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You have several decisions to make that affect this

As long as you're doing the binding post replacement, you may want to consider...

* Do I bypass the fuse? The fuse adds multiple materials-interaction points and grunges up the sound. But you're moving from simple replacement to the dreaded "MODIFICATION" at this point. I'd strongly recommend bypassing, but it's your decision

* Do I upgrade the wiring? The quality of the original wire is suspect. With the connection plate removed, you could rewire (I used Vampire wire) and reap further sonic benefits

* Do I take this opportunity to upgrade the crossover? Huge improvements are available if you choose to substitute higher quality parts for the crossover. This turns out not to be very hard to do, with parts costs dependent on which capacitors/inductors you choose to use. At most, you probably would be spending a couple hundred $$ Again, this gets my strong recommendation, but you could do it later if you want to continue to plumb the depths of the great things these speakers can do.

* Which binding post alternatives should I use? You could go from Parts Express quality (not a lot better than stock) to Cardas or Vampire or whatever. Once again, as long as you're in there, it's nice to have quality, so you're not tempted to go back and do it again.

* Do I want to bi-wire my speakers? If yes, you'll need two pairs of upgraded connectors per speaker. You can always change your mind and add additional binding posts later if you want to bi-wire.

The actual binding post replacement is very straightforward, if you're using the original crossover etc. You can find a pictures and circuit diagrams for the crossover in the MUG links at the top of the page here.

If all you're doing is a straight replacement, remove the screws holding the plate in place and carefully pull it out of the speaker cavity. On the back side, you'll find wires from the speaker crossover are soldered to the original connectors. If you're worried about connections, you can put a tape tag on each wire to identify the connector to which it is currently attached (note, it's not very complicated). Use a pair of wire cutters to snip the wires from the backs of the connectors you will be replacing. After snipping, you can unbolt the original connectors that you're replacing. Depending on which replacements you're using, you may need a drill to enlarge the holes to accomodate the new binding posts.

If you never plan to bi-wire, you can choose to replace only the bottom set of connectors, and directly wire the wires formerly connected to the HF and LF connectors to the new connectors instead of using a jumper. Mount the new binding posts.

You'll need to strip about 1/4" of wire from each of the wires that you snipped and connect each one to the lugs/holes on the back of the new binding posts. These will need to be soldered after they're firmly attached mechanically to the post. If you haven't soldered before, you should practice making solder joints a bit before doing this. The binding posts are heavy copper, and will require a fair amount of heat to avoid creating a "cold" solder joint. The solder should flow evenly from the wires you're soldering and the binding posts. When you remove the iron, the joint should appear smooth and evenly shiny.

Then you you're basically done! Carefully re-dress the wires as you push the plate back into its cavity, and re-attach with the original screws.

Don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions. Sorry I never did pictures when I did mine. Good luck and enjoy the music when you're done!

HTH,

Frank


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  • You have several decisions to make that affect this - CometCKO 08:06:31 04/01/07 (0)


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