2. speakers
  3. 1224802608

recapping crossovers....do or don't?

I need some advice....I have recapped several pieces of my system with good results. But I am really hesitant to do so with my outboard crossovers on my speakers. The reason is they sound wonderful.....very coherent,musical,and image beautifuly. You ask why look for trouble....well the crossovers use MIT multicaps which I think are fine...but there are about 4 Solens also. Solens have a soso reputation and are not known as a really hi quality cap.

Do you think there is anything to gain here or am I playing with fire....BTW these speakers have Dynaudio drivers and are about 94-96db efficient.
wavetrader
ngjockey
1,042 posts
 
You could just use small bypass caps.
mlsstl
1,371 posts
 
If you wish to experiment, just make sure you remove the originals carefully and hang on to them.

Then, if you don't like the change, remove the new ones, solder the old ones back in place and enjoy the original sound, knowing that your experiment helped remove any doubt you may have had about what to do.

Just remember that sometimes the most expensive part is not the best choice. There may be a reason they chose the parts they did.
wavetrader OP
260 posts
 
I think the point about removing the old caps carefully makes a lot of sense. If I make a change I will replace the Solens first....These crossovers were last modified in 1996....so I think the choice of quality caps has improved greatly....nothing ventured...nothing gained as they say...
dgarretson
2,586 posts
 
Which MIT caps are they? PPFXS sound better than PPMFX. As an interim step, consider experimenting with small bypass using .1uf or .22uf Russian FT-3 telfon available cheap on ebay. Also, it's worth trying Duelund graphite resistors in key positions-- probably a bigger improvement than a coupling cap upgrade.
rodman99999
5,974 posts
 
Also keep in mind that crosover caps require some time to "burn-in", and may sound terrible initially(not as great an issue, if you just bypass). Generally speaking: The better the cap's dielectric(polystyrene/polypropylene/Teflon), the longer the burn-in. The Duelund resistors are a good suggestion. An excellent place to shop: (http://www.percyaudio.com/Catalog.pdf) Ask Michael to match everything to 1% tolerance for you(He gets way closer than that).
More to discover