Best reservoir capacitors for Naim NAP 160

Hi gents,

I'm about to rebuilt a bolt down Naim NAP 160 (ser. 1507) and I would like to get your opinion on the best pair of reservoir capacitors to use.

I hesitate between these 3 :

-1 : Nichicon KG Gold Tune, 10 000 uf, 63 Volts, dia. 40 x 80 mm long
-2 : Nichicon KG Super Through, 10 000 uf, 50 Volts. dia. 40 x 100 mm long
-3 : Vishay MAL2050, 10 000 uf, 63 Volts, dia. 40 x 70 mm long

This selection is based on what's available and what I think works fine. Also, I prefer the lug terminals to the bolt on screws for ease of mounting.

Thanks for sharing ideas.

 

Id go with BHC (now Kemet)

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/aluminium-capacitors/3819100/

 

Thanks for the link for the Kemet but I am from Canada so I don’t know if this will work......

I sent them an email so we’ll see.

 

I agree about the BHC but I use the Nichicon KG a lot and they are also excellent, the superthrough ideal with the big solder tags
Alan

 

I'm not much of a believer in "audio" capacitors for PSU filtering. I'd go with the BHC/Kemet or the Vishay (or a Nichicon LNR).

 

For a good reason - the requirements are very different.

 

Nichicon KG always tend to sound little bit too analytical in every circuit I've used them. Just the other day I've pulled them out of Salas L-Adapter inserting Mundorf AG which sounded better for my taste.
If Mundorf AG seem costly BHC or F+T are good substitute. Absolute best are the Sikorels and Rifa but they screw type and big to fit in a tide place (not to mention that especially Sikorels - EPCOS/TDK - are hard to find)

 

I have used these with great success: https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/KEMET/ALT22A103CD063?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtZ1n0r9vR22fO6w97XsJYB6RxB%2Beb97Y0=

They are direct replacements and if you are careful you can lift the old buss bar connectors out of the old caps and drop them back in and re solder them to the new caps.

And of course they are readily available on this side of the Atlantic.

 

I have purchased from RS and I live in Toronto. Also try some Mundorf's from Parts Connexion, here in Burlington, Ontario.
https://www.partsconnexion.com/mundorf-electrolytic-capacitors.html

Good luck - Julian

 

i used these from mouser https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetai...=sGAEpiMZZMtZ1n0r9vR22fqp084l1X3er8GMABHdfi0=

 

Wow !
All very good suggestions so thanks a lot to all of you gents !

 

0 in stock, factory lead time 48 weeks.

 

with 299 on order and an estimated ship date of Jan 10th!

 

Just so you know gents, I went with the Nichicon KG Super Through for availability reasons and also because they were the largest ones in size so longer lasting ?
Anyway, the break in period is done and then amp sounds wonderful ! I am very surprised a so old and so simple design sounds that good even compared with contemporary units. Definitely a keeper for me as I can listen to music over very long periods of time without any fatigue so it’s a good sign it sounds right for me.
Acoustic guitar is simply breathtaking with this amp, specifically with Fleetwood Mac’s The chain !
Thanks again for your recommendations.

 

Nah

https://www.mouser.co.uk/KEMET/Alum...minal/PEH200-Series/_/N-1z0znw3Z75hqzZ1yzxebt

The undisputed king of psu caps, no ifs, no buts. Just buy the size/ value that suits.

 

Not surprised F&T are a good substitute for Mundorf as afaia F&T make the caps for Mundorf.

 

Any reputable make will do just fine. The model range used and the specs are what one needs to check on but it's all vastly less important than audiophiles seem to think! It cracks me up every time I see a thread about "what MAKE of capacitors should I use?"! Do people think they all have rival pixies in their basements that make different pixie dust blends maybe? Many buy their etched foil from the same bulk manufacturers!

Once you know the required capacitance and working voltage the next most important spec (assuming use as PSU smoothing caps) is ripple current rating. After that the worlds your lobster... all brands will have ranges with different life specs, ESR, temperature rating etc etc and you pays yer money and takes yer choices...

Generally the "best" are those once described as "computer grade" electrolytic capacitors and which are physically large and have screw terminals for connection. At the other end of the scale there are 1000 or 2000 Hour rated snap in caps etc and price for one 10000uF 63V cap can vary from about £2.50 to £40 depending on life and spec!

Strangely enough most manufacturers will use the cheapest that will last the guarantee and sale of goods act period.... most these days choosing "unheard of" Chinese brands that, in bulk, may be only say 50p each for the small snap-in types! Even many "reputable brand" makers of >£2-3K+ amplifiers often use these types these days... I see it all the time.

Good practice in layout, grounding and specifying sufficiently thick wiring etc completely outweigh which brand is used!

The PSRR of amplifiers is another area which varies wildly with different topologies.... Some very simple but wonderful sounding class A amps have very little PSRR and the high current demand makes things worse still... You may need several 22,000uF caps with added L or R filtering between them to get inaudible hum from a 10W amp!
At the other end of the scale some "chip amps" of say 40W have such good PSRR that you can bung any old cheapo caps of only 1000uF in as the smoothing caps and yet they will be silent with ear against speaker! I've seen many pro PA amps of say 300WPC that use only a single pair of 4700uF 100V caps as their smoothing...

 

Evox phe, 32m ohms, some as low as ten vast ripple, huge15000 hours lifetime. Honestly, if your building none hifi stuff, industrial power supply boards, mission critical stuff, its these.

 

Some industrial caps are very well suited for audio use, Sikorels and PHE169/200 to name a few.
Most of them excel in ripple current measurements and most likely in ESR.
A cheap alternative is to use many plain good caps in parallel. Even big buck audiophile amps do just that.

 

It's a popular method these days