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Upgrading a pair of realistic nova 15s

matt.zepess

New Member
I picked up a pair of nova 15s at a goodwill for $1.99 since they had foam rot... I found the foam for $8 to do the pair, but also heard they could probably use a crossover upgrade, without spending a ton of money on fancy caps... Can i just use standard nichicon caps or will that have a adverse effect? If this goes well i have other speakers that could use a few upgrades so any tips would be great!
 
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Almost any caps will be an improvement. I own many RS speakers, used to work at RS for years, and I can honestly say that most of their speakers use crap caps. There were exceptions, but mostly junk. SO, with that said, almost anything will be an improvement. I've rebuilt a few networks and the speakers always sounded better. How much so will depend on how bad the old caps were. So don't expect instantaneous improvement. Also, they do need a little break in time. What I used to do, just to see if I could tell, was repair only one, hook both up, then put on some tunes (preferably the radio) and WALK AWAY. Leave the room entirely and let the speakers play. I give them at least an hour, but can very. Upon return I'll set my system to mono OR if mono is not an option use a mono recording. Play that and chances are you'll hear a difference. You can't use a stereo recording due to the way stereo is mastered, usually for best "effect". Mono is as neutral as you can get so that you can listen to both speakers simultaneously with the same track. Good luck.
 
Almost any caps will be an improvement. I own many RS speakers, used to work at RS for years, and I can honestly say that most of their speakers use crap caps. There were exceptions, but mostly junk. SO, with that said, almost anything will be an improvement. I've rebuilt a few networks and the speakers always sounded better. How much so will depend on how bad the old caps were. So don't expect instantaneous improvement. Also, they do need a little break in time. What I used to do, just to see if I could tell, was repair only one, hook both up, then put on some tunes (preferably the radio) and WALK AWAY. Leave the room entirely and let the speakers play. I give them at least an hour, but can very. Upon return I'll set my system to mono OR if mono is not an option use a mono recording. Play that and chances are you'll hear a difference. You can't use a stereo recording due to the way stereo is mastered, usually for best "effect". Mono is as neutral as you can get so that you can listen to both speakers simultaneously with the same track. Good luck.
Thanks, I was even thinking about getting some nichicon muse or fine gold, Kind of would be worth it for the small price more compared to the shipping fee.
 
The caps you are referring to are polarized, x-overs need non-polarized. Take a look @ parts express...
 
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