Burning in caps before putting them in amp?

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J Harris

Burning in caps before putting them in amp?
« on: 11 Dec 2005, 10:13 pm »
On the analogy of the cable cooker for speaker cable, I was wondering if there exists a way to burn in caps before actually connecting to them the circuit.

I've got my 2 large 22uf Black Gate caps for my projected 100 N+ balanced conversion mode, but I won't be able to start until mid-January or so.

I remember how the little Black Gates took forever to open up in the original amp.

I'm wondering if there's anyway to introduce some currernt into these caps to keep them cooking while I'm on my travels and other responsibilities over the next few weeks, so that when I return my AKSA into the system I won't have to deal with that harder new cap sound again... and which will enable me to concentrate on the sonic changes (if any) wrought by the overall balanced mod, and not just new components in the amp.

What do you guys think - cuckoo idea?

Best,
Patrick (J Harris)

nareshn

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Burning in caps before putting them in amp?
« Reply #1 on: 12 Dec 2005, 02:58 am »
(This is just a thought - i don't know this works or is recommended)
What if you have 2 timers - one on the dc side and one on the load.
One timer switches on the rectifier to charge the caps and later the other
one discharges the cap into a load resistor .The RC time constant decides the time o discharge.Some resistive load would always be required even when charging the caps.
This is only a idea.


Geoff-AU

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Burning in caps before putting them in amp?
« Reply #3 on: 14 Dec 2005, 09:14 am »
you can "exercise" a cap beforehand but i've heard reports that once you solder it into an amp it needs to re-settle anyway!!  I guess the conclusion is your milage can and will vary...  :)

i'd have thought exercising the caps beforehand would eliminate their break-in period.

Greg Erskine

Burning in caps before putting them in amp?
« Reply #4 on: 14 Dec 2005, 09:27 am »
Thought experiment??

If caps need to burnt in, then you must be able to pre-burn in a cap before inserting it into the final circuit.  :evil:

I've never heard of anyone successfully pre-burning in a cap, so....

andrewbee


rabbitz

Burning in caps before putting them in amp?
« Reply #6 on: 14 Dec 2005, 04:23 pm »
Cap rack didn't work for me  :(

avahifi

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Burning in caps before putting them in amp?
« Reply #7 on: 14 Dec 2005, 04:29 pm »
Burning in components reminded me of the story about two ladies searching for a new pet at Christmas time.

At the pet store the owner strongly recommended a parrot he had named Chet.  Chet had an unusual talent he told them.

Using a cigarette lighter, he waved the flame under one of Chet's feet on the perch.  Chet raised his foot away from the flame and started to sing, "Jingle bells, jingle bells - - -".  The two ladies were amazed.

Then the store owner did the same thing with Chet's other foot.  The parrot raised that foot and sang, "silent night, holey night ---" and the ladies were astonished.

Just then the phone rang and the store owner had to leave the ladies alone with the parrot for a while.  They thought, well, what would happen if we ran the flame under both feet at the same time, and they did just that.

Chet began singing, " Chet's nuts roasting in an open fire ---"

Merry Christmas to all you component burners in.  :)

Frank Van Alstine