Sourcing parts: quality differences Digikey/ Tayda?

[collinember]

Hi,

after building my first DIY Eurorack kits I tried to source parts for the next module myself. As I am new to the world of electronics, I would like to understand the quality (price..) differences and if they are relevant for eurorack modules.

I took the BOMs for AI Synthesis AI004 and AI011 Most parts are linked to at Tayda, and actually only one low tolerance resistor is linked to mouser - which made me aware of the crazyness to source parts for single builds myself

Anyway, I ended up finding this part at Digikey, so I thought why not order the rest there as well. The resistors though - just to take one example are 6 times the price of Tayda resistors:

https://www.digikey.de/de/products/deta ... 0R/9140099 = 0,09€
https://www.taydaelectronics.com/330-oh ... istor.html = 0,015€

I see they are different brands, but is there any other difference in quality? I am in Germany and also looked at Reichelt etc, but actually Digikey and Tayda still seem to be the most interesting options despite shipping costs.

[nigel]

There have been several threads on this topic. I think the general agreement is that Tayda's electronic parts (resistors, capacitors, ICs etc) are fine, their mechanical parts (switches and maybe pots etc.) are probably OK but the quality can be variable. (I'm sure someone will show up and disagree.) Personally, I've had no problems with my own builds sourcing everything from Tayda except jacks, which I usually buy from Thonk so that I can be sure of the quality. (And of course there are some things Tayda don't sell, like more unusual ICs.)

[what gives?]

The resistors though - just to take one example are 6 times the price of Tayda resistors:

https://www.digikey.de/de/products/deta ... 0R/9140099 = 0,09€
https://www.taydaelectronics.com/330-oh ... istor.html = 0,015€

What company is cheapest when buying 1000+ resistors? This isn't so much a question about pricing, as how they cater to different types of customers.

[fairplay]

...my experience with Tayda is mixed regarding mechanical parts - some are 'ok', others feel as they will work a limited time only or even break during installation...

...unfortunately i had no problems with the (sometimes much more expensive - especially regarding the customs duties added) Thonk stuff - Tayda looks the same but feels very different...

...regarding the electrical parts i am no expert - but what i used from either source worked fine...

[collinember]

thanks for your feedback - I didn't want to discuss the pricing aspect - well aware of that - but rather quality and if it would be maybe wise to order elsewhere than Tayda.

Yes, for the mechanical parts I thought of placing an order with Thonk.

[m12386]

Tayda for smd/thru hole resistors and some caps, diodes, transistors, dip sockets, pin headers, dailywell switches, pots, Davies clones; LCSC for IC’s as well as certain caps, Mouser if I can’t get it at LCSC. Compare prices/availability between LCSC and Mouser. AliExpress for some pots and IDC connectors/cable, standoffs, M3 screws, washers, push button caps. SynthCube for jacks, nuts, knobs.

[abelovesfun]

Digikey, Mouser and Tayda are NOT makers. They are retailers. They buy parts from China and resell them. Having a smaller selection, and having the lower costs of operating in Thailand allows Tayda to sell for cheaper than say Mouser, which has a huge array of parts, and the high cost of operating in the US. Any resistor you buy from Tayda, can also be bought from Mouser. They are retailers, not makers.

[fairplay]

Any resistor you buy from Tayda, can also be bought from Mouser. They are retailers, not makers.

…the thing is: the OP sits in europe - and regardless of where s/he orders there is cutoms duty added - so there is no inherent gain in ordering for a higher price from the US…

…while i have to admit at the same time: my last parts-order this month (~500 USD) came from Mouser also, as they had everything i needed available, some things were even cheaper than elsewhere, and they pay for the shipping (max. 3 days with FEDEX) and pay for customs if the order is over some defined amount (i do not know which)…happy Mouser customer since about 20 years…

[abelovesfun]

Any resistor you buy from Tayda, can also be bought from Mouser. They are retailers, not makers.

…the thing is: the OP sits in europe - and regardless of where s/he orders there is cutoms duty added - so there is no inherent gain in ordering for a higher price from the US…

…while i have to admit at the same time: my last parts-order this month (~500 USD) came from Mouser also, as they had everything i needed available, some things were even cheaper than elsewhere, and they pay for the shipping (max. 3 days with FEDEX) and pay for customs if the order is over some defined amount (i do not know which)…happy Mouser customer since about 20 years…

I'm not saying one is better than the other, just that they aren't makers.

[abelovesfun]

Hi,

after building my first DIY Eurorack kits I tried to source parts for the next module myself. As I am new to the world of electronics, I would like to understand the quality (price..) differences and if they are relevant for eurorack modules.

I took the BOMs for AI Synthesis AI004 and AI011 Most parts are linked to at Tayda, and actually only one low tolerance resistor is linked to mouser - which made me aware of the crazyness to source parts for single builds myself

Anyway, I ended up finding this part at Digikey, so I thought why not order the rest there as well. The resistors though - just to take one example are 6 times the price of Tayda resistors:

https://www.digikey.de/de/products/deta ... 0R/9140099 = 0,09€
https://www.taydaelectronics.com/330-oh ... istor.html = 0,015€

I see they are different brands, but is there any other difference in quality? I am in Germany and also looked at Reichelt etc, but actually Digikey and Tayda still seem to be the most interesting options despite shipping costs.

For any resistors I link to on Tayda, any equivalent value of 1percent 1/4w will suffice.

[fairplay]

I'm not saying one is better than the other, just that they aren't makers.

…hmmm - ok, what i am saying is:

- Thonk has according my experience the better products on offer regarding mechanical stability
- all retailers offer according to my experience adequate products in regards to electronic-not-mechanical-parts

…my experience from my (many) visits to china within the last thirty years is, that usually when buying bulk from the makers there you get a choice of three selections:

- first: looks, like the real thing, is very cheap, breaks usually very soon after first use
- second: not the cheapest but surely not the best, just reasonable quality, not for everyday use
- third: good quality, comparable to what we as customers would like to get for our money, but not really that much cheaper than what we paid when we were still producing locally

…i would guess that Thonk, Reichelt etc. buy second and third choice, while other retailers have rather the first choice on offer…

[KSS]

Finally! Somebody gets it!

Also we have to acknowledge that Tayda has upped their game in pots and toggle switches and TH resistors since they first came on the scene.

Fairplay has said something *really* important. That there are different levels of parts from even the same makers. And that trying to lump these or those -parts, makers OR suppliers- into categories too often ignores the often subtle differences.

[collinember]

... which is kind of confusing for noobs like me

Anyway, I don't give up

[flagada]

Digikey, Mouser and Tayda are NOT makers. They are retailers.

Are you sure? When I look at the details of the Alpha potmeters on the Tayda website it says: Manufacturer: Tayda Electronics. Also, the datasheet does not look like an Alpha datasheet.

[KSS]

Tayda are 'private labeling' one of the Alpha named maker's parts. Ther is more than one 'Alpha' pot maker.
Tayda is a distributor placing large orders with mfrs.

Much like the can of beans -or whatever- with the store's label on it in your grocer or supermarket

[dgrainger]

They also sell Alpha branded pots. They're more expensive.

[flagada]

- first: looks, like the real thing, is very cheap, breaks usually very soon after first use
- second: not the cheapest but surely not the best, just reasonable quality, not for everyday use
- third: good quality, comparable to what we as customers would like to get for our money, but not really that much cheaper than what we paid when we were still producing locally

So why are the alpha 9mm pots at Tayda so much cheaper than they are elsewhere? In the other webshops they are at least 2,20 euro's, at Tayda they are 0,59 dollar (=0,55 euro). Is it because they are from the first category? A few weeks ago, I had to replace a 9 mm alpha pot because it was making noise. It had not been used a lot.

[fairplay]

Is it because they are from the first category?

…sorry, i do not know how resellers determine/find their prices - and i have no further insights into Taydas* business…

…i just shared my experiences…


*apart from some mechanical parts i bought there i am a happy Tayda-customer…

[abelovesfun]

Digikey, Mouser and Tayda are NOT makers. They are retailers.

Are you sure? When I look at the details of the Alpha potmeters on the Tayda website it says: Manufacturer: Tayda Electronics. Also, the datasheet does not look like an Alpha datasheet.


alpha.png

Yes, I am certain. As a synth maker over the past 8 years, I have had first hand personal discussions and lunches with many retailers (including Mouser and Tayda), as well as factories and the actual makers in China. Per the BOMs on my site, I find Tayda's stock of resistors and caps (in most cases) to be more than sufficient. When they are not I link to Mouser. For pots and such I link to my verified personal stock of high quality pots. When you see the Tayda Label it is like seeing Fred Meyer or Trader Joe beans- Neither Fred Meyer nor TJs grow Beans, they just buy and label.

[KSS]

So why are the alpha 9mm pots at Tayda so much cheaper than they are elsewhere? In the other webshops they are at least 2,20 euro's, at Tayda they are 0,59 dollar (=0,55 euro). Is it because they are from the first category? A few weeks ago, I had to replace a 9 mm alpha pot because it was making noise. It had not been used a lot.

Yes, Tayda 'alpha' are from* the first or second category. Like I said there are two different alpha makers. Which may be arms of the same overall organization; I'm not positive about that. But the parts themsleves *are* different.
The 'good' Alphas are from Taiwan and the 'less good' Alphas come from China or some other country. Because of this, you almost always see the reference to Taiwan if the pots come from there. If it says alpha and doesn't include Taiwan, it's the lesser version.

*I also mentioned that Tayda has been upping their quality in some categories. The price tells that story.

[Don T]

Sometimes, the "cheaper" parts are made by a reputable company, but are put in the "reject" bin for not quite meeting specifications. They are sold off cheaply as a way to cut losses. Many surplus dealers and bargain-basement retailers buy these to resell. Parts that actually do not work at all are usually scrapped.

Then, there is the "grey market". Suppose Alps orders a run of 10,000 of their RK27 pots (the "blue velvet) from a factory in China. Despite perception, if you give a Chinese manufacturer specs they must meet, and pay their price for it, they will indeed build something that easily meets, or even exceeds, the specs given. Where the "grey market" parts come from in this is that the Chinese factory has gone through the trouble to tool up production for 10,000 RK27 pots, they will make an additional 10,000 and sell them themselves. Sometimes these things will have the original part number.logo, sometimes not.

Another example, on something that my wife ordered from an online retailer, was a three-pack of replacement Apple USB to Lightning cables. They were much cheaper than the originals, but they were "originals". Apple has connectors made to tight tolerances, and usually 3rd-party cables are made to physically looser tolerances, and the 3rd-party connectors not only have sometimes intermittent connection issues, they don't "click" into the retaining "bumps) in the socket the same way the Apple originals do. These were genuine Apple connectors in look, feel, and operation, the same cable used, the same internal packaging, and a real Apple box, minus the Apple logo. The packaging and the box were the biggest giveaways.

So, most likely these discount houses are selling you slightly-out-of-spec parts, or genuine, but "grey market" parts, or cheap look-alikes (but we're all familiar with the cheap look-alikes... )

As always, caveat emptor...

[t-sun]

When you see the Tayda Label it is like seeing Fred Meyer or Trader Joe beans- Neither Fred Meyer nor TJs grow Beans, they just buy and label.

This is really the point, and a company like Tayda (like Trader Joes and other grocers in the comparison) make their reputation based on how they curate the items they stock under their own name - which is why Trader Joes is famous for having very good store brand products. I haven't had any problems with anything I've purchased from Tayda over the years, but the problem with ordering from them for me has always been that it generally also requires a small order from Mouser or Digi-Key to fill out the BOM components that Tayda doesn't carry. Often enough, the price difference thanks to one shipping charge just ordering from the one source that has the chips or components that I need means that I spend a little more on what I'd normally get from Tayda.

That said, I like their enclosure options for pedals, the paint options are quite nice. I'm building a Retroflect, and am gonna have to order from both Tayda and Digi-key to get the few bits I didn't already have at hand. They're great for the basics, but it's rare that they have everything you need.

The only places I'd avoid using as parts sources unless absolutely necessary are Aliexpress and UTSource. Aliexpress always sides with the seller in any dispute, and I see enough of the same sketchy sellers on UTSource as I see on Ebay that I'm not sure how much to trust them. I've heard mixed things about UTSource, but so many people have been burned by chinese sellers that it's hard to tell if people speak from specific experience or general sentiment.

[Modulalalalala]

Not really what we are discussing here, but I have had great sucess sourcing wm8731s, stm’s and several dac8xxx variants from utmel.com . While they are a broker and the parts come from all over the place, I have yet to get any fakes or duds and the prices are not bad. Got the wm8731’s for $3.80 (which may or may not be a high price compared to when they were still readily available/in production) and the dac’s are around what you’d expect from mouser/digikey when in stock.

[revelc]

Tayda are 'private labeling' one of the Alpha named maker's parts. Ther is more than one 'Alpha' pot maker.
Tayda is a distributor placing large orders with mfrs.

Much like the can of beans -or whatever- with the store's label on it in your grocer or supermarket

Tayda pots are the same as most you'd get from aliexpress. THEY ARE NOT ALPHA. Not even close. They aren't bad and should be fine, but NOT Alpha.

[KSS]

They *are* 'an' alpha brand pot. But they are *not* 'the' alpha Taiwan brand pot. <--Which is the one with the good reputation.