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

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.

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.

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

I'm going to get my modded black gate C200 preamp at the end of this week....I have already got a ton of transparency...so i will wait to see what effect this pre has on my system....thanks for all the input...really helpful.

I have built an outboard crossover for my JBL L-300s. The Duelund resistors are magic! If you have resistors in the signal path you NEED to give the Duelund resistors a try. The Mundorf Gold-Silver-Oil caps are also very very good in the signal path.