Finally upgraded my 2.3 crossovers

schwarcw

Always use your ears, Forum advice is terrific and there is a lot of good information from some very knowledgeable people. F1Nut, Ben, Darqueknight and others have significant experience with numerous SDA mods.

I'd like to add my experience to the crossover upgrades to my SRS 2.3's. I spoke with Jeff Glowacki at length about the need for the bypass cap. He convinced me that the 750pf by pass cap was not doing much because the "rule of thumb" for sizing bypass caps indicated this cap was way too small. Instead, he suggested using an 11.9 mF and a 0.1 uF (bypass) in place of th 12 uF cap in the tweeter circuit. He explained that the 0.1 cap in conjuction with the 11.9 uF mounted piggyback (and added up to 12 uF) would be a much more effective bypass configuration. He also suggested that I use a Gen II cap for the 0.1 uF cap since it would be more effective with solid stage amplifcation vs tube. He rationale was the Gen II would "soften" the edge on the bypass.

I tried the speakers with the 0.1 by pass cap in and with the cap disconnected. The differences were subtle but distinguishable. I thought the bypass configuration was more "lively" in the HF response. Without the bypass caps, the HF response seemed a little flat in some passages. I didn't hear the residual artifacts as described by some others. My caps had more than 500 hours of break in when I tried the experiment. I've concluded that I like the bypass configuration better. Let me add a little disclaimer. This is my taste, and it may not be yours. Additionally, most of the other Forum members who discarded their bypass caps were using the TL model 2.3's, which is a very different speaker. Lastly, my ears are 55 years old and may not hear as well as a young man's. However, according to the hearing test that I have each year in the sound proof chanber, the physician tells me my low frequecy and high frequency hearing range is in the 97% population. Translation, it's pretty good (at least in theory) since it's tested with individual notes. It may not too so well with a symphony playing. I could be missing a whole lot.

Bottom line, listen to the advice of the Forum Community whom I have great respect for, but in the end it's you ears that must be satisfied. Above all else. Have fun and don't be afraid to experiment. Good luck!