life span/failure rate of filter capacitors?

Since you are blowing fuses, the amp is pulling a lot of current during warmup time. If the filte r capacitors are the cause, then the rectifier tube (if the amp has one) is being stressed an could be damaged. Certainly, replace the caps and the rectifier tube (probably beginns with a 5) if you have one. If the rectifier is solid state, it's proably OK. Happy listening.

@immatthewj  - let me know what happens  I am in New Jersey and can repair any audio component.

Thanks, @bigkidz  , I will remember that.

As it stands presently, I do not think I am having a problem with the amp, but reading that thread that I continue to reference from the OP with a 20 year old V12 which had a (what I am now sure is a ) POWER CAP "explode," got me thinking that I'd rather act proactively than wait to have to clean up a huge mess inside the chassis.

What is probably worth noting about the blowing of the 3A SB AC power fuse is:  that shortly after I bought this amp in 2001 I did a DIY mod (with advice & parts from Cary) that added the Cary Powerbank (which is an external bank of four more power caps, and I cannot find the specs of the value for those caps, nor is it stenciled on the outside of them) via an umbilical cord of sorts.  And I did like the effect--more bass punch was the most noticeable thing, and back then I wasn't having any problem with anything.  Then, in '08, my listening decreased and may have even ceased, and in '10 I officially unplugged it.

But to the AC power fuse blowing:  near the end of '17 I took it out of mothballs and went back & hooked it back up to the power bank.  After a while it started blowing that 3A SB AC power fuse with an increasing regularity:  so much so that I kep a bunch of them on hand.  Finally I decided to use it without the power bank, and, lo and behold, now it only blows that fuse on a very occasional basis.  So I am pretty sure that the power bank did have a cap that was going south, right? 

But I do not want to wait until one of the 21 year old power caps inside the chassis of the amp, itself, goes bad & "explodes."  That's what got me on this latest OCD quest for information.  Changing the power caps themselves did not look like a problem, but so far I haven't turned up any of that value (400 v 560 mfd) with screw in terminals on my internet searches.  But tomorrow I am taking your advice & putting in a telephone call to Partsconnexion.

Thanks again.   

Ask for Chris Johnson and tell him Peter From Vu Jade Audio told you to contact hem.

Thanks, @bigkidz  , I am going to call Monday (after the X-mas holiday, so if there is any holiday madness going on at Partsconnexion that will be done with).  Thanks again.