Tube amplifier bad caps


Hey,

My integrated tube amp has been experiencing the symptoms of bad filter capacitors. Crackling in my amp is so bad on both channels that I'm afraid ALL of the filter caps will have to be replaced. Tube swapping and tightening the socket pins has had no effect so I'm lead to believe bad caps are the problem.
A pic similiar to the inside of my amp can be found here. Are the can caps or the axial caps what I should be looking at replacing? I'm confident I can do the repairs myself (purchasing caps, discharging old caps, soldering, etc.) since I'm afraid of what the price tag might be for such a repair by a professional repair shop.
hitman_hifi

Showing 2 responses by hitman_hifi

Hmm...now I'm second guessing. A lot of uncertainty as I've been told it's definitely the filter caps. However, the amp is not even 10 years old and I've been suspicious of this assessment. I've seen what cap leakage looks like and they definitely look fine.

I'll try and explain the problem in more detail. Upon startup, the "bacon frying" sound gradually builds and becomes constant once the tubes are lit. The power tubes flicker with every pop and crack. This symptom used to be only in the right channel and now it's in both. As indicated, I've swapped all of the tubes with new ones. I'm afraid I've probably ruined the new tubes because of this.

I purchased this amp used from a local hifi company that is out of business now. I live in a small city so finding a tech that specializes in tube amps will be difficult. Are there any fellow Canucks out there that know of a tech near Regina? As a last resort, I may end up contacting the UK manufacturer and seeing what can be done.

Thanks guys for your help.
Atmasphere-> thx for the assessment. I'm leaning towards a bad contact somewhere. It turns out I've found the local company (formerly the company that went out of business that I purchased the unit from) that is the importer for CR Developments products. I'll make sure to get their assessment and post it here for reference purposes.

Thanks again guys for your help!