Did/do manufacturers sometimes source different caps for the same product?

[ChaosFlower]

Hi
I have acquired two very good condition vintage amplifiers: both are Technics 900mkII circa 1995.

They both work fine. Inside they looked great. The caps still look good (I will investigate properly later with an esr meter etc). I note with interest that most of the caps are identical and made by Panasonic, however, there are some capacitor differences here and there. For example, in one of the units there is a cap made by TK Japan, and several small yellow Elnas. In the other unit I think they are all Panasonic.

There doesn't appear to have been any repair at any point. Unless the repair was so perfect you cannot tell. Did/do manufacturers sometimes select different capacitors for use in the same model? Looking at the serial numbers one might have been built a year or so later than the other.

I am just intrigued whether both are as as they were when they left Panasonic Technics, Japan back in 1995/1996.

[mariushm]

Re: Did/do manufacturers sometimes source different caps for the same product?

It's not unheard of to have second source for various parts.
If two parts meet or exceed the specifications required, why not?

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Re: Did/do manufacturers sometimes source different caps for the same product?

at the factory when manufacturing stuff, they have to churn out as many products as quickly as possible. so they grab whatever they have in the factory available on hand that meet the specs required. they also stockpile required parts from many and various sources to ensure there is never any shortage of parts as that can stall the production line.

try working in a factory if u havent before. its a good learning experience trying to work at warp speed! lol!

[ChaosFlower]

Re: Did/do manufacturers sometimes source different caps for the same product?

Thank you for your replies. I guess I just assumed a particular model produced for a short time would always have the same parts inside. I also though since it was Technics that I would only see Panasonic inside. So a few Elnas and a TK inside one of the units was a surprise.

[PeteS in CA]

Re: Did/do manufacturers sometimes source different caps for the same product?

It's pretty typical for parts to be multiple-sourced if possible. It shields the user from spot shortages from a particular vendor. At one employer it took a Vice President's signature to approve having a single source for parts. At another employer, if they went sole-source the vendor had to show their back-up plan in the case of some natural disaster that shut down the primary manufacturing plant.

In the case of Panasonic, they are their own biggest customer, and internal use is Panasonic's first priority. So Technics probably knew they pretty much had to have a second source for Panasonic parts.

[ChaosFlower]

Re: Did/do manufacturers sometimes source different caps for the same product?

Thanks again. Really interesting. These two amps seem very well specced, which probably explains why they have lasted so long...

I will be asking another question or two soon on the audio forum here, I have a younger but less healthy NAD C370 I plan to recap.. my first recap... I plan on tackling all the main board and left and right power amp caps... gulp