Recapping an NAD 1020B

ericc129

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I need to recap my NAD 1020B....obviously all the electrolytics will go first and be replaced. I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction in terms of which ones to get....Leesonic used to have a parts list but people kept stealing his name and putting his signature on thier work so he quit providing lists....and understandably so.......anway, ig there are any general rules of thumb it would be appreciated. I assume Nichicons KL/or low leakage, etc. for eveyrthing in the signal path and for power supply board. I also, I do notice that it can sound a bit "Tinny" sounding in the treble....should I worry with bypassing caps to tame the sibilence, etc. ......anyway, I'm npt trying to reinvent the wheel, I just want good solid audio performing capacitors....It seems panasonic gets good reviews, but I also like to save money as much as the next guy and will happily replace all my electrolytic caps with the same brand and specs per whats already on the board.
I've recapped various caos before many times I just have never done a whole unit at the same time. Me believes it shall be time to pop my cherry.....seems like such a nice a neutral preamp, but needs recapping and cleaning
Thanks,

Eric
 
first off, replacing caps in a 20-30-40 YO unit is a good idea. like original tires on a 1983 corvette.

as far as caps go, there are the Panasonic, Elna, Nichicon camps. I like the nichicons myself.

you will need to review the parts list, the schematic, and the board layout to generate
a list of caps by type (electrolytic, film, ceramic, mylar, mica, tantalum), value (pf nf uf)
voltage, polarity, width, height, and lead spacing.

Nads are famous for midstream changes, undocumented ones, etc - the integrated 3020 had
several versions so the list will be different. your best bet is to tackle this like a degree thesis
(rather than as a gas fill-up) and learn as much as you can in this particular area. it will serve
you for the rest of your equipment - now and in the future.

as far as lists go, do you trust someone else's list that may not be totally correct, complete,
or correct in terms of size/value/voltage/temperature/etc? and even if you use one,
you would be missing all the decision making that went into the list and more importantly
the specific reasons for each.

each of the above attributes has a reason - width for example means you cannot use wider
caps if they are next to each other and there's no clearance, they all have specific reasons.

you'll need to examine the circuit to determine what to order and what upgrade to make.
research why a small value coupling electrolytic cap is replaced by a film, etc.

search and you will find a list of nichicon caps in audio, power, and general use. and their
rankings but caution, some "good" caps aren't available in all values and/or voltages.

also, you can combine caps (generally voltage) order to get a discount by going over qty 10
use the larger voltage on each value but subject to the physical dimensions. and don't
get too religious about ESR - any modern day cap has better specs than 40 YO caps.
(what they always forget is that in certain circuits a higher ESR is better, google...)

a short summary: unsolder each, measure, pull replacement, measure, solder in and
do this one at a time. mark polarity of each cap to be replaced so you don't wire them
in backwards and cause explosions.
 
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