[qwerty870]

I recently acquired a Marantz 8260 that I'd like to modify. It's been a few years since I bought high-end caps and I've noticed now that Black Gate's don't seem to be available anymore. What are folks using now? I'm especially concerned about the small non-polar series like the NX series. Has anyone found something similar?

 

[JamesL]

Depends. What size/rating, and for what position?

 

[qwerty870]

I used to use the 0.1uf/50V NX Hi-Q's to bypass power supply rail decoupling capacitors.

In the audio power supply I'd like to replace some 10uf/16V, 220uf/16V, and 470uf/16V caps.

In the DAC power supply: 47uf/16V and 220uf/16V.

The output coupling caps are 220uf/16V Elna Silmic. I've heard these are pretty good. Is there anything better?

 

[tomb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qwerty870 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I used to use the 0.1uf/50V NX Hi-Q's to bypass power supply rail decoupling capacitors. In the audio power supply I'd like to replace some 10uf/16V, 220uf/16V, and 470uf/16V caps. In the DAC power supply: 47uf/16V and 220uf/16V. The output coupling caps are 220uf/16V Elna Silmic. I've heard these are pretty good. Is there anything better?

Generally speaking, the Elna RFS Silmic II's are pretty good. They're not bipolar, but they come fairly close in sound quality. I'm not convinced that they're as good, but other choices are not - Nichicon KZ's, FG's, etc. ES's are bipolar, superior in bass, and very transparent, but the highs detail is not the same as NX's. There are certain apps where they're unbeatable, though - as cathode bypass caps for tubes, for instance. Also, when bypassed by a good film cap such as a quality Vitamin Q, they can approach NX detail. The fact that they're in the same physical size range as NX's helps, too. Both the Elna Silmics and the other Nichicon's (Muses) mentioned tend to be very big.

You should be using some film caps for those 0.1uf's. Even cheap polyesters will work better than NX electrolytics - both electrically and sonically. We tend to use electrolytics when film caps in sizes of 10uf and larger become monstrously sized and outrageously expensive. At 0.1uf, though, there's no excuse.

 

[qwerty870]

Thanks tomb!

 

[richard_hing]

I use Elna Silmic II (RFS) electrolytic caps in signal applications where only an electrolytic cap can be used. I use Panasonic FM and FC electrolytic caps in power supply applications and found them to work very well. For higher capacitance, higher voltage power supply applications, the Panasonic ED and TS-ED electrolytic caps work really well. The best part of using all the caps mentioned above is that you can easily purchase them from Digi-Key at reasonable prices.