recommendations and tips for a diy speaker upgrade...

@arbiter

i'm having a hard time finding results. perhaps i'm using the wrong and/or combination of words. anyways, crossovers easy or hard for somebody that isn't scared and has some basic knowledge of this? also, where i am really having trouble finding results is how to dampen the inside of speakers. i was thinking second skin damplifier/pro. any other sage words of advice from the amateurs, pros and my favorites, the ones who fubar'ed but came back with a vengeance. my first project i would like to attempt in the near future is monitor 60's. if all goes well, then i will do my monitor 70's and cs2. and then sell the monitor 60's and upgrade to monitor 70's and upgrade those again for 5.1 setup or my newfound love a 2c2.1 setup. dual left and rights make for a much better, wider and dynamic soundstage. and the bass is ear numbing but clean.

drumminman

@arbiter wrote: »

i'm having a hard time finding results. perhaps i'm using the wrong and/or combination of words. anyways, crossovers easy or hard for somebody that isn't scared and has some basic knowledge of this? also, where i am really having trouble finding results is how to dampen the inside of speakers. i was thinking second skin damplifier/pro. any other sage words of advice from the amateurs, pros and my favorites, the ones who fubar'ed but came back with a vengeance. my first project i would like to attempt in the near future is monitor 60's. if all goes well, then i will do my monitor 70's and cs2. and then sell the monitor 60's and upgrade to monitor 70's and upgrade those again for 5.1 setup or my newfound love a 2c2.1 setup. dual left and rights make for a much better, wider and dynamic soundstage. and the bass is ear numbing but clean.

Hi @arbiter, welcome to CP! The search function here works, but is a bit tricky. Try these search terms: crossover rebuild, damping cabinets, or damping.

Crossovers are not that difficult, but you need to be detail oriented. It helps to have the schematics, but it's not totally necessary. It's usually best to replace parts based on the values of the actual components used on your boards rather than what's listed in a schematic. Always mod one crossover at a time so if you run into trouble you can look at the unmodded one for reference.

As far as speaker cabinets, you don't want to use something intended for dampening car sheet metal. A much better product would be Black Hole 5 available here: http://www.soniccraft.com/products/damping/blackhole5.htm Sonicraft also has caps and resistors and is having a huge sale right now.

or No Rez available here: http://www.grresearch.com/

When dampening the interior you can over do it. Best to apply a small amount, listen and then add more if needed. From others experience here at CP you can kill the sound of the speakers with too much.

Good luck! Post your questions as you go along - there are lots of knowledgeable, helpful folks here.

Esreuter

XOs are fun, and so is soldering.
if you have basic soldering knowledge and gear you can do it.
as always in upgrades your budget sets the sky.
and everything is up to your taste and your experience, remember that, what one person says works may not work for you.

having said that here are my experiences and tastes in mods:

for your speaker baskets, using a vibration damper will take the "ring" out of the metal and give some clarity to the sound.
good products for this are, fatmat, dynamat, or some people use the rope caulk called moretite.

for cabinet dampening, i like the foam bed stuff stapled to cover the inside of the cabinet.

I recently did a odd mod, i took off the banana plugs and spade connectors and went back to bare wire connections and couldn't be happier.

I have the monitor series and rebuilt the XO's, i recommend you to use the clarity cap line up. i have the PX line in all my speakers and again couldnt be happier. Any of the clarity cap lines will do its all up to your cash limit.

I used the mundorf MOX resistors and i think they are great. I was on a budget though.

Thats about it on my modding journey. Again these are my experiences and what i think works, you must experiment and find what works for you.

have fun, and message me if you have any questions or need help with your XO mod as i have done mine and would love to share the knowledge.

esr:loneranger:

@arbiter

i didn't die. still looking around on this stuff and trying to get a gauge for whatever budget allows. i haven't set my budget yet but i definitely was thinking it was going to be a cheaper upgrade than what i originially though. realistically, going into this i am thinking i should spend more than my speakers cost. i was looking at clarity esa caps, but i might have to go lower to stay within budget. resistor prices aren't too bad though. but as far as cabinet modding, i actually meant to ask about open cell foam installed. some dynamat and closed cell foam did wonders for my 4 6x8's in my trucks. i spent just shy of $600 between beefing it up and sound isolating my cabin. aftermarket speakers cost me $150. so for about $750 with factory head unit still i have a much quieter cabin to chill in, drive in and it puts to shame a lot of premium factory setups with subwoofers even.

my budget to do 2x monitor 60's, 2x monitor 70's and a cs2 center will probably be 5-600 tops. the m70 and cs2 might receive a little more love in the xo department but i would definitely like to dampen my cabinet and speaker baskets. it would be really awesome if i could get some capacitors and resistors at work, but even if i could i don't think getting clarity caps will fly.

btw, i might not post in this thread much until i am getting closer to go ahead with it. i might do the m60's first on my own to see how it goes and if goes well then i'll be doing the rest. if not, then i'll be begging somebody on here to fix my m60 xo and do the others.

pss btw, what sites have better prices and sales on caps and give small volume discounts if i prebought all at once?

drumminman

The Sonicraft website I posted the link to above is having a 20% off sale right now. Don't know how long it'll last, but their generation 1 caps are very good, much better than daytons or solens. Some folks who have tried both prefer Clarity ESA's, but they're also more expensive.

I used Sonicaps and mills in my 2.3tl's and am very pleased with the result.

Sonicraft also has mills resistors.

Face

I believe the sale ends tonight or tomorrow.

@arbiter

i just couldn't bring myself to do it. talking with an audio bud of mine and we came to the conclusion that upgrading xo's is pricey. maybe hearing it personally would persuade me more but it has been pushed down on the priority list. although i wouldn't mind trying it still one day. but thanks for the replies and suggestions guys. this working middle class budget can't justify it, even being single.

F1nut

my newfound love a 2c2.1 setup. dual left and rights make for a much better, wider and dynamic soundstage. and the bass is ear numbing but clean.

That makes for a lot of bad sound.

talking with an audio bud of mine and we came to the conclusion that upgrading xo's is pricey.

It doesn't have to be and I sure as hell wouldn't put top quailty components in your Monitor series speakers. However, using inexpensive Dayton caps would result in vastly improved sound and good resistors are still dirt cheap.