VOGONS

recaping soundcards

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First post, by truemaster

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hello im looking to recap my 2 soundcards those are
awe64 ct4380 the only awe64 with ide header
aureal vortex 2 sq2500
the question is what capacitors are nedded? would be general purpose? low esr? audio grade?
and what diferences can have if general vs low vs audio grade
cant say i have any issues but those are old and better safe than sorry

Reply 1 of 2, by majestyk

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As replacement for electrolytics up to 4.7µF I use miniature (metallized) polyester capacitors like "WIMA MKS2" 50V or 63V.
https://www.wima.de/en/our-product-range/meta … pacitors/mks-2/

The form factor is very small (5mm pitch), they have very low losses, low tolerance (5%) and they don´t dry out or age.
I also use them in audio equipment.

For values > 4.7µF high grade electrolytics are the better choice.
For example Nichicon ES Bipolarized electrolytics:
https://www.nichicon.co.jp/english/products/pdfs/e-es.pdf

If you´re not into High Fidelity any Tier 1 manufacturer like Rubycon, Nichicon, Panasonic or Nippon Chemicon will be perfect.

Reply 2 of 2, by truemaster

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mm cant say ive seen those caps replace the ones in soundcard before (wima mks2) and why bipolar? the 100mf 330 mf ones in the cards are polarized

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