rodman99999 - Thanks for the link to Madisound, good info to have around. itsjustme - Not so good...
Replacement capacitors exploding
I replaced the capacitors in the crossovers in my Klipsch KSM-1 stage monitors.
There is a capacitor that runs parallel to the woofer which had blown in a couple of my dozen stage monitors. They are from the 90s, which is not ancient, but I figured maybe that age is a factor so I swapped them all out.
The replacement capacitors have all of the same numbers printed on them but are a fraction of the physical size, and in just one season almost all of them have blown. I don’t think they were being pushed harder.
Is there a way for me to order capacitors with the same specs printed on them that are also heavier duty in some other way?
There is a capacitor that runs parallel to the woofer which had blown in a couple of my dozen stage monitors. They are from the 90s, which is not ancient, but I figured maybe that age is a factor so I swapped them all out.
The replacement capacitors have all of the same numbers printed on them but are a fraction of the physical size, and in just one season almost all of them have blown. I don’t think they were being pushed harder.
Is there a way for me to order capacitors with the same specs printed on them that are also heavier duty in some other way?
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- 58 posts total
For best performance and long term reliability, crossover caps MUST be NON polar FILM capacitors PERIOD. You should NEVER use electrolytic capacitors for that purpose (well, they may be kludged back to back but forget it). Furthermore, you should pick ones with the highest voltage rating that you can find, since they are subject to AC voltages in the crossover. You can NEVER go wrong with higher voltage ratings. Buy the HIGHEST voltage rated version that you can find. They will be more expensive, but you will sleep better. If you have accidentally used electrolytics, they will blow almost immediately. Here are some excellent examples: https://www.partsconnexion.com/Jantzen-film-caps.html The silver ones are rated up to 1200 VDC, which is probably ok for about up to 300VAC, which is more than any power amplifier can ever put out and they will outlast your house. |
BTW…. NP/BP electrolytics are super easy to make. They are just polarized electrolytics mounted back-to-back. The cans are connected together. But the capacitance value is halved. For instance, 2 1000 uF polarized caps can-connected makes a 500 uF NP cap. The voltage rating stays the same for both. Not rocket science here, folks! |
- 58 posts total