Where to start upgrading passive xover.

[Luke352]

I have a 3 way DLS set and am looking at updating the xover but am unsure where to start. I've been looking at changing the caps the ones in the xover look ok but I feel they could probably be better.

Now I'm running the system semi active so the woofer is section is not in use only the midrange and tweeter section and both the level select sections are in use.

The attached schematic was supplied by the manufacturer.

The components are as follows

MID
10uF appears to be a film type labeled DLS/MXP
33uF looks to be a electro but is very large so may be something different
0.25mh coil appears to be quite good quality so I haven't paid much attention to them
17uF mylar, my xover doesn't even have this
2ohm resistor isn't shown but is there to pad down the mid

Tweeter
3.9uF Film style
2 ohm resistor


The resistor are just a wirewound sand case ones and appear to be prety average.

Now I've been looking at upgrading the caps and using Clarity Cap ESA for the tweeter and PX for the mid. Or should I be looking at upgrading the resistors or as well, or the inductors. The Clarity caps are about my limit budget wise.

Thanks for your help guys.

Luke

[Luke352]

Anyone?

[Cal Weldon]

Clean the contacts of the attenuation network. Then...
Caps first
Resistors second
Coils don't wear out on their own.

I use only mid grade product. No point in feeding an old horse steroids.
Enjoy.

[zygibajt]

You are right starting with the caps, they steal the most sound out of drivers. But a good cap cost a small fortune especially in your range. And in my expirence anything below a good cap (read even 95% of so called audiophile caps in resonable prices) is crap that is usually barely noticable better than typical industral $2 cap. To describe it better when I was comparing the cap to no cap in application when there may be no cap used. The standard industrial cap were miles away behind no cap, the audiophile resonable priced caps were few meters closer but still miles away. A good caps were getting closer with the best caps quite close to no cap. So in my opinion spending any money on average audiophile resonably priced caps is just wasting this money not worth the hassle.

If you want to get a good cap performance or even some claim these are one of the best caps for tweeter and midrange try to source vintage Siemens MKV oil caps. There are many of the available on eBay and usually can be obtained locally in surplus stores. They are big and have wide range up to even 60 - 80uF. Using them in parallel on can get most desirable value but usually the crossover lands outside the speaker as it is no longer small enough to fit inside.

Another improvement are cables. Tasted many many of them and you will have extremely hard time getting any better than using Cardas chassis litz wire. The thinnest for the tweeter and little thicker for mids. Hard to solder as it is true litz. Parts Connection and Percy are the good sources.

Next resistors, usually Mills are one of the best and most popular and do not cost the fortune.
Changing coils for anything like Alpha Core would also gain some improvement the same as some good quality binding posts.

[DrDyna]

Upgrading caps is usually fairly straightforward, so long as the value is what it should be and they handle as much voltage as the originals. You could also upgrade the coils to a fancier air core foil variety, but you have to be careful when you start changing coils around that the DC resistance is close, or you'll end up altering crossover points.

As far as resistors, you should be ok with changing those out for like values of similar or greater wattage. Madisound has some that I've had pretty good luck with, but I'll admit I've never done and serious A/B tests to see if using more expensive ones offer any tangible difference.

[Luke352]

Thanks guys, it's nice to know i'm starting at the right point. Have any of you used bypass caps? I was on Tony Gee' site and noticed he has a liking for using bypass caps.

[PeteMcK]

replace the electros, spend the rest of your money on new CDs....

[AllenB]

Originally Posted by Luke352

Have any of you used bypass caps?

This is good in theory and can work well. It can also backfire and make things worse. I think it is a better bet to get a single quality cap where possible.

[TerryO]

Originally Posted by AllenB

This is good in theory and can work well. It can also backfire and make things worse. I think it is a better bet to get a single quality cap where possible.

The theory and the actual outcome match pretty darn closely. I use electrolytics with polypropylene bypass caps all the time. From A/B tests with 2 pairs of identical speakers, with the exception of the crossovers, one being electrolytics with poly bypass and the other with poly caps with identical poly bypass caps. The people ended up 50/50, IOW they couldn't tell which was which. Yes, you may need to replace the electrolytic caps in 25 or 30 years, but until then you're good to go!

Best Regards,
TerryO

[Luke352]

Originally Posted by PeteMcK

replace the electros, spend the rest of your money on new CDs....

Was just looking at that now with it being a crappy electro, but was wondering if it needs to be BiPolar and if so I thought most polypropylene weren't BiPolar. 33uF most likely quite expensive.