List of best and worst capacitors - I WISH I knew this before I started throwing them!

Not every manufactor makes a great capacitors, that's why there are tiers or classes of capacitors. But not every single manufactor, for instance Nichicon, make every capacitor equally, so thats why there are series of capacitors. When you find a good looking capacitor first check on net if that series of capacitors are any good.
First Tier (Japan):
Nichicon
United Chemi-Con (Nippon Chemi-Con)
Rubycon (be careful, there is Rulycon which looks nearly the same, but a lot worse (last tier)).
Sanyo/Sancon
Panasonic (most of the times there is a M logo on the capacitor)
Hitachi
FPCAP (Functional Polymer Capacitor)
ELNA
Marcon (if you see them, they are at least 25 years old, there are four numbers written on them, for instance: 9110, that means the capacitor is made in 10th week of 1991. Some other capacitors also have this)
First Tier (US and Europe)
Cornell Dubilier (US)
Illinois Capacitor (currently owned by Cornell Dubilier)
Kemet Corporation (US) (you probably won't find Kemet's nor Vishay's capacitor in consumer equipment because most of them go into automotive, telecommunication and industrial use, but ceramic and tantalum capacitors are very good)
Vishay (US) (same as Kemet. ROE is also a Vishay capacitor)
EPCOS (currently TDK company, Germany)
Würth Elektronik (Germany)
Second Tier:
Teapo
Taicon (belongs to Nichicon)
SamXon (they are worse than other capacitors from second tier)
Toshin Kogyo
Elite
Daewoo (sometimes only the logo is shown, and logo looks somewhat like Huawei's)
Third Tier: (first six capacitors are ones that are better than others)
Jamicon
CapXon
Su’scon
OST
Partsnic
Lelon
Aircon
Canicon
Chhsi
Choyo
CTC
DST
Fuh Yin
Fuhjyyu
Gloria
G-Luxon
GL
Gsc
Hec
Hermei
I.Q.
Jackcon
JDEC
Jee
Jpcon
Jun Fu
Licon
Nkcon
Nrsy
Pce-tur
Raycon
Rubysun
Rulycon
Skywell
Stone
Supacon
Tayeh
Tocon
Wendell
Yec

[@Tranzeis]

Since you can't even use the correct spelling "Manufacturer" I don't blame you not knowing this stuff before

[@theoneohmresistor]

hahahahahahah, thats cool

[@andrewlim7751]

This must be a very very young kid dunno what he is talking, and "electrolytic" capacitors, even Panasonic wasn't mention. 😂😂😂

[@theoneohmresistor]

@@andrewlim7751 how young are you thinking

[@andrewlim7751]

@@theoneohmresistor The school children around me sounds more matured and logical than you, so I imagine you're younger than them?? 😁

[@andrewlim7751]

@@theoneohmresistor Telya what, B4 putting up the video ...try to learn what is Panasonic when talking about electrolytic caps. 🥱🥱🥱

[@DrakDeth]

you're a king for just putting the tier list in the description, thanks for this vid.

[@migsvensurfing6310]

Very good video on the topic without it being 3 hours long. It is incredible how much can be said about a simpel device like a capacitor, they are just not that simpel. Thank you.

[@AsurmenHandOfAsur]

I the red M stands for Matsushita which is the old name for Panasonic Corporation. It is the name of the founder of the company Konosuke Matsushita who foundered Panasonic in 1918 as a lightbulb socket manufacturer!

[@PackardDog]

KEMET is right up there as well. I use them often for smoothing caps. They excel at handling ripple.

[@Pulverrostmannen]

I use a Kemet 13000uf 500Volt capacitor in a power supply I built. it is a HUGE beast!

[@bdg77]

Best I ever found - from tear down of old oscilloscopes- interstage coupling caps of amazing performance.

[@Andy-xn9zn]

What about Electrocube (US) and Wima (Germany)?

[@ManuLeisure]

any thoughts about Hitano caps ?

[@johnheaton6705]

Wow fantastic and a list too, that's going on my workshop wall. Thanks

[@radiotec76]

Great info! I think you should have included Fischer and Tauche, or T&F, as they're known in Europe. They're a German manufacturer of high quality high voltage electrolytic capacitors. They're largely known in the vacuum tube guitar amp field but I'm recapping some CW ham radio transmitters and am using T&F capacitors because it's hard to find axial electrolytics with high voltage ratings.

[@markthackray3185]

Ok so I refit a Sherwood Newcastle amps capacitors. For the main filters I used some jccon caps. When I got them they felt heavy, no rattles ect, and they have been fine. Can't find much info online about jccon - you any clue if they are any good? They were affordable compared to other brands. Enjoyed your video 🙂

[@wowitsshit9734]

i want to know this also

[@rfmerrill]

One brand I hear about a lot and have also found in a lot of cheap stuff is ChongX or ChangX (the font makes it hard to tell what it's supposed to be). They're unremarkable.

[@theoneohmresistor]

there is chongx and changx names, they are copies of one another... Sh*t quality manufacturers copy one another, great

[@andrewlim7751]

@@theoneohmresistor What do the Chinese copy? Do capacitors have things to copy? Just curious. 😂😂😂

[@vermillionreaper]

@@andrewlim7751 i see you must be a lonely loser for bothering plp on the internet, also you must be butthurt to reply that since he stated an obvious and deductible assumption of chinese brands who try to replicate well respected brands, which so, he stated an irony of they even replicate their own "fake" brand. But you are probably blind from all the salt you haven't wash out in years.

[@markthackray3185]

@@theoneohmresistor chongx caps will explode even before the rated voltage. They are terrible.

[@jenntek.101]

@@andrewlim7751 They have done this for decades. My sister is in "Patent Law" and she said because of the "Intellectual Property Rights" - Once a patent is past its "Patent life" --- anyone can copy it. So......................... They basically have zero morals, and no intellectual ethics. I know... Lots a huge words (not saying your dumb)... Basically; they are thieves.... and we are practically forced to buy inferior items from there because all the US and other manufacturers across the planet have sold out to them. CEOs and all the "high sitting" corporate owners chose greed over quality. Not to mention, all the job losses from selling out. I hope corporate greed bits them in the A$$ when inferior products fail. Meanwhile, we are left with a pile of poo to deal with every time we purchase junk from CHYNUH. It will be a long time before we see many great items "Made in the USA" again. If you can salvage "Old" components from things; do it... Everyone wanted to "save" money, but, in the end, crap breaks, and you buy another one... Our "disposable" world started in the 1980s, and its never slowed down.

[@markthackray3185]

Should of seen the naff caps that came out an amp I recently fixed, NAD c352. Most were leaking and pretty much useless. Used Panasonic caps to bring it back to life.

[@C十]

Are wima capacitors good? Are KEMET and Vishay safety capacitors suitable for electronic musical instruments?

[@thomasward00]

Most of the Japanese cap companies are making theirs in China and Malaysia..... My new Arcam Amp has some Samxon, Teapo, Nover and JUNZL caps. Taiwanese and Chinese caps now are fine.

[@philg4116]

Sure, fine if they're made to spec. Then these Chinese outsources can hold onto their contracts. Otherwise, the Chinese (and Chinese owned controlled cos in Malaysia or wherever) cut every corner there is.

[@koningklootzak7788]

Japanese brands are much much better

[@thomasward00]

@@koningklootzak7788 Most of the Japanese brands are making their caps in China....

[@yahirmejia5179]

What is the quality of Teapo LG series?

[@jimmyschmidt14]

I have a 2003 Daewoo CRT TV with all G-Luxon caps and it still works. So 3rd tier is still good I guess.

[@Frankentoane]

So how did you arrive at this list? Measured ESR? Capacitance? True voltage rating? How the brand sounds?

[@Mr.Leeroy]

"I've never seen them, but I know they.."

[@delroyshay5870]

Don't see Kyocera/AVX in the list, but yeah their are in the top tier.

[@ShimithDomencio]

what about Korean Samyoung caps? i know LG and Samsung use them in their TVs. according to nippon chemi con website they own 34% of the company

[@carbendi]

I am wondering if you ever tested JCCON capasitors. (Spesifeclly 1000uf 35v 10mm*20mm one).

[@primrosesakul..3808]

it was exploded after 500 hrs (JCCON 10000uf 35v) if it's good why Big electronics company in china (eg HUAWEI) does not use them with their OEM parts they are still looking for cheaper Korean caps.

[@JMNTN]

toshin kogyo, i recognise them from being used in new luxman amplifiers. I wouldn't think they would use lower grade caps in high end audio equipment

[@theoneohmresistor]

There are some Nichicon caps that are 2000h rated... There also exist second tier cap manufacturers which make a capacitors that outlast and outperform the first tiers. Good name does not always mean awesome quality. Those toshin kogyo caps could be rated 105°C with low ESR, low impedance and so on. Long story short, second tier caps sometimes aren't always really that worse than the first tier. And nope, I don't have any juicy memes :/

[@LBCAndrew]

A lot of older Luxman amps use Nippon Chemicon capacitors. For what they charge for their amps, i was quite surprised.

[@compuguy123]

What about Chengx?

[@engin4232]

Is the capacitor of this brand good? JCCON

[@nachom1971]

What about German F&T capacitors? They should definitely be in the first tier list.

[@ramencurry6672]

Capacitor of the gods

[@sonusancti]

Hi. You overlooked Samwa, tier one.

[@huyendoan5885]

What about Yongming capacitors? Anker used in charger

[@ugurata5366]

what brand/type do you recommend for main filter capacitor in my amplifier?

[@theoneohmresistor]

Depends on the temperature, but get whats cheapest/most available from first two tiers, but *don't* buy 85°C rated caps, they wont last long, so go for 105°...

[@radiotec76]

It depends if you're suing a tube amp or solid state. For tube I would go with Fischer & Tausche electrolytic capacitors.

[@lllllllllllllllllllll1lll1]

4:30 that's a Panasonic FC series, not M series. Great caps, very popular with the audio crowd. My only complaint would be a low hour rating for many values.

[@mikecamps7226]

The ROHS formulas for the chemistry......first thing I look for in the spec sheet is rated hours. The "NEW" chemistry is suspect and a whole new ballgame specially with the fiasco with the "brown leaky caps" that plagued the computer motherboards......it was all Asian rim origins with electronics and parts with China as supplier of the ingredients....think chemicals, and if they supply with pure or adulterated chemicals or dilute.....as opposed to a non Chinese chemical supplier and quality control when accountants push price and thus China wins ! When you deal with solid state and an electrolytic becomes a signal capacitor/filter for signal...as opposed to power rail duties......there lays the problem with solid state and ever degrading chemistry. I'm a vacuum tube guy, so other than a cathode bypass...its all Power Rail for electrolytics in my arena

[@345rvv]

Hola, hay una marca JCCON, no la encuentro en tu lista, la conoces ?? donde quedaría ?

[@andreyMishov]

Second

[@primrosesakul..3808]

@@andreyMishov Third tier it was exploded after 500hrs on my device.

[@blejzerosamigos6115]

How about AudioNote caps?

[@Uraim]

Samwha capacitors? i got 2 of them 63V 2200uf but they both having different scale of cut at the top. one is an X mark which having thin cutout, but the second cap top is an + mark which having little bit wider cutout. kinda weird

[@SpinStar1956]

Thanks!

[@moodesigner]

Im planning to pimp out my new analog mixer with mostly Elna SILMIC II audio electrolytic capacitors (allegedly Elna use sink instead of paper). What are your thoughts on Elna SILMIC II VS Nichicon Gold line?

[@theoneohmresistor]

You won't able to hear the difference from one another, because the datasheet is similar, only difference is 85° or 105°, if the capacitor is near heatsink/poor airflow you should go for 105° rated caps... If not, most originals are 85° and they will be fine.

[@jlev505]

Samwha are Korean caps and are well made and last a very long time. I have some that were in a infinity beta digital 300 amplifier and lasted 27 years, before I recapped with the same caps. Hopefully I get another 27 years.

[@SacreDro]

What about Jinghai?

[@JC-11111]

Nice. The guitar pedal I just bought came with Nichicon Gold and orange drop caps. I figured they were great but not top tier. Nice!

[@andrewlim7751]

I took out all my electrolytic capacitors and replaced them with really top tier ones. 😁

[@ramencurry6672]

Those caps are excellent.

[@Schlipperschlopper]

I even use 3rd tier brands for recaping old hifi stuff never ever Problems with 63V FuhYin Hermei Jackcon and Jamicon ---BUT with expensive boutique bcaps as Nichicon Muse and Elna Durolux those leak and ruin the boards....

[@HyperlinkSE]

Ketuo are what Tier?

[@allahasan6631]

Hallo i have a harman kardon car amp ca5250 it have all susicon caps if i replied them with a nichicon caps it gona make a difference and if you think i should replace them where i can get genuine caps and not Chinese copy

[@theoneohmresistor]

Hi! Are you sure they are susicon caps? Maybe you meant Su'scon. That brand is good enough (Su'scon). But if they are not gone bad, you are not going to notice any notable difference. I recommend staying away from eBay and AliExpress, and other sites. Go for recommendations in your country.

[@allahasan6631]

@@theoneohmresistor ya man my false your right its a su'scon caps and they are good so no need to replace them thanks mate

[@theoneohmresistor]

@@allahasan6631 Happy to help!

[@dibyamartandasamanta583]

Mouser/Digikey

[@toddzino58]

I have a power supply board in a soldering station that has all JCCON capacitors. No idea if those are any good?

[@theoneohmresistor]

ugh, sounds like a third tier

[@henriksrensen5958]

nichicon used in gryphon amplifiers

[@theoneohmresistor]

Nice info! Gryphon looks like a good quality amp

[@viktork.8737]

and what about their uniqe vents on their top sides?

[@theoneohmresistor]

oh yeah! I forgot to talk about vents... you can easily recognize the capacitor manufacturer even from top

[@NeuronDeepFreeze]

How about Mundorf? From Germany.

[@theoneohmresistor]

Yeah, they are great, but I didn't include them in list, because they make them in PP (polypropylene) form (high voltage, suitable for mains and amplifiers, because of the AC). I never saw them, probably because I don't have very premium amplifiers :/

[@NinthDensity]

I just replaced some blown caps with some Panasonics and its a noticeable difference.

[@theoneohmresistor]

yup

[@markthackray3185]

@@theoneohmresistor 😁

[@SevenDeMagnus]

New subscriber here.

[@theoneohmresistor]

thank you, i appreciate it!

[@SevenDeMagnus]

Thanks. How about the Eiechip brand, SMD solid capacitor? Which First and 2nd Tier don't have fakes ones, yet? God bless, Stay safe, Advanced happy Easter. See you all in heaven 21:4

[@theoneohmresistor]

eiechip capacitors, are in the middle, not bad not great... i never saw a fake Illinois capacitor, so i guess it could be the only one thats not copied so often... thank you for spreading positivity! 😊

[@SevenDeMagnus]

@@theoneohmresistor Hi, Is this a good buy? This LCR meter (for occasional video game console repair attempt) that looks like a multi-meter? Can you measure the capacitor without desoldering it with this meter: 2J` P1510 Thank you. By the way, what's the difference between and ESR meter, multi-meter and an LCR meter? God bless, Happy Easter! He is risen.

[@syaz4380]

How about capxon?

[@theoneohmresistor]

Mehh, third tier quality... Samxon are good-ish ones tho.

[@taineasy]

What about Mallory large value filter caps?

[@theoneohmresistor]

Hi Mike! Mallory caps are a very good quality, and look on the capacitor for CDE marking (Cornell Dubilier), if it has that, then the capacitors are quite fresh. Could you say in which PSU or amplifier they can be found? If you are making the PSU for example, try to go with highest temp rating (105°, and stay in the coldest range possible, so they last a looong time). A fact: 10°C can make a huuuge difference in a capacitors (for instance, at 40° the capacitor lasts ~50000h, but at 30° ~100000h).

[@noface960]

Thanks, ( M ) = 20% tolerance

[@ericschulze5641]

The M has to do with tolerance, m=20% tolerance & has nothing to do with the brand

[@rfmerrill]

Are you Hungarian? I ask because your voice very faintly reminds me of Peter Lorre

[@theoneohmresistor]

no 😊 im from serbia

[@CheapDayReturn]

Interested to know how you measured the quality of the caps in your study. How did you test for actual capacitance, leakage, ESR, lifetime vs the manufacturers given specs? If you are just going by the name on the can and not measurement and reliability testing this is a pointless list. At no point in this video do you mention any form of measurable quality comparison.

[@theoneohmresistor]

Nope, but it is based on my experience about capacitors. Whenever I see third tier I measure the ESR, and it is nearly never at manufacturers rated resistance... But when I measure even the oldest ROE/Marcon capacitors, they are close to spec, or somewhere near 80% of the rated spec (from 1989). Goes the same on other top tiers capacitors. I measure nearly every capacitor, and third tiers are most of the times atleast ±30% out of spec (if they aren't special series/105°C+ rated)...

[@shanghaiyongmingelectronic5673]

the first tier list you made bcoz you havent tried YMIN capacitor.

[@theoneohmresistor]

I see them in lamps sometimes, but I really think they are 3. tier.

[@philg4116]

My DTV set top box stopped working when a cap failed. All the caps in it are "Sunvika", ie inferior Chinese garbage that doesn't even make your shit list. I got on Mouser and ordered a set of quality low esr caps with the longest hour ratings they had in stock to replace the whole lot of 7 electrolytics I pulled.

[@andrewsawesome]

SamXon is pronounced Sam-Jon

[@theoneohmresistor]

wait, j like justin, or j like ying yang?

[@dnyaneshyadav3436]

Can you supply the Capacitor to India.

[@theoneohmresistor]

Hi! I'm not a capacitor distributor, so you must buy it from internet or from the store.

[@cesaru3619]

ncc is trash most bulging i've seen on old mobos are ncc.

[@theoneohmresistor]

any capacitor is going to bulge after its designed lifespan...