Modifying Crossovers

3 things...

1. There once was a speaker designer who claimed changing the quality of parts in a crossover (while maintaining the same circuit design) changed the sound of the speaker. Many disbelieved. So, he installed an upgraded crossover in a set of 2-way speakers w/ an A/B switch, and graciously sent them to nonbelievers to experience first-hand, in their own listening space, with their own equipment. If I recall the results of the experiment correctly, the ability to distinguish "Crossover A" from "Crossover B" was unanimous, and the preference was for the crossover with "better" parts. If the additional expense is "worth it" is always a source of debate.
2. I believe if crossovers were externally mounted (and on display like audio jewelry) the quality of the parts would increase dramatically. And, yes, cost would increase dramatically, too.
3. There is no "best crossover" (including the "no crossover" option). There are only trade-offs.

@nrenter Good post.  BTW, the new crossovers I'm making are going to be external with a plexiglass top.  

As for "is it worth it?   I'll have about $3k in this upgrade by the time I'm done.  I don't expect it to be a religious experience.   But I think I'll get more out of it than I got out of my $4k streamer upgrade.  Probably less than I got out of my $12K DAC upgrade.  Definitely I've spent $3k at times on amps that turned out not to be an upgrade.

Jerry

Several years ago, when I had an obsession with vintage Pioneer equipment, I stumbled onto a set of Pioneer HPM-200 speakers (in pretty good condition) and wanted to see how much performance I would squeeze out of them. I commissioned a gentleman to reverse-engineer the crossover circuit and rebuild it with premium parts. The sonic results were amazing (and the measured performance was impressive, particularly given this is a complicated speaker designed in the 70’s). My whole restoration is documented over at AudioKarma.org. Combined with a minty (and restored) Pioneer SX-1250, a Realistic LAB-500 turntable, and a TEAC R2R, those speakers round out a very cool vintage system. Soon, I’ll want to part with it all, and I’ll probably never get out of it what I put into it,  but the parts upgrades did make a difference. 

@carlsbad2

Jerry ,  Your crossover is beautiful and your intent on mounting it externally should provide and extra level of improvement that I can't figure out why we aren't seeing speaker manufacturers doing it . 

I wish that the crossovers in my speakers were as simply designed as yours , the woofer board alone have more components than your entire crossover board .  I am just one capacitor away on the mid range from finishing my crossover upgrades. It's been a lot of work that few can or are willing to undertake but I'll say it been well worth the expense and effort with more than a 2% increase in sound quality , after all each of our components are built to meet a price point .  

Rob

@vair68robert My internal crossovers are on 2 boards and to replace them interally with bigger components would have taken at least 3 boards.  I appreciate the simplicity but am no expert at designing crossovers.  I'm going with the same values as the original design.  Sounds like you are too. Enjoy.