Ok so the honeymoon period is coming to a close. I dispensed with the braided speaker cable as recommended above and after some extensive serious listening I’ve decided that the effort in replacing the capacitors was not where the problem lay. I still have a very over bright sound, tiresomely shrill and without bass and treble controls on my amp have tried using a graphic equaliser app through my iPad to tone things down a bit. It looks like my attempt to refurbish the vintage speakers, comments and suggestions please or should I just bid on eBay for another pair?
Its difficult advise really because 'sound' is such a personal thing. If you are sure the problem lies with the speaker (and not a characteristic of the partnering equipment) then you have to make a judgment call on whether it is genuinely faulty, faulty but fixable, or whether its simply a type of sound you now no longer like.
If other speakers sound OK with your set up then I suspect these are not worth investing in tbh. I also wonder whether the drive units have deteriorated in some way (the cone material and surrounds).
If other speakers sound OK with your set up then I suspect these are not worth investing in tbh. I also wonder whether the drive units have deteriorated in some way (the cone material and surrounds).
Yes I tend to agree about subjective 'likes' it's just in this case the sound is Very sharp almost painfully. As I am no longer a purist LOL I down loaded an equaliser app. And then used it as a filter between source and Amp. That was much easier to cut down the treble. Not an ideal solution but one that has worked
There are two easy ways, one is just to add series resistance to the driver which will reduce the voltage it sees. The other adds a second resistor and is called an L Pad attenuator.
L-pad Attenuator Tutorial for Passive Attenuators
I would just try adding some resistance to begin with, start low at say 2.2 ohms and just work up until it suits (or not
)
L-pad Attenuator Tutorial for Passive Attenuators
I would just try adding some resistance to begin with, start low at say 2.2 ohms and just work up until it suits (or not
)Mooly,
I did as bid.
Bought 4 resistors @2.2ohms. Placed one in between the feed to the speaker and switched on.
No better.
Then tried the others, one by one until all four were connected.
No decernable difference, if truth be told.
But......
Because at this stage I was working While still live, I noticed that whenever the speaker was disconnected the ‘shrillness’ was gone.
I put the bass speaker back into the cabinet and screwed it sealed.
Much better.
So with the mid range speaker disconnected the speakers are listenable without any appreciable loss of range.
Stange eh?
The end result is that the speakers may be fit to serve a purpose and fulfil my Grandsons requirements, the chances are that he may not follow my lead and dare to step onto the treadmill of audio excellence and be happy with what he’s got.
Fingers crossed!
I did as bid.
Bought 4 resistors @2.2ohms. Placed one in between the feed to the speaker and switched on.
No better.
Then tried the others, one by one until all four were connected.
No decernable difference, if truth be told.
But......
Because at this stage I was working While still live, I noticed that whenever the speaker was disconnected the ‘shrillness’ was gone.
I put the bass speaker back into the cabinet and screwed it sealed.
Much better.
So with the mid range speaker disconnected the speakers are listenable without any appreciable loss of range.
Stange eh?
The end result is that the speakers may be fit to serve a purpose and fulfil my Grandsons requirements, the chances are that he may not follow my lead and dare to step onto the treadmill of audio excellence and be happy with what he’s got.
Fingers crossed!
Yeah it’s certainly a strange one. I ‘think’ I have a pretty good appreciation of a broad frequency range, however with the mid range disconnected there is still a good treble plus a better low end bass. The Voices are centre stage.
I think I’ll call it a day now, if a pair of younger ears find the sound lacking now that the.mid range is cancelled then he can always find a more suitable pair of speakers to suit.
Again, many thanks for such prompt returns. Maybe I can go back to the warmth of the house now instead of messing about with these speakers in my garden workshop. Brrrrr!
I think I’ll call it a day now, if a pair of younger ears find the sound lacking now that the.mid range is cancelled then he can always find a more suitable pair of speakers to suit.
Again, many thanks for such prompt returns. Maybe I can go back to the warmth of the house now instead of messing about with these speakers in my garden workshop. Brrrrr!
I’ll try not to be there when they are fired up.
It could be that it’s my hearing that’s at fault. There are so many components to each crossover and as I pointed out when I started this quest I have no suitable knowledge compared to those on this forum who have helped along the path I’ve taken.
Are those huge metal cans electrolytic capacitors? If so, they are probably also ready for the bin. If they have gone open-circuit, high ESR or drastically reduced in capacitance the low-pass filter of the bass section won't be as steep as it should be, which could lead to an overly bright sound as the bass drivers play too far/much into the treble frequencies.
If it were me and knew the drivers were OK, i'd replace all the caps in the crossover with new ones. The any resistors are carbon then they can age over time too and increase in value, though probably not enough to cause a noticeable change. If they look toasty I'd definitely change them. Inductors will be fine.
If it were me and knew the drivers were OK, i'd replace all the caps in the crossover with new ones. The any resistors are carbon then they can age over time too and increase in value, though probably not enough to cause a noticeable change. If they look toasty I'd definitely change them. Inductors will be fine
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TMM,
You may well be right, I’ve changed most of the other original striped capacitors so far.
I thought I’d finished with this product but will now remove the crossover again and see what reference details are on the large cans. It should be much easier cutting their leads and soldering in the replacements.
The biggest problem so far has been sourcing the bits I need. It’s ‘hard’ going at Maplins and RS do not have a service counter, when you/I don’t know the correct terminology their blank faces are often as blank as mine.
You may well be right, I’ve changed most of the other original striped capacitors so far.
I thought I’d finished with this product but will now remove the crossover again and see what reference details are on the large cans. It should be much easier cutting their leads and soldering in the replacements.
The biggest problem so far has been sourcing the bits I need. It’s ‘hard’ going at Maplins and RS do not have a service counter, when you/I don’t know the correct terminology their blank faces are often as blank as mine.
So,
By now you’ll have gathered that I’m not the type to be thwarted by my lack of knowledge or experience. I guess that’s a common trait of a Scorpio.
I’ve removed the crossover from the speaker cabinet yet again and another of the 2.2 capacitors had separated from its lead. I’ve managed to get another couple from Maplins so my Saturday night is sorted.
I took a photo of the large ‘can type’ capacitor but it’s an item that Maplins do not stock and I require the experts here to help me once again please, do I obtain like for like or is there a modern equivalent.
There’s no guarantee that I won’t bother you all further and all that I can offer is my thanks.
By now you’ll have gathered that I’m not the type to be thwarted by my lack of knowledge or experience. I guess that’s a common trait of a Scorpio.
I’ve removed the crossover from the speaker cabinet yet again and another of the 2.2 capacitors had separated from its lead. I’ve managed to get another couple from Maplins so my Saturday night is sorted.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
I took a photo of the large ‘can type’ capacitor but it’s an item that Maplins do not stock and I require the experts here to help me once again please, do I obtain like for like or is there a modern equivalent.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
There’s no guarantee that I won’t bother you all further and all that I can offer is my thanks.
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