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Does anyone have experience purchasing Elna audio capacitors from eBay or Amazon. Looking at larger size 10000uf 63volts. Amazon seller tells me they are they made in China not Japan and manufactured BY ELNA from ONE OF THERE APPROVED LICENSED Manufactures branded Paialu for some reason. They look just like the real thing including type font. On 1 version of these the photo has black colored material on the top with no visible cross slits. Possibly painted metal. They sell for $20.45 for 4 of them. Sounds too good to be true considering Elna is generally known as a top tear cap manufacturer. Another Elna same size version is similar except they look just like the power caps in my 2 Audio source amp3s with the usual cross slit on the metal top. They sell for $17.98 for 2. That would seem to be more in line with reality. By no means am I a electronic repair tech but have fixed several electronic items using ESM meter. Tcom board and power supply boards in TV. A couple car amps. Just fixed a old Sony 209ES High Density CD player with new belt and cheap made in china laser assembly. Works and sounds awesome no skipping for now anyway. I purchased my Audiosource amps used several years ago. They both started acting finicky during start up and pulled from my system. Both have 4 of these powercaps and all are swollen on top with no visable leakage. Unfortunately my ESR meter is only rated up to 10000uf 35volt caps not sure if the reading I am getting is accurate, but they test good on 1 amp. These older 2 channels made in Taiwan amps have a amazing build quality for budget gear with large heavy toroidal transformer, 40000uf 63v power supply, weighs 28 pounds, conservatory rated 150 watts/channel or 400 watt mono into 8 Ohms but it is debatable whether or not they are worth paying someone else to repair or spending much $ to make a attempt at to stablelize. Any advice on caps would be appreciated.
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Fleabay/Amuzun who knows what you are buying.
Nothing wrong with trusted suppliers; Mouser, RS, Farnell etc.Support for Fender, Laney, Marshall, Mesa, VOX and many more. https://jonsnell.co.uk
If you can't fix it, I probably can. -
Ebay and Amazon are just selling platforms. Some sellers are good, some dishonest. I've bought plenty of excellent parts from both and some reputable suppliers have been using these platforms for 15 years or more. I've also bought fakes or items that have turned out to be junk from unknown sellers, but mainly with my eyes open. I have my own rule when taking a chance - is the price low enough for me to throw it in the bin if its no good and not cry over it?
I've had good responses directly from manufacturers when I've asked if parts are genuine and sent a few pictures with my concerns.
Can you post a link to the caps in question?Comment
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I would assume that they are fakes. A lot of the listings say 'replacement for ELNA' and list the brand as Paialu.
If they were ELNA parts, the brand would be stated as such.Originally posted by Enzo
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Not knowing much about caps and which one to buy I have been relying on online info. Several people had a consistant list of what they are refuring to as top tear caps. / Rubycon / United Chemi-Con (or Nippon Chemi-Con) / Nichiren / San yo/Sun con / Panasonic / Hitachi / FP CAP or Functional Polymer Capacitor (ex-Fujitsu caps segment, which was bought by Nichiren) / ELNA. The most readily available seem to be Nichiren and Elna. The known reputable sellers that I can find (Mouser, RS, Farnell, TME, FUTURE ect) sell these caps but the budget friendly versions are sold out or available for back order. Probably for a good reason. I was trying not to overspend on a experiment that may not work our. Finding something like Nichiren part # LLS1J103MELB or Nichiren part # LGU1J103MELC from a known dependable seller seems impossible at this point. The swollen caps in my 2 20 + year old amps are Ellen and look remarkably similar to the cheap eBay, Amazon ones available for sale.
Quote from seller:
Hi friend, So sorry our poor English, because our poor English , so our product only simple details. It is #1 Real original Elna capacitors, but we need to said it again, they made in China not Japan. And manufactured BY ELNA OR ONE OF THERE APPROVED LICENSED Manufactures in CHINA. Made in Japan ELNA very expensive, so many people will be thought China saller fake ELNA, but ELNA made in China not expensive, because labor, plant building, tax revenue Cheaper than Japan.
Thanks for your understanding
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Another quote after asking for a manufacture part #:
Hi friend, We throw away the external packing, it includes 50pcs items in the one external packing. We need to 2pcs / pack sent to amazon. If you need the picture , we will keep external packing when we stock with goods next time. They have number with different batches. ELNA belongs to M rank capacitors (you can see the picture), it will be have ±20% tolerance for uf. You bit 1 pack (including 2pcs items) first time. You can return to amazon if they don't fit you, you need to pay return shipping cost sent to amazon, and contact amazon servise returned money to you. We cann't handle anything with amazon order. Thank you very much!
Unless somebody knows different I most likely will go with off brand caps. CORNELL DUBILIER,MULTICOMP PRO or similar from a seller like Newark or Mouser. Thanks for the help. Here's a link to the Elna caps that I had been considering.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...RXV2P6SN&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...&psc=1a
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My feeling is these are fakes. They may be OK, but you won't know unless you buy them and take a chance. It could be they're low-spec generic manufacture, or a can with a smaller radial cap inside that may be nowhere near the rating of the original. The same caps are sold on Aliexpress in two entirely different bulk packs - some with PE foam separators, some in cardboard boxes. This alone makes me suspicious, as does the absence of the characteristic 'sword' indent in the end. Underneath the plastic disc may be a cross, which may indicate it isn't Elna.
If a branded item is sold by multiple vendors across Aliexpress, Banggood, Amazon or Ebay (especially if the brand is associated with quality, reliability or performance), I assume it to be fake. Usually, profit levels on fake items are the reason why such items proliferate. Genuine parts in current manufacture by recognised manufacturers and sold through authorised vendors don't usually end up here. The sales channels for genuine components are much narrower, prices higher and there's full traceability.
That's not to condemn those selling platforms - that only does a disservice to genuine sellers - but nowadays when buying anything at all, we're swimming in a sea of sharks.
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