Nichicon Capacitors, series differences - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: volvo_nut_v70
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2020, 04:27:46 pm
content: In doing some repairs involving electrolytic recapping there is a large number of Nichicon electrolytic caps of different series available on Digikey. While there is much info and wisdom on tantalums, I didn't find much on electrolytics.The conventional wisdom is that a higher voltage rating is fine, a high temp rating ie 105C or better is desired along with the longest operating life at rated temp. This is what I have dug out of the web for what it is worth.I am not the author of these summaries, the links are at the bottom.Start:After much confusion perusing many data sheets, I listed the major points by type in one place. However, there are those that claim it really doesn't make a lot of difference for audio quality. Not all values are available in all types, so you may need a mixture.Here is the summary:NICHICON ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORSTVX Axial General PurposeUSA General Purpose (USR smaller, UST high temperature)USR General PurposeUMA Standard, Low Profile (UMT high temperature, UMV long life, UMF low impedance)UHE Miniature, Low Impedance, High Reliability (UHD lower life)UKL Low LeakageURS Low Profile (URZ high temperature)URZ Low Profile, Wide TemperatureUPM Low Impedance, High Reliability (UPW smaller)UCS Miniature, High Reliability, High Ripple (UCA larger, UCY smaller)UVR Miniature (UKL lower leakage, UVK smaller, UVZ high temperature)UVZ General Audio, Miniature, Wide Temperature (UKT higher audio quality, UVY smaller)UKT General Audio, Wide Temperature (UKA higher audio quality)UMW Standard Audio, Low ProfileUKA High Grade Audio, Wide TemperatureUFW Standard Audio (UFG higher grade, UKW higher audio quality)UKW Standard AudioUFG High Grade Audio MUSE (UKZ higher grade)UKZ Premium Audio MUSEUPJ SMPS Low Impedance (UPS smaller, UPV long life)UPS SMPS Low Impedance, MiniatureUPV SMPS Low Impedance, Miniature, High ReliabilityUPW SMPS Low Impedance, Miniature, High Reliability (UTT long life, UPA low impedance)UTT SMPS Miniature, High ReliabilityUDB Bipolar, Speaker NetworkUES Bipolar MUSEUVP BipolarThe VX caps I just got are blue but axial.Here is the Nichicon color schemeAudioKA Pearl Blue/BlackKZ Black/GoldFG Gold/BlackKT Pearl Blue/BlackKW Black/GoldFW Gold/BlackSW Gold/BlackMW Gold/BlackUQ Black on top of caseES Green/BlackDB/GD Black/WhiteSpecial EquipmentAS Dark Brown/WhiteAQ Dark Brown/WhiteJB Black/WhiteTM Black/WhiteKL Black/WhiteHigh ReliabilityPM Dark Brown/WhitePW Dark Brown/WhiteTT Dark Brown/WhitePA Dark Brown/WhiteHV Black/WhiteHD Black/WhiteHE Black/WhitePJ Dark Brown/WhitePS Dark Brown/WhiteTS Dark Brown/WhitePV Dark Brown/WhitePT Dark Brown/WhitePZ Dark Brown/WhitePH Dark Brown/WhitePB Dark Brown/WhiteCA Dark Brown/WhiteCS Dark Brown/WhiteCY Dark Brown/WhitePX Dark Brown/WhiteBT Blue/WhiteBW Blue/WhiteBX Black on top of caseBE Blue/White AxialStandardVK Black/WhiteVR Black/WhiteVC Black/WhiteVX PurpleBlue/WhiteVY Black/WhiteVZ Black/WhiteRS Black/WhiteRZ Black/WhiteRU Black/WhiteRY Black/WhiteVP Black/WhiteEP Black/WhiteUltra-MiniatureMA Black/WhiteMP Black/WhiteMT Black/WhiteMF Dark Brown/WhiteMV Dark Brown/WhiteSA Black/WhiteSR Black/WhiteSP Black/WhiteST Black/WhiteSV Dark Brown/SilverSF Dark Brown/WhiteLarge CanLS Black/WhiteLG Black/WhiteGU Black/WhiteGN Black/WhiteGG Black/WhiteGL Black/WhiteGJ Black/WhiteGJ(15) Black/WhiteGY Black/WhiteGR Black/WhiteGX Black/WhiteGW Black/WhiteAK Black/WhiteAQ Black/WhiteAR Black/WhiteQS Black/WhiteLarge Can Screw TerminalsNR Light Blue/BlackNX Black/WhiteNK Black/WhiteNC Black/WhiteQR Dark Brown/WhiteNY Black/WhiteNT Black/WhiteNU Black/WhiteLarge Can for AudioKG Black/GoldKS Black/SilverKX Black/Goldhttps://www.nichicon.co.jp/english/products/pdf/aluminum.pdfhttps://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/best-nichicon-series-to-use.732762/​https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/nichicon-audio-grade-caps-which-to-use.832021/