Nice tweak for the stock 3.6R

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Waker

Nice tweak for the stock 3.6R
« on: 6 Oct 2014, 06:24 am »
Old news for many of you, but I finally got my crossover boxes off the Maggie "pins" and off the speaker panels by adding in the Cardas jumpers.  I had previously added in the short Cardas jumpers to replace the stock attenuator and biwire jumpers, but had sent the longer jumpers back--they seemed like an inferior extension of my expensive speaker cables, but since the speaker cables end at the crossover boxes, the only connections beyond there are those steel/nickel pins, and these are open to improvement, as well. 
Results?  The equivalent of a  component upgrade---much more clarity up and down, a much sweeter and more defined presentation.  My system sounds as if I just spent 10K on the front end. I am embarrassed to have to report that I missed out on this tweak for so long, as well-documented as it is.  I thought I had things covered with the Mye Stands and the Furutech fuses (the better fuses do work in this application, if not in others) and the other jumpers, at least in terms of "bolt on" tricks.  It's a combination of the superior Maggie pins by Cardas and isolating the boxes from the panels. No s**t, you may be saying. I wonder if I even need the 3.7 now.     

Roger Gustavsson

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 71
Re: Nice tweak for the stock 3.6R
« Reply #1 on: 6 Oct 2014, 12:19 pm »
Why go for overpriced jumpers when you can solder the wires inside the crossover/speakers? You can also "by-bass" (solder) all the ten push-on connectors and replace the six screw connectors with high quality (not necessarily expensive!) banana connectors. As much unbroken path from the drivers to the power amplifiers as possible. You can also by-pass the fuses or use soldered fuses if you want to reduce contact distorsion.

Waker

Re: Nice tweak for the stock 3.6R
« Reply #2 on: 6 Oct 2014, 06:06 pm »
While there are many modifications that can be made, I have stayed with easy tweaks that do not involve molesting the speakers, and I just wanted to report on that level.  Taken together, these add-on parts are a significant improvement that are easy if not cheap--the price for all is about 1K, but I would not be without any one of them, now.   

Waker

Re: Major tweak for the stock 3.6R
« Reply #3 on: 15 Oct 2014, 05:31 am »
As a follow-up to my report of what is now a profoundly improved sound by isolating the 3.6R crossover boxes from the main panels, I want to ask this:  If I can get so much more clarity and new information out of the 3.6R by doing this, is the 3.7 compromised by not having the bass and midrange crossovers outside on a bracket that would allow further isolation via jumpers? Or, is the new design now so better integrated that it exceeds any degradation that may be caused by vibration from the considerable energy transmitted throughout the MDF panels? I have to say again---these modest Cardas jumper cables have lifted these speakers beyond all expectation--I would quantify about 20%, but such an estimate does not begin to address the qualitative experience.  Each of my crossovers is resting on a rolled up bath towel--amazing!   

satie

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 90
Re: Nice tweak for the stock 3.6R
« Reply #4 on: 18 Oct 2014, 06:12 am »
Now just think of what it would be like if there was no vibrating box of $20 reactive components between your amplifier output and the drivers. You can do it by biamping with an active crossover.

When you do that you also decrease your chances of clipping the amp driving your mids and tweeter and have less risk by removing the fuses and bypassing them.

I don't know that this will make the 3.6 outperform the 3.7i, but it will definitely improve the speaker's performance.

Waker

Re: Nice tweak for the stock 3.6R
« Reply #5 on: 18 Oct 2014, 08:59 pm »
"Now just think of what it would be like if there was no vibrating box of $20 reactive components between your amplifier output and the drivers. You can do it by biamping with an active crossover."

After ten years with my stock 3.6's, I would rather not take them apart--probably better to sell as is and upgrade to 3.7, unless there is a "plug and play" crossover improvement that would replace only the stock boxes?