New Jantzen inductors installed

Something weird is going on with the forum tonight. This post was the first one in the thread and it disappeared, so I'm putting it back up. Hope it stays this time!

When I originally rebuilt my crossovers I did it on the stock Polk circuit boards, using the stock inductors, Sonicap caps and mills resistors. About a year ago I bought a set of inductors from Trey (VR3) and a pair of Tony’s circuit boards and finally got around to moving the caps and resistors and installing the new Jantzen inductors.

I also took this opportunity to remove the original SDA inductor which had been disconnected and left in place. I long ago replaced it with a Solen 10AWG which I mounted on the floor of the cabinet with zip ties. I discovered that the bolt holding the stock inductor in place to which the original crossover was mounted was a source of air leakage. After plugging the bolt hole, when I push the PR in and hold it, it takes > 5 seconds for the MW’s to return to their original position. With the original inductor in place the MW’s would begin to return within a couple of seconds.

I did the left speaker first and then had a listen, mainly to be sure that I had placed and soldered all components onto the new board correctly. I was surprised that I heard a distinct improvement in sound quality, which motivated me to get the other speaker completed. It wasn’t jaw dropping, but it was definitely there.

I completed the other speaker and had some time to spin some tunes last night. With very little burn in time on the inductors (2 hours on the left speaker, 0 on the right), I heard the following: improved transients, instruments sound more tactile. By this I mean that they have a presence similar to what one hears when a musician is playing live in front of you. Vocals sound richer. They were by no means harsh before, but they have a sweetness of tone that I was not expecting. Bass is more tuneful with slightly better impact. I’m guessing this is partly due to the new inductors and partly to the better sealed cabinets per above. Soundstage depth increased slightly front to back, and instruments are a little more distinct within the soundstage. Overall clarity is improved by maybe 3-4%.

Not sure how much of this is due to the inductors and how much to Gimpod’s boards, but I’m pleased with the results and recommend this mod without hesitation. See pics below: