if you're going to upgrade to new internal wiring use OCC single crystal wire it has been proven for over 50 years now to be the best wire for audio far superior to anything ofc.
B&W 802 D2 Capacitors Worth Upgrading?
After just getting a pair of 802D2’s in mint condition, after having to replace a blown tweeter, and succeeding (I know not a big deal), I started wondering about replacing the crossovers. The speakers could be up to 12 years old so the capacitors in the crossovers should have another 12 years of life before they go out of spec. I thought of just replacing the crossovers with new ones available on B&W’s site, now, just to reset the ~25y clock on the capacitor’s lifespan. But then I watched a few YouTube’s of guys upgrading to crazy high-end caps. Supposedly doing this can improve the speed or reduce the latency of the crossover.
I’ve not dug into this yet, but just wondering if anyone has any experience with this? Questions:
-Is this worth doing?
-Why type of capacitors do I need? And which brand/models are “the best”.
-Where do I get them?
-Any special tips when soldering for HiFi? I know how to solder but have zero experience soldering for HiFi and wondering if I should be using a certain type of solder for Audiophile applications. What am I thinking, of course there is such a thing as Audiophile solder, and it forms micro ultra low capacitance conductors, applies power correction and noise cancelation, improves the dialectics and it costs $5,000 a spool…. Ok got carried away there.
Also thinking about upgrading the internal crap wiring to something high end.
Thoughts, from anyone with experience doing these things?
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I must say on these speakers if your want to change the Caps, it is your money and sounds like a guess. I would only say whatever grade of caps used, get the EXACT same grade, as like in Mundorfs', Not all are the same. I just replaced the Caps in my surround speakers from Solen to Mundorf, but I went for a lesser grade without looking at the reviews. Big mistake, I wish I had kept the Solen Caps. Just because you chose a brand name like Mundorf, that does not mean it is the best choice for that speaker and the engineers at B & W surely studied the qualities of the caps they chose when they designed their speakers. THat is not saying that you might prefer a different sound out of your speaks. |
@allenf1963 In my mind the vintage AR and modern AR are very different sounding beasts, so be careful to ask which models people are recommending. I find the old AR + B&W to be a terrible but common combination resulting in a sound too lean and lacking meaningful punch. Modern AR sounds almost too neutral. For vintage tubes you owe it to yourself to listen to Conrad Johnson. Juicy, great imaging, maybe far too sweet for some. |
+1 @erik_squires great summation on preserving high quality speakers! |
Here are a couple of novice tips from another novice. Capacitors have a direction, in/out. They have a label on them to tell you what end. goes where. If you install them in the wrong direction they may blow up. I had a friend had one go off in his face. That’s when he quit electronics. Do not use flux!!!! Buy a quality iron that gets hot enough. It needs to be hot so that it will melt the solder on the board without getting the capacitor and surrounding components overheated. Bent
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