I’ve changed crossover components, so you’ll not get any disagreement from me.
If you are looking for an even better improvement, grounding the housing, and the front and rear plates is something I thoroughly recommend. Once the plates are grounded there is no contamination. It’s not until you experience the difference, that you appreciate the implications.
B&W 802 D2 Capacitors Worth Upgrading?
After just getting a pair of 802D2’s in mint condition, after having to replace a blown tweeter, and succeeding (I know not a big deal), I started wondering about replacing the crossovers. The speakers could be up to 12 years old so the capacitors in the crossovers should have another 12 years of life before they go out of spec. I thought of just replacing the crossovers with new ones available on B&W’s site, now, just to reset the ~25y clock on the capacitor’s lifespan. But then I watched a few YouTube’s of guys upgrading to crazy high-end caps. Supposedly doing this can improve the speed or reduce the latency of the crossover.
I’ve not dug into this yet, but just wondering if anyone has any experience with this? Questions:
-Is this worth doing?
-Why type of capacitors do I need? And which brand/models are “the best”.
-Where do I get them?
-Any special tips when soldering for HiFi? I know how to solder but have zero experience soldering for HiFi and wondering if I should be using a certain type of solder for Audiophile applications. What am I thinking, of course there is such a thing as Audiophile solder, and it forms micro ultra low capacitance conductors, applies power correction and noise cancelation, improves the dialectics and it costs $5,000 a spool…. Ok got carried away there.
Also thinking about upgrading the internal crap wiring to something high end.
Thoughts, from anyone with experience doing these things?
- ...
- 35 posts total
@erik_squires and @mofojo,
Thanks for the input. I acquired a beautiful pair of Klipsch Forte II with Crites Crossover upgrades a couple of years ago, and I'm trying to find a Vintage Preamp / Amp setup to hit the sweet spot. I want a Tube Preamp (I've heard nothing but praise regarding Audio Research Company Tube Preamps, just trying to find the right one at a good price). This will be a turntable only system for a 3rd listening room I'm putting together -- so I'm trying to be budget friendly on the Preamp and Amp.
Any other Tube Preamps I should look at other than ARC, and any suggestions on an Amp to pair with it? One route I have in my pocket already -- I bought two of the Nelson Pass Amp Camp kits a couple of years ago that are just waiting on me to build them. I had thought about running them as Monoblocks with the Preamp. Again, any thoughts?
Thanks, as always. |
I must say on these speakers if your want to change the Caps, it is your money and sounds like a guess. I would only say whatever grade of caps used, get the EXACT same grade, as like in Mundorfs', Not all are the same. I just replaced the Caps in my surround speakers from Solen to Mundorf, but I went for a lesser grade without looking at the reviews. Big mistake, I wish I had kept the Solen Caps. Just because you chose a brand name like Mundorf, that does not mean it is the best choice for that speaker and the engineers at B & W surely studied the qualities of the caps they chose when they designed their speakers. THat is not saying that you might prefer a different sound out of your speaks. |
@allenf1963 In my mind the vintage AR and modern AR are very different sounding beasts, so be careful to ask which models people are recommending. I find the old AR + B&W to be a terrible but common combination resulting in a sound too lean and lacking meaningful punch. Modern AR sounds almost too neutral. For vintage tubes you owe it to yourself to listen to Conrad Johnson. Juicy, great imaging, maybe far too sweet for some. |
- 35 posts total