Crossover for 2b

Inthefade
Inthefade Posts: 180
edited June 2013 in Vintage Speakers
I just bought a pair of 2b's the original owner bought new in 1989. When I first listened to them bass was nonexistent.

Nothing.

Now about 30 hrs later bass is much better. Speakers sound much better. Now I've been pondering a x-over upgrade.

My question is can I get better sound from new capacitors and such? Do I have to spend north of $300 on x-overs? With two young kids I don't want to spend that much on my hobby right now. What caps can make a good improvement from the old?

Thanks for the advice in advance.
Post edited by Inthefade on
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  • cincycat13
    cincycat13 Posts: 882
    edited June 2013
    Welcome to the club. You do not need to spend north of $300 if you can do the soldering yourself. Lot's of information here about modifying the 2Bs here. I used and aftermarket circuit board and did my SDA 2.3 for around 400, but the board was 100 of that. And you can use less expensive caps for the lows.

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?118701-gimpod-SDA-boards-for-2.3

    http://vr3mods.com/uploads/SDA_Handbook_2011_Rev2.pdf

    very detailed compendium on all things SDA. Lack of bass sounds like it could be placement or a leaky cabinet. You can push and hold the passive radiator and see how long it takes the drivers to return to position to test the cabinet seal.

    One thing you will see here if you search is the "TL" mod for the SDA2B or aka 4.1TL. The stock tweeter in your speaker is an SL2000. The direct replacement / upgrade for this is the RDO-194. IF you mod the XO and add a resistor, you can use the RDO-198 tweeter which is considered slightly better. Enjoy reading and your new speakers...and most of all the 2 small kids...
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  • Inthefade
    Inthefade Posts: 180
    edited June 2013
    Thanks for the welcome.

    I pushed in the passive radiator and the drivers came to rest in roughly 3 seconds. After searching it seems this normal. Is it still worth changing to armaflex?

    After a few different key words I found some good threads on the xo's. Might just have to start doing side work again to pay for the upgrades.

    I'm going to do some of the easier cheaper mods first.

    22 months and 3 months old. Nothing like seeing the 22 month old smile and dance around to the music! Gotta love it.
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