Electrolytic caps - quality vs price

[GusS]

I'm talking about high voltage filter caps for tube amps.

Beyond spending extra for considerations such as preserving the original look, has anyone noticed an actual difference in quality between brand name and no name caps? For example, a F&T 47uf @ 500 v axial cap is sold for around $10. For that money I can get 10 generic Chinese caps. We're talking about filtering out noise here, not tone, so I think durability would be the main criterion. I don't mind spending extra if they're actually going to make a difference, I just have not noticed one.

[tomteriffic]

No definitive answer one way or another, but there was a bit of industrial espionage going on in the Far East electronic component world a few years ago. One cap manufacturer swiped another's electrolytic recipe. Trouble was, the recipe wasn't finished yet and there was a whole rash of electronics out there with bubbled, split, etc. filter caps. I know that the Panasonics were not affected, for whatever that's worth.

[triodecr]

I recently had my PC monitor die due to crappy electrolytic power supply caps.

Several months back I installed a 500V F&T in my Dr Z Maz Jr (so the entire supply could handle 500V) and also used them in the PS of my Dumble clone.

You have to decide if you want to risk having to redo the job in several years or (hopefully) a decade from now.

If there were chassis room, I would personally just do them all with poly caps and be done with it.

[Armitage]

My buddy at work has a power quality monitoring business, (he's now tied to Google), and just got a whole bunch of prototypes made in China with counterfeit parts in it. The first samples were fine... you can't trust the name on much of anything anymore.

[GusS]

so what kind of filter caps do you guys buy for your non-marshall vintage amps? no-name or f&t/ce/sprague atom etc

[seeker]

Oops, sent a report.

Have heard good things from folks I trust on F&T and Tech Caps.

I still have Mallory/CDE TC series caps in my stash, but they are crazy expensive now if you can find them.

I'd be very leary of buying generic power filtering caps of any type. Have seen some cut open that seemed too light in weight and sure enough, they had a same -value- cap inside, but smaller body with lower power rating.