PSB Gold,tweeter upgrade.

I've got a pair of the PSB Gold i and think that the tweeter sounds pretty natural. It took me a while to get used to them after being used to Infinity emit tweeters. I admit that sometimes I think something sharply defined like the Nautilus 805 might be nice, but that's a different kind of sound. What kind of sound are you looking for?

I found that bi-wiring with a fast cable like Nordost and a source with clear highs like SACD can make the Gold's tweeters sound pretty good. The guy (Paul) who developed the Golds spent a fair amount of listening time when developing them, but I suppose this audio hobby is about getting out that last bit of performance if possible.

I'd like to hear how your changes turn out.

I think this is a great thing you are pursuing!

My recommendation is to check out the Vifa D27TG - 45. You will have to check the specs, but it may be a drop in for your Vifa metal dome(don't want to get your hopes up). It is a 1" silk dome tweeter, with a very smooth, detailed sound. In my opinion, it will greatly improve the higher frequencies of your speakers. The cost is under $50 for the pair(if you don't find it, drop me an e - mail), and I have always felt that to beat this tweeter, one needed to step up to the very high end products such as Dynaudio, Hiquphon, Morel, or ScanSpeak(same company). I think this tweeter is the best bargain in the speaker hobby, and is used in many highly regarded audiophile speakers.

By upgrading to this tweeter, you would be running the same drivers as the Coincident Triumph from about the midbass up, since you already have the Vifa 6.5" midwoofer. The D27TG - 45 will lend you a much more smooth, refined sound, with great detail. A big improvement will be in the ease of sound, reducing listener fatigue dramatically. You will also notice that the speaker will sound as if you bought a more expensive replacement, now that you are hearing what a high end tweeter sounds like. You now will realize the idea of the PSB Gold, integrating an audiophile monitor with a subwoofer.

My feelings have always been the weak points of the PSB Gold are the low end of the high end metal dome Vifa tweeter, the crossover(has to be at this price point), and the very demanding load its partnering amplifier faces. You will be solving one of the problems.

I submit that if you are going down the road of upgrading the tweeter, wire, and binding posts, the benefits you reap will not be so great unless you also upgrade the crossover components. This will turn your 10% improvement into a 50+% improvement. If you are not into reengineering the crossover itself, simply swap out the current parts for a much better grade(not so hard). The improvements that SCR capacitors(same factory as Solen, but much better sound via thicker polypropylene/aluminum and higher DC rating) and North Creek or Alpha Core Goertz inductors will provide are phenomenal. Much more of a dramatic improvement than wire at, unless you are using cheap or very cheap, about the same cost. The crossover upgrade would be well under $100, maybe even far less. You don't really need to put money into the woofer crossover elements, you will see far less benefit there. Spend you money where it will make the most improvement, midrange/treble(which you are already attacking with the tweeter).

And, the cheapest method of improving a speaker's sound is to replace the harsh sounding OEM resistors with Ohmite wirewounds. This $5 - $15 easily sounds like $1000+ in the increased smoothness, air, and refinement. Really gets rid of a lot of nasties.

GOOD LUCK!

I agree with Trelja. However, I should add that Solens, Axons, and SCRs are one and the same. The different companies would only have one believe different. Also, I prefer Mills to Ohmite. I think that you could do much better with caps than the SCRs. I must admit, I am a little partial. I have modified several of these speakers.

Have fun,
Jeff

Jeff, thanks for your input. I have not listened to Mills, but take your word on them.

The SCR capacitors, while built in the same factory as the Solens, are a better capacitor. They use a 7 mil polypropylene film, with a thicker aluminum deposition than the Solen and their 5 mil film. As such, SCR specs a 630 VDC rating, against the Solen 400 VDC. I believe you are correct about the Axon caps, and they feature lines from both Solen and SCR.

Jeff, I have not looked into the Golds in a long time. Can you please bring me up to speed? I believe they feature a 2nd order crossover, with no air core coils. Is my memory correct? And, what about the caps, I think they used a mid level type, representative of their price. Maybe polyester, with some electrolytics in there as well.

I am curious to find out where you found the most bang for your buck in the crossover. Do you feel that reengineering of the crossover values is worthwhile, or is it best to simply upgrade the components?

Thanks so much!, Joe

Thanks for your comments;as always well thought out and well expressed. I have a lot of equipment and thought I would play around with these older speakers. I am going to upgrade the crossover,and wish to really step up the performance of the tweeter which I find shrill at times,a characteristic of many metal domes I think,especially inexpensive ones.
The issue of the impedence is an interesting one as the impedence of the PSB Gold's really drops at low frequencies. The answer? Bi-amp with a pair of Bryston 3BSST's using a Legacy Steradian processor.Opens up mid range as well as delivers a tighter bass. Thanks again.