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DYI upgrading B&W N805 to Diamond 805?

Hi,

I have an older Natilus 805 speakers which are still working great, but I am in the need of some better dynamics, top-end, and bass.  Since the cabinet of 805 hasn't changed at all (from what I gather), is it possible for myself to just change the tweeter, drivers, and cross-over to the 805 diamond series and create the same sound?

Anyone's done such a thing before?
alexb76
Post removed 
erik_squires
15,654 posts
 
I agree with Elizabeth.

Your good choices are:

  • Sell what you have
  • Upgrade the caps
  • Build a new kit from scratch (my fave!)
Definitely trying to create a new speaker with a new tweeter from zero is nowhere near an easy ask, nor in the end profitable.

It can be a lot of fun, but this way is a very very expensive learning experience.

If you want to play with speaker parts (and who doesn't?) best you consider building a brand new kit.

Best,

E
sherod
1,690 posts
 
I have a pair of N805 in a second system that I recently replaced the caps and resistors only in the crossovers( There are two crossover boards in each speaker, one for the mids and tweeters and one for the woofer). Huge improvement! I didn't touch the inductors. The factory crossover parts are the biggest down side of the N805, cheap ICW polypro caps and sandcast resistors. I replaced the caps with Uptone Musicaps(no longer being made, but I found a couple of sources for them) and the resistors with Mills MRA. The sound now has transformed the speakers from just okay to extremely musical and dynamic. It was a bear, though, shoe-horning the big film and foil caps in there, but I managed. 
erik_squires
15,654 posts
 
Love Mills, sherod!

I highly recommend Clarity if you want sincere musical transmission.

If you want the B&W kind of shine of the top end, go with Mundorf SIO.
sherod
1,690 posts
 
The Mills MRA are the best "bang for the buck" resistor for a crossover. The Claritycap MR series are also excellent and will far outperform the ICW polypros that B&W put in there. What's interesting is ICW makes the Claritycap line.
   The current 805 Diamonds have a 1st order crossover in them now and B&W uses Mundorf cap( not sure which model) on the tweeter.

   Here's a link to the B&W service web site where you can download a manual for any of their speakers for a list of cap and resistor values they use:

      http://bwgroupsupport.com/manuals/bw-service
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