Wharfedale diamond 10.7 x-over upgrade

Looking to upgrade the X-over in Wharfedale diamond 10.7.
Originally looking at just changing the caps for film, Audyn copper or Jantzen Z-Superior.
But should I also replace the resistors?
I like the general tone of the speakers, but feel I could get better definition and clarity.

Thanks in advance.

mdr


Mid and tweeter x-over:
 
Typically people exchange one set of good caps for another but because of positive expectation bias, they conclude the modification was worth it. Sadly, the filter function stays the same for the values they inserted were also the same. True mods can not be executed without some engineering know-how and measurements. The single best modification without serious engineering is to try different resistor values, the ones that are originally placed there to reduce the drivers sensitivity in achieving a homogeneous overall sound, but manufacturers are known to overdo that padding so inserting ones that do less of this padding, can potentially improve the sound. Still the schematic needs to be taken into consideration because you can make things worse also.
 
Last edited:
These speakers are relatively new so all crossover components will be in sound working condition and in no urgent need of changing.

Changing crossover components may result in the speaker sounding different, but whether you will achieve better definition and clarity is debatable. Ultimately, the quality of the drivers may be the limiting factor.

If you experiment on only one of the speakers, you will be able to compare it with the unmodified one to see if you have achieved your goal.
 

Attachments

  • Diamond 10.7.jpg
    Diamond 10.7.jpg
    73.2 KB · Views: 226
No, that formula won't work. The price of a new pair could be 700 bucks on amazon. Let's assume the second hand pair moves for 30-40% of the said price. That is 280 bucks at best and if you add another 300 bucks that you would have spent on fancy new passive parts, makes budget of 580 bucks. Where can you buy a better 3 way combo than 10.7 for that kind of money? Rhetorical question it was.


My best advice is to either let these diamonds be what they are as designed by factory or learn how to design speakers and try to modify its original filter in such a way that it will end up being a new loudspeaker. And the unknown is that it is not obvious whether such a mod would yield a desired outcome. I have done extensive mods to a few commercial products and I can assure anyone interested in it that it is quite of an undertaking.
 
Last edited:
After a successfull modification of this 10.7 made just with the Jantzen Cross caps and Superes resistors, and some better OFC cables (Klotz, Monacor etc) soldered directly to the drivers I do can tell you that these speakers are limited by their crossovers quite seriously, so don't hesitate to upgrade the factory components! ;)
 
After a successfull modification of this 10.7 made just with the Jantzen Cross caps and Superes resistors, and some better OFC cables (Klotz, Monacor etc) soldered directly to the drivers I do can tell you that these speakers are limited by their crossovers quite seriously, so don't hesitate to upgrade the factory components! ;)
Hi,

Can you detail what exactly you have changed and what difference you could hear?
I just opened my diamond 10.7. I want to make my mid/bass driver handle more higher frequency (upto 3khz). After opening, I can see two capasitors. (35uf and 50uf). I am not sure which one needs to be changed to higher value to make speaker handle higher frequency.

I am not expert in electronics so I am unable to understand the board design.

Please help.
 
According to the Stereophile review mentioned by Lojzek, the lower woofer rolls off above 150Hz, and the upper woofer crosses over to the 2" dome midrange unit at 950Hz.

To ask the upper woofer to exend to 3,000Hz would therefore appear somewhat perverse!

As you admit you don't understand crossovers, I also advise you to leave well enough alone.
 
Sounds like the same crossover in the older 9.6 - at least of what I see. I did once an upgrade, although more modest on these (clarity cap px and air core coils) and we levelled the dip at 3-6khz on the dome mid - not much improvement besides more presence in the upper mid but that was not because of fancy caps. In my opinion the cones they use are pretty lifeless and lack transparency a lot.