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Modifying Philharmonic 3 crossovers

Hi, everyone I'm new to modding so I'm going to need a bit of help. I have a pair of Philharmonic 3 speakers and I see that they have Claritycap PX capacitors and I'd like to  change them out with Claritycap's new CMR line up although I'm not sure how to start. I see that two of the capacitors are rated at 20uf & 250Vdc although there aren't any CMR caps that are rated at 20uf only 18 and 22uf and 400Vdc. I'd like to upgrade the capacitors although I'm not sure how I would proceed. I would very much appreciate advice on this topic. Thanks!
128x128jonny1080

Showing 9 responses by erik_squires

erik_squires
15,662 posts
 
Do they make a big difference like the capacitors? Do you guys have a certain brand that you guys would recommend? From the way that the inductors in my speaker look like, I believe I have ERSE inductors. Are the a good brand?


I hear good things about them, but I do NOT recommend the same kind of upgrades. You need to measure the DCR of the original coils and match them.
If you reduce the DCR of the coil, you must add it back with a series resistor.

For a midrange, or mid-woofer I like to use flat coil copper inductors from Jantzen or Mundorf.

For 3-ways the ERSE coils are my favorite on the woofer.

I usually leave shunt coils in the tweet and mid alone.

erik_squires
15,662 posts
 
Resistors: Mills
Inexpensive, very good, dead accurate and thermally stable. I'm not a fan of Duelund's as they are deliberately not thermally stable. No thank you. :)

As for bypassing,that's what I was discussing with CMR caps above 5 uF. Use a 0.1uF jupiter or Audyn TrueCopper ($20) to bypass them, in other words, put in parallel with the main cap.

What I do while testing is I use alligator clips to attach the Audyn where I think it may make a difference and listen.
erik_squires
15,662 posts
 
Yes, parallel caps add.
erik_squires
15,662 posts
 
How about one type of caps for the tweeter and one type for midrange?

I'd recommend all series caps be the same.

Because parallel caps are not directly in line, and often much larger and more expensive, that is where you may want to do some cost savings.

What I'd recommend for instance is to use Clarity CMR for the series, and ESA or CSA caps for the parallel. 
Imagine the expense if you had gone with all Jupiter copper foil! :)

erik_squires
15,662 posts
 
Sorry Jonny,
In the first schematic of this page:

https://speakermakersjourney.blogspot.com/2016/02/crossover-basics.html

All components are in series with the drivers.


In the second, I added a coil (L2) which is in parallel with the driver.


For the tweeter and midrange, stick to the same serial caps.

Caps on a woofer tend to be very large, and in parallel, in those cases going with less expensive options makes a lot of sense.


Best,
E
erik_squires
15,662 posts
 
Please look at the sizes and weights though, CMR caps are effing huge and heavy! :)

Make sure to plan for that.
erik_squires
15,662 posts
 
Well, I don't know about bass. In the pass through, they tend to be a little dark.

However ... as shunts in a woofer, film caps absolutely rule, and CSA caps have a very nice price point. Several modders have been impressed by how changing the woofer caps improves.
Mind you, this is a dangerous place. If you are replacing an electrolytic you really need to know the ESR and compensate for changes.
erik_squires
15,662 posts
 
Just looked, there IS a 20uF model....

https://www.partsconnexion.com/CLARITY-82513.html
What is the cap used for in the circuit?
erik_squires
15,662 posts
 
So long as you replace caps with new of equal or higher V that's usually fine.

100V is pretty high for most speakers, but a lot of film caps only come in 400V or higher. That's fine.
As for the 20uF, try an 18uF and 2.2uF in parallel.
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