Just wanted to post about my positive experiences of re-capping the electrolytic capacitors in my amplifier.

It had been something that I was considering for a while but after being away from my amp over the summer, when I came back to it, I definitely felt like it wasn’t performing as I remember. That was enough for me to push the button to send it back to Russ Andrews to have the 24 capacitors replaced. It is 25 years old, so the original values couldn’t be sourced but instead, higher capacities of the same type (BHC split foil, now Kemet) went in. I was definitely a bit nervous that it might just disrupt the original balance, especially as after a week of having it back on, I was feeling it was getting back to how I remember. I pushed on though and am so grateful that I did. The first night’s listen was a bit concerning, it had definitely got more grip but wasn’t flowing too well. Thankfully it quickly settled down and now a couple of weeks on it is really singing. The extra grip and clarity is a dream. I feel like it has really allowed my new dac to show the best of itself as well, giving great presence to vocals. Having mostly been enjoying my Stax set up for proper listening, I am now back to loudspeakers, so I expect it won’t be too long until it gets to my head and the neighbours are forced to remind me of their existence!

It wasn’t the cheapest of operations, but as it was originally a second hand bargain, I think my total spend is still less than it would be to get something better now. I have had it 12 years, so hopefully it is good for another 10 at least.