How old is too old ?....
If you can find a way to easily replace the capacitors in the crossover network with newer models, you'll probably like your speakers even more. Not only should they sound more transparent, you'll have increased their power handling in the long run. Capacitors deteriorate with age, can shift value, etc.. Bare in mind that the sound will change quite a bit when you initially do this. It will continue to change a little bit more over time as the capacitors settle in. Depending on the specific types of capacitors used and the power levels that you normally generate listening to the system, it can take anywhere from a few listening sessions all the way up to several hundred hours to finally reach their "plateau". I am currently working on a way that i can cycle capacitors to help them "form" before i install them in gear or speakers for this very reason. This should get me most of the way there but will still require a little bit of "actual use" to fully settle in. If you are really interested in doing something like this, try checking out the forums at Madisound for further information. Sean > |
FYI About a dozen years ago I compared, side-by-side, the then top of the line KEF107 to the B&W801. The KEF sounded vailed, lacking detail compared to the B&W. The current B&W's surpass the previous models in virtually all cases. If you follow my logic, you will come up with the following order of the speakers that I mention, best to worst: B&W now B&W then KEF107 KEF104 I am not saying what speaker to buy, but YES you can make dramatic impovements with the right new speaker. Have fun looking anmd listening, Richard |
