Is it good to upgrade the crossovers in your speakers?

johnk,

Yes, very good points raised.  This is like people raving about tweaks they employ.  Either they do, or they don't change the character of the sound, and if they do, why does it always seem to be for the better?  I suspect that bias is involved--people expect (or hope for) an improvement so that is what they hear.  

If one goes into these types of projects with an open mind, and the willingness to accept that a component swap may not work out for the better, then it is part of the hobby and I say go for it and GOOD LUCK. 

A local dealer who builds his own in-house speakers and electronics frequently encounters "improved" gear utilizing "better" parts that sound like crap.  Just because the parts are expensive and people rave about them does not mean that they will improve a specific piece of gear or will sound better based on the taste of the particular listener.  I heard one of his amps that had been modified by another company that was shockingly bad sounding (to my taste) even though the parts changes were of the same value (e.g., use of "better" Blackgate coupling capacitor).  In this particular dealer's speakers, Mundorf and Duelund capacitors are a complete bust, but, that is not to say that they won't work out in other designs; parts choices are very specific to the particular speaker an so one's chances of improving on the original design are not good unless one tries a lot of different alternatives.  

I found a pair of Sonics AS331 for 20 bucks. I looked around and found the usual audiophile snobbery about them online but decided since the cabinets and drivers were in awesome shape that I would give them a once over. I went in and found they are very well made, plywood, screws, and an actual crossover instead of some cheapo soldered in run of the mill caps and inductors. These were very nice! I replaced the caps with new/modern film caps, updated the inductors too. Tossed out the wiring and replaced it with some high quality 12ga wires and soldered them to the drivers. I sealed the enclosure and gave it a teak oil finish that made them look very nice. I was even pleased with the fact the lattice grill was real wood. I then hooked them up and cranked "It Aint Me" (CCR) and took a trip back to the 70's. I will be keeping these and no matter what the snobs say they sound great to me, look great and did not cost me a fortune. Go ahead and do your speakers if you want, some of us do not have the means to drop thousands on equipment, but if it sounds good to you then that is what matters. Besides it will give you a connection to your equipment that most will never have. 

I've always been satisfied upgrading crossover capacitors, resistors, inductors without changing the design/values.  Generally you get what you pay for, that's my experience.  

It's a tricky business no doubt because confirmation bias is a thing.

However, I was once asked to solder a friend's Celestion 44 cable connectors where they met the drive units inside the cabinet.

The existing tag connectors looked pitted and dull and after hardwiring the cables (after stripping and cleaning) the sound noticeably changed.

The tonal signature was still the same, but the pace and dynamics seemed to have been given a shot in the arm.

Even 6 months later, when listening to the the Beach Boys Sunflower double CD I could not escape the impression.

Thankfully, my friend Mitch was pleased with the results but I daresay there might be some who would prefer the previous more laidback nature of the speakers.

Just how they sounded when new, early 1970s would have been anyone's guess.

Anyway, I'd like to think all decent loudspeakers nowadays are either hardwired or use non tarnishing tags inside.

It can’t hurt you can always put old caps back in. Have you ever seen the crap parts in some of these expensive speakers. I’ve only done it to a couple pair of speaker and was a very nice improvement. New wire improves sound and outboard crossover made it easy if caps are bigger than original. Also makes it easy to play around with caps. I wonder if crossover not rattling around if cabinet helped. Modding both pair of speakers improved sound for me. It wasn’t subtle.