replace electrolytic capacitors with solid state, Do i need to replace capacitors on a like for like basis? Options

[john11]

Hi and thanks for reading this post.

Do you think it would be a good idea to replace the usual aluminium electrolytic capacitors on a Zero dac board for the better specs of a solid state (polymer) type capacitor.

I have a Zero dac which reproduces digital sound signals from my pc's usb port and it has 4 aluminium electrolytic's around the dac chip (47uf 35v) which are swollen and leaking and 4x 10uf 63v output coupling caps in the analog section, so 8 caps to replace in all, do you think a like for like replacement of the stock aluminium electrolytics for solid state polymer type caps would be okay in this situation.

I have done a google search and people have performed this on pc motherboards but there is not much on other types of equipment.

Many thanks in advance. John.

[john11]

Hi. Thanks for the replies.

I saw on the amp board quite a few diodes probably for biasing voltages and was wondering if these are worth replacing

with something better, fast diodes, schottky?

Have you had any experience of these.

Many thanks in advance. John.

[Arnold B. Kruege...]

Hi. Thanks for the replies.

I saw on the amp board quite a few diodes probably for biasing voltages and was wondering if these are worth replacing

with something better, fast diodes, schottky?

Have you had any experience of these.

You really need to understand the logic behind "If its not broke, don't fix it".

Biasing diodes are generally highly reliable. They need to have the same forward voltage drop as the origionals which Schottky diodes don't have.

All you seem to be doing is getting training about soldering, because the sound quality impact of what you are trying is generally zero.

If you want to figure out what equipment needs to be up to snuff, first learn how to measure its performance.

A good starting point might be the Audio Rightmark Program - RMAA freeware.