What Will I Notice After Replacing Bad Capacitor?

I rebuilt my Monitor 10 crossovers today and upgraded the binding posts. I have a very low budget meter to check the values of the resistors and caps, but it seems fairly accurate. All of the new parts checked fine to within 3% of the stated values. Most of the original parts checked OK (+/- 10%) but one of the 12uF capacitors was way out of spec, measuring 16.41uF. It's the 12uF cap that also has the 2.5ohm resistor connected to it. Obviously the speaker should sound better now but what should I have noticed since that capacitor value had drifted that high?

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Comments

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,494
    You probably didn't notice anything. What you will notice is how they sound now.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,610
    Ultimately would change the frequency the tweeter plays.
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,455
    edited April 2023
    What's the schematic?

    Raising the capacitance of a capacitor in series with a tweeter should lower the frequencies that the tweeter can play, for a 1st order crossover at least. 2nd order is more complicated. Would probably have given you a bit of a hump in the upper midrange though.

    33a4abg3notw.jpg

    lp2vugyj7jm7.jpg

    If you are saying the 12uf cap (measuring 16) was in parallel with the 2.5 Ohm resistor, then it is a contour network that was designed to correct a rising response with decreasing frequency. Why they don't just say falling response with increasing freq. seems weird but whatever.

    I'm thinking it would be tuned for a lower frequency at which it would start to correct the dropping response and would cause a brightness

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    Post edited by Gardenstater on
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
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  • odcics2
    odcics2 Posts: 331
  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,610
    I'm not even going to click your link. I can and have recorded the differences with my cell phone much less test equipment.

    Caps, resistors, inductors make a difference. Period. There's no argument to be had here.
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
  • msg
    msg Posts: 9,994
    @joebass3 - neat tester; where'd you find that thing? Did you build it?
    I disabled signatures.
  • bcwsrt
    bcwsrt Posts: 1,876
    odcics2 wrote: »
    Some very interesting information here:

    https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/capacitor-upgrade-in-crossover-is-it-audible.12287/

    Also info on resistors and even binding posts.

    You ever actually replace caps/resistors/binding posts on speakers you were familiar with?


    Brian

    One-owner Polk Audio RTA 15TL speakers refreshed w/ Sonicap, Vishay/Mills and Cardas components by "pitdogg2," "xschop" billet tweeter plates and BH5 | Stereo REL Acoustics T/5x subwoofers w/ Bassline Blue cables | Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III integrated tube amp | Technics SL-1210G turntable w/ Ortofon 2M Black LVB 250 MM cart | Sony CDP-508ESD CD player (as a transport) | LampizatOr Baltic 4 tube DAC | Nordost & DH Labs cables/interconnects | APC H15 Power Conditioner | GIK Acoustics room treatments | Degritter RCM
  • joebass3
    joebass3 Posts: 283
    msg wrote: »
    @joebass3 - neat tester; where'd you find that thing? Did you build it?

    LCR-T4 Mega328 Digital Transistor Tester Resistance Capacitance Diode Triode Capacitance Resistance ESR Meter MOS PNP NPN LCR with Case https://a.co/d/2xagWHZ
  • Jazzhead
    Jazzhead Posts: 533
    I find many posts on Audio Science Review annoying because IMHO not everything can be measured. I find it arrogant that some people actually believe they can measure every sonic nuance. Of course this will be an eternal argument about/among audiophiles.
  • odcics2
    odcics2 Posts: 331
    edited April 2023
    VR3 wrote: »
    I'm not even going to click your link. I can and have recorded the differences with my cell phone much less test equipment.

    Caps, resistors, inductors make a difference. Period. There's no argument to be had here.

    Agreed.
    But you should read the link to understand what the guy tested and the results...
    Of course replacing BAD parts make a difference!
  • odcics2
    odcics2 Posts: 331
    bcwsrt wrote: »
    odcics2 wrote: »
    Some very interesting information here:

    https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/capacitor-upgrade-in-crossover-is-it-audible.12287/

    Also info on resistors and even binding posts.

    You ever actually replace caps/resistors/binding posts on speakers you were familiar with?


    Yes.
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,455
    Jazzhead wrote: »
    I find many posts on Audio Science Review annoying because IMHO not everything can be measured. I find it arrogant that some people actually believe they can measure every sonic nuance. Of course this will be an eternal argument about/among audiophiles.

    Yeah like imaging for example. Nobody dares to dispute, not even those "audiosciencereview/ audioholics, that differences exist in that area that make or break one's listening experience. Do they have a measurement for that, and I am not talking about polar or off axis frequency response curves? Those don't show how one set of speakers localizes instruments and voices differently from another on a soundstage.
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
  • invalid
    invalid Posts: 1,363
    odcics2 wrote: »
    VR3 wrote: »
    I'm not even going to click your link. I can and have recorded the differences with my cell phone much less test equipment.

    Caps, resistors, inductors make a difference. Period. There's no argument to be had here.

    Agreed.
    But you should read the link to understand what the guy tested and the results...
    Of course replacing BAD parts make a difference!


    Keep listening to audio science review and you will only have a mediocre system at best.
  • odcics2
    odcics2 Posts: 331
    invalid wrote: »
    odcics2 wrote: »
    VR3 wrote: »
    I'm not even going to click your link. I can and have recorded the differences with my cell phone much less test equipment.

    Caps, resistors, inductors make a difference. Period. There's no argument to be had here.

    Agreed.
    But you should read the link to understand what the guy tested and the results...
    Of course replacing BAD parts make a difference!


    Keep listening to audio science review and you will only have a mediocre system at best.

    I like my Monitor 7B speakers.
    I like the way Matthew Polk voiced them.
    I also like to read facts and opinions about audio.
  • odcics2
    odcics2 Posts: 331
    Jazzhead wrote: »
    I find many posts on Audio Science Review annoying because IMHO not everything can be measured. I find it arrogant that some people actually believe they can measure every sonic nuance. Of course this will be an eternal argument about/among audiophiles.

    Yeah like imaging for example. Nobody dares to dispute, not even those "audiosciencereview/ audioholics, that differences exist in that area that make or break one's listening experience. Do they have a measurement for that, and I am not talking about polar or off axis frequency response curves? Those don't show how one set of speakers localizes instruments and voices differently from another on a soundstage.

    What’s not up for dispute is that we all hear differently. Perhaps a persons hearing test results should be posted along with their recommendations for audio devices!! Lol !
  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,610
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,270
    When I had my dedicated listening room. I had a pair of chairs similar to the one in the pic below. I could raise it up and down and recline. It took me a month running around Houston/Dallas to pick out of over 200 chairs I liked sitting in.

    Anyway, once the speakers are set, I could shift/adjust my chair an 1" and get better/lessor quality in sound.

    We have 2 ears and most testing is done with 1 mic. That mic does not tell you where that better position is located. Our ears on on the sides of our heads, and everyone's ears are shaped differently.

    There is no way that a measurement from a mic into software is the end all evaluation. There is no way that mic has any emotion to music.

    Mic and software are a base line and nothing else, IMHO
    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
    Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
    Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
    Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC

    erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,494
    odcics2 wrote: »
    invalid wrote: »
    odcics2 wrote: »
    VR3 wrote: »
    I'm not even going to click your link. I can and have recorded the differences with my cell phone much less test equipment.

    Caps, resistors, inductors make a difference. Period. There's no argument to be had here.

    Agreed.
    But you should read the link to understand what the guy tested and the results...
    Of course replacing BAD parts make a difference!


    Keep listening to audio science review and you will only have a mediocre system at best.

    I like my Monitor 7B speakers.
    I like the way Matthew Polk voiced them.
    I also like to read facts and opinions about audio.

    You mean like the fact Amir tests only one of a pair of speakers to reach his conclusions? Or maybe the fact that actual listening does not occur?
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,494
    edited April 2023
    odcics2 wrote: »
    VR3 wrote: »
    I'm not even going to click your link. I can and have recorded the differences with my cell phone much less test equipment.

    Caps, resistors, inductors make a difference. Period. There's no argument to be had here.

    Agreed.
    But you should read the link to understand what the guy tested and the results...
    Of course replacing BAD parts make a difference!

    Parts don't have to be bad. Replacing the basic low budget parts found in the vast majority of speakers with high quality parts makes a difference.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • odcics2
    odcics2 Posts: 331
    You said it!
    The fact that moving your chair an inch makes a difference in your sound quality means that another huge variable besides your ears is the listening room.
    They are all different.
  • odcics2
    odcics2 Posts: 331
    F1nut wrote: »
    odcics2 wrote: »
    invalid wrote: »
    odcics2 wrote: »
    VR3 wrote: »
    I'm not even going to click your link. I can and have recorded the differences with my cell phone much less test equipment.

    Caps, resistors, inductors make a difference. Period. There's no argument to be had here.

    Agreed.
    But you should read the link to understand what the guy tested and the results...
    Of course replacing BAD parts make a difference!


    Keep listening to audio science review and you will only have a mediocre system at best.

    I like my Monitor 7B speakers.
    I like the way Matthew Polk voiced them.
    I also like to read facts and opinions about audio.

    You mean like the fact Amir tests only one of a pair of speakers to reach his conclusions? Or maybe the fact that actual listening does not occur?

    I use my ears. I learned a long time ago about basing my likes on reviews, graphs, charts and talking head opinions on the internet.
    I stand by my statement: I like my 7B speakers!
  • odcics2
    odcics2 Posts: 331
    F1nut wrote: »
    odcics2 wrote: »
    VR3 wrote: »
    I'm not even going to click your link. I can and have recorded the differences with my cell phone much less test equipment.

    Caps, resistors, inductors make a difference. Period. There's no argument to be had here.

    Agreed.
    But you should read the link to understand what the guy tested and the results...
    Of course replacing BAD parts make a difference!

    Parts don't have to be bad. Replacing the basic low budget parts found in the vast majority of speakers with high quality parts makes a difference.

    But, is the “difference” good or not?

    I changed caps in a KLH 23 that made a difference for the worse. Putting the old caps in restored the sound in a positive way.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,494
    Brand and model of caps?
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,270
    Theoretical:

    Speaker 1 Has a ring radiator tweeter, XX Mid, and XX woofer

    Speaker 2 Has a soft dome tweeter, XX Mid, and XX woofer

    When tested and measured that measure exactly the same....do they sound the same?
    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
    Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
    Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
    Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC

    erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
  • odcics2
    odcics2 Posts: 331
    F1nut wrote: »
    Brand and model of caps?

    Vishay Sprague.
    Been years, I don’t remember the exact model.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,494
    edited April 2023
    odcics2 wrote: »
    F1nut wrote: »
    Brand and model of caps?

    Vishay Sprague.
    Been years, I don’t remember the exact model.

    I'm not surprised you didn't like the results as they are not known to be high quality crossover caps.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • odcics2
    odcics2 Posts: 331
    F1nut wrote: »
    odcics2 wrote: »
    F1nut wrote: »
    Brand and model of caps?

    Vishay Sprague.
    Been years, I don’t remember the exact model.

    I'm not surprised you didn't like the results as they are not known to be high quality crossover caps.

    Lol, yup. It was a lesson learned.
  • odcics2
    odcics2 Posts: 331
    txcoastal1 wrote: »
    Theoretical:

    Speaker 1 Has a ring radiator tweeter, XX Mid, and XX woofer

    Speaker 2 Has a soft dome tweeter, XX Mid, and XX woofer

    When tested and measured that measure exactly the same....do they sound the same?

    Yes, if listened to in an anechoic chamber, so any room interaction is negated.
    In my entire life, I have yet to see two listening rooms the same. The same speakers will sound different in different rooms.

    For you, a theoretical:

    You have Five Grand of hard earned money to buy brand NEW speakers on the internet!
    They are so new that are no reviews by people yet to taint your opinions, just some measurements.

    Speakers A have excellent measured test results! +/- 1.5 db from 30hz to 20Khz

    Speakers B have a large mid bass hump, a large midrange suckout and very tipped up highs and various cabinet resonances. +/- 6 db from 30hz to 20Khz.

    Which ones would you buy for $5,000.?
  • invalid
    invalid Posts: 1,363
    odcics2 wrote: »
    txcoastal1 wrote: »
    Theoretical:

    Speaker 1 Has a ring radiator tweeter, XX Mid, and XX woofer

    Speaker 2 Has a soft dome tweeter, XX Mid, and XX woofer

    When tested and measured that measure exactly the same....do they sound the same?

    Yes, if listened to in an anechoic chamber, so any room interaction is negated.
    In my entire life, I have yet to see two listening rooms the same. The same speakers will sound different in different rooms.

    For you, a theoretical:

    You have Five Grand of hard earned money to buy brand NEW speakers on the internet!
    They are so new that are no reviews by people yet to taint your opinions, just some measurements.

    Speakers A have excellent measured test results! +/- 1.5 db from 30hz to 20Khz

    Speakers B have a large mid bass hump, a large midrange suckout and very tipped up highs and various cabinet resonances. +/- 6 db from 30hz to 20Khz.

    Which ones would you buy for $5,000.?

    Really, you can hear the difference in the same room with the same equipment. An anechoic chamber isn't somewhere you want to listen to speakers in. You need to experience more and read about measurements less.