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Can you switch out drivers from another company???

I know this may sound odd but I'm curious to see if anyone has tried this. I currently have Paradigm studio 100 v2 speakers that I like a lot and plan to keep for a while. I went and auditioned some JM Lab speakers (Electra and Cobalt S) and enjoyed them very much. Comparing the Paradigms and JM Labs, I felt the JM Labs tioxoid tweeter sounded more open and crisp and the other drivers compared similarly. I was looking through Parts Express's catalog and saw that they sell the JM Labs tioxoid tweeter. So I was wondering if you can just switch out the tweeters or is there more involved, like making changes to the crossover or another part of the speaker? Like I said before, I like the Paradigms but If I can make a tweak and improve the overall sound, why not. Thanks for any response, Chris.
chrisrn

Showing 2 responses by eldartford

eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Suggestion...To minimize experimental cost, try doing one speaker, and then compare results with the other one. Assuming the nominal impedance of the two tweeters match, the crossover network will probably be OK except perhaps for the tweeter "padding" resistor, that adjusts its SPL to match the woofer. This is not rocket science, and your personal ears are the ultimate test equipment. Have fun.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Subaruguru...I suppose that making chicken soup can be turned into rocket science! :) In particular it isn't rocket science to know that a SMALLER capacitor (not a larger one) will raise the tweeter X/O frequency.

Tweeter substitution is a piece of cake compared with woofers, because enclosure considerations are minimal. (Spacing for phase reasons is about it). Just make sure that the new tweeter can go as low as the old one unless you change the X/O. Dispersion characteristics may change..better or worse is your opinion.

The suggestion by Subaruguru that modification of the X/O without replacing drivers might satisfy your needs is reasonable. However, bear in mind that someone else already "optimized" the crossover for these drivers. You might try substitution of same-value better-quality inductors and capacitors in the X/O. This ain't cheap. Again, do one speaker at a time so that you can evaluate the results.
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