What capacitor would you use to upgrade Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary?

Hello everyone, this might be my first forum post but I often exchange PMs and emails with forum members...so just incase I need to introduce myself, this is me, DK, the guy behind computer typing this message and putting a period right here.

Now refer to this link for a screenshot of the elusive Linton schematic as provided by Mofi (the vinyl record people)...they are the distributor for Wharfedale in US and provide technical support (for now).  Also shown is my actual crossover with labels:

https://www.hifivision.com/threads/linton-crossover-upgrade.85749/#post-961789

The drawing I received was version 14 and I do not have any info about earlier or later versions or why any particular changes were made...WYSIWYG.

Note, there may be differences between the schematic and the values on your own crossover.

For example, my C11 is 80uf vs 68uf on schematic. There could be other differences but I would need to desolder the crossover and measure all components...I'm not ready to do that yet.

For the sake of being able to directly compare the schematic with the actual parts, I put labels that show the schematic values. I did my best to ensure nothing is mislabeled but I can't guarantee it without performing full surgery.

So what am I waiting for? I'm trying to first educate myself on how a crossover works to determine why Wharfedale designed the Linton crossover in the way they did...only then would I want to move forward.

For example, this crossover seems more complicated than it needs to be and I wonder if Wharfy is spoiling the circuit to prevent the Linton (usd$1500) from competing directly with the Elysian 2 (usd$7000), or does the crossover really need to be designed this way to produce the desired sound, or is it both???

DK

For everyone,
A copy of the Wharfedale Linton Heritage crossover is now posted at HifiEngine:

https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/wharfedale/linton_heritage.shtml

JB,
Hi, thanks again for your help and feedback. I'm in full agreement with your position on a qualitative upgrade but I'm still quite interested hearing what could (should???) be done quantitatively (a change in values or circuitry).

From a quality standpoint, the C3=15uf (mylar) is downstream of the C1=6.8uf and C2=0.68uf (both MKP) and in series with the tweeter so I'm inclined to think the quality C3 is just as important and should directly match the capacitors used at C1-C2...else the C3 limit the goodness provided by an expensive upgrade at C1-C2.

Speaking of expensive, I looked at some prices and a 15uf cap costs nearly double that of a 6.8uf, so if we shelled out $80 for the 6.8uf, we'd be looking at about $150 for the 15uf.

On that point I have to question my thinking about requiring C1+C2+C3 to all be matched, i.e., use Audyn Tri-Reference at all three positions and is it necessary?  Said differently, how much do we give up if we step down in quality (arguable) and price and use, say, a $12 Jantzen Standard Z-cap at C3 but keep Audyn Tri-Ref at C1-C2?

Perhaps the real solution is to recognise the economics of the original design (especially the tweeter and midrange quality) and not waste money going beyond a matched set of Standard or Superior Z-caps at all three positions? But are the drivers really that limited in quality and not worth a Audyn Tri-Ref or ODAM or your favorite/best cap etc???

Or should we upgrade another area of the crossover first, like the inductors?

JB, I surely don't expect you to have answers for me, I'm really asking the community what is the functional importance of C3 and what is the the best practice for upgrading C1, C2, C3 as a whole?

Thanks again and I hope to hear back from you when it's convenient,
DK

@adg101

Hi, I saw your comments above:

I’d have to study the crossover of your Lintons, but how are you sure you shouldn’t tackle the inductors first as that’s where manufacturers cut corners before the caps. Caps for the most part are cheap compared to the inductors.

To encourage your feedback, I uploaded the Linton schematic on HifiEngine and am asking if you're willing to DL a copy, look it over and tell us what you think?  I also have some comments above.

Thank you,
DK

Full original schematic here (but a little blurry):
https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/wharfedale/linton_heritage.shtm

Snapshot of schematic and photo of my crossover with nice labels here (both v.clear):
https://www.hifivision.com/threads/linton-crossover-upgrade.85749/#post-961789

Just Audio's youtube video showing actual crossover at 18:00:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSMa6S_YzPs