2. tech-talk
  3. 173116-7535

DIY Replacing Components in Crossovers

I have a couple pair of old speakers that I'm thinking about tinkering around with by replacing existing capacitors and/or resistors with different brands just to get a taste of how different higher quality parts affect the speaker's sound. I don't have any interest in redesigning the crossover networks, only to replace existing parts with better quality parts with the same values to see what kind of results I get. Soldering and the mechanics of replacing the parts isn't an issue for me but I just don't have much experience with the sonics of individual parts. Have any of you done this before? What has worked for you? All things being equal, do you hear much difference replacing crossover parts with better quality components? Any stories to tell? Thanks for looking.

 

arch2

Showing 2 responses by erik_squires

erik_squires
15,808 posts
 

Thanks Erik. Does Mundorf have a particular sound to them?

 

In the affordable kind, I like them a lot more than Solens, very warm, maybe too warm, and like I said, they break in funny so you'll get to hear the sound of caps breaking in.

 

The issue with parallel caps is that you need to measure the ESR and compensate.  For that you need something like a Parts Express / Dayton DATS which is worth having around. :)

Technically you still need it in series, but it's a little less critical.

erik_squires
15,808 posts
 

Hey, I have a good suggestion.  Find the caps in series with the tweeter and replace them with something else.  A good brand to start with is Mundorf MKP.  Very affordable and they break in funny. :)  Do the same for the mids. 

 

Do not replace caps in parallel with drivers.

 

More to discover