What are the signs of caps going in an Amp?
If a filter capacitor were failing in the power supply, its most likely sign would be a hum that shows up, possibly going away if you cycle it off and on, but returning again in due time. This does not sound like a power supply filter cap failing. It could be the amp, but seems unlikely a filter cap is doing it. |
I had once an amp with old caps and after replacement bass got more punchy/dynamic. I don't see how power supply caps can make "muffled sound", but perhaps other (than power supply) electrolytic caps are failing (or something else). In ideal case caps should last 40-50 years, but if your amp gets warm, then 20 might be good time to replace them (noticeable improvement). |
Great question. Because it could happen sooner or later. I knew a case where a power supply capacitor leaked inside 2 years on a big name integrated amplifier. It was making a constantly buzzing sound on both channels whilst still playing music. In fact the buzzing was present on all inputs regardless. It’s probably dangerous to generalise the symptoms because it might depend upon where the leaking capacitors were. My current amp had replacement capacitors according to the previous owner. I don’t know if it’s unusual but there’s literally dozens of capacitors inside this particular model. I can’t remember ever seeing so many inside any other amp. I can also remember when Dell had an issue with leaking caps on their desktops some 15 years ago. Thankfully they seem to have got it sorted pretty soon after and it’s never happened again. Some products on the other hand seem to be immune. My previous amp (Naim pre/power) was left powered on for over 10 years without a hint of a problem. |
What are the signs of caps going in an Amp?First thing you notice if you open the amp, is that the cap top will start to bulge a little, maybe even the sides, some have an X stamped into the top this is a safety pressure release valve, or you see some wetness around the base on the PCB where the electrolyte has leaked out. Cheers George |
@georgehifi I took the cover off the amp and everything looks clean, all the large caps look great, almost new. No bulging, no shrinking on the plastic wrap on them, no leaking anywhere. Took the cover off the pre and same. There were only 2 large caps in the Pre and they weren't bulged on top, maybe a slight bit puffy, thats a technical term. But not bulged. |
maybe a slight bit puffyCould be the first signs, can you take some pics of the puffy ones and post up, use this image hosting https://imgbb.com/ Classe are usually way over spec’d on their caps voltage, so it not likely. And this is a relatively new’ish model, if it were an old early 1990 one then the caps could be sus. https://img.usaudiomart.com/uploads/large/1717936-classe-ca151-stereo-power-amplifier-150w300w-into-... Cheers George |
@georgehifi here are 2 pics from the pre. The ones that I thought looked slightly puffy are the 2 larger ones https://i.imgur.com/YtwPcI1.jpg https://i.imgur.com/d3vZ9cb.jpg Here are the ones from the amp https://i.imgur.com/zV1NdU1.jpg https://i.imgur.com/1CeeqGm.jpg https://i.imgur.com/fFrIJaT.jpg https://i.imgur.com/19hd239.jpg |
Speakers are about the same age as the classe? I had a speaker that would distort only on certain songs found out it was a loose connection in the speaker. I would try the CD player if you hear the same distortion you can use the process of elimination. See if it's both speakers you hear distortion from, switch one cable at a time around try to narrow down what's exactly causing it. Could be anything. |
@jond No dimmers in the room. But we do have an outlet that is connected to a smart home wireless setup to control lights in the room as well as a light switch in the room where the router is located. The router and modem are in a closet in the room one floor above the system. The system is on a 20A dedicated line. |
I did not mean to cross post this but I also posted about this in the digital section since I thought it might be streaming related. But her is my synopsis from tonight: tonight I listed for a little over 2 hours and everything was perfect and resulted in a great listening session. Working from home right now has its privileges. Spent my whole lunch hour on the phone with both Xfinity and Asus. First Xfinity ran some test and did see some errors. I ran a speed test as well as Xfinity asked me to run one while on the phone. It was 212 mbps. At night both my wife and daughter may be streaming Netflix, and they both were last night when I had issues. Xfinity suggested for like $12 more month I could up the speed to 400 so I did, thats pennies a day. Asus helped me with some QOS settings to maximize priority to the Node. Ran a new speed test and now we are at 400 mbps. So tonight I was listening to Qobuz on the Node 2i via Ethernet with the CD player on standby, both my wife and daughter were watching netflix and I had no issues. Tonight was one of the most enjoyable sessions, listening to a couple new artist, everything sounded clear, detailed and wide open. I am not sure exactly why type of line we have from Xfinity. We are in the country, rural area, our area is new construction, less than 8 years, homes are all on like 2 acres so its not congested, but I don't know how much that effects things. |
