Crossover replacement

[Goodman]

I have several great vintage speakers, they all sound fine despite the caps, some electrolytic; supposed dried up. Since I hear no distortion; If upgrade the caps, will I really hear the difference or will it be imagined and auto suggestion or auto satisfaction when playing Steven Wilson Porcupine Tree or Yes at 95db+ with a Krell or Parasound 200 watt Amp?

 

[sergeauckland]

If the caps have dried out, they will change their capacitance, which will change the crossover frequency. Replacing the caps will restore their original performance, so yes, you should hear a difference, even an improvement. Don't be tempted to 'upgrade' the capacitors, replace like with like. You'll only need to replace the electrolytics, any plastic film capacitors won't have aged.

S

 

[Rick Sykora]

Before you spend your time and money, here are my suggestions.

1. To do a reasonably good job, you really need some ability to measure the speaker response. A calibrated USB mic is needed at a minimum. If you measure and find it looks reasonable, move on to another speaker. For comparison, create a baseline using a newer known good speaker.
2. Be prepared for other issues. It is not just caps. Gaskets, glues, surrounds and wire dry out and may need replacing.
3. Before removing the crossover, document the connections well. Also, if you cannot visually determine the original component value, unless schematics are available, it may be difficult to determine the correct value for a replacement part or parts.

Hope this helps!

 

[sergeauckland]

Before you spend your time and money, here are my suggestions.

1. To do a reasonably good job, you really need some ability to measure the speaker response. A calibrated USB mic is needed at a minimum. If you measure and find it looks reasonable, move on to another speaker. For comparison, create a baseline using a newer known good speaker.
2. Be prepared for other issues. It is not just caps. Gaskets, glues, surrounds and wire dry out and may need replacing.
3. Before removing the crossover, document the connections well. Also, if you cannot visually determine the original component value, unless schematics are available, it may be difficult to determine the correct value for a replacement part or parts.

Hope this helps!

This is especially important with higher-end 'speakers where the capacitor values were selected on test rather than using the value printed on the can. Normally, electrolytics are to 20% tolerance, some even wider like -20%, +50%, so the manufacturer will select the value required from a batch, and/or put some smaller value in parallel to make up the right value. With a circuit diagram, you should be able to get the values right, to 5% tolerance, even 2%, with a bit of effort.

S

 

[AudiOhm]

Vintage speakers could be worth the upgrade, some may not.

Why not tell us the speakers in question to see if it is worth the effort...

Ohms

 

[Goodman]

Vintage speakers could be worth the upgrade, some may not.

Why not tell us the speakers in question to see if it is worth the effort...

Ohms

Alon 2 and Yamaha ns1000M

 

[DVDdoug]

Just make sure to get non-polarized electrolytics. Regular electrolytic capacitors don't work properly with AC audio signals.* (Most other capacitor types are non-polarized.)


They can work in audio circuits (and they are used all the time) if there is a DC bias along with the audio signal so the current never flows the wrong way.

 

[Zek]

For Yamaha NS1000M

yamaha ns1000m crossover - Google Search