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Cary SLI-80 capacitor problem questions

Apologies in advance for the length of this request.

I have a Cary Sli-80 F1 integrated that I've enjoyed for several years. Recently there was a sudden intermittent popping noise in the left channel and the EL34 tube in position 2 was flashing in time to the popping. Foolishly, I assumed it was a tube failure and put in another set of output tubes. On power-up the KT-77 tube in #2 began to heat up and glow dramatically so I shut off the power immediately.

Trying to avoid the cost and damage risk of shipping the amp back to Cary I took it to a local shop which is an authorized Mcintosh repair facility. The diagnosis is, "A shorted capacitor is causing the amplifier to blow the 2nd output tube." I'm assuming their diagnosis is accurate but they seem not to be familiar with Cary amps and I'm not thrilled with the two repair options they offer. One is to replace all the coupling capacitors with generic polypropylene caps or order the Jensen oil-in -copper caps from Cary at a cost of $600 for the caps, plus labor. They're also insisting that I supply a complete set of new tubes if they're going to warranty the repair.

So the questions are, can I source the four caps myself and what would be your recommendation for caps? I had a recommendation a couple of years ago from my dealer in Seattle to replace the Jensens with Cardas but they're no longer in production. I've found opinions online that either Mundorf or V-Caps would be a good option.

And, is it reasonable to consider replacing the caps myself? I've done a fair amount of DIY soldering and think I could probably figure that part out, but what do I need to do to ensure I don't zap myself if I decide to go ahead with doing the work myself?

-thanks in advance for your advice and help. Apologies for cross posting to audioasylum hoping I can find someone who has advice about this obscure issue.
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Showing 6 responses by sfar

sfar's avatar
sfar OP
1,756 posts
 
Peter - thanks for your kind offer. From what I've been able to determine with some online research the Jensen caps are .22uF 1000V but I will retrieve the amp tomorrow, open it up and get the numbers off the caps.

Czbbcl - yes, thanks, I agree with you that the safe course would be to send the unit back to Cary and I've had good experience with them with a very minor service issue when I first bought the amp. I'm still exploring options and will sort things out in a few days. Fortunately I have another amp I can use in the interim.
sfar's avatar
sfar OP
1,756 posts
 
Radni

Can you elaborate on why you recommend the Jensen caps rather than Cardas?

Everything I've heard from other owners and the dealers I've contacted has been that the Jensen caps are good sounding but very unreliable whereas I've seen nothing but good recommendations for the Cardas caps.

-thanks for your input
sfar's avatar
sfar OP
1,756 posts
 


Many thanks to all of you for taking the time to give me the benefit of your technical expertise and sometimes hard-won experience. I learned a lot that has helped me get to a tentative decision about how to deal with the amp problem.

I had a great conversation yesterday with John at Audio Connection, the Cary dealer in Seattle. I’d had good dealings with them when I lived there and knew he is very knowledgeable about Cary amps since they not only sell them but repair them, as well.

Unless there is some problem beyond a shorted capacitor they can replace all the caps in the amp, not just the coupling capacitors, for about the same price as the local place was going to charge for just the four generic caps. They have a stock of the discontinued Cardas caps and recommend them very highly based on other replacements they’ve done. Shipping charges will be a factor, of course, but the costs would seem to be very reasonable compared to the alternatives and I do have some confidence in their work based on past experience.

I’ll update with results within a few weeks, I hope.

Thanks again
sfar's avatar
sfar OP
1,756 posts
 
Ltodd - thanks for the response.

Yes, your and other recommendation for the V-caps were pretty persuasive and I was tempted to do the upgrade myself using them.

I opted to send the amp to a Cary dealer I'd dealt with before and whom I trust. He's very big on the Cardas caps and others have had good experience with them so I'm going with that for now.

I do love the amp and wish I had taken his advice earlier to replace the Jensen caps, it would have been a lot less expensive than shipping it to him for the work now.
sfar's avatar
sfar OP
1,756 posts
 
I promised an update to all of you who offered such good advice and experience.

After looking at all the advice and options I sent the amp to John Zimmerman at Audio Connection, the Cary dealer in Seattle, based on my previous experience with him and a couple of reassuring and informative phone conversations.

I had been reluctant to take the risk of shipping but the local shop’s analysis of the problem and especially their estimates of the cost of the repair, seemed completely crazy.

The bottom line is that John replaced all the capacitors in the amp, including installing four Cardas Golden Ratio caps, for a price, including two-way shipping, that was one fourth the price of the local shop’s estimate to replace the Jensen caps, and their insistence I had to buy a complete new set of new stock tubes if I wanted any kind of warranty.

The irony, as I noted earlier, is that a couple of years ago when I took a friend into John’s shop to listen to some speakers and we were talking about my system, John recommended that I replace the Jensen copper-in-oil capacitors because they have such a high failure rate. I didn’t do it then and should have. It would have saved me considerable money and aggravation.

I got the amp back last night, fired it up this morning and it sounds fantastic. It has been an expensive but interesting lesson.

Find the good dealers out there and trust them to do right by you.
sfar's avatar
sfar OP
1,756 posts
 
Fpeel - I can't put my hands on the receipts right now but if I recall correctly it was less than $600 to replace all eight capacitors including shipping both ways. The amp is heavy so the shipping isn't insignificant but the repair price was great compared to having it done locally or sending it to Cary.

Definitely call John Zimmerman at Audio Connections in Seattle. He's a straight-up guy who'll treat you well, based on my experiences with him.
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