PSU caps for NAD C350 amplifier

[Canetoad]

I had the lid off my NAD C350 amplifier yesterday afternoon and I noticed that the two PSU caps are starting to bulge. These amps sell 2nd hand for about £60-70 so I don't want to spend too much on replacements.

Can anybody suggest a cheap source for a couple of 22000uF 63v replacements? :scratch:

[337alant]

Worth giving LesW at http://avondaleaudio.com/ a ring he may just have what you want

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2PCS-63V-22000UF-M-Electrolytic-Capacitor-35X51MM-B47-LI-/280936615224?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Suppl ies_ET&hash=item4169208d38

Alan

[Canetoad]

Yep, I was looking at those caps on ebay but, coming from Hong Kong/China, I always worry about whether they're genuine or counterfeit.

I might give Avondale Audio a call tomorrow and ask.

Cheers for that. :)

[337alant]

I have had quite a few caps last year from Hong Kong and China and they tested perfectly on my Peak cap test meter correct value and ESR.
I bought some of these and they were fine http://stores.ebay.co.uk/HLLY-WiFi/Capacitors-/_i.html?_fsub=790588013&_sid=152761363&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-X-NICHICON-KG-GOLD-TUNE-6800UF-35V-AUDIO-GRADE-CAPACITOR-NAIM-NAIT-2-/251191164522?pt=US_Amplifier_Parts_Components&hash=item3a7c28fe6a#ht_222wt_905
So they are not all dodgy suppliers and if they have thousands of good feed back like these guys then I wouldnt be to worried.
Remember the factories for making all those Nippon Chemicon is over there so there are bound to be cheap to them.

That said if you can get a good deal from Les on a couple of Kendiels then they would be the business;)

Also depending on how the caps are fitted to your amp???, what about 4 x 10,000 caps parralelling up in pairs to give 20,000uf per side you could even fit a 10mh inductor between each pair as well to improve ripple, this is a much cheaper alternative as the 22,000uf caps are really expensive for anything decent. LesW also does purpose built minicap 4 & 6 which are excellent and you get a new set of Schottky rectifiers as well.

Alan

[synsei]

Going off at a tangent Bernie, should you ever require a replacement volume pot or top cover for your C350 then I'm yer man. The pot is brand new and boxed whilst the top cover is a used item that's in good nick ;)

Apologies for the shameless promotion... :)

[Canetoad]

Hi Dave, the pot on mine works fine. Thanks for letting me know you have one though. :)

I was planning to sell the NAD since replacing it with a Brio R. I don't feel right about selling it knowing the caps are on their way out, hence the reason I'd like to sort them first.

There's no room to fit more than 2 caps where they are in the amp.

[reddish75]

RS components would be the place too look for these caps, not ebay.

[UV101]

Nothing cheap and suitable on RS if they are snap in??

You could drop to 10000uf which would be fine but loose some stamina and will thin the sound a bit if you are just after a cheap replacement. Otherwise you are into something like F&T, mundorf or Kendiels etc.

http://www.banzaimusic.com/Mundorf-MLytic-22000uF-63V.html

[UV101]

I've had a quick look about and Farnell and RS list various tag connector type (as they should be at 22,000uF) but the cheapest is around £20 each!!!

I don't think its a great idea to use cheap caps in this location as you really run the risk if ruining the amp. Personally, I'd go with my suggestion of F&T or Mundorf which may even bring sonic benifits as they are very good quality caps which are well respected for audio use.

I've found this picture......this also looks like the caps are bulging. I think I'd want to check that its the actual cap that bulging at not the plastic cover before I committed to a £40 plus investment in replacements. :)

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y239/brasshonkey/IMG_0005.jpg

[Canetoad]

Hi Ian,

Yes, they're the ones and mine look exactly the same. I certainly don't want to spend too much on caps when th amp is probably worth less than £100.

I might have another good look at them. Maybe they're supposed to be like that? :scratch:

The amp in that picture seems to have an IEC socket fitted too. Mine is captive cable, which i'm pretty sure is the standard setup.

[UV101]

Hi Bernie, I think what you can see in the picture that looks like an inlet is actually an outlet maybe to turn on something else (CD player perhaps) with the amp. The mains cable inlet is above and is a fixed captive cable. You can just about make out the cable in the picture.

Might look more obvious in the picture at the bottom.

With respect to the caps, its not common to find such large value caps until you get into some quite expensive equipment. Most integrated amps will use around 10,000uF. The large caps will help with dynamics and stamina which should translate into among other things very fast and controlled bass. Based on what I've seen so far, I'd expect this amp to be capable of punching well above the estimated value of £100. I think if it is the actual caps that are bulging, its well worth spending the money on good quality caps and maybe a few other minor tweaks at the same time that might well get this amp competing with something costing significantly more. I'm on the hunt for a service manual to see if I can help with some suggestions :)

http://sthifi.com/bbs/pic11_3/20119161939557032.jpg