Hi Brenden, thanks for the link, but always a bit apprehensive about buying parts out of China/HK....
Do you have any datasheets for Starget showing this size/capacitance? The only datasheet I can find (linked below) has values only up to 6800uF/10V, and none with the same form factor (25 x 50). Searching for this size/voltage only returns this seller and a few others from china (taobao). Was there another range of Starget other than this datasheet ?
http://www.diyaudio.gr/downloads/starget-ROD.PDF
Hi Omodo . The datasheet for the caps you found is for the leaded ones .I don't have a data sheet for the larger pin caps .
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Unfortunately the data sheets for older Elna caps are almost non existant , especially the large ones .
Its a little like trying to buy TDA1541A s2 chips .
Firstly you need to know the finer details of what you are looking for with Elna caps .Things such as the marking on top of the cap ,but some of them have a piece of black plastic that cover the vent stamp which is the shape of a sword . The colouring and gloss of the plastic cover is good for these caps .When I purchased mine ,I checked the pins with a magnet ,as Stargets have OFC pins and leads .The ones I got were non magnetic .
The shape of the pins where they attach to the rubber are in the distinctive shape of a heart .
Good caps usually have a weighty feel to them for their size . Also the general look and feel quality of Elnas is higher than most .If anything looks out of place ,I would pass .Starget capacitors were not produced after around 2006 ,at least for the European market .There is also a date stamp on the side of these Stargets ,which were manufactured in 98.
Being older caps I prefer to over rate the voltage so should be no problems while they reform .
The other thing that could be a give away is the amount of these being offered on the market. There are very few of these ,so I don't think it would be worth the copy expenses for caps for this kind of quality finnish ,unless they were making lots .
Brand new Elna caps especially the large ones are very hard to source ,even through their agents .My guess is that they concentrate their efforts to large equipment manufacturers ,rather than small time retail .The retailers that sell Elnas only seem to sell a very limited range .To confuse matters further, many of the audio manufacturers like Marantz ,and Sony would order special caps to their specs .Hard to pick if some of these being offered are genuine .I would be more concerned about the many new Thailand made caps being offered through China .
The problem with fakes is difficult now (not just caps),and for new, available parts ,I always buy from companies like Parts Connexion , Element 14 or other well respected outlets .Some parts like these caps ,are like vintage gear .The only way you can find out is to try it .
But in the end ,the proof is in the pudding ,and top quality Elnas sound excellent in all respects ,but with different flavours from Silmic ,Cerafine and Starget . So for an outlay of about $25 was worth a try ,and all I can say is that in my opinion these caps are genuine,but if by some very small chance they are not , they still sound fantastic .
I bought quite a few big Cerafines from Parts Connexion many years ago ,and lots of smaller silmics and Cerafines ,still stored away.Also have some" For Audio" Elnas .I also have plenty of Nichicon Muses and various other " audiophile " electrolytics that really didn't seem to excite me all that much .
The reason I bought these is that they were a higher grade cap than the brown one ( steel leaded ) in the CD94 used for the TDA1541 ,but still able to fit it in without too much modification .I did need to bend the pins and file a little .
I think this would be a critical cap for sound quality in the CD94 but appears to me that designers chose an average part for this position .