This concerns me, too, as the improvements as I understand it are in areas in which SP Tech speakers already held high ground, like low distortion at relatively high playback levels.
The first thing that came to mind after reading the above was, "Nothing is perfect." I haven't heard it yet, but despite the fact (IMO) that SP Tech speakers are far and away better than most competitors in the areas specified, it certainly doesn't mean they can't be made to perform at even higher levels.
Further, as noted in a couple of threads, the really *BIG* revelation (pardon the pun) had to do with substandard coil performance in 4-ohm speakers. Though no one has performed any evaluations to date, it is believed 8-ohm speakers (ala Timepieces) have little to nothing to gain from the coil update. Consequently, the best bet for improved performance with Timepieces is with better crossover parts. I believe most folks understand improvement can almost always be had with better pieces and parts, assuming they're suitable to the engineering and design approach of the man in charge.
Bob has
always maintained that he designed, built and sold the best performing speakers he could
*at a price point.* Now, due to Karsten's recent discoveries, there appears to be some demand for even higher performance, even if it means digging a little deeper into our collective pockets to get it.
Seems to me also that this should be measurable and I would be fascinated to see, for a change, a correlation between a measurement (in this case a graph showing percentage of 2nd and 3rd harmonic distortion at different output levels) and the listening reality.
I would also be curious to see if anything was visible on an impulse response plot.
I suspect the only place you could find readily measurable differences would be with the coil in 4-ohm crossovers, and
Bob has already said he doesn't have time to perform the required tests.
As to the other option, different caps sound different, even if their measurements are virtually identical. I wish it wasn't true, but unfortunately I know it is.
It will probably be a few months, but those of use who've taken the leap will be posting our subjective assessments of the upgrades soon enough. Only then will we know for sure whether or not our money was well-spent, measurements be danged. They're a great place to start, but they certainly aren't the be all/end all of where sound ends.
However, I think the "new" "standard" crossover is ALL Mundorf, not just the woofer coil, with additional cost for the external variety.
Unless I, too, am mistaken, you are correct.
According to Karsten, the formerly-used Sonicaps performed as well as the mid-line Mundorf equivalents, but Bob has chosen to be an 'all-Mundorf' kind of guy anyway.
