[sandeepc]

Hello, I am very new to this hobby and I have a two way bookshelves speaker  Infinity Kappa 200, although I do somewhat like the speaker, do you folks think if I changed the crossover components to a better quality, it would make some difference in the in the sound or imaging?..

Heres the crossover picture, any suggestions as to better quality caps would be very helpful.
Thanks

[JimJ]

I think for the money you'd spend I'd rather put it towards other stuff first

You could use the best film-and-foil caps and foil inductors possible in their design, and if their drivers have faults or their crossover point/slope isn't the best, then I'm not sure it's worth it.

As far as imaging goes, there's no substitute for experimenting with as many placements as you can. Learn what works really well in your room, and find out maybe where your room itself could use some treatment

[sandeepc]

Hi Jim, thanks for the advice. I thought so myself, but I am located in such a place that the most one can get is SONY.. and even these speakers I managed to get in a store a couple of years back and they never kept speakers any more ( because no one buys them).
Thats the reason why I was thinking maybe I could get some caps from parts express and fiddle around to see if I can get a better sound, in fact, there is a review of these speakers in affordableaudio website in the Feb 2006 edition, I mean I dont think its one of those flawed speakers and thats the reason why I was thinking of some tweeks to make it sound better..
But then I absolutely agree with you that money spent somewhere else in the system would give better results, but the like I said I am stuck in a place where this no scope for people like me to pursue in such hobbies..
Thanks again

[JimJ]

What exactly don't you like about the Infinitys?

[BobM]

One suggestion that could pay off is to pick up some relatively inexpensive .1uF caps and use them as bypasses on the larger caps in the tweeter crossover. If you hear an improvement you can go further and replace the larger caps too. I would suggest trying the Sonicap II's for the bypass.

Enjoy,
Bob

[sandeepc]

What exactly don't you like about the Infinitys?

Well, I find it very sharp on the highs and somewhat lost mids - I am not complaining about the lows at all because for its size, there is plenty and to an extent true, which is what matters. I like hearing for extended hours and prefer a more laid back sound without compromising on the dynamics of the music (I listen to mostly acoustic Jazz and old rock). On the imaging side, I have tried fiddling with the placements (cant do much as the system is in the hall room and cant do away with the fav decos of my wife, although I removed  glass cupboards as much as possible and also laid a carpet between the system and myself - where I sit),  I still find it a little too cluttered.
Maybe this has to do with my other components because as per the review of this speakers, it is supposed to be more laid back than a forward sounding speakers. btw, with whatever I could lay my hands on, this is what I presently have :

Kappa 200 speakers on Kappa sandfilled stands ( biwired with Van den hul snowline on the highs and Supra 4.0 for the midbass, I have also changed the internal wiring of the speakers the same way)

Harman Kardon (this is all I could get here) HK675 - Here I have changed the stock power cables with Supra Lo Rad 2.5.

Source - Nad C541 i - Here too I have changed the stock cables with Supra Lo Rad 2.5.

Interconnects - Van den Hul  D-102 hybrids

Dezorel power conditioner.

Thats all the hardware that I have now -

Hope this answers your question.

[sandeepc]

One suggestion that could pay off is to pick up some relatively inexpensive .1uF caps and use them as bypasses on the larger caps in the tweeter crossover. If you hear an improvement you can go further and replace the larger caps too. I would suggest trying the Sonicap II's for the bypass.

Enjoy,
Bob

Hi Bob, thanks for the input. Like I said I am very new to this and if you can let me know how to do that I will surely give it a shot..
But if its too much of an asking, I'll hunt online how to do what you've said..
Thanks a lot..

[mnel34]

I would think that you could remount the inductors so the hole in one faces the side of the other inductor. The inductors seem to face each other in the pic and that may cause coupling between them. I would also upgrade the resistors to non inductive type before I would mess with the caps, you could change the bass inductor to a larger gauge wire hollow core inductor and maybe the tweeter inductor to a foil type.I would change the caps last they change the sound so much but not always for the better just different. I would also be sure to measure the values of all parts and do not believe what is printed on the parts and match parts for both crossovers.   Marc

[sandeepc]

Btw, this is how the back of the crossover looks like.

[S Clark]

Good advice so far.  Re-align the coils so that the "holes" are pointing 90 degrees from each other. You may be able to do it by loosening as little as 1/4 coil of wire, repositioning the inductor, and glue it down with hot glue.  As far as by pass caps, just solder them parallel to the ones on the board.

[sandeepc]

I would think that you could remount the inductors so the hole in one faces the side of the other inductor. The inductors seem to face each other in the pic and that may cause coupling between them. I would also upgrade the resistors to non inductive type before I would mess with the caps, you could change the bass inductor to a larger gauge wire hollow core inductor and maybe the tweeter inductor to a foil type.I would change the caps last they change the sound so much but not always for the better just different. I would also be sure to measure the values of all parts and do not believe what is printed on the parts and match parts for both crossovers.   Marc

That seems very doable because if I remount the inductor on the top left of the picture, non of the holes will be facing each other - even the non inductive resistors, I think I can get them locally.
Thanks much - I will surely give this a try..

[sandeepc]

Good advice so far.  Re-align the coils so that the "holes" are pointing 90 degrees from each other. You may be able to do it by loosening as little as 1/4 coil of wire, repositioning the inductor, and glue it down with hot glue.  As far as by pass caps, just solder them parallel to the ones on the board.

You mean make two holes on the board parallel to the existing caps and solder the .1uf caps?? (same voltage 400V).. (sorry if I sound naive - I am when it comes to electronics..), thanks for the trick of getting the inductors placed rightly..

[BobM]

You don't need extra holes. Just solder the leads of the bypass caps to the leads of the regular caps. It would be best to hot glue or strap the caps down to the board too.

Bob

[sandeepc]

You don't need extra holes. Just solder the leads of the bypass caps to the leads of the regular caps. It would be best to hot glue or strap the caps down to the board too.

Bob

Thanks a lot - cant wait till the morning to try things out !

[JimJ]

What exactly don't you like about the Infinitys?

Well, I find it very sharp on the highs and somewhat lost mids - I am not complaining about the lows at all because for its size, there is plenty and to an extent true, which is what matters. I like hearing for extended hours and prefer a more laid back sound without compromising on the dynamics of the music (I listen to mostly acoustic Jazz and old rock). On the imaging side, I have tried fiddling with the placements (cant do much as the system is in the hall room and cant do away with the fav decos of my wife, although I removed  glass cupboards as much as possible and also laid a carpet between the system and myself - where I sit),  I still find it a little too cluttered.
Maybe this has to do with my other components because as per the review of this speakers, it is supposed to be more laid back than a forward sounding speakers. btw, with whatever I could lay my hands on, this is what I presently have :

Kappa 200 speakers on Kappa sandfilled stands ( biwired with Van den hul snowline on the highs and Supra 4.0 for the midbass, I have also changed the internal wiring of the speakers the same way)

Harman Kardon (this is all I could get here) HK675 - Here I have changed the stock power cables with Supra Lo Rad 2.5.

Source - Nad C541 i - Here too I have changed the stock cables with Supra Lo Rad 2.5.

Interconnects - Van den Hul  D-102 hybrids

Dezorel power conditioner.

Thats all the hardware that I have now -

Hope this answers your question.

Good info there, thanks. 

Go ahead and fiddle with the Xovers on these if you want, can't hurt to try, but I have a feeling there's a pair of DIY speakers in your future And there are a ton of speakers out there pre-designed that I think will fit the bill for you.

[face]

I believe those caps are made by Solen, which are known for being harsh. 

Depending on how much you want to spend, Dayton caps aren't as harsh, but are still forward in the highs.  The next step up from there would be Sonic Caps, which are very neutral.  To save money, you can use Sonic Caps on the highs and Dayton on the lows. 

[jimdgoulding]

I bought some two way standmounts from Fred300b for my daughter for, well, I'll let him quote you.  He assembles kits for a hobby sometimes building his own enclosures and usually finding ways to improve on a crossover.  I had those speakers in my video set up for a week a/b'ing with $600 close out Mirage two way standmounts.  Guess what, I liked Fred's speakers a bunch better.  They had better balance for music and threw a very nice stage.  Both used 6.5" mid/bass drivers.  Fred300b is an AC member.  Think he would be a good guy to talk to about speakers or crossovers.

[KS]

Could the cabinets benefit from upgrading?  If there is a chance of resonance from the cabinet sides, you might make some wood braces to glue inside, and/or cover the insides with No Rez.  You'll want the cabinet pretty much filled with fiberglass insulation, Acousta-Stuf, or polyester pillow stuffing.

I've upgraded old crossovers with air core inductors, both foil and Erse PerfectLay wire, plus Sonicap capacitors bypassed with both Sonicap Gen-2 and Sonicap Platinum 0.1uf capacitors.  They sound very good with the $2.70 Gen-2 and very, very, very good with the $29 Platinum.  Try some audiophile grade resistors, also, Mills or equal.

You can assemble the crossovers on a piece of pegboard material or anything that works; you don't need that circuit board.  Getting the inductors farther away from each other is wise, as is re-orienting them as described...one flat and one on edge with the narrow side pointing toward the flat one.  I'm not sure exactly how to position the third, but distance helps.

[jimdgoulding]

"Perfect audio reproduction brings forward everything the recording engineer put on the recording.  Nothing is added and nothing taken away during the reproduction" from KS' signature above.  I think yer in good company.  I know I feel ya.

[sandeepc]

What exactly don't you like about the Infinitys?

Well, I find it very sharp on the highs and somewhat lost mids - I am not complaining about the lows at all because for its size, there is plenty and to an extent true, which is what matters. I like hearing for extended hours and prefer a more laid back sound without compromising on the dynamics of the music (I listen to mostly acoustic Jazz and old rock). On the imaging side, I have tried fiddling with the placements (cant do much as the system is in the hall room and cant do away with the fav decos of my wife, although I removed  glass cupboards as much as possible and also laid a carpet between the system and myself - where I sit),  I still find it a little too cluttered.
Maybe this has to do with my other components because as per the review of this speakers, it is supposed to be more laid back than a forward sounding speakers. btw, with whatever I could lay my hands on, this is what I presently have :

Kappa 200 speakers on Kappa sandfilled stands ( biwired with Van den hul snowline on the highs and Supra 4.0 for the midbass, I have also changed the internal wiring of the speakers the same way)

Harman Kardon (this is all I could get here) HK675 - Here I have changed the stock power cables with Supra Lo Rad 2.5.

Source - Nad C541 i - Here too I have changed the stock cables with Supra Lo Rad 2.5.

Interconnects - Van den Hul  D-102 hybrids

Dezorel power conditioner.

Thats all the hardware that I have now -

Hope this answers your question.

Good info there, thanks. 

Go ahead and fiddle with the Xovers on these if you want, can't hurt to try, but I have a feeling there's a pair of DIY speakers in your future And there are a ton of speakers out there pre-designed that I think will fit the bill for you.

Actually you have hit the nail on the head this time, this is something I have been really pondering for quite sometime, because :

a) unlike most audio products going eastwards as far as manufacturing is concerned, these speaker enclosures are beautifully handcrafted in Denmark, in fact rightly said on the review, its impeccable and since I paid USD 400 for these (new, since no one was buying) I consider it a very good price for the enclosure itself.

b) it would be easier for me to import a kit rather than speakers itself (customs and shipping cost) and most importantly these speakers can be utilized as enclosures, rather than sitting on the closet collecting dust.

The problem being, how do I know that the kit would be suitable for these enclosures and to my taste, well, I guess there are some sites where they sell good quality kits (knowing that actually the drivers in the speaker itself are of good quality - all french, just that it wasnt my taste, but then like I said earlier, I had no choice)

To be honest, if you know such places (online) where they sell quality kits, and sites where they tell you how to match divers with enclosures - it would be a great help for me.

Thanks once again and for all the inputs by everyone.