubycon CE but I guess they have been out of production
for too long, i came up dry...
 
Quote:

I'm not personally familiar with the Rubycon CE's, but generally speaking - I'm not sure replacing those with Nichicon's would be considered an upgrade.  Rubycon makes some of the best capacitors available.  Their only problem is that they don't seem to be distributed very much in this country.  I was sort of hoping that would change now that they're not so tied up making Black Gates.
 
Sort of wondering if your effort on re-capping is misplaced.  It looks like you have a very modern complement of caps.  It's not like there are a bunch of paper electrolytics or wax caps in there just waiting to fail.  In fact, seems like I see a bunch of Muse ES's and FG's in those smaller electrolytics.  Those are pretty much state-of-the-art today. 

 

[Avro_Arrow]

I wouldn't feel comfortable saying yes unless I knew what the function of the cap was...
If it is just a filter then you would be safe.
 
If the op amps are in the signal path then they could have a huge effect on the sound.
If they serve some other purpose then just leave them be...
 
Quote:

Thanks yeah I have 2 Nichicons here waiting to be thrown in there and they're almost too big hehe but i didn't realize that changing the op-amps will help imporve the sound quality on speakers? I did that on my sound cards though, i thought that's different? Cheers By the way, there's a small cap there behind the 2 black caps, rated 1uF and 160V since i can't find any quality ones at the dealers here with these specs, how safe will i be if i replace it with a 2.2uF or 4.7uF one and higher or same voltage cap? Thanks
 
Quote:

Replace those big power supply caps with some
Nichicons (or similar good quality) rated for power
supply use. Look at the ripple current spec.
Higher is better. You can use a larger capacitance
value as well as long as it still fits. Re-solder the wires
just like they were before. I wouldn't bother to replace
the red and blue film caps, they look pretty good already.
I also noticed some op amps in there. You might be able
to replace those too with newer, better sounding ones.
Make sure you know what they do before you replace them.
 
Good luck with it!

 

[bacardi]

all those caps out there that you see are replaced by me, most of them were some no-name stuff and yeah that rubycon i checked was discontinued in 1999, my bet is the nichicons i have will be an improvement, here's the datsheet: i have the 80V 10,000uF version http://www.nichicon.co.jp/english/products/alm_larg/pict_f.htm

 

[bacardi]

I guess i'll just leave it alone till I find a quality replacement with the same stats, and how can i check if the op-amp is in the singal path? Via service manual?
 
Quote:

I wouldn't feel comfortable saying yes unless I knew what the function of the cap was...
If it is just a filter then you would be safe.
 
If the op amps are in the signal path then they could have a huge effect on the sound.
If they serve some other purpose then just leave them be...
 
Quote:

Thanks yeah I have 2 Nichicons here waiting to be thrown in there and they're almost too big hehe but i didn't realize that changing the op-amps will help imporve the sound quality on speakers? I did that on my sound cards though, i thought that's different? Cheers By the way, there's a small cap there behind the 2 black caps, rated 1uF and 160V since i can't find any quality ones at the dealers here with these specs, how safe will i be if i replace it with a 2.2uF or 4.7uF one and higher or same voltage cap? Thanks
 
Quote:

Replace those big power supply caps with some
Nichicons (or similar good quality) rated for power
supply use. Look at the ripple current spec.
Higher is better. You can use a larger capacitance
value as well as long as it still fits. Re-solder the wires
just like they were before. I wouldn't bother to replace
the red and blue film caps, they look pretty good already.
I also noticed some op amps in there. You might be able
to replace those too with newer, better sounding ones.
Make sure you know what they do before you replace them.
 
Good luck with it!

 

 

[Avro_Arrow]

If you have an aptitude for electronics you can try and follow the signal path
through the circuit by eye. If you have the service manual or schematic, that
would be a big help.
What amp is it?

 

[bacardi]

it's a vincent sv-129, got tired of the sound it made and i decided to upgrade it, just replaced the transformer caps with 2 nichicons, it's good