| Crossover Cap Comparison [message #15199] |
Thu, 16 February 2006 15:38  |
FredT
Messages: 704
Registered: May 2009
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Illuminati (1st Degree) |
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I was wondering if anybody has done an evaluation of different brands of caps in their speakers' crossovers, especially the caps in the tweeter signal path. Looking at the brands I hear about most often I see a broad price range. For example, a 10uF Solen is $4.48. The same value Northcreek Zen is $9.35, a Sonicap is $17.60, an Auricap is $24.95, and a 10uF Hovland Musicap is $43.85. My experience with cap comparisons has been limited to Solens, Northcreek Zens and Auricaps. I replaced the Solens in my Maggie 1.6's with Northcreek Zens and heard a significant reduction in treble harshness. I also tried a single Auricap (they don't recommend bypassing) and they provided greater resolution, but they sounded artificially bright in comparison to the Northcreeks. Didn't like them at all. I have also heard good things about Sonicaps from others but have not done any comparisons with them. Has anybody else upgraded caps in a speaker crossover? What did you replace, and what differences did you hear?
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| Northcreek Caps in Pi Speakers [message #15207 is a reply to message #15206] |
Tue, 21 February 2006 04:45  |
FredT
Messages: 704
Registered: May 2009
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Illuminati (1st Degree) |
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There's no doubt in my mind that upgrading the caps in the tweeter signal path is the most cost effective upgrade you can do with any speaker that uses Solens or other low cost caps. It's far more effective than upgrading cables. I went the semi-economical route in the Pi 3's: I used Solens bypassed with 1uF Harmony's in the tweeter signal path. For the .47uF L-pad resistor bypasss cap I used a Dayton film and foil cap. I'm glad you brought this up. I have been meaning to replace the Solesn in the 3 Pi's, and since I plan to take them to the GPAF I now have a deadline for doing it. I'm using a Fountek ribbon on top of the 3 Pi's as a supertweeter, and since the only cap in that crossover is a low value (1.0uF) I could afford an Audiocap Theta film and foil, and that upgrade made a world of difference compared to the Solen I started with. (It's much cheaper to upgrade the caps in a supertweeter tweeter that crosses over at 12khz than the one for the Eminence compression driver that crosses over at 1.6khz). Do you recall I built a pair of 1 Pi Towers recently. I already had a matched pair of 10uF Northcreek Zens, so last week I upgraded the tweeter caps, and the difference is clearly audible. That change made a significant improvement in the treble smoothness. By the way, those speakers sound remakably good for the $200 it cost to build them. I wish I had room in the truck to bring them to the GPAF - after hearing them I believe Wayne might rename them the "One Pi Buttkicker Bass Option" and start offering the tower plans as an optional enclosure for the One Pi kit:)
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