Crossover Caps;

Starbender

Starbender

Gathering dust...
I have a pair of sw-156 speakers. I'm planning to recap crossover.

Crossovers has three electrolithic bipolar caps;

0,47uf 50v
2,8uf 50v
16uf 50v


I have a hard time to find exact types. Can I use film capacitors for these?
Something like panasonic pp caps?

Thanks.
 
You can use Panasonic polyester or polypropylene film caps if you wish, but my budget choice would be AXON caps from partsconnexion. Very cheap, very effective, and a mich wider range of values compared to the Panasonics

Match the values as closely as possible, and any cap 50V or higher will be fine.
 
+1 on the Axons, also look at the Dayton films from Parts Express and the Clarity PX caps from Madisound.
 
Thanks for suggestions. I found 0,47uf and 16uf caps. 16uf from ampohm, 0,47uf from vishay. But i can't find 2.8uf cap. Can I use standard 2.7uf pp cap, non axial from panasonic?

I checked partsconnexion for axon caps. They dont have 0,47uf and 2,8uf. If i use 0,56uf and 2,7uf instead of 0,47 and 2,8uf, what will happen?

Sorry for noob questions, this will be my first vintage speaker recovery project :scratch2:
 
Starbender said:
I checked partsconnexion for axon caps. They dont have 0,47uf and 2,8uf. If i use 0,56uf and 2,7uf instead of 0,47 and 2,8uf, what will happen?
Click to expand...
The tonal character or balance will be slightly affected. In other words you may hear slightly less mids or slightly more highs. But who knows? You may like it that way.
 
Seems like i don't have many choices! I will try 16uf ampohms together with 0,47uf vishays and 2,7uf panasonics. It will be a cap mix, these caps are available locally.
While i'm in there i will replace internal cabling. It also needs a little bit padding.

Thanks.
 
The original caps are most likely +/20%

The new caps will be +/- 5% or better. In my experience the AXONs are closer to 2% tolerance.

You're unlikely to hear any difference with the very minor difference in nominated capacitance specs of the AXONs. These remain my recommendation.
 
I recapped Akai SW-156's last weekend. I used ampohm 16uf caps along with the 2.7uf and 0.47uf clarity caps. Also replaced carpet like damping pads with foam pads.

Listening these sw-156s since yesterday morning and they are amazingly evolved since then! I moved my jamo s608s to storage, now sw-156s driving by my main rig.

If my ears not deceive my perception this speakers are better than any other speakers i have before, such as Jamo s608, MA rx8, Wharfedale 10.7, Klipch rf82. Probably its just me, but i didnt expect this kind of balanced sound with open sound stage.

I know that Akai wasn't in speaker business mainly. Also nobody lusts after Akai gear. Build quality of this sw-156s is questionable. Nothing special about drivers too. Still they're sound fantastic!

I tested these with 60's jazz records thru modern(!) heavy rock albums All sounded balanced without any distortion with no listening fatigue.

Basiclly i cant understand why they're so clear and balanced!! :scratch2:
 
Starbender said:
I recapped Akai SW-156's last weekend. I used ampohm 16uf caps along with the 2.7uf and 0.47uf clarity caps. Also replaced carpet like damping pads with foam pads.

Listening these sw-156s since yesterday morning and they are amazingly evolved since then! I moved my jamo s608s to storage, now sw-156s driving by my main rig.

If my ears not deceive my perception this speakers are better than any other speakers i have before, such as Jamo s608, MA rx8, Wharfedale 10.7, Klipch rf82. Probably its just me, but i didnt expect this kind of balanced sound with open sound stage.

I know that Akai wasn't in speaker business mainly. Also nobody lusts after Akai gear. Build quality of this sw-156s is questionable. Nothing special about drivers too. Still they're sound fantastic!

I tested these with 60's jazz records thru modern(!) heavy rock albums All sounded balanced without any distortion with no listening fatigue.

Basiclly i cant understand why they're so clear and balanced!! :scratch2:
Click to expand...

I would say job well done, nothing like being overly pleased with your work. :thmbsp:
 
Congrats on getting your speakers back to factory specs. People don't realize how much old caps can degrade the sound of their speakers. When I first got my Polk SDAs, I was very disappointed with the sound. The sounded very veiled, like they had a horse blanket thrown over them. I ordered Film caps and Mill resistors hoping they old caps were the problem. I did the crossovers on one speaker first, then hooked it back into the system, set the amp to mono and put some music. The difference was very noticeable. While I was doing this my 8 year old came into the room, to get a totally unbiased opinion I told her to stand in front of each speaker and listen. When I asked her what she thought, she pointed to the speaker I hadn't recapped and said it sounded fuzzy. Needless to say, I quickly did the other speaker and have been very happy with them since. On other thing to remember, It will take a while for the new caps to break in. Keep listening they will get even better with time
 
Thanks. Weird thing is, even my lovely wife noticed clarity and sonic character of these speakers and she said 'keep these please' :D

Now the next step; take care of the cabinets! They're almost mint, but it needs a little bit attention and love :thmbsp:
 
Starbender said:
Thanks. Weird thing is, even my lovely wife noticed clarity and sonic character of these speakers and she said 'keep these please' :D

Now the next step; take care of the cabinets! They're almost mint, but it needs a little bit attention and love :thmbsp:
Click to expand...

Sounds like what people say about the best of the old Sansui speakers from back in the early '70's... Ultra-pleasing to the ears.

Regarding the cabinets, use Howard's Restore-A-Finish if the cabs need some real attention... Use Howards Feed- N' Wax if they just need a little replenishing...
 
Gang-Twanger said:
Sounds like what people say about the best of the old Sansui speakers from back in the early '70's... Ultra-pleasing to the ears.

Regarding the cabinets, use Howard's Restore-A-Finish if the cabs need some real attention... Use Howards Feed- N' Wax if they just need a little replenishing...
Click to expand...


Thanks for the suggestion, i'll check asap :thmbsp:
 
While I'm trying to refurb cabinets, i wanted to check drivers wiring. I desolder one lead of wire and stripped pvc insulation a little. It was all blackened with some kind of little greeny stuff.
I stripped a little more for hope to find a shiny copper, but it is looks like tarnished all the way to crossover.

Is it a good idea to replace this internal wiring with new ones? :scratch2:
 
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