How good is the crossover in your loudspeakers?

"Why should I upgrade when I can buy a better speaker?"

That is the title of a video Danny Richie posted a year ago, one I missed. It may answer some of the questions raised in this thread. Here it is:

https://youtu.be/kSOlxLvSR58?si=lE8ci1BobAp2g1QX

Modifying audio components in general allows one to obtain exactly the results one desires, this presumes one knows exactly what they're seeking. Understanding how to achieve those results requires either the assistance of others who have specific knowledge and/or much experimentation. In the case of my Klipschorns there has been much knowledge accumulated over many decades, I relied on others for a pathway and then applied my own unique mods, result is I finally have my end game speaker.

My perspective on active vs passive, active is a science, passive is an art. Mods have always been about art for me, I rely on others to provide me with the science, my unique mods conform with good science. Passive mods is art in the sense one can find the perfect recipe via various combinations of high end caps, resistors, inductors, each which may have unique sonic qualities. 

Danny provides both a general understanding and/or model specific guideline for speaker modifications. Funny how some think this is a disservice when in fact he's handing out research and knowledge free of charge, he's not requiring one to make purchase.

The one thing that I find interesting is it is all about spec’s (measurements). He talks about frequency response, impedance, etc, which are indeed important, but I have found spec’s don’t tell the whole story and you have to use your ears to make your choices. Sound is subjective, and what I like, others may not and vice versa. The other issue I have is the interaction of specs. Let’s just use frequency response and impedance. The two interact but he’s not talking about that, and I’m not sure you can relate a correlation of the two as to how it affects sound. Bottom like, if he can make a living doing what he does, and people are willing to pay for his services and knowledge, and they are happy with the results, more power to everyone. I agree with what has been said, By the sound you like from the start, not something you have to have altered to get there.

I haven't watched Danny's videos religiously so I don't know what he's left out. In any case one shouldn't rely on only one source for their information. Sometimes I forget others far newer to high end audio, I've learned from so many sources over the decades.

As it pertains to speaker mods, so much more goes into the final result such that a one solution mod or speaker not possible. One should realize another person's modifications may not work in their system, room, or be sympathetic with their perception of sound qualities.

@bmbmzig: Danny Richie has repeated stated that achieving a desired frequency response (the specs/measurements to which you refer) does only one thing: make the speaker accurate. He over and over has stressed the point that replacing sound-degrading crossover parts with parts that don’t degrade the signal is the way to increase a loudspeaker’s transparency, resolution, fine detail, soundstage layering (depth, width,  height, spacing between singers and musicians), and other audiophile performance characteristics.

For the speakers sent to him that have technical problems (less than optimum crossovers), he designs a new crossover to correct those technical shortcomings. And he also of course builds the new crossover using parts he has found produce good sonic results  For the speakers that already have an accurate frequency response, he just replicates the stock crossover, but replaces the electrolytic capacitors, sand cast resistors, and iron core inductors with audiophile grade parts, including internal wiring, copper binding posts, etc.

People often say (in fact did so just above) "Why not just buy a better loudspeaker, one you like the sound of more?" That’s fine, but what makes you think the better speaker doesn’t also have a "junk"  crossover. All loudspeakers are built to a price point, and using the best crossover parts can increase the cost of a speaker to the point of it not being a commercially viable product. Loudspeaker companies don’t divulge what parts they use in the crossovers, and Wilson Audio "pots" their crossovers so that you can see what’s in them.

The video below---Danny’s latest, posted just yesterday---is an interesting (and unique) case. An owner of a Magnepan 2.6 sent his speakers to Magnepan to have them repaired and refurbished (details in the video). When that was completed he had Magnepan ship the speakers to GR Research, Yes, Magnepan is well aware of the mods Danny offers for their speakers. To hear Danny’s thoughts on the 2.6 (and Magnepan’s in general), you can watch the video.

So if you’re a Magnepan lover, how do you take the advice others have made in this thread, and just buy a speaker whose sound you like more than Maggies? Like what? A "better" model Maggie? Sorry, they all contain the same quality crossovers. At least they did until recently. Magnepan themselves now offer some of their models in the new X Series, which feature crossovers using better parts, internal wiring, binding posts, etc.

And what if you like your current speaker more than any other in it’s price range, but suspect that an upgraded crossover will keep it’s basic sound character, but improve it in the ways I listed in an above paragraph? A GR Research mod is just one alternate to consider.

Yesterday’s GR Research YouTube video is entitled "Is This The Best Deal In High-End Audio? (Magnepan + Mods). It may be, but it has stiff competition from the Eminent Technology LFT-8b, another planar-magnetic loudspeaker. Here’s the video:

https://youtu.be/WjNV8BbZRG8?si=HyRoyMQiMGXhWe1Y

And here’s a video on the ET LFT-8b:

https://youtu.be/Uc5O5T1UHkE?si=yyvaTIj9e-Rc44JL