Crossover Upgrades
xsmi
Posts: 1,798
How hard is it to upgrade crossovers if you have never soldered before? What kind of tools would I need. Is there a special solder that works better than others? TIA:)
2-channelBelles 22A Pre, Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2, Marantz SA8005, Pro-Ject RPM-10 Turntable, Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3B, Polk Audio Legend L800's, AudioQuest Cable throughout.
Post edited by xsmi on
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It's pretty easy to learn how to solder. I would start with an old breadboard and practice soldering parts in and out of it to learn how much heat and solder are necessary. You will need an iron of course, I like to use a desoldering bulb, and I like plain lead solder for all my non-signal path connections. Radio Shack has some great silver solder that works very well for signal path stuff. Practice on old boards will help you the most.
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The SDA's have specific left and right speakers. So are the crossovers left and right specific? How do you tell if you have a left crossover from a right? Can a left crossover be changed to a right crossover?2-channelBelles 22A Pre, Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2, Marantz SA8005, Pro-Ject RPM-10 Turntable, Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3B, Polk Audio Legend L800's, AudioQuest Cable throughout.
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The crossovers are the same.The wires go to specific drivers is all..SDA-2BTL with custom IC
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Thanks2-channelBelles 22A Pre, Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2, Marantz SA8005, Pro-Ject RPM-10 Turntable, Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3B, Polk Audio Legend L800's, AudioQuest Cable throughout.
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Heat sink, heat sink, heat sink!Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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2-channelBelles 22A Pre, Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2, Marantz SA8005, Pro-Ject RPM-10 Turntable, Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3B, Polk Audio Legend L800's, AudioQuest Cable throughout.
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What?
I think he is saying to use something to draw the heat from your soldering point, as to not let much heat disapate to other points of the crossover.
Now i could be wrong, as i have done very little soldering, but i use this method when welding thin stainless steel to help keep it from oil canning. I use a piece of aluminum for heat dissapation.Polk Audio SDA 2.3tl Fully Hot Rodded. 😎
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TOOLFORLIFEFAN wrote: »I think he is saying to use something to draw the heat from your soldering point, as to not let much heat disapate to other points of the crossover.
Now i could be wrong, as i have done very little soldering, but i use this method when welding thin stainless steel to help keep it from oil canning.
Correct. Many electrical components can be damaged by the excessive heat resulting from soldering. Some will be damaged, some won't. I always assume that every part needs protection, so I heat sink everything! Use an alligator clip across the lead between the component and the solder joint. That way the clip absorbs most of the heat that conducts through the lead, thus protecting the component.
Remember - heat the joint, not the solder. You don't want to just melt the solder onto the joint, or you'll have a cold-solder connection that will likely cause you grief. Heat the joint, and let the heat from the joint melt the solder.
Also, when dis-assembling the original parts from the crossover, life is much easier if you use a de-soldering iron. $10 at Radio Shack...Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance. -
Thanks guys.2-channelBelles 22A Pre, Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2, Marantz SA8005, Pro-Ject RPM-10 Turntable, Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3B, Polk Audio Legend L800's, AudioQuest Cable throughout.
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Another good tip...........do one x-over at a time that way you can use an unmolested one for reference if you get into trouble. Also be sure to do a "mock up" and plan where the new parts will go. The new parts will be much larger than the old, and especially on SDA's, takes a little planning ahead of time to figure how to fit them all on the PCB.
Read as many threads of others who have done the same thing to get pointers and ask lots of questions if you need to!
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
