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Re-cap PA speakers?


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Wondering if anyone has had good experience replacing the capacitors in the crossovers in their PA cabs?

 

Being and 'audiophile' of sorts, and collecting/messing with vintage 'home stereo' gear (run a big vint Mc at home) - advice on audiokarma is pretty universal when it comes to replacing caps after 20 years.

 

I kind of hate to admit here, but I still use (and generally love)(OK, a known quantity) my vintage mid-1980s 12+horn cabs. They've had many thousand hours of solo/duo gigging, and seem to have developed a rise in the 4k range over the last couple years (that, or my ears have).

 

So, the question: anybody here on HC recap'ed their cabs, with good results?

 

G

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Unless there is a gross defect, there is unlikely to be any change other than the positive or negative changes associated with the wide tolerances of the devices.

 

The listening environments and the speakers themselves are just too gross for any small difference to be meaningful IMO.

 

This, of course, assumes that the design of the crossover is well suited to the drivers and system.

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You could always replace the diaphrams in the HF drivers. They may have gone out of spec due to age.

 

 

I would suggest that he identify the real problem first. They may just be poor quality speakers (compared with what's available now) or maybe his ears are starting to show signs of age too.

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I have thought about simply replacing the HF driver diaphragms, just as good measure, and/or to see if there is any difference made. hmmm - perhaps creating things to fix where nothing is broken.

 

I played a series of test tones, and noticed tones in the 2.5 - 4 kHz jumping right out - had my wife come in for a 'blind' test, and she experienced the same. Doesn't really mean a whole lot, though.

 

I also noted something I never had before. The speakers have (2) 1/4" jacks each - in the back. At around 63hz (if I remember right) and below, the unused jack acts as a port, and 'puts' like the exhaust pipe of an automobile. I thought at first it was simply below what the speaker 'wanted' to reproduce, and that the cone was doing something weird. But closer inspection revealed the truth.

 

I'm not too worried about it though, in my application, since this started nicely below what I can sing, and certainly below low E on my guitar...

 

 

*many popular home speakers apparently benefit greatly from a recap: esp Advents, and Sansuis.

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At around 63hz (if I remember right) and below, the unused jack acts as a port, and 'puts' like the exhaust pipe of an automobile. I thought at first it was simply below what the speaker 'wanted' to reproduce, and that the cone was doing something weird. But closer inspection revealed the truth.

 

 

That's what any hole in the cabinet is going to do -- function as a port. That includes 1/4" jacks.

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