ELAC B6 tweak


I was a little late to the Elac B6 game because I just didn't want to believe the fuss. I'm convinced now that it's a classic and will remain so for some time. What's interesting is that when you have a signature audio product all of the variations that follow never really have the same impact that that one product had. B6.2, Uni-fi etc. are all excellent speakers and may improve on the original in certain areas but it's the magic that the B6 has which is like a basic BLT sandwich that you just can't improve on significantly because it's rock solid. Having said that- I just modded a pair of Epos Epic 2's with Jantzen Alumen caps (a huge improvement) and although the Epos is more of a "high end" speaker in an audiophile sense, I still spend just as much time switching back to the Elac B6 because it satisfies and it's fun. I was hesitant to try and improve in any way on the B6 but I think that I've found the one mod possibly even Andrew Jones would approve of because it does nothing to change the signature or the voicing of the speaker at all but just provides a little more air around the instruments and opens up the sound stage. What I did was bypass the 1.5uf tweeter cap with a Cornell-Dubilier 940C .01uf/3000V bypass capacitor. They're easily available from Allied Electronics and less than $10. The soundstage has grown substantially, the bass comes more into focus and the highs are just that much more detailed, sweet and extended. If you don't want to butcher the speaker it's easy- unscrew the back terminal, find the cap and just twist the capacitor on for easy removal if you aren't convinced. Make sure you do at least 3-4 twists for a good contact and enjoy!
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I used the 940c on a whim. I had them laying around. The thing about the B6 is that it is, after all, a "budget" speaker and the cabinet is rather unimpressive- no internal bracing, nothing fancy etc.apart from the binding posts which are nice. I have had a bit of experience "voicing" speakers and components and I know that there's a lot that can be done but when all the pieces come together on the cheap such as is the case with the B6 I really don't want to mess with the formula. I just found that the bypass cap added just the right amount of air without changing anything as far as the voicing was concerned. 
I bought the New Monitor Audio -Studio with matching sand filled stands coupling them. The Platin7m poly caps are pretty neutral and has Silver Wire.
i replaces the wire with Supra 5-9s+Pure ,And each strand is Tinned ,The Rondo
is awg13 ,at $3.00 a foot for both+ and - a great Cable,plus all connections made with the Excellent Stabilant-22 contact enhancer,first clean everything with high purity Isopropyl alcohol. Stabilant which lasts for wellover12 years if not touched  .buy directly from them , awhile ago someone renamed and was cutting it over 80%. NASA and many $$$ military usesthis stuff fantastic also on all connections including vacuum tube pins.
all slide on driver connectors Furutech Gold plated Copper.the Xover
the New ClarityCsa  Copper now on the end caps I rate them a solid 10, but need 250 hours to fully run in I listen and document every 48 hours with same 19 songs ,and have recorded changes in the past .these as good or better then the Mundorf Supreme morenatural in direct comparison To me and I used 
Mundorfs a long time too much plastic in the 2 x winding, i bypassed all 5 caps in each speaker withthe  Cornell Dublier 940c ,bypass caps .01 uf, 3,000 dc.
i asked Tony Gee about why use the high voltage version, it the foils are thicker 
and lowerdistortion, very low ESR, I have Spoken to Tony over 15 years ,he knows his speakers well.I also use both Mills and Ohmite Gold 1% tolerance resistors. For under $500 in parts Totally transformed this already very good Loudspeaker.
with my powered sub it plays Way above any $6k+ Stock Loudspeaker for under a $3k investment  one of the best Audio decisions I have made.
Pokee B6 original and the B6 2.0 both have the. Magic factor, I have the original, I heard the 2.0 at Axpona...