It is the same more or less here, all cheap stuff except a couple of shops but then the variety in values is not great...
I get all my capacitors from Mouser , if you order 50e or more then shipping via FEDEX is free and DDP (meaning mouser handles all import charges) so after the order is shipped you are just waiting for Fedex to deliver your package.

Thank you, €38 shipping is too steep for me as my subtotal is going to be around €25 but I found Farnell. They also sell by piece and shipping is only €5. Not the best prices but they do offer the best brands I've seen in a long time. I'm really frustrated with the local lineup and it's sad that I have to buy from another country if I want quality. Out of frustration I called a local shop to ask if they are planning on expanding their inventory with Rubycons or Panasonic and they basically told me people wouldn't buy a Rubycon that cost 3x as much as a Teapo. Probably true for the majority of buyers but they should at least have a couple hundred Nichicons in stock just in case. But no.
I'm done with local shops.

Mandrew wrote on 2023-08-12, 09:55:

Teapo, Elite, Samwha/Samhwa, G-luxon, Jamicon, Capxon, all cheap shit from the box.

Teapo, Samwha&Jamicon - good low-middle range.
Elite, G-Luxon, Capxon - cheap shit, its definitely yes.

shevalier wrote on 2023-08-12, 12:09:

Teapo, Samwha&Jamicon - good low-middle range.

I don't know man, not my cup of tea when I want something to last. Other than the occasional mixed reviews I've heard nothing but bad things about these and they can be found in many cheap equipment, especially Teapo. Samwha is in the grey zone for me, I had bad experiences with them failing new out of the box even though they are supposed to be a decent brand. And there is Samhwa that is either a fake or a cheap knockoff but I've had local shops send me some instead of Samwha. I admit that I'm somewhat biased when it comes to Jamicon because I've read too many bad things about them. Never used them before.
I'd rather pay extra and stick to buying known good brands instead of disassembling and reassembling my audio every time a questionable quality cap suddenly fails.

Mandrew wrote on 2023-08-12, 12:41:

and they can be found in many cheap equipment

https://www.chargerlab.com/teardown-of-brand- … -adapter-a2743/
yep, cheap.

If your 5.1 system is state of the art, then you can fork out for even Elna Silmic II.
If this is a regular 5.1 from an unknown manufacturer, then the same Samwha RD will be more than enough.

No need to go overboard, I just don't want to use chinotaiwanese crap if I can avoid it. Feel free to use them, I won't.
Turns out the ELKO brand doesn't exist, it was Hitano rebranded by the store, yet another chiontawinaisium. Can't even trust these shops.

Mandrew wrote on 2023-08-12, 12:41:

And there is Samhwa that is either a fake or a cheap knockoff but I've had local shops send me some instead of Samwha.

I've seen that brand in stuff made in the early 1990s. I thought they were just an old name for Samwha. I even have some of them here that came individually packaged in RCA-branded bags for TV spare parts.

As already mentioned, Apple uses CapXon (even in that ridiculously expensive monitor), along with some companies that don't make consumer products. I don't like it, but maybe CapXon has improved recently. I also suspect that Wurth caps are made by CapXon due to their specs (impedance and ripple current) and marking style being a perfect match.

On the subject of cheap caps being considered "high quality," Kemet is owned by Yageo, who was the manufacturer of Teapo caps.

I personally still use cheap caps on stuff that I consider non-critical, but I don't intentionally buy CapXon. My usual cheap caps are Kemet, Illinois Capacitor, and Lelon (I know people hate Lelon, but I haven't had a problem with them). Elite caps cost about the same as Rubycon on Digikey, so I haven't tried them.

lti wrote on 2023-08-12, 18:16:

I've seen that brand in stuff made in the early 1990s.

I bought a few Samwha 2200u filter caps in 2012 but what arrived was Samhwa. They were weird caps the had a weight imbalance and rolled back and forth like it had a piece of weight on one side. I ended up disassembling one and it looked like a normal cap but I've never seen caps do this, not even bigger ones. I haven't used them. Found someone mentioning the issue and posting a pic:

If these are not fake then it means that it's new old stock, god only knows how old. You can find them for sale on Ebay to this day.

lti wrote on 2023-08-12, 18:16:

I also suspect that Wurth caps are made by CapXon due to their specs (impedance and ripple current) and marking style being a perfect match.
On the subject of cheap caps being considered "high quality," Kemet is owned by Yageo, who was the manufacturer of Teapo caps.
I personally still use cheap caps on stuff that I consider non-critical, but I don't intentionally buy CapXon. My usual cheap caps are Kemet, Illinois Capacitor, and Lelon (I know people hate Lelon, but I haven't had a problem with them). Elite caps cost about the same as Rubycon on Digikey, so I haven't tried them.

Now that's useful information and a cause for concern for people spending more to get quality caps and not wanting certain brands or brands with very bad reputation.
When it comes to pricing Würth is the cheapest (only counting brands that have better reputation) at Farnell but the price difference compared to Rubycon or Nichicon is only like -10-15% so not enough for me to actually consider. For example Teapo is 60% cheaper than Würth so it's probably a good cost-effective choice for people who want to save money. But in the top tier list the Nichicon-Rubycon-Panasonic triangle is still unbeatable when it comes to cost/piece. As long as it doesn't change significantly I'll stick with them.

https://www.we-online.com/en/components/produ … /pbs/capacitors
http://www.samwha.com/
http://www.samhwa-eng.com/index.php/en/history.html

Mandrew wrote on 2023-08-12, 09:55:

I'd like a little help with electrolytic capacitor replacement in an old 5.1 sound system. I know the recommended brands are Nic […]
Show full quote

I'd like a little help with electrolytic capacitor replacement in an old 5.1 sound system. I know the recommended brands are Nichicon, Panasonic, Würth, Rubycon and so on and know what types to avoid but the local supply is very limited. 99% of vendors are selling Teapo, Elite, Samwha/Samhwa, G-luxon, Jamicon, Capxon, all cheap shit from the box. I finally found a shop that sells something different, the brand is ELKO. I haven't found much info on it.
There are a bunch of Panasonic/Nichicon caps on Ebay but are these reliable sources? I don't shop from Chinotaiwanese companies but ever since the EU started imposing import tariffs on them they just stockpile their fake junk in Germany or the UK and act like they are selling legit brands.

So the original question: opinions on ELKO caps?

If they are shit, could you point me to an Ebay seller that offers quality caps, ships to EU and sells the real deal? No China, please. I want this system to last.
Thanks.

The bad news here is that every capacitor will go bad on the long run, even quality brands.
Only quality brand have a long life span before they will go bad.

Robin4 wrote on 2023-08-13, 15:23:

The bad news here is that every capacitor will go bad on the long run, even quality brands.
Only quality brand have a long life span before they will go bad.

True, but I'd rather pay 100% more for a Panasonic rated for 6000 hours @ 105 than a Teapo with the same performance but 2000 hours of life @105 for half the cost. Fully recapping an average equipment costs like $25 so saving money on that is just pointless IMO. $12.50 vs $25 but it involves the same amount of work and I sleep easier knowing that I didn't cut corners. My original question with the ELKO brand (that doesn't exist) was asked because local shops literally don't sell any reputable brands so I was desperate. Not anymore, I'll buy all my parts from foreign shops from now on, shipping costs within the EU are not bad at all.