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HELP AFTER MY MODS, My tweeters are subdued and weak-

So I have a pair of Mirage M1 speakers, I changed the caps in the crossovers to Jantzen Superior Z (for the tweeters) and standard z for the mids and bass.
 
I also changed the internal cabling to Supra Classic 2.5.

First Impressions-  Not burned in yet
The highs are there but really recessed in the background. Theres a song I reference and it has a steel guitar solo, I can bearly hear it through the vocals because its seems recessed so far back.

SO HERES THE QUESTION- Is that a symptom of unburned in cables and or caps, or is that just what Supra cables give you?

When I changed the internal cabling a few years back on the same model speaker, I used DH LABS t14 Silver plated cable, This had the opposite effect, it was super bright and fast, but it smoothed out and the brightness relaxed, leaving a lot of detail but not so much your ears bled.

But here its the opposite, its dull on the top end and the vocals kind of take over and blur out the top end.

idahifi
erik_squires
16,046 posts
 
Hi Tim,

Yes, your analysis is correct. :)

Too low impedance in the second poles _may_ lead to lowering of system impedance above the cut off. I know it’s weird, but I’ve seen it and modelled it a few times. It is a real effect.

Whether that is what the OP is suffering from I am not sure, but the series resistors are a clue. Usually those are in place to prevent a dead short.  Fortunately, the proof of this hypothesis is cheap. :) Just replace the caps with their originals and listen. If that proves to be correct, then the OP knows what to fix.


Best,

E
terry9
2,333 posts
 
Now that I see your schematic, I suspect that you might want to experiment with different caps for C7, C8, and C9.

Since Jantzen are metalized poly, you might find a considerable improvement by going to MIT film & foil caps:  RTX series (styrene/tin) for values  3uF and below, or MIT PPFXS (polypropylene/tin) for values 3 < 12 uF. I use these for high end DIY, and I suspect that your M1's are worth it too.
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
Mirage M1

Heard a pair once.
Bloody nice speaker in standard form, if they’re working fine. Great bass definition even when driven by a 80w P/P pentode.
But they need air around them, because of the rear firing tweeter. Like this.

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/usedphotosna/58479027_934.jpg

http://www.audiopolitan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Mirage-M1-Floorstanding-Speakers-Audiopolitan.jpg

Cheers George     
imhififan's avatar
imhififan
2,180 posts
 
I did replace two of three of the mid-range caps, as well as three of the five tweeter caps.
Can you let us know which caps you replaced? the value of the caps ( ie: 2.2uF 100V)?
idahifi OP
100 posts
 
So here's a new development.......

The rolled of tweeter sound has returned...

It only happens when I use the Tara labs temporal continuum speaker cables. I can't believe I didn't catch that before.. 

I really love these speaker cables, there very good, but using them with this new set up, the highs sound terrible.

With using just plain old zip cord I get better highs than the temporal continuums. 

Anyone have any idea why?
 
Next thing is what cables to replace these with, I don't want zip cord for my main speaker cables, I want something as good as the Tara's but without the weird tweeter issue.

Also , Tim not to beat a dead horse, but my bottom end is a little booty almost muddy, would this also improve with break in or is it a result of the supra cables, do you think?

Thanks for all your input, I can tell the sound is already smoother than before and more lively. Excited to hear it after a few weeks of playing it.

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