DIY High pass filters for Vandersteen Model 5A Carbon's?

I'd honestly purchase them from Vandersteen or used.  I realize some folks build their own, but they were voiced with the components that Richard designed for them.  What do you mean they didn't have a Bass cabinet?  Are you saying you just purchased the head unit?

Just out of curiosity, what happened to the bass cabinets? How would you even hook up the speaker wires  when the terminals are on the bass cabinet, and what do you sit the top part on when it is angled?

The "high pass filter" is in this case just a capacitor. You could even build it into the amplifier housing. You need to know the amplifier's impedance and the target -3 dB point for the filter, then you can find an online calculator.

I'm a little confused. Are you missing the entire lower portion? If this is the case we need to talk about your whole plan. :) If you plan on making your own bass cabinet, you could add  speaker level high pass filter, or use an external crossover or DSP unit like a miniDSP to handle everything for you.

Best,

E

So I just read up on this. The Vandersteen design is a 100 hZ, single order (6dB/octave) high pass filter for the top section.

You could replace both missing cabs with 1 or 2 powered subwoofers. The question now is, how do you manage the crossover? You could do this with the normal features of a receiver or a preamp with integrated bass management (Parasound P5/P7), you could also do this with an external active crossover like a miniDSP or a DEQX.  Some powered subs also offer built in high pass filters.

What you have to watch out for is having at least a 6 dB high pass filter for the speaker cabs. More is fine (12, 24, etc.). 

Best,

E