Parts is parts....or not

[Jonesy]

I've been slowly assembling parts for the Toshiba 3950 mod and I have everything except the Black Gate capacitors. With all the mod talk around here lately I've also been interested in upgrading the crossovers on my 7bs. I'm a novice in this regard (my newly purchased soldering iron isn't even out of the package yet) and have a couple basic questions about parts in general.

Is the upgrade potential of the 3950 based on the value of the parts or the brand? Would another, comparably priced, 6.3v 47uf capacitor be an acceptable substitute for the Black Gates, or is the improvement in sound quality based on the Black Gate part itself?

Just for clarity let me explain the connection to the crossover upgrade parts. I wanted to pick up the crossover parts locally from Madisound but they don't carry Mills resistors. While I was ready to go with Eagle metal oxide resistors I thought I'd combine all the parts I need for both projects. Madisound dosen't carry Black Gate or comparable value parts. So I figure I'll check PE, as they have the Mills that seem to be preferred for the x-over upgrade, but they don't carry Black Gate either. However they do carry this (http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=027-352). The specified value of the BG is 6.3v and these are 100v. Would this matter?

Sorry for the long deliberation about a realitively minor issue (at least as far as financial investment in a system goes) but like I said, I have almost no experience with electrical values. I'd really like to just order a bag of stuff from one place and get started but if chasing down Black Gate capcitors and Mills resistors from different vendors is worth the effort then I will go forth and pursue! Thanks for the continual input of great info!

[Early B.]

The brand of the caps makes the difference. So don't buy the generic PE caps.

[treitz3]

Where are the best places to get the best caps?

Jonesy, you might want to consider getting a solder sucker if you have no experience, or a solder wick. Be careful, and good luck with your project.

[Jonesy]

I got both a bulb and a wick.....and a brother-in-law who does this type of stuff for a living :D

As far as getting caps, I dunno. I am only really familiar with PE and Madisound. Although I just got a bunch of stuff for the 3950 mod in from Digi-key.

Early B., I assume from your comment the Balck Gate are worth chasing down then? They seem to be hard to come by, at least for lazy types like myself. Would another non-house brand of like values be worth considering?

[bikerboy]

Hi
I used the Rubycon ZA and ZL caps from Ref Audio Mods and thought they opened the top up compared to the Panasonics recommended in the Vinnie mods. I didnt use BG so I cant compare to them.

[heiney9]

For caps that are in the signal path, Black Gates are considered the best sounding for electronics (non-speaker x-over). There are others on here much more qualified to give you some alternatives. I've heard Nichicon are very good as well, but they have several different levels of caps.

Black Gates are very expensive and you could probably spend 1/2 as much on another brand and still get 90% there, IMO. I am looking to replace PS caps on an Adcom amp and I'm at a loss as to what to get. Another big issues is size, depending on space you might find the exact part you want to use to upgrade only to find it won't in the space on the pcb.

The thing with the 3950 is that is was a fairly common unit to mod so there should be loads of info on the net w/all kinds of recommendations and tips.

Keep us posted.

H9

P.s. I know many of the DIY guys on www.diyaudio.com get parts from www.mouser.com I'm not sure but you may have to order in quantity.

[heiney9]

Hi
I used the Rubycon ZA and ZL caps from Ref Audio Mods and thought they opened the top up compared to the Panasonics recommended in the Vinnie mods. I didnt use BG so I cant compare to them.


FWIW, Rubycon is a very good choice also.

[Jonesy]

Hi
I used the Rubycon ZA and ZL caps from Ref Audio Mods and thought they opened the top up compared to the Panasonics recommended in the Vinnie mods. I didnt use BG so I cant compare to them.

Which voltage did you use?

[bikerboy]

http://home.nc.rr.com/keihin/toshiba3950/vinniemods.htm
http://johnswenson1.home.comcast.net/3950_mod/Toshiba_3950_3960_mods.html
I used these for a start and added a Jensen 4 pole and rectifier for a smoothing cap. I used Auricaps 450 volt/0.47 uf for the output caps.
I did the vinnie mods on the power supply side and the swensen mods on the audio side. I changed two others on the audio side I will have to look elsewhere to find it. Hope this helps.

[Sumbrada77]

Hey Jonesy you can get the Black gates and many others along with Mills resistors at www.partsconnexion.com They are in Canada but are a very good company. I am in the process of ordering crossover upgrade parts from them as we speak. Good luck.

[F1nut]

You can also get Black Gate caps from www.soniccraft.com

To answer your other question, you bet quality parts make a difference.

[Jonesy]

Thanks for the leads folks. I'll be pursuing them very soon.