how do you measure the coil in the crossover?

I don't know where you planned on buying the parts from, but you can always send the coils into Madisound, they can measure them and then sell you the "most correct" Goertz coil for your specific application.

Personally, i would tend to agree with Karls. This is, i would worry about the capacitors and internal wiring first and then take a look at the coils. If the speakers really are THAT "cheap", it might not be worth the investment that you are talking about making. Four inductors, decent capacitors, wiring, etc... will set you back over $100. If you've got an unbraced box that resonates and leaks like mad, has nothing to minimize diffraction and makes use of drivers that are low grade, putting that much money into the crossovers isn't going to help that much. In a case like that, you'd be FAR better of starting from scratch and building your own speakers. Sean
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My experience is that changing / upgrading speaker components almost always improves transparency and dynamics as compared to mass produced items. While Bigtee does bring up some very valid points, the key here is to use parts that are identical in specific electrical characteristics to those supplied by the manufacturer. Some variables are bound to change, but they typically change for the better. That is, IF you've done your homework and selected good quality parts to replace those that were factory installed.

Lowering series resistance, reducing thermal and dielectric losses, reducing saturation / increasing headroom, etc... are all good things. The key here is NOT to change the crossover points or rate of slope. Driver blending should have already been taken care of at the factory and you haven't changed that since the electrical characteristics of the "filter" have been preserved. As such, the critical areas of crossover performance should remain consistent. You haven't really changed the glass, you've only cleaned it so that more light can come through.

As to what wire to use, that is a matter of personal preference. Personally, i normally like solid core copper with the lowest amount of dielectric absorption possible. This means air, teflon, enamel or cloth insulation. It is not as flexible or easy to work with, but once you put the speaker back together, it probably won't be coming apart anyhow. While i do use stranded wire in some places within my various systems, i typically resort to this when the wires themselves will be moved or are in a traffic pattern. Solid wire IS a better conductor but it is also more brittle.

If in doubt, use whatever wire that you're already using to feed the speakers from the amp with. Just make sure that ALL of your connections are properly prepped and secure prior to soldering. A rugged mechanical connection is prefered over relying on the solder to hold things together by itself. Try not to think of solder as "glue", but rather as a sealant to what was already a good electrical connection. Sean
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Strictly ballpark suggestions here on wire:

18 - 20 gauge for the tweeter

12 - 16 gauge for the two mid-woofers

You can start off by using some simple solid core copper wire from your hardware store and see what gauge gives you good results for just a few bucks each. Most stores will allow you to buy this from a spool for pennies per foot. Once you find the right combo, you can then experiment with different brands / types of cable that come in those specific gauges. Who knows, you might be happy with the "generic" wire and leave it at that.

As to the caps, i would look at using Auricaps if possible. Don't know if they come in the values that you need, but it's worth checking into.

If you have large resistors in the circuit, try replacing them with some non-inductive Mills . As mentioned, keep the leads on the components ( resistors & caps ) as short as possible and make secure connections prior to soldering.

While you're doing all of this, you should take steps to "damp" both the crossover AND the actual baskets of the drivers themselves from external vibration. You might be amazed at how much sound a ringing speaker basket contributes to the overall output of a speaker. Many different approaches to this, so have at it. If you want suggestions, email me directly. Sean
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