YOU can conclude whatever YOU likeSo we can conclude brand capacitors are better than cheap chinese capacitors? and a $2000 amplifier should not try to save $10 on capacitors.
YOU can conclude whatever YOU likeSo we can conclude brand capacitors are better than cheap chinese capacitors? and a $2000 amplifier should not try to save $10 on capacitors.
I'd have no problem paying $10 extra to have high quality Japanese capacitors in my amplifier instead of questionable Chinese caps, especially when we are talking a $2000 amplifier then it's not even a questions, everyone would go with that option.
...so in your experience are reputable Japanese caps more or less likely to leak than cheap Chinese ones?
With justification of having seen such components fail. You can question his experience with such components if you like but not concluding that such components don't belong in a SOTA module. This is what a consumer would expect too. I can see your defense as a manufacturer using Hypex modules but those are subject to bias.
That depends on the scale with which they fail and the distribution within various producers assuming the owners even come to know of the reason. This isn't just a Class D issue. Adcom amps for example were notorious for using bad caps in some models and batches that would leak and damage the board and the components around them. It only became known a decade or more later, not at the time people were buying them.
Poor drives from Seagate and WD are well-known but how much data do we have we of a specific computer brand failing from using them? Doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
If I was a consumer looking for something like this in this price range, why would I willingly put myself to be part of a statistic in the future? Like I said before absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence. You are using the same fallacy.
Like I said earlier, the burden of proof would then be on the Hypex module maker/integrator to show that the operating conditions are different in these modules to not suffer the same fate.
This is a rather weak "both-sides" argument.
I think the gent doth protest too much.
High quality capacitors are expensive. The differences between these Hypex third tier caps and premium capacitors is significant.
Hypex use cheap, non premium capacitors in their TOTL power supply and TOTL power amplifier. That is a fact. It is that contempt for their customers
I know you directed the question at Alan, but I could dig out the wall of shame Chinese capacitors I keep in a few boxes and give you a run down, along with the Japanese capacitors I have removed which are still all in spec at 30-45 years of age. I certainly don't have a huge number, maybe the last few years worth of work as they get thrown out.
Japanese capacitors (or at least the Japanese big brands, even though they are made all over the world now) are less likely to catastrophically fail than any Chinese/Korean/Tiawanese caps you'd like to mention. No comparison whatsoever- they hold on in situations where lesser caps explode.
...We should ask someone from hypex...
Great idea. That's like asking Apple if their butterfly keyboard is reliable or asking an OLED TV manufacturer whether burn-in is an issue....
Or maybe go ask Louis Rossmann about Apple's quality and reliability? Which do you think is more qualified to give you the truth?
Do we know how chinese manufacturing an QA process has changed over years?
to think that inside these speakers there are cheap chinese capacitors ... would really cool me down ... and would not incite to a total peace of mind because here in case of breakdowns it would be a very big problem ...
They are great. We have a small carbon one for light weight, and it is superb (light and stable). We use a Leitz balhead, but I am still waiting for the first ultralight fluid video panhead that can also do vertical still shots. We now have to take two heads.Gitzo tripod
Do you think Mouser Electronics, a company owned by Berkshire Hathaway (Buffet) would sell Su'scon, Samwha or Aishi? Let's find out!
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Nope.
Let's have a look at Farnell (Element 14), RS components, Digikey etc and see what brands they sell.
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See any Su'Scons? Or Samwhas? Aishis? Nope.
RS:
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I could go on but you get the point.
If these component suppliers, companies that supply manufacturing, research, aviation, the military, and HiFi manufacturers don't stock these crappy capacitors, why should you, the consumer get them in a TOTL amplifier module and SMPS from Hypex? Answer: You shouldn't.
They would be too powerful for my Quad 2805s though. I know, I control the volume, but still.These amps with their high voltage capability would be just the ticket for big electrostats like my Soundlabs
I don't have any vested interest here since I am not in the target market for this kind of amp.
But for anyone that does DIY PC builds, PSUs without Japanese capacitors is a non-starter except for the very low-end < $50 PSUs in budget builds. So much so that even Chinese brands and ODMs that build PSUs advertise use of Japanese caps in their PSUs. And this is in a $100 PSU for a typical $1000+ build! So, I don't get why this isn't an expected thing in high-end audio when people are paying much more. Even just as a precautionary measure. The price difference isn't a deal breaker.
The problems with capacitors in PSUs are well documented and tiers well-established. For example:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supplies-101,4193-5.html
The above link contains the brands arranged in tiers.
While PSUs undergo a lot more temperature stresses than perhaps in this audio use, the top tier ones are also preferred for better QC in their production within their operating range.
What I expect will happen is that one of the Hypex integrators is going to put out modules with Tier One capacitors (unless Hypex arrangement forbids it) as standard and make that a big selling point (as the amount of TLC that goes into their products). All the competitors are then going to jump in with their marketing brochures screaming how they care about the longevity of the product and use only the best components.
Its funny, I have had a small number of enquiries regarding offering a NC2K based amp and when I ask what speakers they plan to use with it they have all been completely incapable of handling the power. Very few domestic speakers can.They would be too powerful for my Quad 2805s though. I know, I control the volume, but still.
I put out the call; does anyone know anyone that has had a capacitor failure in a hypex or similar class D module, in the 10 to 15 years they been out, that can prove it; thus far?