"Pigs in a blanket" capacitors?

[Roypercy]

Hi all:

I recently acquired a really pretty set of EMI 630 speakers with a bunch of other gear. They're bookshelf speakers, about the ize of KLH sixes, with very heavy wooden cabs and metal grilles. The speakers sound pretty good, a little bass-shy and the treble is rolled off, but I assume new caps would help.

When I opened up the backs (the grilles don't come off) I saw that the cabinets housed what appears to be an oval coaxial driver. The capacitor was something I've never seen: a black cap wrapped in a thick fabric-covered orange jacket, much like a "pig in a blanket", or maybe a Tootsie Roll wearing a WWII-era life jacket. Anybody ever seen one of these? I couldn't see any lettering on the orange jacket, and I didn't have a lot of time yesterday so I just snapped these pics and sealed it back up.

Is the orange jacket another cap? A resistor of some kind? Anybody know anything about this?

Thanks!

Roy

p.s. Sorry 2 of the pics are kinda blurry; my sucky digital camera...

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

Too blurry to tell. My guess is they stuck a black cap inside an inductor. If the speaker is a true coaxial, it may be a 2nd Order network for the tweeter. If it's a single driver with a whizzer, it could be a Zobel network to help flatten the response.

 

[Roypercy]

Too blurry to tell. My guess is they stuck a black cap inside an inductor. If the speaker is a true coaxial, it may be a 2nd Order network for the tweeter. If it's a single driver with a whizzer, it could be a Zobel network to help flatten the response.

If the outside is an inductor, that means I can just replace the cap inside, right?

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

Yup. Be sure to use the same cap value.

 

[Skinley]

To me it looks like an inductor wrapped in some sort of insulating tape.

 

[Roypercy]

Reviving this thread:

I tried last night to get the capacitor out of one of the speakers to find the value so I could order a replacement, and the cap stated to crumble and fall apart. Apparently it's been leaking and has fused itself to the inside of the orange thing (the inductor, if that's what it is). Anybody know the value of the cap in there? And if I can get it out to replace it, should the inductor be okay?

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

I'd think the inductor would still be okay as long as the varnish covering its wires hasn't been compromised.

 

[Brian]

Hard to see but does not look like any wires attached to the wrapper. If none, then it is possible that it is used only to increase the thickness of the cap to make it secure in the bracket. Possibly less expensive route than a custom bracket or if different caps with different thicknesses were used during production.

 

[spin156]

To me it looks like an inductor wrapped in some sort of insulating tape.

Yes, I agree with Skinley. Lots of caps - especially electrolytics - have outer jackets that are, pretty much, a fancy shrink wrap that will usually have the manufacturer, p/n or value, and date/lot code.