[TIC]

Hello All,

This has been nagging me for a while, and I even e-mailed Tosh (a year ago) and got a less than reassuring answer.

The DeCapo is always advertised as a very "easy to drive" speaker because it only has a single capacitor in the crossover. The mid-woofer runs full range and the single cap is on the tweeter.

I had to look inside of my Decapos when I originally received them from the original owner. One speaker had no output from the tweeter and I found a wire that had become disconnected at the tweeter. Anyway, while inside, I noticed that there were certainly more than just a single cap on the tweeter.

My DeCapos have a 10.00mF capacitor in series with both the positive and negative inputs and there is a 10W/4.7ohm resistor and a 3.3mF capacitor across/parrallel to the inputs.

My DeCapos are non-i versions.

Does anyone know if this is the correct factory configuration for this version of this speaker? If not, do you think they were modified by the previous owner? What is this crossover architecture? Is it a "zobel" network?

Lastly, If this is not the correct crossover, what is the correct configuration to get this back to the factory original setup? What is the correct capacitor value?

Thanks for any assistance. I would be happy to supply a photo if anyone would like to see this? Also, if anyone has any idea what difference I may hear in the sound by changing this crossover setup to a single capacitor setup, please feel free to give that opinion.

Thanks and Enjoy,

TIC

[TIC]

Well, since no one here answered, I sent a message to Tash at Divergent Technologies, the distributor for Ref. 3A. Here is his reply:

"Effectively there is only a single capacitance used in the signal path as the high pass filter.
Two 10 mF caps are applied in class 'A' mode one on each side of the tweeter. Together in this connection they make up the same value as a single 5.0 mF capacitor. This is more expensive way but we like it better because it is more linear.
 
Resistor and smaller cap are not in the signal path. They are used to optimize tweeter's impedance for a better integration with the main driver.
 
Regards,
 
Tash. "



I can rest easier now!

Enjoy,

TIC

[flm]

Hi,

Can you post a pic of the inside with cossover?

Thanks!

[Robert C. Schult]

Hi TIC.

I've always admired the DeCapos and finally bought a pair of the "i" version a while back to use as part of our equipment arsenal. Don't know about your earlier version but I do believe you can purchase the tweeter kit that essentially upgrades the previous version to "i" status. The"i" version uses a better tweeter and only a single cap in series with the tweeter...nothing else anywhere. If you spring for the tweeter upgrade, I might suggest getting the tweeter only and purchasing a better cap elsewhere. The cap used in the "i" by 3A is a military surplus paper and oil type...nothing too special but consumate enough for the sonic qualities of the design. The value is 5.2uf  +/- 05%. Do not use just "any" better cap. Many metalized film or film and foil types will not provide a good sonic or seemles balance between the woofer and tweeter. We used Mundorf's silver and oil and are very pleased. Also just did a mod to the tweeter which bumped performance up further. Earlie on in my tinkering, a better wire harness didn't hurt either.

Compared to our reference, the Sason Ltd., the DeCapos have a certian hi-fi'ish character that I find distracting. My aim has been to eliminate that character and the better cap has been a good step in that direction.

Cheers!

[TIC]

Robert,

Thanks for the reply. I did speak to Tosh at DiverTech (the distributor) and he gave me the scoop on the crossover. The additional components in my unit are for proper matching of the output level of the tweeter vs the mid woofer. He said that the amplifier "sees" only the cap as the other conponents are not in the signal path.

My version can not be upgraded to "i" status as the opening for the tweeter is the wrong size. Later versions of the original style could be upgraded as they had a different tweeter.

I would like to hear you speaker sometime after reading great things about it. However, I'm way too frugal to spend big bucks on Audio Equipment these days. It's funny, the more I make and save, the less I want to spend! Luckily, I bought my perfect pair of DeCapos for $1000 a couple of years ago. They are now the most expensive component in my system!

Thanks again for the reply.

Enjoy,

TIC