ADS L520 Re-cap

[markkb]

Good day,
I recapped some ADS L520’s for a friend, who is the original owner. Thought I’d post this as the ADS speakers have a PCB crossover that’s interesting to me.

We used Clarity caps. The cheaper 18 uF PX for the larger value (original was 20), and 6.8 uF CSA for the tweeter cap. I like to use a nice cap for the tweeter. I debated paralleling a 2 uF to the18, but figured 18 was within the cap variance. Thoughts?

The board mounting screws were very convenient to use for the new capacitor mounting.



Mounting hole shown above



You can see above where the caps are soldered. The tweeter is soldered to the two left pads.



Old capacitors below. Looks like the 6.8 tweeter was a film and the 20 uF was electrolytic.
The speakers sounded very nice after the recap. He’s driving them with a Yamaha CR-2020.
Cheers!

 

[Blue Shadow]

CR-2020 with L520? Is it a second set of speakers?

How did it sound before the project? Maybe easier to ask your friend what he perceives as the changes after the caps break in.

Did you measure what came out?

 

[MJB1959]

I have a set of 520's, they sound fine, yet I am curious as to why the recap was necessary? And if I too could benefit from this procedure, I have yet to tinker with any of my ADS crossovers, as their reputation is that they are a solid, high quality component.
Just curious. That Yamaha receiver is a nice piece btw

 

[halkaloogie]

I have a set of 520's, they sound fine, yet I am curious as to why the recap was necessary? And if I too could benefit from this procedure, I have yet to tinker with any of my ADS crossovers, as their reputation is that they are a solid, high quality component.
Just curious. That Yamaha receiver is a nice piece btw

Unless there is something wrong with the crossover there is no reason to mess with it on ADS speakers and there are plenty of instances where they sound considerably worse afterwords.

 

[BigElCat]

I did the same thing to my L520s.

The sound stage was adversely effected by the Clarity Cap on the tweeter. It was a noticeable degradation.

The woofer liked the Polypropylene cap, but I think a new electrolytic cap would of had the same effect.

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/first-recap-ads-l520-thoughts.544600/page-2

 

[StimpyWan]

I did the same thing to my L520s.

The sound stage was adversely effected by the Clarity Cap on the tweeter. It was a noticeable degradation.

The woofer liked the Polypropylene cap, but I think a new electrolytic cap would of had the same effect.

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/first-recap-ads-l520-thoughts.544600/page-2

I've used ClarityCaps, just not the PX series. I've tried CSA's and ESA's. The CSA/ESA caps are a bit dark sounding, and from what I've read, the PX caps are even darker. I probably wouldn't use them on tweeters. The OP's CSA's should be OK. But, even where I've used them, I ended up adding Film bypass caps, to add a little more high end air and sparkle.

For what it's worth, my go-to caps are now Mundorf EVO Oils. I use them on mids and tweeters. Usually Axon/Solen caps on the bass. The Mundorf's are very clean and clear, like a haze has been removed from the music. Several threads on AK, of ADS owners recapping with EVO Oils, and liking them. Just another possibility.

 

[markkb]

Thanks for your replies. Very informative. This was my first ADS recap.
My friend has another small set of speakers, a pair of AR4x speakers for that Yamaha. He is mulling the idea of getting some larger speakers, and I have suggested he go up the ADS chain.

We did notice a change/improvement in sound, it was almost a year ago so I can’t state specifically what changed, I do distinctly remember it was not dramatic like I have experienced with other recaps I have performed. I gather from the replies that this is due to the original quality of the crossover. We did not notice anything negative like BigEICat did.
I did ask my friend, he is the original owner, and he says they sound great.

From the discussion I can see that it would have made sense to leave the original film in there, and just replace the electrolytic for the bass.

StimpyWan thanks for the insight on adding the bypass and using EVO oils, I’ll keep those in mind.
Mark

 

[David_NC]

I was listening to my L520's last night powered by a Luxman R-115, which is a nice combo. This receiver has always impressed me with its quiet background, smooth sound, and power. It's no R-117, which I'd like to obtain at some point, but it's one of my faves, as are the L520's. Just for fun, I switched them out for my L780/2's (my ADS introduction speaker), and the sound was dramatically different; it's an even better combo. The 520's have amazing bass, especially for their size, and it has been measured as quite a bit lower than the 780 series. The highs on the 520's sound really muffled when compared. It was like a blanket had been lifted off the tweeters. I realize the 780's are 3-ways, which may account for some of the difference, but I am surprised the highs are significantly better.
This got me wondering if the difference could be the crossover components. I see comments that there's a big improvement, a slight improvement, or a degradation of the sound of the 520's after a recap. I can see how changing the value of the caps could degrade or change the sound, but wouldn't a quality replacement of the same value improve it? I'd wouldn't think any cap over 35 years old would have drifted from its original values and would at least cause some change in the sound.

I did the same thing to my L520s.

The sound stage was adversely effected by the Clarity Cap on the tweeter. It was a noticeable degradation.

The woofer liked the Polypropylene cap, but I think a new electrolytic cap would of had the same effect.

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/first-recap-ads-l520-thoughts.544600/page-2

The quote above is the main one that got me wondering about this. I read through it last night, and I'm curious as to how the replacement caps, which I believe were the same value as the originals, could make the sound worse. Did you change them back to something more similar to the originals to try to get them sounding better? I am happy to see the binding posts will fit without modification. The spring clips on the L520's are some of the best I've used, but I have banana plug adapters connected to them via pigtails, so it'll be nice to have the binding posts built in.

 

[StimpyWan]

The quote above is the main one that got me wondering about this. I read through it last night, and I'm curious as to how the replacement caps, which I believe were the same value as the originals, could make the sound worse. Did you change them back to something more similar to the originals to try to get them sounding better? I am happy to see the binding posts will fit without modification. The spring clips on the L520's are some of the best I've used, but I have banana plug adapters connected to them via pigtails, so it'll be nice to have the binding posts built in.

To me, ClarityCaps are very good in the midrange, but not as clear in the high end. They're too rolled off to me. I won't use them again on a tweeter. Again, in my experience. Dayton 1% caps were better in the highs. Audyn Q4's or Plus caps too. Or as I noted earlier, Mundorf. F1nut likes Obbligato caps for the high end, though I haven't tried those yet.

 

[David_NC]

To me, ClarityCaps are very good in the midrange, but not as clear in the high end. They're too rolled off to me. I won't use them again on a tweeter. Again, in my experience. Dayton 1% caps were better in the highs. Audyn Q4's or Plus caps too. Or as I noted earlier, Mundorf. F1nut likes Obbligato caps for the high end, though I haven't tried those yet.

Well, I suppose a recap is worth a shot... it's certainly easy enough to try. I'll just keep the originals in case I don't like the change.

 

[StimpyWan]

Well, I suppose a recap is worth a shot... it's certainly easy enough to try. I'll just keep the originals in case I don't like the change.

I've always heard an improvement in sound, from the recap. Sometimes, a dramatic difference. So, worth a shot.

'Luck.

 

[BillDurham]

Wow, nice job. I can never get anything that neat. Good choice for caps. Those WIMA were the bomb 30 years ago, now not so much. To recap it's why we Re Cap. PS if anyone is think of a vintage speaker recap, Jantzen Standard Z are really smooth for a "$5" cap, the Clarity is a step up, but unless you have a tube amp, they will reveal any harshness in the system.