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Recapping Advent 5002s

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Posted on December 12, 2010 at 12:41:00
mike555
Audiophile

Posts: 261
Joined: November 7, 2007
 Hi. I just finished refoaming my wonderful Advent 5002 speakers. They sound great. The sound is definitely better balanced than before the recap. I can now listen to them with either my tube or solid state amplifier without their sounding excessively harsh.

I am still planning to do a capacitor upgrade on the crossovers of these speakers, because they sound a tad brighter than I'd prefer. I have a few questions about the process. Each crossover contains two caps, one that is 7uf and the other that is 32uf. Should I replace both, or is it only really necessary to replace the 7uf cap? Also, what brand is recommended (Solen, Jensen, Dayton) to produce better balanced sound? I know that Bold Eagle ultimately preferred the Jensens in his Advent Large speakers, but I also have read that Daytons are good at controlling the highs. Finally, it seems like the crossovers are glued down firmly to the particle board on the back of the speakers. Is it possible to do the recapping without detaching the crossovers from the particle boards?

Thanks,
Mike Todd

 

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RE: Recapping Advent 5002s, posted on December 12, 2010 at 12:48:25
mike555
Audiophile

Posts: 261
Joined: November 7, 2007
 Here is a schematic drawing of the crossovers:
http://baselaudiolab.com/ADVENT_LA_XO.html

 

RE: Recapping Advent 5002s, posted on December 12, 2010 at 19:23:11
DMW
Distributor or Rep

Posts: 497
Location: Midwest USA
Joined: July 26, 2003
 They both appear to be in the signal path. So, I would say yes.

Madisound has run some GE 10 mfd caps for a good prices for quite awhile and I think they still have some. Check their web site, if you're interested. You can stack three in parallel and have 30 mfd, which is close enough. You can can also use another quality electrolytic, say 33 mfd and add a small value of poly bypass to that. You could use 20 mfd (I'm mentioning common values) and add one of those GE 10 mfd poly caps to that. Remember that non-polar caps can be laid together in parallel with leads soldered together at each end and the values are additive. If I ordered parts from Madisound (or Parts Express) I'd also get two of their 3 Ohm audio grade resistors and get those sand cast resistors out of there.

 

RE: Recapping Advent 5002s, posted on December 13, 2010 at 05:39:10
David62


 
When caps degrade in a vintage crossover is brightness the normal symptom?Thanks,
Dave

 

RE: Recapping Advent 5002s, posted on December 13, 2010 at 10:05:46
Bold Eagle
Audiophile

Posts: 6936
Location: America's Heartland
Joined: May 27, 2001
 Replacing the OEM caps with any film cap will result in a brighter sound. I'd suggest trying an additional small resistor in series with the tweeter, perhaps 0.5 or 1 ohm.

The original Unicon caps are very good quality electrolytics and don't often fail or degrade. Ones pulled out of my 1973 vintage advents are still in spec.

If you do decide to replace the caps, the 7 uF and the 32 uF both need to be replaced. You can get film caps close to 7 uF; but you'll probably have to parallel a couple to get the precise value. For the 32 uF, that's a big value for a film cap, so I'd recommend using a couple of good quality electrolytics and a smaller film cap in parallel.

Also, if you replace the electrolytics with film, you'll need to add some series resistance (about 0.5 ohms) to compensate for the lower ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance). The additional resistance is added in series with the cap, and ought to be added right after each cap. In the third order crossover in the 5002 that would mean adding 0.5 ohms right after the 7 uF cap, and also right after the 32 uF cap. If you also want to add some resistance to the 3 ohm tweeter resistor, it can be lumped in with the resistor after the 32 uF cap.

As to capacitor brands; I've had good results with Dayton and Jantzen (not Jensen)film caps. In the Jantzen, I use their lower priced "Cross Cap" model. I don't recommend Solens. My experience with them has been that they are really bright as they have really low ESR and inductance.

Jerry

 

RE: Recapping Advent 5002s, posted on December 17, 2010 at 05:52:56
lukiedog
Audiophile

Posts: 485
Location: Northern Virginia
Joined: May 27, 2005
 I have found using any kind of film cap worsens the "bright" sound. Best results with the plain Parts Express electro bipolar cap (M.D.L. brand) bypassed with a small film/foil cap. Cheap enough to buy anyway and test it and see how it sounds to you. The larger sized cap is on the woofer and not necessary to go film with that one anyway.

 

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