![]() ![]() |
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
75.111.12.83
I'm adding a vintage 12 ohm Magnavox horn tweeter to a three-way vintage speaker. I have a 2.2 UF non-polarized electrolytic in line to the tweeter now and it sounds OK, but I'm wondering if a film capacitor would sound different, perhaps better?
"When the demon is at your door, in the mornin' it won't be there no more"
Steely Dan
Follow Ups:
![]()
![]()
Thanks for all your thoughtful replies. I now have a 1.0 uf electrolytic cap in place and I think the volume level is about right. I am interested in trying a polyester film cap next. Would the value be similar?
BTW, here's a picture of the current setup.The amp is a "gussied up" Motorola Golden Voice, 6v6 output tubes.
"When the demon is at your door, in the mornin' it won't be there no more"
Steely Dan
![]()
Thanks for all your thoughtful replies. I now have a 1.0 uf electrolytic cap in place and I think the volume level is about right. I am interested in trying a polyester film cap next. Would the value be similar?
BTW, here's a picture of the current setup.
"When the demon is at your door, in the mornin' it won't be there no more"
Steely Dan
More important than what type of cap is used is the issue of having the optimum value of capacitance for the speaker. Horns rarely have flat response by themselves and that is what one hears most of all and why the cap value matters a lot.
That being said, non-polarized electrolytic caps are normally not used in high frequency crossovers and instead polypropylene caps are the norm in modern crossovers and the oil filled caps were the tech used before poly caps were available and were often what was used for motor start and run capacitors.
A main reason it can matter is that all electronic parts like R's, L's and C's have secondary values. for example, a capacitor has a series resistance and series inductance as well as the capacitance. While those are much smaller an effect than the primary properties, they do matter in some cases.
For example in a power supply the series R and L can be limiting the performance.
nt
all the best,
mrh
much like the picture above.I tried replacing them with expensive film caps but went back to the big fat oil caps.
YMMV and all that.
First they came for the dumb-asses
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a dumb-ass
Edits: 12/26/23
FWIW once I tried some Jantzen Audio Z-Standard caps in a speaker crossover. While they sounded OK the top end (treble) seemed kind of muted. These were dome tweeters so with horns YMMV. For less than $7 for two from Parts Express they might be worth a try.
IT's cheap give it a try
but also have lower effective series resistance (ESR) which means an equivalent one will likely sound brighter in the same circuit.
When I recapped vintage New Advents, I was presented with a similar challenge. All film of same value was too bright. Ideally, I could have added some resistance (0.5 ohm?) for the offset. Instead, I took the easy route using a 12 uF electrolytic in parallel with a "bypass" 1 uF film to maintain stock value. That kept tonal balance similar but improved transparency.
I currently have installed a 4.7 UF EL cap in parallel with a .22 Uf polyester film cap. Sounding better to my ears.
"When the demon is at your door, in the mornin' it won't be there no more"
Steely Dan
of course it has to be "special" el cap bypassed by "special" mylar cap otherwise he wouldn't be able to charge what he charges for particle board boxes filled with remakes of $5 Vifa drivers. The recipe is known since ever and EL caps improved considerably. My advice is this -Chose to be happy instead of right every single time.
:)
all the best,
mrh
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: