I'm looking for some guidance on assessing vintage crossover networks. My time on DIYAudio has been focused almost exclusively on Solid State Amplifiers. This is my first forray into the world of speakers and crossovers.
A bit of History
I left California for Tennessee back in 2021. Before heading out, I decided to try to find a set of vintage speakers as the marketplace in Northern California was much deeper than what I was seeing in Tennessee. After a few months of hunting (and sadly dismissing several excellent finds that were out of my price range), I found a listing for a pair of Sansui SP-3000.
I was prepared to show up and do some haggling... then found that the owner was the original owner who had purchased them new in Vietnam while serving in the war. He still had the original flyer with the $96 price on them. I could tell he was hesitant to sell them, but was trying to clean out the closets a bit before moving to Idaho. Kind of like a guy selling his first car which he no longer drives. He still loves the car, but no longer drives it and wants it to go to someone who will use and appreciate it. He actually "interviewed" me to make sure I wasn't simply going to resell them. His wife said she remembered them in his apartment when they started dating, and that they had always been a part of their house. So I gladly paid him the $300 asking price and thanked him for his service.... then hauled them to my truck - Man they are heavy! While these aren't anything special in the world of vintage speaker, they do now have meaning to me based on how I came by them.
Questions
I've had them stored in the corner for the past few years and am finally getting around to putting them into use. I think they sound good, but maybe a bit hollow? These are likely from 1975 and are now 50 years old. The crossover network has four bi-polar electrolytic caps. Given their age, should I assume they are dried up and are due for replacement? Or should I pull and test with a LCR meter? If I do replace them, should I use bipolar electrolytics (like Nichicon UDB series) or consider replacing with film caps (like ClarityCap PX Series). I've read that swapping Electrolytics for Film caps can had unintended negative impact due to the lower ESR.
I also plan on replacing the funky cheap connectors with 5-way binding posts.
The cabinet and speakers themselves are in excellent condition. Cones have no visible damage and the surround is still intact and pliable.
3 of the four "tuning" knobs turn well. One is a bit sticky. I'll need to look at it to see if it can be smoothed out... unless someone has any advice on this
Anything else I should consider looking at? Any changes to the fill I should consider?
Thanks in advance!
A bit of History
I left California for Tennessee back in 2021. Before heading out, I decided to try to find a set of vintage speakers as the marketplace in Northern California was much deeper than what I was seeing in Tennessee. After a few months of hunting (and sadly dismissing several excellent finds that were out of my price range), I found a listing for a pair of Sansui SP-3000.
I was prepared to show up and do some haggling... then found that the owner was the original owner who had purchased them new in Vietnam while serving in the war. He still had the original flyer with the $96 price on them. I could tell he was hesitant to sell them, but was trying to clean out the closets a bit before moving to Idaho. Kind of like a guy selling his first car which he no longer drives. He still loves the car, but no longer drives it and wants it to go to someone who will use and appreciate it. He actually "interviewed" me to make sure I wasn't simply going to resell them. His wife said she remembered them in his apartment when they started dating, and that they had always been a part of their house. So I gladly paid him the $300 asking price and thanked him for his service.... then hauled them to my truck - Man they are heavy! While these aren't anything special in the world of vintage speaker, they do now have meaning to me based on how I came by them.
Questions
I've had them stored in the corner for the past few years and am finally getting around to putting them into use. I think they sound good, but maybe a bit hollow? These are likely from 1975 and are now 50 years old. The crossover network has four bi-polar electrolytic caps. Given their age, should I assume they are dried up and are due for replacement? Or should I pull and test with a LCR meter? If I do replace them, should I use bipolar electrolytics (like Nichicon UDB series) or consider replacing with film caps (like ClarityCap PX Series). I've read that swapping Electrolytics for Film caps can had unintended negative impact due to the lower ESR.
I also plan on replacing the funky cheap connectors with 5-way binding posts.
The cabinet and speakers themselves are in excellent condition. Cones have no visible damage and the surround is still intact and pliable.
3 of the four "tuning" knobs turn well. One is a bit sticky. I'll need to look at it to see if it can be smoothed out... unless someone has any advice on this
Anything else I should consider looking at? Any changes to the fill I should consider?
Thanks in advance!
Attachments
BTW - how crazy is it that those fragile wooden grills are still intact on both speakers with no visible damage.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...rade-in-crossover-is-it-audible-part-2.12447/
In the above link you can read about old (35 years) capacitors compared to new capacitors measured in crossover. It is in section 'C'.
It also has other capacitors measurements.
But as these are old parts one has to measure what they have personally to confirm 100%.
Regds.
In the above link you can read about old (35 years) capacitors compared to new capacitors measured in crossover. It is in section 'C'.
It also has other capacitors measurements.
But as these are old parts one has to measure what they have personally to confirm 100%.
Regds.
They're made of some kind of plastic
The woofer is '5Ω' like the one in the Kenwood KL777; the capacitors are the same brand. They were still holding strong ...10 years ago.
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