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A previous discussion included a statement about crossover components.

The commentator stated something to the effect that some very high end speakers really cheaped out on the capacitors and resistors in their crossovers, and hinted that replacing them with high quality components might improve the sound quality of the speakers. My question is "Have you ever replaced the caps and resistors in your speakers crossovers, and to your ears did that result in better sound quality?" Also, what brands of caps and resistors do you consider to be "the best", and why?

peporter
erik_squires
16,121 posts
 

Whether speaker makers scale their crossover components with the rest of the system varies a great deal.

Magico and B&W are two brands that do, using higher end Mundorf in the higher end speakers.  Focal is a brand I've only seen use OEM versions of low-mid grade Solen caps at best.

Personally I don't like high end Mundorf caps as I think they are a bit oversaturated, too colorful and splashy.  I do prefer Clarity caps overall though I've found that the high end Clarity caps still benefit from bypassing with copper foil caps at the larger (> 4uF) sizes. 

I have heard really good things about upgrading Wharferdale Diamonds even with low end Mundorf MKPs (I like the MKP's the most in the Mundorf line).

I suggest anyone who really wants to get into this to build speaker kits instead of starting off with an expensive pair of speakers. It's also much more rewarding.

peporter OP
37 posts
 

@knotscott

Spatial M4 Holograms. Just got my Precision Fidelity M7-A back together and am looking forward to a test drive. The Spatials are sensitive 93 db at 4 ohms so they should be a good match. Spatial offered a crossover upgrade when I bought them, but I had to pass on that.Now I might consider replacing some of the components. Since the M4 is no longer in production, I assume the crossover upgrade is no longer available also. It might be fun!

knotscott
932 posts
 

It couldn’t hurt to ask them if the upgrade is still available, or at least what they’d recommend. Otherwise, go your own way...it should still be an upgrade from cheap electrolytics, sand cast resistors, and iron core inductors. Should definitely be fun to do if you’ve got that gene! Good luck!

Don't recommend adding polyfil to open baffle speakers! 😁

 

peporter OP
37 posts
 

😄

carlsbad2's avatar
carlsbad2
1,623 posts
 

Here is a photo of the crossover components on a $83K/pr speaker.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ieh8b6wj4ykdZWxF9

Here is a pair of crossovers I made for my speakers:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Gcs1i3H7gJbQtfxq9

As you can see I use a lot of Mundorf caps (I read with interest Erik’s comments).  I also added a couple of Duelund bypass caps.   I also use Jantzen foil inductors and path resistors.

The sound is clearer, cleaner, and more accurate.

Jerry

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