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Are new audio caps hard to find?

Old Guy8

Old Guy8

Cliff & Cleo
Subscriber
I have a Marantz 1060 at a Tech for a full recap restoration
First time I got it back from him. The subwoofer I used with high level inputs, wouldn't pass power on to left speaker. (Subwoofer now has an issue.)

1060 went back to tech. He said DC problem with left channel. Then a left channel hum issue. Says he's worked on it 11 hours troubleshooting it.
He wanted and got all the old caps back, that he gave me. Says he suspects one of new large caps defective. Going to use old caps to diagnose it.

To the point, of thread:
A couple different times he's said new caps are hard to find. Is this the case?

He previously bought a full set of 38 caps for it. I know he's underwater on this project.

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Yes. Nichicon is discontinuing some audio grade caps for one.
I've even had problems finding physical sizes in the values I needed in any brand.
Don't be afraid to use other brands like Panisonic, United Chemcon, Kemit, Mundorf, etc. Even a lot of the general purpose caps have better specs than what the factory used back then. Recently I had to do a lot of searching for some 450v 30mm and 35mm caps in the values I needed for a tube guitar amp I restored. I could only find the values I needed in one Japanese brand and they were 20mm. I had to buy clamps to fit, and drill new holes to mount them.
 
I have a 140 amp flayed open like a dead carp here because half of the caps I needed were not available when I ordered a couple months ago. Some of them won't be in stock until May of 2023 according to Mouser.
 
Tech doesn't think it caps failure now but another component.
Says this DC coupled amp is worst problem amp he's had this year.
 
t4t3r said:
It’s not a dc coupled amp so I would probably make the very difficult decision to take it to someone else.
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I appreciate the advice. Too far down road for that.

With new wood cabinet due next week. Have too much money in this 50 yo clunker already.
 
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t4t3r said:
It’s never too late to get it into the hands of someone competent. :)
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If money was water.
Got More $ in it, than it's worth.
Would be worse if I hadn't initially just paid $20 for it.
 
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@Old Guy8 Hey, don't worry about a thing. I have purchased 1060 myself some 6 months to a year ago. Beautiful little, excellent sounding but still very powerful Amp. All the parts are available. More or less. No problematic components inside. Well, some things are a bit harder to find but with the generous help of fellow AK members I went into gathering all the parts needed for this restoration. Despite the fact that the previous owner was the first owner and only Power Supply was refreshed (3 or 4 Caps), and the Amp. wasn't abused and running all up to specs, I decided to give it a new life anyway. Capacitors mainly! There are a few "problematic" transistors in the circuit but if components are OK there really isn't any reason to change everything. I went with all the Caps, resistors, trim pots and I even decided to get NOS high quality transistors from reputable source. Which I did. All in all, a small box of parts for a new 40+ years of casual home listening. The most expensive parts are 3 big filter/coupling Caps. I bought somewhat expensive Mundorf Caps in Germany. A fellow AK member suggested I should try them because he was really surprised with them. Those 3 buggers were expensive but they need to be replaced. Caps have only that much life and if the Amp. has been heavily used or abused, well, they must go. I still didn't open it to go through the entire process but this winter, when outside is cold, I am planning to go board by board and do the full restoration. I am also not an el. eng. nor the expert but 1060 is really nice and simple Amp. to work on. Even for non-professionals like me. ;-)

There, I hope this helped like I got help here on AK. Advice-wise or really nerdy and highly technical. And some fellow AK members will help you in an excellent manner.

Best of luck,

Krešo

PS: if your tech can't tell DC coupled from Capacitor coupled I suggest change him.
 
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Krešo said:
@Old Guy8 Hey, don't worry about a thing. I have purchased 1060 myself some 6 months to a year ago. Beautiful little, excellent sounding but still very powerful Amp. All the parts are available. More or less. No problematic components inside. Well, some things are a bit harder to find but with the generous help of fellow AK members I went into gathering all the parts needed for this restoration. Despite the fact that the previous owner was the first owner and only Power Supply was refreshed (3 or 4 Caps), and the Amp. wasn't abused and running all up to specs, I decided to give it a new life anyway. Capacitors mainly! There are a few "problematic" transistors in the circuit but if components are OK there really isn't any reason to change everything. I went with all the Caps, resistors, trim pots and I even decided to get NOS high quality transistors from reputable source. Which I did. All in all, a small box of parts for a new 40+ years of casual home listening. The most expensive parts are 3 big filter/coupling Caps. I bought somewhat expensive Mundorf Caps in Germany. A fellow AK member suggested I should try them because he was really surprised with them. Those 3 buggers were expensive but they need to be replaced. Caps have only that much life and if the Amp. has been heavily used or abused, well, they must go. I still didn't open it to go through the entire process but this winter, when outside is cold, I am planning to go board by board and do the full restoration. I am also not an el. eng. nor the expert but 1060 is really nice and simple Amp. to work on. Even for non-professionals like me. ;-)

There, I hope this helped like I got help here on AK. Advice-wise or really nerdy and highly technical. And some fellow AK members will help you in an excellent manner.

Best of luck,

Krešo

PS: if your tech can't tell DC coupled from Capacitor coupled I suggest change him.
Click to expand...
Maybe I'm the one who confused terminology of DC coupled and Capacitor coupled. I've a mechanical design, not electrical background. Greek to me.
My tech has 25+ years experience.
 
I honestly can't tell you anything regarding your guy only that 1060 is Cap coupled design. Cap coupled, in my limited experience and only from logic and deduction, has Caps in the path (towards the output, to speakers) which are there to block excessive DC (voltage) on the output (speakers) terminals.

I know for fact it's not that simple but please read more about this at any number of electronic forums or reputable sources.

Have fun restoring your nice Marantz Amp.!
 
Krešo said:
I honestly can't tell you anything regarding your guy only that 1060 is Cap coupled design. Cap coupled, in my limited experience and only from logic and deduction, has Caps in the path (towards the output, to speakers) which are there to block excessive DC (voltage) on the output (speakers) terminals.

I know for fact it's not that simple but please read more about this at any number of electronic forums or reputable sources.

Have fun restoring your nice Marantz Amp.!
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:

When not loaded you will see dc voltage.

Tony
 
tonebells said:
:thumbsup:

When not loaded you will see dc voltage.

Tony
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Thanks Tony. I read that recently in another 1060 thread here. I didn't know it prior to reading.

When I get this back. I will be apprehensive about useing my better speakers with it. Already may have damaged sub from prematurely thinking it was fixed.

If I had some resistors for dummy load for checking for DC with meter?
 
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My advice to you is - no. Don't fool with electricity and electronics if you're not up for it. Listen to some more knowledgeable people here who suggested you to take your 1060 to someone who knows how to restore it to it's former glory. Ask around and I am sure someone will help you out with complete overhaul. Marantz 1060 is really nice sounding and nice looking Amp. and not that hard task for seasoned pro.
 
Krešo said:
My advice to you is - no. Don't fool with electricity and electronics if you're not up for it. Listen to some more knowledgeable people here who suggested you to take your 1060 to someone who knows how to restore it to it's former glory. Ask around and I am sure someone will help you out with complete overhaul. Marantz 1060 is really nice sounding and nice looking Amp. and not that hard task for seasoned pro.
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Thanks, im always careful. It's with a tech for restoration.
I've done home wiring etc. Took Electronics in school. It didn't sink in.
 
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Sometimes a specific amp can throw a specific tech for a loop, even if the tech is decent. I think it can be a case of not seeing the forest for the trees, and I think a second opinion might be useful.
 
maxhifi said:
Sometimes a specific amp can throw a specific tech for a loop, even if the tech is decent. I think it can be a case of not seeing the forest for the trees, and I think a second opinion might be useful.
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You may be right. But, I'm not spending that much on it. At least at this point. He has over 25 years experience. Says this one has been the Dog of the year so far.
When I thought it was fixed. I ordered a new reproduction wood cabinet from an AKer. Due tomorrow. So I'm in for a dime, and for a dollar.

If I was smart. Would have sold it when just had $20 in it. It's the eye candy draw of Marantz. Should have recapped my Bryston instead.

My tech has been comparing notes with another tech, on 1060 he has. He will be comparing the 1060s.
 
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I found the 1030's and 1060's to be some of the easiest to diagnose and work on. There are a few signal transistors that can go noisy, but it's easy to replace them with something else. I had one 1060 come to me in chunks and pieces. Someone had tried to repair it and failed. One thing to remember is these were produced over several years and some minor changes were made along the way. Mostly just some resistor value changes. So you really want to go by what the factory used and not just rely on the schematic.
 
I’ve rebuilt a lot of 1060s. They’re pretty easy, for the most part. Your tech is not inspiring confidence. The new caps aren’t going to be bad—they’re reduced at the factory, and the odds of getting a bad one are virtually zero.

At this point I can do a full 1060 rebuild—caps, transistors, diodes, new bridge rectifier, power switch, light, trimmers—in about 4 hours. Your amp should not be sitting there for months.
 
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