Have you tried places like Digikey and Mouser?

You can get individual components from them and they usually have a wide selection, and you can filter by specific applications (e.g. audio).

I've been using a vendor on Ebay called Lead Electronics. They sell Nichicon caps in small quantities and have reasonable prices and shipping.

Digikey and Mouser if you are putting the parts into something you plan to use regularly.

You can also get capacitor "kits" from the usual skumbags at ebay and temu, if the item is just used rarely or otherwise expendable. I've spent a good chunk of change on cheap parts kits for fixing items around the home.

As for shipping, when it comes to digikey and mouser, my only advise is to combine a couple orders into one. Buy in bulk of the more common parts. and otherwise just suck it up and grow a pair, to use some crude vernacular.

There are a stunning number of fake caps up for sale. Buying from Mouser and Digikey ensures that you will get authentic ones. Never buy from Amazon, and only buy from eBay if you have a trusted and reliable source.

As for selection, the capacitance is most important but you have flexibility with the voltage. The listed voltage is the maximum it's rated for so you can choose a cap with a higher voltage and it won't adversely impact the circuit unless it's so much higher that the characteristics of the cap changes. For example, if you can't find a 4.7uF 50V cap but can find a 4.7uF 75V cap it will likely be fine.

Whilst you are clearly not in the EU, what with using $ for currency in the OP, it’s worth adding for those reading in the UK/EU that Farnell and RS Components are the go-to resources to avoid fakes and eBay scalping pricing for components.

LChackr wrote on 2023-07-28, 14:57:

There are a stunning number of fake caps up for sale.

What exactly constitutes a fake capacitor? How do I know if I've bought one?

you likely wont notice, unless it pops or the device you put it into doesn't work.

As paradigital indicated, Farnell is a good source, so if you are in the U.S., Farnell is known as Newark Electronics: https://www.newark.com/

Regardless of the capacitance and voltage ratings, you probably also want to consider the physical dimensions of the caps as well, particularly electrolytic capacitors. A replacement capacitor won't do you any good if you can't place it where it needs to go on a circuit board or in a housing due to obstructions or other components. So lead spacing, cap height and cap diameter may be crucial in some circumstances.

keenmaster486 wrote on 2023-07-28, 17:17:

What exactly constitutes a fake capacitor? How do I know if I've bought one?

It varies widely. The best case with a fake is that it came from the official factory but failed QA testing because it was out of spec and sold off at a steep discount. In that case you might never notice.

luckybob wrote on 2023-07-28, 17:27:

you likely wont notice, unless it pops or the device you put it into doesn't work.

Right. The problem is that you often don't know until it fails. And that can be its own miserable situation, especially if you have to trace the problem back to a specific cap, assuming it didn't just blow its top off and make it obvious.

The advantage here is the caps are for a microphone. No high voltages and no surges to be expected, no high ripple currents, no high frequencies, no extreme temperatures.
Although I´m usually very picky when it comes to sourcing capacitors I would be very relaxed here - nearly _every_ capacitor will do a good job here and last for decades.

Thanks for all the replies. I went with Digikey. It's quite weird to select one seemingly random model from a list of hundreds. I just picked the ones that were rated for longer operation, in stock, and wire terminal. At first I thought I would get Rubycon. But they didn't have a 10uf 10v. So there was a fancy Nichicon for that one. Then I decided to go the "fancy" Nichicon route, once again, one random one they didn't have so stuck with Rubycon there. Probably makes absolutely no difference.

For all I know the ones in the microphone are good. But I am having "clicking" electronic noises with it, so I figure I will do what I can. Assuming I can solder anything at all. If it still does it, the old microphone is going in the archive and I will have to figure out a new one.

paradigital wrote on 2023-07-28, 17:04:

Whilst you are clearly not in the EU, what with using $ for currency in the OP, it’s worth adding for those reading in the UK/EU that Farnell and RS Components are the go-to resources to avoid fakes and eBay scalping pricing for components.

Just a note on this, Farnell doesn't sell to private customers in every country, at least in mine. I can buy from them through couple electronics stores acting as middlemen, though, but there is little bit more hassle that way. Those electronics stores I use and which deal stuff from Farnell carry a decent cap selection overall, but if I need something a bit more exotic or some specific series, I might need to use some of these "big players" to get what I actually need.

I have also recently started to use Digikey. Orders over 50€ are with free shipping and VAT is automatically added at the checkout and there is no need to make a customs declaration later. Digikey is also fast, I got my last order of components in three days. If you just need few caps, Digikey is not really an option because the shipping costs make things expensive as stuff is delivered across the pond, but I'm bundling required stuff of few projects, so I can order larger number of components at the same time.