I find this weird that a DIY forum has no information as how to secure parts for these DIY projects.
I am trying to rebuild a KEF crossover for some older drivers and also create new crossovers for new-old stock drivers.
But I have been searching for about a week and still come up short of not only what to buy but also where to buy.
The capacitors are NP electrolytic and are 10 microFarads, 13 microFarads and 40 microFarads at 50Volts. M.D.L and BENNIC is the name printed on the Capacitors and they have a tolerance of 5%.
The inductors appear to be generic and of .5mH and .15mH.
The one resistor is of a cement type and 3.0 Ohms.
What are some Capacitors that would be considered an upgrade to the ones I have at a reasonable price?
Where can you buy these at a reasonable price?
I attached pictures showing the front and back of the crossover.
The KEF speakers are from the 3005SE 5.1 system I bought back in 2007.
I am trying to rebuild a KEF crossover for some older drivers and also create new crossovers for new-old stock drivers.
But I have been searching for about a week and still come up short of not only what to buy but also where to buy.
The capacitors are NP electrolytic and are 10 microFarads, 13 microFarads and 40 microFarads at 50Volts. M.D.L and BENNIC is the name printed on the Capacitors and they have a tolerance of 5%.
The inductors appear to be generic and of .5mH and .15mH.
The one resistor is of a cement type and 3.0 Ohms.
What are some Capacitors that would be considered an upgrade to the ones I have at a reasonable price?
Where can you buy these at a reasonable price?
I attached pictures showing the front and back of the crossover.
The KEF speakers are from the 3005SE 5.1 system I bought back in 2007.
Attachments
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There are many opinions, and many sources for parts. Here are a couple of sources.
Your KEF inductors should be fine.
Passive Crossover Parts - Resistors, Capacitors, and Inductors
Crossover Components - Parts Express
Your KEF inductors should be fine.
Passive Crossover Parts - Resistors, Capacitors, and Inductors
Crossover Components - Parts Express
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Already tried those two and none match up to the Capacitance I need. They are either too low or the tolerances are too high or the cost is way too high.
Looks like someof the polypropylene ones would work but they are pricey and the film capacitors are just plan insane in terms of price.
Looks like someof the polypropylene ones would work but they are pricey and the film capacitors are just plan insane in terms of price.
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These 5% parts should work (if they fit), parallel a 1uF with the 12uF.
Electrolytics will be hard to get at 5% tolerance. KEF buys tons of parts,
so they can get whatever specs they want.
Cheapest way is Bennic 10% bipolar electrolytics, should be good enough,
but you'd have to parallel several to get the right values.
These film types are better, but several times the cost of Bennics.
Dayton Audio DMPC-40 40uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor
Dayton Audio DMPC-10 10uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor
Dayton Audio DMPC-12 12uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor
Electrolytics will be hard to get at 5% tolerance. KEF buys tons of parts,
so they can get whatever specs they want.
Cheapest way is Bennic 10% bipolar electrolytics, should be good enough,
but you'd have to parallel several to get the right values.
These film types are better, but several times the cost of Bennics.
Dayton Audio DMPC-40 40uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor
Dayton Audio DMPC-10 10uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor
Dayton Audio DMPC-12 12uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor
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There is a Vendors Forum and a Parts Section in this group.
What more do you want?
Mouser, Digikey, Parts Express, Parts Connexion and all the other vendors in the forum.
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Have You tried motor start capacitors ? Easy to get at a winding workshop.
They are bulkier, but Elliott from Australia says they sound fine.
They are bulkier, but Elliott from Australia says they sound fine.
Hi. You need to define what is reasonable in you opinion, because levels of reasonability can differ greatly.
Is over 20 years is enough experience?. I'm sourcing parts for crossovers from some local surplass stores but mostly from partsexpress.com, madisound.com, solen.ca, erse.com and from digikey, newark, mouser, arrow for some of the caps mostly film.
You've already received solid advice from *at least* one experienced real-life engineer. I don't think belittling them or taking a confrontational tone will help solicit responses from others.
Many, if not most projects in the forum do have a BOM listed.
New builds/rebuilds such as yours require research, and as you're finding out, a lot of the variables are personal decisions based on cost, tolerance, size, appearance, etc. It is common to use parallel combinations to achieve a specific value. As you work, kindly post your decisions, what lead to them, and your results, so the next person to inquire will have somewhere to start.
There are probably as many solutions as there are opinions, and the least expensive good solutions have likely been mentioned already.
Parts Connextion is possibly the easiest parts supplier I use to shop for capacitors; reasonable prices, incredibly fast shipping (and they ship from Buffalo, NY if you're in the states. The Jantzen Premium ELKO are available in the values and tolerances needed (70VDC is 50VAC).
SonicCraft is another great supplier - ships quickly, well packaged.
Parts-express is useful as well - great search capacity, and also ships really fast.
Digikey and Mouser are both great shops, but given the quantity of parts available these are a little more difficult if you're not sure what you're looking for or are a little less experienced.
In terms of quantity, I wouldn't loose too much sleep over quality, given the age whatever you put in will be reasonable. I'd upgrade the capacitors and the resistor, and probably lean toward whatever I could get at Parts-Express (for the capacitor).
SonicCraft is another great supplier - ships quickly, well packaged.
Parts-express is useful as well - great search capacity, and also ships really fast.
Digikey and Mouser are both great shops, but given the quantity of parts available these are a little more difficult if you're not sure what you're looking for or are a little less experienced.
In terms of quantity, I wouldn't loose too much sleep over quality, given the age whatever you put in will be reasonable. I'd upgrade the capacitors and the resistor, and probably lean toward whatever I could get at Parts-Express (for the capacitor).
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The only belittling and/or confrontational tone was from the members in this forum. The one answer that was not was vague.
Even your own post was condescending and/or unhelpful. But at the same time you then you ask me to help you post information is not condescending and/or helpful.
Obviously there are facts that are immutable about crossovers and parts that would lend readily to "solid" advice or advice that would be free of opinion and/or speculation.
I am convinced this DIY forum is indeed very weird.
Even your own post was condescending and/or unhelpful. But at the same time you then you ask me to help you post information is not condescending and/or helpful.
Obviously there are facts that are immutable about crossovers and parts that would lend readily to "solid" advice or advice that would be free of opinion and/or speculation.
I am convinced this DIY forum is indeed very weird.
I believe multiple posts have been made in response to your first question (where to obtain parts) - including my own post with a reference to Jantzen capacitors.
To further help you, I simply googled "10uF 5% tolerance 50VAC electrolytic capacitors" and had a handful of responses.
If you want to know the "best" capacitor, there are multi-hundred page threads along those lines. I have parts boxes with five different makes of the same capacitor from going down this path - because everyone's amp is different.
Now kindly please let me know where to send my venmo name for the following invoice:
=============
Engineering Advice on Cross-over selection
0.25 hours at $218.94 (USD) per hour = $54.73.
Thank you
To further help you, I simply googled "10uF 5% tolerance 50VAC electrolytic capacitors" and had a handful of responses.
If you want to know the "best" capacitor, there are multi-hundred page threads along those lines. I have parts boxes with five different makes of the same capacitor from going down this path - because everyone's amp is different.
Now kindly please let me know where to send my venmo name for the following invoice:
=============
Engineering Advice on Cross-over selection
0.25 hours at $218.94 (USD) per hour = $54.73.
Thank you
Hi sarscott,
Well, you were given helpful advice more than once. I've been servicing / designing and building speaker systems for over 40 years. Is this your first project?
I would go to the same sources already listed, and yes. Some parts are expensive but cheap when you look at alternatives. It seems like you want a kit to do this maybe?
What a strange member. It is a DIY forum full of helpful people who have helped you already. At this point you might want to study something on electronics and how capacitance and inductance and resistance works. Once you have done that you can easily figure out what to buy and how to modify it.
By the way, do you have an oscillator, AC voltmeter and frequency counter? An oscilloscope would help too. An LCR meter would be fantastic to have for you, or are you going to "wing it" while desiring a sure thing? I'm just curious as to your level of knowledge and expectation for this project. Can you get the same drivers (and aren't they expensive)?
-Chris
Well, you were given helpful advice more than once. I've been servicing / designing and building speaker systems for over 40 years. Is this your first project?
I would go to the same sources already listed, and yes. Some parts are expensive but cheap when you look at alternatives. It seems like you want a kit to do this maybe?
What a strange member. It is a DIY forum full of helpful people who have helped you already. At this point you might want to study something on electronics and how capacitance and inductance and resistance works. Once you have done that you can easily figure out what to buy and how to modify it.
By the way, do you have an oscillator, AC voltmeter and frequency counter? An oscilloscope would help too. An LCR meter would be fantastic to have for you, or are you going to "wing it" while desiring a sure thing? I'm just curious as to your level of knowledge and expectation for this project. Can you get the same drivers (and aren't they expensive)?
-Chris
Sarscott you are on thin ice. Read the rules again and follow them.OK, I have been involved in electronics for 65 years, professionally I have made a living in electronics for over 50 years. Specifically in professional audio for 40+ years. You SEEM to be asking us why there is no list of exactly where to buy every exact part. It was suggested to try PArts Express, and you objected as they did not have the exact part value. In this business you need to roll with the punches. There is absolutely nothing wrong with putting parallel caps together to make a specific value, it is even done in some commercial crossovers. IN years past I needed a 1.7mH inductor, and PE only sold them in even values. SO I bought a 2 and unwound part of it until it measured 1.7. SImple as that.
Remember, this is a forum, a place for people of like minds to share their thoughts. WHile there are many of us making an effort to be helpful, this is NOT a free service
Remember, this is a forum, a place for people of like minds to share their thoughts. WHile there are many of us making an effort to be helpful, this is NOT a free service
Falcon Acoustics | The Leading DIY Speaker Parts and Kit Supplier since 1972
Have a lot of caps and crossover parts for older KEF speakers, and stock a range of odd value capacitors.
Have a lot of caps and crossover parts for older KEF speakers, and stock a range of odd value capacitors.
Again, to state the obvious, the only people that are belittling and/or confrontation tone has been from other members from this forum prior and to and after my posts.
That said, thank you to those that indeed tried to help by answering in the way you saw fit even though I felt the answers may have been unhelpful to me.
What is the point of a DIY forum if there is no members willing to help with clear and concise answers that are helpful to people that are trying to learn something new?
Instead I am only treated to oblique answers that are either very unhelpful but also replies that are belittling and condescending.
Then when I point out the obviousness of this forum's negative replies that are contrary to the very nature of a DIY forum, I get replies that are downright nasty and hostile.
Good grief, sorry I even asked anything on this forum at all. Goodbye and good riddance as I have no interest in a forum full of such unhappy negative people.
That said, thank you to those that indeed tried to help by answering in the way you saw fit even though I felt the answers may have been unhelpful to me.
What is the point of a DIY forum if there is no members willing to help with clear and concise answers that are helpful to people that are trying to learn something new?
Instead I am only treated to oblique answers that are either very unhelpful but also replies that are belittling and condescending.
Then when I point out the obviousness of this forum's negative replies that are contrary to the very nature of a DIY forum, I get replies that are downright nasty and hostile.
Good grief, sorry I even asked anything on this forum at all. Goodbye and good riddance as I have no interest in a forum full of such unhappy negative people.
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