[JOATMON]

I just built an upgrade for a speaker crossover using Clarity CSA caps and also purchased some Audyn copper foil .1 microfarads for bypassing on each of the CSA caps.

Shouldn't this make an improvement in the sound quality? I've read that these copper foil caps can take a long time to burn in?

I was also considering trying the Jupiter VT aluminum foil caps. They are a little pricey, but much less than the copper foil caps. Has anyone tried the VT caps in a speaker crossover?

Thanks for any information or advice!

Jack

[JerryM]

I can't answer your question directly, but there's a ton of information and assistance regarding crossover design and function on the GR Research circle that you might also want to check out.

[wushuliu]

I just built an upgrade for a speaker crossover using Clarity CSA caps and also purchased some Audyn copper foil .1 microfarads for bypassing on each of the CSA caps.

Shouldn't this make an improvement in the sound quality? I've read that these copper foil caps can take a long time to burn in?

I was also considering trying the Jupiter VT aluminum foil caps. They are a little pricey, but much less than the copper foil caps. Has anyone tried the VT caps in a speaker crossover?

Thanks for any information or advice!

Jack

It depends on where the caps are in the circuit. We'd also need more information, like what speakers these are and what is it about them you feel needs upgrading. Better caps won't solve a bad crossover.

[JOATMON]

It depends on where the caps are in the circuit. We'd also need more information, like what speakers these are and what is it about them you feel needs upgrading. Better caps won't solve a bad crossover.

I have changed all of the caps both in the tweeter and woofer sections. This is a 2-way design using Vifa drivers. I was using the older Clarity ESA caps, and decided to try the ESA with copper foil bypass caps. The crossover was done by Solen Electronique Inc. some years ago by Chris, who is the owner's son.

It is a 2nd order filter with an L-pad on the tweeter and Impedance EQ on the woofer. It originally used Solen caps and coils, which I replaced with copper foil coils and Clarity Caps. I then decided to use the CSA caps as they were supposed to be an improvement over the older ESA's.

It does have more detail now, I am just hearing some emphasis on some things such as instruments and voices that appear to have a more piercing sound to my ears at a higher volume! I hope I explained that correctly..lol

Perhaps I will let them get some hours of play, and then see if it has improved. I just have read that it does take some time for new components to settle in a bit.

Thanks for your response!

Jack

[wushuliu]

I have changed all of the caps both in the tweeter and woofer sections. This is a 2-way design using Vifa drivers. I was using the older Clarity ESA caps, and decided to try the ESA with copper foil bypass caps. The crossover was done by Solen Electronique Inc. some years ago by Chris, who is the owner's son.

It is a 2nd order filter with an L-pad on the tweeter and Impedance EQ on the woofer. It originally used Solen caps and coils, which I replaced with copper foil coils and Clarity Caps. I then decided to use the CSA caps as they were supposed to be an improvement over the older ESA's.

It does have more detail now, I am just hearing some emphasis on some things such as instruments and voices that appear to have a more piercing sound to my ears at a higher volume! I hope I explained that correctly..lol

Perhaps I will let them get some hours of play, and then see if it has improved. I just have read that it does take some time for new components to settle in a bit.

Thanks for your response!

Jack

Sounds like something has changed then. May want to double check you soldered everything correctly. Then remove the copper bypass caps and compare. The CSA is better than the ESA, but not radically so. Or even possible a weakness in the original crossover is now exposed. Did the original solen parts also have the 'piercing sound' at high volumes? Did you make sure the coil values (including ESR) matched the original? Foil coils have higher ESR vs. wire which creates the risk of slightly reducing bass output if you are not careful, thus emphasizing the mids (which the CSA/bypass would reveal more than the forgiving ESA).

When doing these mods it's important to use a multimeter and make sure all the values are as close as possible to the original if you don't have measuring equipment.

[JOATMON]

Sounds like something has changed then. May want to double check you soldered everything correctly. Then remove the copper bypass caps and compare. The CSA is better than the ESA, but not radically so. Or even possible a weakness in the original crossover is now exposed. Did the original solen parts also have the 'piercing sound' at high volumes? Did you make sure the coil values (including ESR) matched the original? Foil coils have higher ESR vs. wire which creates the risk of slightly reducing bass output if you are not careful, thus emphasizing the mids (which the CSA/bypass would reveal more than the forgiving ESA).

When doing these mods it's important to use a multimeter and make sure all the values are as close as possible to the original if you don't have measuring equipment.

I'm very confident that all of the solder joints are good. I did check with my DMM as I was soldering to make sure all was connected well. Perhaps I will give it more run time and see what happens after 100+ hours to see if these caps will settle in better.

I did check the values with my DATS 2, and they seem to be well within tolerance. Oh btw, I did forget to add that I also have paralleled some of the Cornell Dubilier .01uF/3000V caps like Tony Gee recommends using everywhere.

And yes to the ESR on the coils.

[wushuliu]

Great. Just wanted to be sure those bases were covered.

[Tyson]

I have some of the Audyne Copper caps - you are right, they do sound flat and screechy when you first install them.  Hit them with moderate volume music for about 100 hours and very high volume music for 10 hours or so and they'll smooth out.

[JOATMON]

Thanks again guys! I really appreciate the info!

[JOATMON]

I have some of the Audyne Copper caps - you are right, they do sound flat and screechy when you first install them.  Hit them with moderate volume music for about 100 hours and very high volume music for 10 hours or so and they'll smooth out.

Glade to hear that! I was hoping that was the case. I have noticed some little extra details that have brought out certain things I didn't hear before. It does appear to be coming from the tweeter, as these raspy/screechy sounds are in the higher frequencies IMHO.

I'm curious to know what type of caps, coils, resistors are you using now in your speaker crossovers? Have you heard the Jupiter Aluminum foil caps? I was told that they work well when using a copper foil cap as a bypass with these VT caps.

Thanks again!

Jack

[Speedskater]

Remember that loudspeaker designers voice their speakers using the imperfect parts that they chose. They account for the facts that their parts have a tolerance and things like capacitors also have a little bit of  R and L in them. An expensive cap may cause the speaker to sound different, but better? I don't know about that.
Some designers even start with wide tolerance parts, measure them into bins, then select to match.

[Steve]

It is a 2nd order filter with an L-pad on the tweeter and Impedance EQ on the woofer. It originally used Solen caps and coils, which I replaced with copper foil coils and Clarity Caps. I then decided to use the CSA caps as they were supposed to be an improvement over the older ESA's.

It does have more detail now, I am just hearing some emphasis on some things such as instruments and voices that appear to have a more piercing sound to my ears at a higher volume! I hope I explained that correctly..lol

Thanks for your response!

Jack

A few things JOATMAN. The capacitors may not be broken in. Secondly, not all bypass capacitors will match the existing caps, which means another brand might match better. Thirdly, The wrong value of capacitor maybe used. If the first two conditions are met, then the bypass value is probably too large in value. Try smaller values until the glare disappears and sound improves. This can get expensive and leave wrong sized caps in the parts box. As just a simple example, a .001uf or .01uf or in between might be the right value.

When designing, it is very tough to obtain the correct bypass value of the correct cap to begin with. To eliminate the bypass, I used to check caps and try to obtain the most accurate without the need for bypassing. Unfortunately, all the good caps from years/decades ago are now extinct due to improper testing/evaluations, for a variety of reasons. I have not checked the expensive caps as that would entail many hundreds if not thousands of dollars which I am not going to waste my time with. What a pity.

I hope for your success in your endeavors JOATMAN.

cheers

steve

[JerryM]

You might consider this cool option, as well. You might learn some really cool things about crossover design from a brilliant and cool guy, and the price of admission is pretty reasonable.

Have fun,

Jerry

[JOATMON]

Thanks again guys for the info! Sorry I didn't reply back sooner, had some family issues!

Anyhow, It seems that after some hours of running music through the caps and other components in the crossovers that it sounds like it really reveals more details and I can tell now that good recordings sound great, but not so good recordings reveal the bad stuff! Not very forgiving!

I also wanted to ask about these Clarity CMR caps. I had purchased some for the tweeter circuit in another speaker set I have, and wanted some advice on should I use them alone, or should I use a good bypass cap with them? The tweeters are the BG Neo 3's. I was told that this tweeter can really shine with better caps.

Thanks again!

Jack

[JOATMON]

I'm guessing nobody has tried using a bypass cap with these Clarity CMR capacitors? Hmmmm