So I seem to have become a teflon champion when it comes to Hagerman Clarinets and Cornet(2) equipment. I have to say it is pretty awesome to spend under a grand and go side by side with 5-10k dollar gear and come out superior.
When we began discussing the early results of teflon caps our own Bob M posted he has been using these in his speaker crossovers. They worked especially well in the tweeter positions. He pulled them from the midrange bypass position.
I have been up to my eyeballs in projects this Autumn. A couple weeks ago I decided it was time to jump into my custom diy speakers and try some teflons as Bob had done.
This is not an easy undertaking in my DIY speakers. I basically have to remove the drivers (which are soldered) pull the top assembly and then dive into the box to get these caps in place. It is such an unpleasant project that I have put this off for at least 6 months time.
Well I got the job done after 4 hours of labor and a little trepidation.
Then I started playing some Christmas music from Sarah Mac Lachlin and Diana Krall. I was really floored. The clarity in the vocals and the midrange I heard from using the teflons in my Hagerman Clarinet and Cornet 2 are even more apparent now.
I waited a couple of weeks to see if it was just a flavor of the month kind of observation, but after spinning more and more of my torture tests its way, I have to say these teflons are amazing for my tweeters.
The driver compliments are a Foster Ribbon tweeter, an MBL 3" titanium mid tweeter, a 5.5 inch Scan Speak Revelator, and a 7 inch Scan Speak Revelator.
BTW I am running the 3" MBL Quartz titanium mid tweeter from 2275hz to 9,000 hz with a second order crossover. Then I pass off the highs to a Foster Ribbon tweeter also using a second order crossover. I put the FT-3 0.10uf 600v teflons as bypasses on both of these two high frequency drivers. I did not use the teflons in the midrange crossover due to Bob's experience in this arena.
The teflons let these pieces do their work with less after-taste.
Sibilance is highly reduced.
That PHAT tone that Pat OMalley loves so much comes through with greater realism.
The highs sound a lot less like white noise even on some of my marginal quality recordings. In fact I like these teflons so much I wish I had not wasted 6 months time putting them in.
I thought my speaker crossovers had fairly decent crossovers. I spent about 400 dollars on the ribbon coils, resistors and film caps. In spite of that investment, less than 20 dollars of teflon significantly improved the sound of my speakers.
Thanks to Bob M for posting about his teflon experience. Thanks to Jim Hagerman for building a line stage and phono section that are so exciting, vibrant, and dynamic. If you are enjoying your teflon caps then why not spin a few into your speakers (hopefully a less troublesome an experience than my own.)
Happy Holidays to the Hagerman board. This is a fantastic group of DIY fanatics.
