How to Bypass electrolytic caps


My Spectral amp doesn't have film caps bypassing its power supply electrolytics. I am exploring using some film caps to bypass these to cope with the inherent dryness of the amp. How can this be done? Does it involve extensive wiring or is it typically something straighforward? Thanks.
rayz

Showing 1 response by ptmconsulting

Another suggestion that I learned while upgrading my amp some years ago. The bypass should be physically closer to the transistors in the amp. Technically the electrolytics are powering the transistors. So a small value film cap would do more good closer to the transistor than just where the electrolytic connects to its board.

However, there can be too much of a good thing here. You may not want to bypass every transistor since that could tilt the balance of the amp too much to the top end. You also want to voice the bypass differently depending on the type of electrolytic used. For example the JC1 uses Nichicon Gold electrolytics, and a Relcap RT as its bypass at the end of the rail (this per Bob Crump who voiced that amp for John Curl).

Disclaimer: Please consult an engineer about the viability of doing this in your amp, and I make no claims to knowing anything about MOSFET based circuits.

Enjoy,
Bob