The short answer? No, but not for the reasons you'd think.
When people ask "what is Kemet doing now," they're usually trying to figure out if they should still spec a Kemet T491 or switch to a competitor. I've seen this pattern many times. But when I say "many," I do not mean just a few—I mean consistently across 16 vendor evaluations I've been involved with since 2021.
The real answer is about your total cost of ownership (TCO), not the brand name. And frankly, most engineers and procurement folks I talk to are overthinking it.
Why You Should Trust Me (And Why You Shouldn’t)
I'm a procurement manager at a 400-person electronics manufacturing company. Since 2022, my team and I have managed roughly $250,000 in annual component spend across 6 suppliers. I've negotiated with 12+ vendors, documented every order in our cost tracking system, and audited our spending for the past 3 fiscal years.
That said—I can only speak to our context. We're mid-size, B2B, with stable quarterly ordering patterns. If you're a rapid-prototyping startup or a high-volume consumer goods manufacturer, the calculus might be different. But for a standard industrial electronics application, here's what I've found.
Get It Right the First Time – An Ounce of Prevention
Here's a principle that's saved us more money than any discount negotiation: 5 minutes of verification beats 5 days of correction. This is especially true when you're dealing with something like the Kemet T491 series.
When I first started specifying tantalum capacitors, I assumed the cheapest option was always the best. That was my initial misjudgment. Three budget overruns later—including one where we had to rework an entire batch of boards because the capacitance was off by 10%—I learned that TCO includes more than just the unit price.
The 12-point checklist I created after my third mistake has saved us an estimated $8,000 in potential rework. One of the most common items on that list? Checking the voltage derating on T491 parts. I've seen people order a 50V part for a 48V rail and then wonder why they're getting failures at 25V. That's not Kemet's fault—that's a spec error.
The Kemet T491 Story
In our last audit (Q2 2024), I compared costs across 8 vendors for a specific T491 capacitor (100µF, 16V, 10% tolerance). Vendor A (a Kemet-authorized distributor) quoted $0.85 per unit. Vendor B (a generic broker) quoted $0.62. I almost went with B until I calculated TCO: Broker charged $45 for shipping (vs. free from the distributor), $12 for handling, and had a 2% failure rate on inspection vs. Kemet's <1%. Total: $0.85 vs. $0.79 effective cost per assembled unit when factoring in handling and failure. That 8% difference was hidden in the fine print—or rather, hidden in the assumption that unit price is all that matters.
Now, is the Kemet T491 the best capacitor for your application? That depends (unfortunately). I've seen them work beautifully in high-reliability telecom gear. I've also seen them fail in circuits with high ripple current where a polymer capacitor would've been better. But that's not a brand issue—that's a design issue. Prevention means checking the datasheet, not just the brand name.
The 117 Multimeter and the “Phones” Confusion
This part always makes me laugh. When people search "Kemet" and "117 multimeter" together, they're not looking for a capacitor—they're looking for a digital multimeter. I know this because I made the same rookie mistake when I started. I was searching for a way to check capacitor health in our inventory audit, and ended up comparing 117 multimeters from Fluke vs. Kemet—except Kemet makes capacitors, not multimeters.
Here's the thing: a Kemet T491 capacitor and a 117 multimeter are actually related in a practical sense (think: testing capacitance). But if you're searching for a 117 multimeter, you're probably looking for a Fluke 117. That's a classic case of keyword ambiguity—and it's surprisingly common.
As for "phones"—that's another rabbit hole. Kemet Corporation historically had a cordless phone product line, but they exited that market years ago to focus on electronic components. If you're searching for "Kemet phones," you might be looking for a legacy device—or you might be confused by the term. The thing is, the market has moved on. If you need a phone for a VoIP system, you're better off looking at dedicated telecom vendors. Kemet's now focused on capacitors, inductors, and relays for edge networking gear.
Prevention vs. Cure in the Sourcing Process
I used to think rush fees were just vendors gouging customers. Then I saw the operational reality of expedited service: if you spec a Kemet T491 and it's out of stock from your usual distributor, a rush order at a 30% premium is the cure. The prevention? Ordering early, maintaining safety stock, and qualifying at least two distributor sources.
The 'cheap' option we tried once—a $0.45 generic equivalent from a no-name broker—looked smart until we saw the failure rate. Reprinting cost $1,200 more than the original Kemet quote. Net loss: $1,200 and 3 weeks of schedule delay. That's a penny-wise, pound-foolish mistake I won't make again.
If I remember correctly, the market rate for a Kemet T491 (comparable spec) in January 2025 was around $0.85–$1.10 per unit depending on volume. But don't quote me on that—pricing fluctuates with tantalum commodity prices. As of Q1 2025, at least, that's what our latest quote showed.
Where I’m Wrong (And You Should Ignore Me)
This worked for us, but our situation was mid-size B2B with predictable ordering patterns. If you're a seasonal business with demand spikes—think holiday consumer electronics—the calculus might be different. You might need a different brand or a more flexible supply chain.
I can only speak to domestic sourcing. If you're dealing with international logistics, there are probably factors I'm not aware of—tariffs, longer lead times, currency fluctuations.
Also, I'm not an engineer. I'm a procurement manager who's learned the hard way to check specs and TCO. A design engineer might have better advice on which specific model of Kemet T491 is optimal for your circuit. My advice is operational—check twice, buy once, and always calculate the total cost.
