How much do power supply caps matter?

[burningyen]

I'm told that the power supply caps in my Bruno CT45 are blown. Tony uses Sprague Atoms, but the amp tech working on my amp said he prefers using Illinois caps because they sound fine and are much more reliable. (Plus if he uses them I'll get them for free, whereas he'll have to order the Spragues and charge me for parts and shipping.) Will this make a significant difference in the tone and/or performance of the amp? The tech says that the power supply caps don't matter nearly as much as the signal path caps in terms of tone. Any other issues I need to keep in mind? FWIW Tony apparently does use Illinois caps elsewhere in the amp.

[SatelliteAmps]

Either should be fine. Neither brand is a "bad" brand or anything, and should not adversly affect the tone of the amplifier.

[mark norwine]

You'll be fine with IC caps.

[stvnscott]

Technology in this area has improved so much that just about any name-brand electrolytic is fine. ICs come stock in Fender and many other amps. I've never actually had to replace one.

Here's an interesting statistic. The only e-cap I've ever had go bad on me was a Sprague Atom. Gerald Weber would not approve!

[mark norwine]

Originally Posted by s2amps

The only e-cap I've ever had go bad on me was a Sprague Atom.

Same here. 16uF @ 475WVDC

[PRNDL]

I'd go with the free ones.

If you really want to do something cool, carefully cut open the old Sprague Atoms and put the new ones inside.
It's a weird sort of pleasure, that's demented in some way!!

[epluribus]

Originally Posted by PRNDL

If you really want to do something cool, carefully cut open the old Sprague Atoms and put the new ones inside.
It's a weird sort of pleasure, that's demented in some way!!

Actually, I understand that if you cut open the new ones, pretty much the same thing happens. If the pix are to be believed, inside those cans are itty bitty solid-type caps living in the middle. The cans are just that...cans.

--Ray

If I can find the link to the article and the photos, I'll post it. Not that they're bad caps, the appearance is just a little, um, unique.