Recapping


I’ve read electrolytic capacitors wear out and need replacing from time to time, but after how many years?

I recapped my speaker crossovers after 27 years, but they still worked - they just sounded better afterwards

My NAIM 5i just stopped working after 10 years..

But I ask - why didn’t my 20 year old Denon stop working with the same problem or even my 30 year old Yamaha receiver that I passed onto my friend. Both are STILL working great!

My Luxman L530 class a/b amp still worked when I sold it after 11 years

So is it the circuit design (high current design) that causes the caps in the NAIM to wear out so quickly?

Does the loud "discharge" thump when initially turned on (specific to NAIM Gear) cause premature wear

Should I not have left the amp turned on 24/7 ? (which I only did for about half of those 10 years)

Is it related to the parts that NAIM uses?

Would having better quality capacitors (like Mundorf) last longer?

Seems strange that much cheaper amps and receivers have a longer lifespan

It would be nice to understand why this occurs with "some amps"

Thanks for any feedback - Steve


williewonka

Showing 2 responses by erik_squires

The triad for life is heat, age and ripple.

Do Audiophiles "accept" the fact that their gear might not be as long lived as more commercial products? 

Compared to what, a stove?  A blender? A car?

For consumer electronics I think it's the other way around. What piece of consumer electronics are you not going to fully replace in 10 years or less? Your PC, Phone, networking and TV gear has an average home life of 5 years, don't you think? We're going the other way, we're trying to keep gear running long after the product has ceased production.


Best,
Erik
The electrolytics are what wears out, and the 1980's are a lot worse than the 2000 era caps.

High temp caps wear less quickly