A previous discussion included a statement about crossover components.


The commentator stated something to the effect that some very high end speakers really cheaped out on the capacitors and resistors in their crossovers, and hinted that replacing them with high quality components might improve the sound quality of the speakers. My question is "Have you ever replaced the caps and resistors in your speakers crossovers, and to your ears did that result in better sound quality?" Also, what brands of caps and resistors do you consider to be "the best", and why?

peporter

@peporter , Yes, the quality of caps in the crossover network can and often does yield differences.

Sometimes changing them out doesn’t sound any better--just different. Other times, it can be pretty darn significant of an improvement.

My favorites are:

VCap ODAM

Clarity Caps (I think the top of the line ones can sound eerily big and have great sense of space)

Auricap XO

AMTRANS AMCY Golden Black

I’m no engineer, but...I highly recommend staying within the tolerances designed into the circuit. So, if you see a pretty run of the mill 5uF 200v Bennic cap in your network, you’d want to replace it with the exact same capacitance value and voltage rating. Don’t change the values unless you know what you’re doing or have incredible patience for experimentation. (Note: you can increase voltage rating but try to avoid decreasing it). 

Finally, sometimes the OEM will use some pretty decent if not great caps that are rebadged for the manufacturer. Manley comes to mind. I know they use some nice REL Caps that are not a cheap product, wrapped in a Manley labeled wrapper. Other times, manufacturers might use something more basic while wrapped in their own wrapper. It may be helpful to see if you can find out what brand(s) they used. I replaced the caps in my Cornwall IVs because they looked to be some fair but not great Dayton caps--so the upgrade was definitely worth it. Other times, maybe not so much.

Yes, the quality of caps in the crossover network can and often does yield differences.

i very much agree with this comment

i recently undertook a fun project of upgrading the wiring, connectors and crossover components of my magnepan 1.7i’s ... i bought a second pair to keep as stock as a control

the difference is monumental, and the capacitor choice in the crossover is of major importance, especially feeding the upper frequency drivers

@audioman58, and anyone else experienced... How would you approach upgrading an isolated woofer crossover with cap values of 125uF and 250uF? Just stick to adding bypass caps to the OEM caps, or no? Those big uF values are basically non-existent for the select caps aforementioned in this thread.

Clarity capacitors sells big values perfect for bass if 8 knew the value I could help

and you can reach me direct at 

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Solen caps are a standard stock cap very fuzzy vs the many top quality caps Solen rated a 7 ,vs top 15 Duelund  that why I left 

Humble homemade hifi capacitor test   It’s the standard to go by at least 90+ accuracy with drivers there can be exceptions to the rules   Personally I wouldnot  use a Electrolytic capacitor even in a woofer , maybe exception the Clarity ones and use a 1uf as a bypass or bigger like a clarity CSA cap

Hifi collective in the U.K I buy many things ,and FedEx int For small parcels $28 U.S  they have great int rates and list everything and how many of each item .

the go to place arrives in 3-4 days .