Sherod,
I’ve met Mr. Lee on several occasions and he is very gracious, friendly and accommodating. He’s proud of his speakers and deservedly so. They are the result of much time, effort and talent he has put forth.
I believe that he takes the position of "hey I’ve put everything I could into making this a sucessful speaker ". He may feel a sense of resentment that someone would come along and "tamper " with a speaker he’s put so much thought and energy into building. I can appreciate how he and other builders could adapt this attitude. Some may even feel insulted.
Yet I have to agree with Bill that clearly acknowledged excellent products "can" be improved further with carefully selected higher quality parts . Better quality parts will upgrade performance compared to lesser quality parts. In fact some manufacturers do recognize this and enthusiastically offer upgrade packages.
Just as someone can resort to tube rolling to improve sound quality, one can "roll" capacitors, resistors and wire using the same rationale.
Charles |
Bill, That approach makes sense and is of very modest cost. I was referring to replacement with film caps at those very high uf values. It’s funny, the stock Crescendo sounds very well "with" the dreaded electrolytic caps. You are really enjoying your sound now with those caps still in the crossover. However you’re right in that they can be improved upon. Charles |
I personally wouldn't bother with the bass capacitors in the Crescendo, for the effort and money required the ROI is small in terms of sonic impact. Bill you did a fine job making modifications where it matters by far the most. I'd just enjoy the improved sound quality you've discovered. Unless you just can't resist the urge to tinker further. Charles |
I agree with Bill, 9K for the AZ Crescendos is a very good price for what you'll get. Just my observation but this speaker impresses me more than the Wilson Sasha or the Magico S3 or S5 when heard under similar show conditions. This is not meant as a knock on the other two speakers which are well regarded and popular, just my opinion.
The Cresendo with the right amplifier match is capable of producing beautiful sound that engages you. YMMV.
Charles |
Bill,
When terms such as "ralaxed", "natural", "real " and "engaging" are used to describe what you hear, you're on the right path . The truly excellent audio products always seem to improve in this direction.
Charles |
Bill,
Congratulations on your sucessful Cresendo modification project. I know that you have much experience doing numerous upgrade modifications over the years but I can tell you are especially pleased with this particular one.
There are certain speaker brands that offer upgraded/superior parts as a package. Daedalus and Kaiser (Kawero model) are 2 that come to mind, certainly there are others.
There’s no question that better quality parts can and do improve sound quality, I don’t know why some people are so resistant to this fact. My background isn’t as extensive and hands on as yours. In my experience capacitors, resistors, wire,fuses, etc. They all make a difference and I’ve heard it as plain as day.
Bill, you’ve taken a very fine speaker and have improved it to your satisfaction.
Charles |
Hi Bill,
I can appreciate the time and effort you put in accomplishing this project, very nice work. You are right, this is not a simple crossover by any means.. I know how well the stock Crescendos sound. With the improvement via better parts it must be quite heavenly.
Charles |
Wow!
That Cresendo crossover has a lot of big value (capacitance) capacitors. It’s actually somewhat surprising how well this speaker sounds given all of those capacitors in the signal path. Quite a complex crossover, but the bottom line is how does it sound? Very darn good.
Charles |
Bill,
Another Bill (Brownsfan) did the same several years ago moving from Indiana to TENN. He and his wife love it there and say the people are as friendly and nice as can be. I’m happy for both you Bills.
Charles |
Bill,
I suspect that in terms of sonic impact the tweeter and midrange capacitors are the sites to address compared to the woofer location. Knowing how well the AZ Crescendos sound I'm eager to learn what these presumably superior parts do with these speakers.
In my speakers merely changing the single Solen tweeter capacitor to a Duelund CAST reaped undeniable improvement, just one capacitor in each speaker was all it took.
Charles |
Bill, I look forward to following your progress with this project.
Curious to see how much improvement you'll extract from an already excellent speaker. This will be illuminating.
Charles |
That speaker with Duelund quality parts would retail for 35 K easily. Bill that is quite a complex crossover. Charles |
Hi Bill, On the one hand you certainly have to admire the talent of Robert Lee using very low cost passive parts and getting such truly high quality sound. A quite talented builder with excellent design and execution of the Cresendo.
However I do see your point and agree that the wise selection and placement of high quality resistors and capacitors will yield more from this fine speaker. Those passive parts do sonically matter. No harm in making something "very" good even better with thoughtful part upgrades. Charles |
