MLCC caps from China

[billstein]

Was browsing Ebay and saw all these great prices on MLCC caps. They are the yellow ones that look like Tayda's. Anybody have any experience with these?

[GermanCdn]

I've bought a few packages off the bay, your results may vary.  Of the ones that were a high enough value for me to check with my DMM, there was probably about 10% of them that were way out of spec.  Not bad for the price, but if you can't measure them, it's as much a crap shoot as anything.

They look remarably similar to the Tayda ones.

[mremic01]

Tayda's are Z5U. Aren't those bad for audio circuits?

[pickdropper]

Tayda's are Z5U. Aren't those bad for audio circuits?

Depends where in the circuit really and how close to their rated voltage they are being used.  Temperature is also a factor, but that likely won't come into play on a guitar pedal.

I never use Z5U because they are fairly crappy and only a few cents cheaper than getting a better cap.


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[pickdropper]

To answer your question Bill, if you don't know what they are, I wouldn't buy them.  Some of the cheaper caps have wildly open tolerances.  +80/-20% isn't uncommon.  That's in addition to the temperature and voltage fluctuations I mentioned above.

A better bet is to check Newark periodically for sales.  If you catch them at the right time, you can get good quality MLCC caps for a couple cents a piece.


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[billstein]

To answer your question Bill, if you don't know what they are, I wouldn't buy them.  Some of the cheaper caps have wildly open tolerances.  +80/-20% isn't uncommon.  That's in addition to the temperature and voltage fluctuations I mentioned above.

A better bet is to check Newark periodically for sales.  If you catch them at the right time, you can get good quality MLCC caps for a couple cents a piece.


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I checked Newark for x7r's and they were expensive. Is there a cheaper brand etc. that you look for?

[pickdropper]

To answer your question Bill, if you don't know what they are, I wouldn't buy them.  Some of the cheaper caps have wildly open tolerances.  +80/-20% isn't uncommon.  That's in addition to the temperature and voltage fluctuations I mentioned above.

A better bet is to check Newark periodically for sales.  If you catch them at the right time, you can get good quality MLCC caps for a couple cents a piece.


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I checked Newark for x7r's and they were expensive. Is there a cheaper brand etc. that you look for?

Not really, you just have to catch them when they are on sale.  Usually their MultiComp (house brand) are priced reasonably.

But I also don't have a problem paying 10-20 cents for a cap if I am buying in small quantities (although I usually buy 100 or so as the price breaks get better).  It's a marginal increase in the cost of the pedal and I'd rather use a better quality part.  The Tayda ceramics are pretty lousy.


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