Crossover, off the shelf suggestions

N

neil j

New Member
hi
I have an old pair of Sanyo 3 way speakers that i bought cheaply for their visual appeal.
I intend to keep the drivers, again for the look, but want to replace their very basic and small crossover in the hope that i can make some improvement to the sound. I realise this won't turn majically covert them to audiophile speakers but any improvement would be good.
The apparent specs are 8ohm 92db 70watt max input.
The current crossover is on the interior side of the panel that the cables (from the amp) spring clip into on the exterior.

Just after any links to off the shelf options i could buy online preferably crossover boards where i don't have to solder the driver cables to (if that option exists). Given gfthe age and nature of the speakers the above info is all i have.

many thanks in advance
 
Register to hide this ad
Welcome to AK, Neil! Good to have you on board.

It's almost impossible to recommend a replacement pre-made crossover without knowing which Sanyo speakers you own. This is because making an educated guess about the proper crossover points will depend entirely on the size and type of drivers contained in your enclosures. There should be a model number printed on the crossover input panel on back. If not, try searching images for "Sanyo Speakers" and do your best to find the model you have.

One other possibility would be to post a picture of your current crossovers along with the numbers printed on the capacitors. We might be able to determine your current crossover points by calculations based on what you already have.

GeeDeeEmm
 
Before replacing the crossover, I suggest that you replace the capacitors with new film caps. My usual choice is Dayton or Audyne caps from Parts Express (site sponsor). With older speakers, the caps are the typically the primary reason they sound less than good.
 
gdmoore28 said:
Welcome to AK, Neil! Good to have you on board.

It's almost impossible to recommend a replacement pre-made crossover without knowing which Sanyo speakers you own. This is because making an educated guess about the proper crossover points will depend entirely on the size and type of drivers contained in your enclosures. There should be a model number printed on the crossover input panel on back. If not, try searching images for "Sanyo Speakers" and do your best to find the model you have.

One other possibility would be to post a picture of your current crossovers along with the numbers printed on the capacitors. We might be able to determine your current crossover points by calculations based on what you already have.

GeeDeeEmm
Click to expand...
thank you both for your replies and the welcome
one capacitor which the mid is wired to has the writing 0.E53 while the other which is wired to the tweeter says 0.E68
additional writing on part of the board says:
BC51
AC125V
1.25A
7A28
my Sanyo model # is SX700 but there is no info on the web about them
driver sizes are 8', 3.5" and 2.5" approx
I will post a pic in several hours time when i can access a pic my wife took for me
regards, Neil
 
Here's your simple four step improvement plan.

1. Disconnect them.

2. Carry them outside, set them down at the curb.

3. Go back inside, close the door behind you.

4. Get some decent speakers.

Sorry to be the messenger of bad news but this situation perfectly fits the old proverb: you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
 
darkblue94 said:
Here's your simple four step improvement plan.

1. Disconnect them.

2. Carry them outside, set them down at the curb.

3. Go back inside, close the door behind you.

4. Get some decent speakers.

Sorry to be the messenger of bad news but this situation perfectly fits the old proverb: you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
Click to expand...

I consider every acquired speaker a learning experience, regardless of the speaker being good or not. Listen to them as-is. Replace the caps and listen again. Note the difference. Use different caps, mess with the fill, try bracing the cabinet. I find that the lesser quality speakers are more fun to play with because there is no risk of ruining a good speaker. :)
 
darkblue94 said:
Here's your simple four step improvement plan.

1. Disconnect them.

2. Carry them outside, set them down at the curb.

3. Go back inside, close the door behind you.

4. Get some decent speakers.

Sorry to be the messenger of bad news but this situation perfectly fits the old proverb: you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
Click to expand...
In a nutshell, yes. Those speakers really are worth less than the time it will take to send them away by any means.

There's something to learn in every experience. In this case the lesson is that you cannot polish a turd in hopes of picking it up by the clean end.

The money spent on any pair of off the shelf crossovers would be far better spent with some "informed" shopping for a pair of decent speakers on craigslist or yard sale-ing.
 
bowtie427ss said:
In a nutshell, yes. Those speakers really are worth less than the time it will take to send them away by any means.

There's something to learn in every experience. In this case the lesson is that you cannot polish a turd in hopes of picking it up by the clean end.

The money spent on any pair of off the shelf crossovers would be far better spent with some "informed" shopping for a pair of decent speakers on craigslist or yard sale-ing.
Click to expand...
Hi and thanks for the varied responses.
Please note that i already have decent speakers to use elsewhere in the house.
I bought these for their look (they suit the look of our living room and my wife likes them)
All i'm trying to do is get some degree of improvement in their sound, i fully realise they will never be decent speakers.
So given that any suggestions for off the shelf crossovers?
I have attached what i'm trying to improve upon
 

Attachments

  • 20180701_132041 (1).jpg
    20180701_132041 (1).jpg
    40.5 KB · Views: 24
darkblue94 said:
Here's your simple four step improvement plan.

1. Disconnect them.

2. Carry them outside, set them down at the curb.

3. Go back inside, close the door behind you.

4. Get some decent speakers.
Click to expand...

You forgot...

5. Hope that someone (even the trash guys) take them away.

Those speakers IMO do not have (in any way) a "unique" design/appearance as to make them any more "aesthetically pleasing" than any other typical "box" speaker. You could easily swap them out with a dozen different far more competent models of JBL, Klipsch, CV, Pioneer, Yamaha (and the list goes on) and the wife probably would never know the difference--until she checked the bank balance ;)
 
neil j said:
All i'm trying to do is get some degree of improvement in their sound, i fully realise they will never be decent speakers.
Click to expand...
The cruxt of the issue here is that we do not have any idea to what level these speakers were originally engineered.

If the drivers were chosen carefully, then their natural roll off and overlap characteristics may have rendered the simple first order filters all that are necessary.

IMO, to go further than simply replacing the existing caps with fresh higher quality examples without some degree of analysis is a waste in both time and money.

Without some empirical data, simply shoehorning an off the shelf network in there could just as easily degrade the sound as improve it.

Don't fear the yard sale mate. For the cost of off the shelf crossovers, you could source speakers with far more potential and a resale value that exceeds your investment in both time and money.

I'll give you one example of potentially hundreds.

Radio Shack/Realistic Nova 7B, often found at yard sales, thrifts, and even CL for the cost of a cheap pair of off the shelf 3-way crossovers, and they will spank the pants off those Sanyo's.

random 7B pic from the net:

25041973359_6bcaa50028_o.jpg
 
Last edited:
I have to agree on the risk/reward equation here in terms of spending money on crossovers. Oh, it will change the sound, but given the very simple capacitor filters here, adding a 2d order crossover by guesswork is, well, guesswork.

The numbers you posted don't seem to relate to capacitor values. Normally the caps for a mid and tweeter would be something like 12 uf and 2 uf respectively. There should also be a voltage rating like 50V. 0.58 and 0.68 are unlikely to be uf ratings and I'm not sure what the E would be for. These might be part numbers instead of cap values.

This is going to make it a bit difficult to either replace the caps, or put in a whole new crossover.

There are definitely good speakers out there, it's just a matter of finding them.

Question, where on planet Earth are you located?
 
neil j said:
yes those ones
Click to expand...

They are likely of the Fisher/Sanyo days; they can play party-loud, but some types might not want to sit quietly and listen to them and sip tea with pinky-finger extended. Try some needed and easy low dollar improvements by adding internal bracing inside the cabinets fore/aft and side/side. And if they were like my now-gone Fishers, they had little/no acoustic filler inside; and it cant hurt to experiment by adding some loosely or tacked to the inside walls as dampening.

As others have said - experimenting can be a reward in and of itself. Have fun!
 
OK, everybody has given the OP the provisos and quality and value considerations. And all are well-informed and on target. That said, I think the OP is ready to do some experimenting, and that's perfectly cool.

That said, in the references that Earl provided there is a pair of inexpensive three-way 12dB/octave crossovers that will work fine for this application:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-Multi-S...er-Crossover-Filters-Power-200W-/302613803476

For the price, he can't go very wrong; the crossover frequencies (1kHz/5kHz) are safe for those drivers; and if they suck, comparatively little is lost, but a lot of fun is gained.

Go for it, Neil. And be sure to let us know how these worked out.

GeeDeeEmm
 
gdmoore28 said:
OK, everybody has given the OP the provisos and quality and value considerations. And all are well-informed and on target. That said, I think the OP is ready to do some experimenting, and that's perfectly cool.

That said, in the references that Earl provided there is a pair of inexpensive three-way 12dB/octave crossovers that will work fine for this application:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-Multi-S...er-Crossover-Filters-Power-200W-/302613803476

For the price, he can't go very wrong; the crossover frequencies (1kHz/5kHz) are safe for those drivers; and if they suck, comparatively little is lost, but a lot of fun is gained.

Go for it, Neil. And be sure to let us know how these worked out.

GeeDeeEmm
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom