1, 2 , 3 , 4, etc of speaker mod / upgrade

Not everybody is as in love with silver as you may be. It has its strengths and weaknesses, as does copper. I would guess it all depends on what aspects of the speaker you are trying to improve.

I would also think you should change out, upgrade or bypass the caps first, as that will make the biggest difference overall. Then you can adjust the other things if you still feel you need to. My first recommendation is to just bypass the existing tweeter caps with .1uF teflons of your choice, give them 200 hours of break in and then see if you need to do anything else. Then look to upgrade the other basic caps in the rest of the crossover if you feel inclined.

Yes, they make that much of a difference.

Enjoy,
Bob

Good info above. Keep in mind that some of these changes will produce strange effects at first(especially the caps). Many people will dispute the truth of "burn-in" for components and wire. To those that can hear it: No explanation is necessary. For those that can't: No explanation is possible. If you bypass: Don't exceed 1% of the value of the cap you're bypassing.

if your speakers are classics and it great condition keep them stock...tweek elsewhere.

1) Have the drivers rebuilt. After 20 years, the suspension of the drivers can often have stiffened considerably and the copper or aluminum of the voice coil may have corroded and lost a significant amount of conductivity it once had.

Find a reputable shop like Bill Legall at Millersound who can do the work, at a surprisingly low cost. Drivers are where the rubber meets the road, like the tires on an automobile. Though most overlook them, the results can often be quite surprising

2) Crossover resistors. Even the best resistors sound pretty bad, so spend a few (literally, only a few) dollars here buying the best.

There are a lot of opinions here, including those held by supposed speaker gurus. In my experience, silicone coated wirewound resistors are the least bad sounding of the lot.

Even better for those who can get away with it, consider removing the resistors altogether. This impacts the crossover parameters, however

3) Crossover capacitors. More detail, clarity, and air, though many "better" capacitors sometimes leach musicality and can impart a bright or even bleached out sounding presentation

4) Crossover inductors. Better copper smooths out the presentation, while larger AWG yields lower DCR (DC resistance) can substantially improve dynamics

However, one should be VERY careful in making sure you don't stray much from the DC resistance of the inductors you are currently using, as simply switching from copper to silver or going to a larger AWG will. Throwing off these values shifts the parameters of the crossover, and unless one is OK with reengineering the crossover values, I'd advise staying away from this type of change

5) Binding posts. Edison-Price and Cardas unplated copper are the best

#4 and #5 make the biggest difference.

For my speakers it used Hovland, (but If I do it again nowadays it could be a different brand)

For coil I used alpha core copper foil.

these things get very $$$ these days.