crossover for mission m73

[ycliew]

I owned a mission m73 speaker and now would like to upgrade its crossover with better capacitor. Here are the original capacitor: c1:10uF/63V and 5.5k/100V. Capacitor value is show in uF unit but how can it be 5.5K? Anyone can explain to me the value and recommend some upgrade capacitors.Thank.

[Assyst1606]

Hi, I’m owning a pair of Mission M73 speakers too. Any reply from anyone regarding about modifying the crossover? If yes, could u share with me? Thanks!

[Sonusthree]

Hi.
I would recommend that you simply replace the capacitors with high quality versions of the same values. Start with the tweeter cap first since this is directly in the signal path.
There are plenty of crossover capacitor threads on here. Just search.

I have recently spent only 10 UK pounds on replacement caps for my tweeers (SoniQs ( made by Clarity caps UK)) and the improvement was very nice.

You don't have to spend a lot of money but most people find improvements with Mundorf and Jensen. Please note that these quality capacitors are usually physically much larger so you need to make sure that you have the space to fit them.

Good luck.

[Assyst1606]

Hi, thanks for the suggestion. I have not dismantle my speaker yet, may i know how can i tell which cap is for the HF (tweeter)?
By the way, will placing bitumen sheet inside the speaker cabinet improves the sound too?

[Sonusthree]

Hi.
It should be easy to find because your speakers are Bi-wired.
The tweeter cap is connected to the Hi frequency driver. Follow the signal from the HF connections on the back.
The signal should pass "through" the tweeter cap.

Bitumen damping is OK but you should probably add some proper structural bracing first. I have used simple wooden poles (broom handles) in similar Mission speakers and it worked quite well and can easily be removed again if necessary.

Try a search in the loudspeaker forums for cabinet bracing.

Bitumen may well be a good idea for later.

[v-bro]

I think the 5.5k is just a 5.5 uF cap and this one will probably be the tweeter cap. Mostly it is connected to a resistor as well (generally only tweeters are attenuated by resistors). The resistor is mostly placed between the tweeter and it's cap..

If the other cap is parallel to the woofer, don't bother changing it, it won't improve anything...

[Assyst1606]

Hi Vbro & Sonusthree,
I finally got the time to check out my speaker cross-over unit. I believe the yellow cap is the one I need to replace for better sound; it is in path with the HF terminal. Got a few questions.
1) The rating on the cap stated 5.0K 100V. Is it means 5uF 100V?
2) It is soldered very close to the board with the cap body touching the board. Saw some kind of glue applied onto the cap body & the board. There is very little space for a bigger cap. If the cap I get is too big to fit into the space, can I still solder (the new cap) with longer cap leads with the cap body not touching the board at all? Any impact on the sound?
3) Any reason why the existing cap is soldered so close to the board with shorter cap leads? Prevent signal loss?
4) Lastly, any good cap to recommend for my cap rating?
Thanks!

[v-bro]

I think it is 5.0 uF, but the standard values are mostly 4.7, 5.6 or 6.8....100V is not important, higher Voltage handling is not a bad idea (400V for instance).

No objection in soldering the cap offboard if you ask me...
You have to have a real good set of ears to hear this...

The cap is mostly glued on with clipped leads to make it resistant against damage from dropping...which I hope you will never do because the magnets from your drivers will most likely damage things worse...

I never heard benefits of "better" caps than MKP-QS caps (Audyncap). they also produce KPSn caps that cost 5 times as much, but again you need a real good set of ears AND very expensive equipment to hear the benefit of them...

I'd say just use a good "polypropene" cap...