Klipsch Cornwall IV

from above:
Hi Don! I started to put together a parts list to modify the crossover caps. I like VCAP much. I've used their CuTFs before. Can you shed some light on where one could cut corners a bit to save cost? The reason I ask is that the mods you did come up to $896 in caps--

All values *2 loudspeakers
2.7 uF $87
2.2 uF $84
6.8 uF $101
1.5 uF $82
4 uF $94

I may do the VCAP ODAMs on 2.7, 2.2 and 6.8 and try something more affordable on the other values.



I used the VCap ODAM because I build a lot of tube gear and they sound better than anything I have ever heard.  I have never liked the sound of the teflon caps much.  Others have different tastes and that is how it should be.   I get OEM pricing on the VCaps because I buy a lot of them.  But I cannot sell them under that agreement, only use them for my builds. The retail price starts to go down at quantity 2, but yes, they are expensive little devils!   Honestly, the stock caps in the crossover appear to be typical MKP caps.   I cannot say how good they are.  I put caps in that I know are as good as anything out there and I could hear quite a difference.   Also, getting the sand resistor out of there matters a lot too.  I used the pathaudio ones at about $25 each, but even a nice Mills or something would be better.  The 2.75, 2.25, and 7 uF values are the most important ones for the caps.  I left the big one alone as it is just across the woofer.  You could probably leave the others alone as well.  The three above values are directly in series with the mid and high drivers.  I am not sure if something more affordable would be better than what is there now for the other values, I really don't know.  I had all but the largest value in stock for the ODAM so I used them.  For cheaper options, the multicaps have always been good reliable ones, as well as the mundorf supremes, but not sure these are much better than what it is there now, since they are not labelled and I didn't measure them.  The oil filled mundorfs are about as expensive as the vcaps and the I prefer the VCap ODAM to anything mundorf.  Again, we all have our tastes....  Lots of folks like Duelunds and I also like the Miflex KPCU, but both are huge for the value and would not fit, and I prefer the ODAM to any of them.

   

Guys,

Get out your notebooks and record what Don Sachs is telling you, you're not going to get such detailed info from anyone who has the knowledge and experience that Don has... 👍

Wig

Thank you Don for the follow-up.

I opened them up today to take a look around and damp the mid horn and tweeter. As an aside, the damping made a real difference. I was not surprised as I damped my Forte IIIs and it helped materially there too.

You are fortunate to be able to take advantage of vendor/quantity discount pricing with Chris (Good guy by the way). I used VCap CuTFs in a Primaluna integrated that I modified. They, along with Audyn copper, worked superbly. I sold the amp, nevertheless, as while I improved it I found something that I found to be a better match for the CW IVs.

I think I may wait 6 months and do the cap upgrade with the ODAMs--to give me time to allocate funds. The size of the ODAMs alone is likely to save me some real headaches.

With regard to the Path Audio resistors, their size seems to be a decent fit over the ceramic stock ones. I don’t know the manufacturer of the ceramic stock resistors and, unlike some folks, I do not believe that ceramic cast resistors are necessarily bad, poor sounding, etc.

Finally, I need to figure out and understand (just my nature) the function, application and wiring concerning that third wire on the Path Audio resistor. Is it some kind of ground or drain? What does it do and where does it link to, if anywhere?  Any intel will be appreciated but I know folks are busy.  I'll try to learn about this on my own. 

that is just a drain wire on the pathaudio resistor.  You don't even have to connect it if you don't care to.  I tied the two of them together and then soldered to woofer ground input.  They fit easily on the board

Thank you Don! Perfect information.