Upgrading X-over

[deaf_head]

Hey all, is it worth while upgrading cheap x-over with poly caps etc?




Ready to order. Could only find the corresponding values in 250V instead of the 100V. Any issues?



There is also a resistor that should be replaced and i am wondering what is the preferred part to improve quality?
Should i simply buy already assembled x-overs instead of playing and are these too old and outdated to bother with?
I suppose the biggest question is, will i notice any difference?

cheers

 

[avguytx]

What kind of speakers are they?

 

[deaf_head]

Home made ghetto floor standing double bass.

Using Vifa tweeter and mid-range with kicker 10inch 4 ohm woofers wired in parallel to run at 2ohm across the pair.







Also playing with grill designs.

 

[HypnoToad]

Where did you get the crossover you're using with them?

 

[deaf_head]

Where did you get the crossover you're using with them?

They are from Jaycar if i remember correctly. I cant identify the ones in pic which i just switched over to from another Jaycar set that were too heavy in bass....Obviously with 1200/5000 cross-over points which i tried in an effort find some bass in these speakers, but it ended up being a crapola amp causing low performance.
Now i have switched back to the above x-over which brought the bass down enough to not be over-bearing.

 

[HPMguy]

Since I'm an old curmudgeon and feeling it today, I'll point out that the best way to calculate the crossover is to get some speaker design software and enter all the variables you have (enclosure volume, resonant frequency for the woofers, basic characteristics of the midrange and tweeters) so that you have a crossover actually designed for what you have.

You can mess around with it all you want, but unless you actually calculate where and how you want the crossover to occur, it will only be by lucky chance (and I'm rarely lucky, personally) that you get the best sound out of them.

I know math makes a lot of people go cross-eyed (I'm one of them), but otherwise you are just guessing.

As far as parts go, 250V caps will work fine. Most likely 50V will to unless you have a really high powered amp likely to send more than 50V continuous AC to them. Unless the resistor is cracked or otherwise out of spec, there is no need to replace it

 

[turnitdown]

Nice looking speakers, congrats. And, yes, an investment in some test gear will bring out the best in them.

 

[deaf_head]

Hey HPMguy, thanks for your advice. Im not sure i want to find absolute best sound performance. Just wanting to make improvements and i thought moving to poly caps might help that cause.
The effort required to measure everything to ascertain the correct formula for the x-over design seems too involved for my level of investment in these speakers. They sound really good to me. The sound is full, smooth and responsive.
Other than bass cut-off, i suspect the other two have a wide range that wont effect the quality too much within reasonable points. Example with bass/mid cutoff between 600/800 and mid between 600/5000 and hi starting from 3500. I feel there is a bit of leeway and overlap available.
Watching some GRresearch clips on x-overs atm which is a bit scary hehe

 

[deaf_head]

Nice looking speakers, congrats. And, yes, an investment in some test gear will bring out the best in them.

I did look at what microphone/equipment to buy and what software to use to analyse this kit but it all just got too much..
Maybe in the future i will need to make that move when i want more improvements. It makes total sense.

 

[teal'c]

It won't hurt. Probably not speakers you want to spend $400 a cap on, but Daytons would be fine.

 

[deaf_head]

In one of the above pics it shows the total cost of poly caps at AU$75 (US$60). I thought it would be an inexpensive exercise to see if i can find any improvements.
Considering the total cost of speakers were around $800 i think you are correct. Spending $400 for slight improvement seems overkill for these speakers.