Forward Sounding Speaker Crossover Components - Suggestions?


I've been hooked on the immersed/surround sound from a set of stereo speakers since my first Carver Sonic Holography preamp back in the day, so I've been on a quest to replicate, but with a highly-refined set of components. Some people want to replicate "soundstage" as a concert, with the sound between their seated position and the speakers. I prefer to be sitting in the middle of the "stage", surrounded by the music.

To this end, I believe I've made most of the significant changes on all hardware, with exception of finding the right speaker crossover components. Please share your experience with the most forward sounding crossover components, including capacitors and inductors, so you can save me from this endless loop of buying, burning in, realizing it doesn't quite hit the mark, then repeat. Thanks in advance!

128x128akacree

Since Clarity Caps have been mentioned I add my experience with then .  I Recapped and resistored my crossovers in phases , first I tackled the woofer using CC CMR cap on the positive and an CC MR cap on the negative ( because of size ) , these were the top of the line at the time .  When the Pure series of caps came out (I waited over a year for them ) I used them for the tweeter and mid range and I will definitely recommend them , they have the same features as the CMR and have been improved also they are slightly smaller . 

As for resistors ( they too make a difference in sound ) I used Mills throughout . 

Capacitors, inductors, resistors have ZERO to do with imaging and soundstage. Instead I suggest you buy a pair of speakers that will give you 3-D dimensionality from anywhere in the room - Ohm Walsh's. I have a pair and they are indeed the best at bringing the performers into the room!

@vair68robert thanks for sharing continued experience with Clarity Caps. This empirical information is precisely what I’m seeking.

@sns thank you for sharing your further-down the rabbit hole experience! My upstream components generally have reputation for the same goal -- HQPlayer upsampling (some of the modulators & filters are amazing), Holo May DAC, AGD Audion monoblocks (arguably the closest class D gets to a SET sound) with Totem Hawks. My components also speak to a somewhat limited budget, but good to know you’ve honed in on your target with "SET amps, DHT pre’s and physically large horns". SET amps & high-sensitivity horns is where I imagine I’ll end some day, but don’t have the budget yet (larger room, set amps, larger speaker footprint, etc...), so for now it’s solid state & low sensitivity, small foot print Totems. I’ve been using HQPlayer’s built-in digital volume control, and a pre may be my next purchase. Which of the DHT’s do you suggest?

Fantastic advice on caps -- all have been on my radar, but hesitant to jump, especially at some of the price points. Totally agree on the Jantzen Litz Wax coils, though I’m currently running 12ga Mundorf Cu foils.

@akacree DHT pre's pretty rare, my Coincident Statement pre uses 101D, present 101D tubes not very reliable, Coincident went to 300B in new Statement. Vinnie Rossi has very nice 300B based pre, Bottlehead has 300B pre at much more affordable price. May be others I've missed.