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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
wavetrader OP
260 posts
 
Eldartford.....I can do that very easily...my vintage Accuphase pre happens to have a nice smooth balance control.
rodman99999
5,977 posts
 
If you do compare the speaker systems as soon as you complete the upgrade: Prepare to be disappointed. That is unless you "burn-in" the caps on a rack before installation.
dgarretson
2,586 posts
 
Wavetrader, before going for expensive Duelund or V-Cap TFT bypass I would first try some cheap russian FT-1 or FT-3 teflon in .01uf & .1uf and decide whether bypass is a net improvement at either of these values. If true, then sub in Duelund or V-Cap in equivalent values. If false, then sub in Duelund or Claritycap MR at full value of stock PPFXS.
mingles
791 posts
 
Wavetrader, your speakers already have great components. Holco and Multicap PPFXS are top notch. If I were in your shoes, I'd think twice about this project, but if you really want to makes changes (and it sounds like you do), focus on the caps. Don't mess with the resistors. In my experience, cap upgrades in crossovers offer a much more significant change than resistors. Truth be told, I've never heard a difference with resistors in crossovers, but I don't want to start an argument over that. Let's stay focused on caps. Everyone will give you different suggestions. There are lots of good ones to consider, but I agree with Dgarretson's recommendation. Try some Russian teflon FT-1 or FT-3 as bypass. These are excellent sounding and they're cheap. A pair of 0.1 uF FT-3 will set you back $22 shipped. If you want to replace the whole cap, you may have to upgrade to V-caps or Mundorf to hear an improvement, but you're talking about $1000 for a pair of 3.3 uF V-caps or $150 for a pair of 3.3 uF Mundorf S/O. Prices quickly become ridiculous.

That's my two cents.
ptmconsulting
1,000 posts
 
One caveat with the Russian teflon's as a bypass. In my experience I liked them a lot on the tweeter, but they were too forward on my mid/bass driver. Also, too much of a good thing can be too much. I would suggest using them on the primary in line cap on your tweeter crossover, but not on any other cap. Use something else on the others, like a RelCap RT or a Sonicap Gen II, or else you might get too much of that teflon sound instead of just the clean transparency.

I really can't understand why this happens, but in my experience it does.

Enjoy,
bob
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