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Thread: Capacitors

  1. #51
    Forum Regular luvtolisten's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by twc644
    Well,
    I just got in my order of the Jantzen Z-Standards(damn I wish my bank acct. allowed me the Z-Superior).Installed them in my brand new Polk Monitor 40's I got last Monday from Newegg-$150.00 free shipping ! Man,these speakers sound like a $900+ pair.

    I really like Jantzen caps.These speakers have much cleaner bass...authoritive mind you ! The mids are little forward which I like and the treble is much cleaner.Wont be selling my hot rodded Polks anytime soon that I can gurantee.

    I'm enjoying my early punk,Jazz,70's rock,and new wave more and more.Aint nothing like good sound for good tunes.I brought someone over to my apartment to hear my system.I made sure he understood it's not high end stuff.He's ready to buy all used equipment on E-Bay and a whole bunch of Elna Silmic II's and Jantzen capacitors for me to install lol !

    I've loved Rock 'n Roll since 1964 when i was born.It's in my blood. Having a system to extract more detail than the norm from the somewhat rare good recordings makes music I've listened too thousands of times all the more enjoyable.
    Good for you! I'm glad they were all you expected and more. I got my caps today, late. I'm listening to the Insigna's now, it's been a while since I used them for 2 channel (I had been using them for back surrounds). I getting familiar with them again, so I can do a "before" and "after" comparison. I'll put the new caps in this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes.
    By the way, I like your taste in music. I like that stuff from the late 50's, till the late 80's. There is still some good music out there, still, but I don't think we'll ever see a 30 year period like that one.Enjoy!

  2. #52
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    This time with this current set of speakers I used 95 % Jantzens(Z-Standard).Used .022uf Kimber I had already to parallel those.22uf caps.The 9.1uf and 8uf was nothing but Jantzen.These very sound good with no burn in.They will open up some more in time.Fortunetly,the Standards are 400 volt caps and smaller in size.This helped a lot for the small crossover.

    I cant wait till both the Yamaha ax 592 and Polk Monitor 40's get more play time to burn in those caps.The Yamaha sounds phenominal.No Jantzens in it.A bevy of Panasonic fc/tha(power supply),Elna Silmic,Blackgates,Rubycon zl,and Elna Cerafines were used.

    I added some not so great caps like Clarity Cap SA and Solens I had onhand in certain areas.I increased the original power supply caps from 12000uf 63 volt to 15000uf 63 volt.This increased capacitance improved the speed and overall bass.It was safe to do this in this circuit but I would'nt feel comfortable going any higher.

    The amp handles the increased inrush of current fine and is more dynamic and clean sounding.The older caps were certainly getting close to the end of their lifespan in this amp.I have a feeling they were beginning to dry up.
    Nad c270 amp
    Yamaha ax 700 integrated amp


    Onkyo p304 preamp
    Adcom gfp 555 preamp
    Polk Monitor 30 speakers 2 pairs
    Polk Monitor 40 speakers
    Z-Audio Lambda headphone amp
    Little Dot MK III tube headphone amp/preamp

    Sennheiser px100 headphones
    Tara Labs prism 33i interconnects
    Various Cable Pro cables

  3. #53
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    Hi Luvtolisten,
    The Z-Standards I ordered they had in stock at the time.When these caps burn in they most certainly color the sound.To me I like it-they offer warmth and solid bass.Much better than using Solens by themselves and are very affordable capacitors.The Z-Superiors' give more detail and enhance the highs considerably.Sometimes I really prefer the blue colored Standards.The Superiors are wonderful caps to use for the tweeter circuit in speakers.

    Yep, you hit the nail on the head regarding the 30 year span of music you mentioned. I hardly hear anything today that I like. A few current bands but only several songs are good imo !

    I played a home comp New Age cd earlier today and listened mesmerized. It sounded so good and relaxing...thats something i'm not use too.However,music soothes the savage beast lol ! It worked and my system is not optimally set being crammed in this small Apt. (yes,fantasies winning a lottery to get my school loan and the I.R.S out of my life resonates thru my synapses-then a big beautiful home with the stereo of my dreams).Sorry..went off on a tangent there lol !

    Good recordings excell wonderfully. On the other hand,poor recordings still sound terrible-in fact worse at times because the higher grade caps aids in extracting some detail not normally heard when speakers are in stock form. So,especially in mp3's you will hear more of the unwanted artifacts in the recording and in a poorly engineered cd.

    Back to the stereo now...............I've left my other system unplugged for the moment. I'm having too much fun with my new to me 2nd two channel system.I dont have any home theatre equipment.I'm trying to hurry up and get all these caps burned in.Some dont believe in burn in so I better stop here before flame wars abound lol !

    I'm about done with everything now. It's taken me several years but I've parts swapped 2 el cheapo dvd players(turned into very competent sounding cd players and sound great for movies from the audio portion of the circuits),my computer soundcard,two sets of computer speakers,2 preamps,one amp,one integrated amp,3 pairs of speakers, and three headphone amps lol.All of this done crammed up at a computer desk with the keyboard in the way. I left both my dedicated cd players alone. I've run out of stuff to tear apart and tinker with now.I had other equipment but sold them to fund my current projects.

    All of it sure as hell sounds a lot better ! Wait,now I can start focusing on the interior of the speaker cabinets lol !
    Last edited by twc644; 05-02-2009 at 04:51 PM.
    Nad c270 amp
    Yamaha ax 700 integrated amp


    Onkyo p304 preamp
    Adcom gfp 555 preamp
    Polk Monitor 30 speakers 2 pairs
    Polk Monitor 40 speakers
    Z-Audio Lambda headphone amp
    Little Dot MK III tube headphone amp/preamp

    Sennheiser px100 headphones
    Tara Labs prism 33i interconnects
    Various Cable Pro cables

  4. #54
    Forum Regular Kevio's Avatar
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    Capacitors inside

    The capacitors are now inside the speakers between the crossover and the woofers. I think the treble is cleaned up a bit and imaging improved. Treble is louder too so not an apples to apples comparison. Nevertheless, the change of moving the capacitors inside I don't believe is not as audible/significant as having put capacitors on in the first place.

    I did some tone sweeps made some adjustments to subwoofer level and crossover. Noticed a big bump from the subwoofer at 50-60 Hz. Probably the room, not the sub itself. I've taken down the subwoofer level but boosted the bass up 2 dB and cut treble by 2 dB. That flattened the bump a bit and the mains are more balanced with these settings.

    I now feel like I have a monitor system I can trust for my recording projects. The bump was fun though. I may invite the bump back for parties.

  5. #55
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    Glad your happy with it Kevio. An interesting experiment.Sometimes I have to re-read some of your post as I'm not a home theatre guy at all . I tend to forget these settings exist for subwoofers etc.... with your equipment.

    I have never used a multichannel amp/ receiver or subwoofer before. I guess I'm seriously old school.I'm sure it's an incredible experience watching movies in your home.
    Nad c270 amp
    Yamaha ax 700 integrated amp


    Onkyo p304 preamp
    Adcom gfp 555 preamp
    Polk Monitor 30 speakers 2 pairs
    Polk Monitor 40 speakers
    Z-Audio Lambda headphone amp
    Little Dot MK III tube headphone amp/preamp

    Sennheiser px100 headphones
    Tara Labs prism 33i interconnects
    Various Cable Pro cables

  6. #56
    Forum Regular luvtolisten's Avatar
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    Good Feedback

    Good Feedback Kevio, thanks for getting back to us. Sounds like it worked out for you.

  7. #57
    Forum Regular luvtolisten's Avatar
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    New Caps in Insignia NS B2111

    I installed the new caps last night, both were Jantzen Standards (1.5uf, 2.2uf). The result is, a better sounding speaker. I did about 3 hours each, of "before" and "after" listening. I know I'm not familiar with all the correct Audio terms, but I'll do the best I can to explain the differences:
    1) Detail. I have heard things in these speakers I never heard before. For instance, on a few Johnny Cash songs, I heard a fiddle in the background that would make a brief appearance for each chorus. I never heard this in these speakers before the caps. I have heard in other speakers, costing twice as much as these, I knew it was a string instrument, but couldn't tell what instrument it was. Now I can, not only hear it, but tell what instrument it is,since the new caps.
    2) The bass. It's not really any lower, but a whole lot tighter, and seems quicker, it's right there, the bass notes no longer don't blend. Each note is separate, each is precise.
    3) The highs. They are higher, but cleaner, not harsh or irritating. Before the were crummy. Not as high, and just congested, and muted.
    4) The vocals. Before they sounded, congested. More electronic like, harsh. This speaker, before, well sounded like a cheap speaker. The voices are now full, natural. More detail here too. I was playing Lacy Dalton's "Black Coffee". At the end of the song, she repeats the the lines "Bad feeling, I'm losing you". With the new caps, I now here another female voice, whispering those lines along with here. Before, it was just her singing.
    4) More Dynamic. The same song, "Black Coffee", there is a part in the middle off the song where she strums her guitar as she sings "I don't know what to do about it".
    Before, this sounded like 'I think I'll do a little strum here, just to to fill in". Now it's for effect. It's an in your face strum, you can hear the anger and frustration in it. It jumps out at you. The same with the bass, with such better tonal quality.
    5) Less distortion. These speakers are so much cleaner. Not a little. A Lot. I'm not much of a HT fan, so that's why these speakers became my surrounds, they were okay for short background noises. After hearing them for 10 or 20 minutes, I'd want to turn them off. Now they are such a pleasant non fatiguing speaker. I could listen to these for hours. In fact I have!

    Summary:
    Yes, I thought the new caps, would make a change, but I didn't think I would get such bang for my buck as I did. So am I ready to switch out my Wharfedale EVO 10's for these speakers? No.
    Was it worth the time and effort? You bet your sweet a## it was! I would do it again in a heart beat. This is such a much better sounding speaker, not in just in one specific area, but all the way around from what it was. In fact, I opened my Wharfedales tonight. They have a 4 uf poly cap, which I'll leave alone, But they also have a 20uf, and 22uf electrolytic, which I will replace after the hearing the improvement with Insignia's. Buy the way the Insignia's are on sale at Best Buy for $70 and change. For an extra $20 for the cap upgrade, you would have a pair of speakers that could easily compete favorably with most speakers in the $150/$250 range. IMO it wipes out the Bose 301's (stock).

    I want to thank TWC, for starting this thread, his sharing of knowledge, support and enlightening the poor souls like me, who enjoy audio, but don't have the funds to fully support the way we would like too. Way to go 644!
    Last edited by luvtolisten; 05-03-2009 at 06:35 PM.

  8. #58
    Forum Regular hermanv's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kevio
    The capacitors are now inside the speakers between the crossover and the woofers. I think the treble is cleaned up a bit and imaging improved. Treble is louder too so not an apples to apples comparison. Nevertheless, the change of moving the capacitors inside I don't believe is not as audible/significant as having put capacitors on in the first place.

    I did some tone sweeps made some adjustments to subwoofer level and crossover. Noticed a big bump from the subwoofer at 50-60 Hz. Probably the room, not the sub itself. I've taken down the subwoofer level but boosted the bass up 2 dB and cut treble by 2 dB. That flattened the bump a bit and the mains are more balanced with these settings.

    I now feel like I have a monitor system I can trust for my recording projects. The bump was fun though. I may invite the bump back for parties.
    Two points:
    All capacitors are microphonic with films amongst the worst. Practicality prevents a simple solution, but you should be aware of it.
    A bump at 50-60Hz could easily be a crossover problem. If your subwoofer has main outputs, they should be used. The drawing sort of shows why.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Capacitors-subwooferxover.jpg  
    Herman;

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  9. #59
    Forum Regular luvtolisten's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by twc644
    Hi Luvtolisten,
    The Z-Standards I ordered they had in stock at the time.When these caps burn in they most certainly color the sound.To me I like it-they offer warmth and solid bass.Much better than using Solens by themselves and are very affordable capacitors.The Z-Superiors' give more detail and enhance the highs considerably.Sometimes I really prefer the blue colored Standards.The Superiors are wonderful caps to use for the tweeter circuit in speakers.

    Yep, you hit the nail on the head regarding the 30 year span of music you mentioned. I hardly hear anything today that I like. A few current bands but only several songs are good imo !

    I played a home comp New Age cd earlier today and listened mesmerized. It sounded so good and relaxing...thats something i'm not use too.However,music soothes the savage beast lol ! It worked and my system is not optimally set being crammed in this small Apt. (yes,fantasies winning a lottery to get my school loan and the I.R.S out of my life resonates thru my synapses-then a big beautiful home with the stereo of my dreams).Sorry..went off on a tangent there lol !

    Good recordings excell wonderfully. On the other hand,poor recordings still sound terrible-in fact worse at times because the higher grade caps aids in extracting some detail not normally heard when speakers are in stock form. So,especially in mp3's you will hear more of the unwanted artifacts in the recording and in a poorly engineered cd.

    Back to the stereo now...............I've left my other system unplugged for the moment. I'm having too much fun with my new to me 2nd two channel system.I dont have any home theatre equipment.I'm trying to hurry up and get all these caps burned in.Some dont believe in burn in so I better stop here before flame wars abound lol !

    I'm about done with everything now. It's taken me several years but I've parts swapped 2 el cheapo dvd players(turned into very competent sounding cd players and sound great for movies from the audio portion of the circuits),my computer soundcard,two sets of computer speakers,2 preamps,one amp,one integrated amp,3 pairs of speakers, and three headphone amps lol.All of this done crammed up at a computer desk with the keyboard in the way. I left both my dedicated cd players alone. I've run out of stuff to tear apart and tinker with now.I had other equipment but sold them to fund my current projects.

    All of it sure as hell sounds a lot better ! Wait,now I can start focusing on the interior of the speaker cabinets lol !
    Hey Twc,
    Thanks for the tip on the Jantzen Standards Vs. Superiors. I was going to us all Superiors for my Wharferdales, until I got sticker shock. It would cost $170 per speaker. So I think I'll go with the standards.Until I win the lottery anyway.
    I used to be a skeptic about burn in, until I started buy the higher quality stuff. I don't know what the burn in time is for these caps, but my speakers are sounding better all the time, more open. I probably have about 8 or 9 hours on the new caps.
    I also opened my Paradigm Titans Speakers, they have a 33uf, electrolytic, (which I will replace).They also have 2 (4.7uf, 2.2uf) caps, which look like either Epoxy or ceramic caps. Think I should replace those too?
    I make a lot of compilation CD's too. What program do you use? I've been using Itunes lostless, but I'm new at this. I still think the CD's I've made with my Philips CD recorder, still sound better. Oh, oh, I hope the pc gods don't come down on me!

  10. #60
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    Man I'm up way past my bedtime. Gotta be at work at 5am lol. Hey Luvtolisten-I'm so happy for ya bud ! I'm glad you see what I'm talking about with better capacitors.I'm sure there are other brands that offer good quality similar to the blue Jantzen Standards but I'm not at a financial liberty to take a chance on something else.

    I've tried quite a few mind you.However,several months back I decided to buy some of the Superiors to use as bypass on the already installed Solens in another set of speakers. Wow,after a little burn in I was astonished.Maybe due to most of my equipment has a slightly higher resolution in sound from me working on most of it where it's not in stock form anymore and replacing aging parts.

    I bought some of the Standards to try in another speaker...again,the wow factor as it turned a not so good sounding speaker into a very smooth warm sounding beast.Certain elevator jazz and new age just sounds doggone phenominal.

    I decided to keep buying the Standards now as I really like these for the price. They cant be beat unless you go up much higher dollar wise. Then you hit the red Dynamicaps---those are flat out excellent.

    To answer your question #1: I use a standard Nero burn program that came with my computer for cd-r's. I make sure they are ripped and burned at 320kbps.When I use my headphone equipment with the computer I use zero compression in wave format for the music.

    #2 regarding your question about your little Paradigms. I think you already know my answer---yes,if you can afford to change out those caps.If anything use some Standards(around .33uf) to parallel the 33uf electrolytics.The others I say yes to replacing them at those small capacitance values(2.2 + 4.7uf).If the Standards are too much money right now then replace the smaller ones with Jantzen cross caps or Solens

    #3 The caps will smooth out a little more over time. A nice change !
    I've passed this info on to many folks over the years that were not aware of it.Most were not electronics savvy and could not perform the required task or could find a tech to do it.Many times , I offered to do it for them if they could handle removing the crossover and sending it to me. Several took me up on my offer and were extremely happy with the end results.Others thought I was trying to con them and figured it was too good to be true since he's(me Tim Cowart) offered to do it for free.Their loss unfortunately.

    With you, since you took a keen interestI knew this would turn out to be a very positive situation with good results.Now,you can use this little tidbit of tweaking for your personal gain and hopefully spread the word to others.The end result is wonderful sound so whats wrong with that ya know .

    I decided to do this myself about 15 years ago when I read an article about caps in an audio magazine.You were very limited with choices with poly caps back then.So,I had a Mitsubishi vcr that needed work beyond my skills at the time. I talked the repair technician into selling me some General Electric poly caps NOT intended for audio.They still beat the hell out of the stock electrolytics in those little JBL's . I was amazed literally.Those caps by todays standards would be a joke.

    I wound up going to his home and doing the same mod for him after he borrowed my speakers. In return he fixed my vcr. He was just floored his huge Klipsch could sound so much better because the horn loaded midrange and tweeters really adapted well to this tweak.Gone was the loud distorted ear piercing harshness.

    So, this is the little secret with many manufactuers.They may implement a well designed crossover but they install sub par passive components.They have to make some form of profit so they cant buy thousands of the better caps to use.Otherwise,the price of the speaker will have to be increased exponentially .

    When I have very bad recordings I run them thru some equalizing software,then encode them to 320kbps,then burn. The software which is the free version I've been using for years is Goldwave if interested. It took me awhile to experiment with it but it can help a lot. Here is a link if interested http://www.goldwave.com/

    Now that your happy....I'm happy .Great job and Kudos to ya Luvtolisten !
    Nad c270 amp
    Yamaha ax 700 integrated amp


    Onkyo p304 preamp
    Adcom gfp 555 preamp
    Polk Monitor 30 speakers 2 pairs
    Polk Monitor 40 speakers
    Z-Audio Lambda headphone amp
    Little Dot MK III tube headphone amp/preamp

    Sennheiser px100 headphones
    Tara Labs prism 33i interconnects
    Various Cable Pro cables

  11. #61
    Forum Regular Kevio's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hermanv
    Two points:
    All capacitors are microphonic with films amongst the worst. Practicality prevents a simple solution, but you should be aware of it.
    A bump at 50-60Hz could easily be a crossover problem. If your subwoofer has main outputs, they should be used. The drawing sort of shows why.
    I turned off the mains and set the subwoofer LP to 150 Hz. The bump was still there. I therefore concluded that it was not a crossover issue.

    This whole exercise of putting these capacitors in is to HP my mains so that they get along better with the sub. Others on this thread are doing one-for-one replacements of existing capacitors.

    Cables are microphonic too. Microphonic contributions are quite small and generally only a concern in high-gain circuits such as a phono or mic preamp.

  12. #62
    Forum Regular luvtolisten's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by twc644
    Man I'm up way past my bedtime. Gotta be at work at 5am lol. Hey Luvtolisten-I'm so happy for ya bud ! I'm glad you see what I'm talking about with better capacitors.I'm sure there are other brands that offer good quality similar to the blue Jantzen Standards but I'm not at a financial liberty to take a chance on something else.

    Me neither, the next step up is a big one price wise. I think those Jantzen Standards are the best kept secret. They really made a big difference. It cost me about $25. Probably the best value, bang for buck, I've ever spend on an audio upgrade.,

    I've tried quite a few mind you.However,several months back I decided to buy some of the Superiors to use as bypass on the already installed Solens in another set of speakers. Wow,after a little burn in I was astonished.Maybe due to most of my equipment has a slightly higher resolution in sound from me working on most of it where it's not in stock form anymore and replacing aging parts.


    I bought some of the Standards to try in another speaker...again,the wow factor as it turned a not so good sounding speaker into a very smooth warm sounding beast.Certain elevator jazz and new age just sounds doggone phenominal.

    I decided to keep buying the Standards now as I really like these for the price. They cant be beat unless you go up much higher dollar wise. Then you hit the red Dynamicaps---those are flat out excellent.

    I checked out the Dynamicaps, yikes they are pricey!! I found a capacitor shootout, online, with various classes of capacitors, ( according to material). The Dynamicaps were rated second in it's class. The ones rated first we really pricey. I believe .1 uf was $196 (ea), a 1 uf was $320(ea). Now maybe if I won the lottery..........and Bill Gates was my long lost relative....

    To answer your question #1: I use a standard Nero burn program that came with my computer for cd-r's. I make sure they are ripped and burned at 320kbps.When I use my headphone equipment with the computer I use zero compression in wave format for the music.

    [I]I've heard Foobar is popular too, but I haven't spent the time reading the instructions I should to take advantage of it's features. To me anyway, it's not all that user friendly.[/I]

    #2 regarding your question about your little Paradigms. I think you already know my answer---yes,if you can afford to change out those caps.If anything use some Standards(around .33uf) to parallel the 33uf electrolytics.The others I say yes to replacing them at those small capacitance values(2.2 + 4.7uf).If the Standards are too much money right now then replace the smaller ones with Jantzen cross caps or Solens

    Yes, you're right, I did read your note late last night and ordered all the caps this morning. Can't wait till they come in!

    #3 The caps will smooth out a little more over time. A nice change !
    I've passed this info on to many folks over the years that were not aware of it.Most were not electronics savvy and could not perform the required task or could find a tech to do it.Many times , I offered to do it for them if they could handle removing the crossover and sending it to me. Several took me up on my offer and were extremely happy with the end results.Others thought I was trying to con them and figured it was too good to be true since he's(me Tim Cowart) offered to do it for free.Their loss unfortunately.

    [I]To be honest, I was skeptical too, without hearing it. But hearing is believing!
    A friend sent me this video, of a guy selling a battery operated screwdriver with 1/2 inch torque settings. He said you needed to take all the steel screws that your hold drivers in your speakers, and replace them with brass screws. He claimed the brass screws greatly improved the sound. Of course you have to have one of those battery screwdrivers, since the torque on each screw had to be with 1/2 of each other, or all bets were off. He was selling the screwdriver for $269, plus shipping, which he doesn't mention, but is on the website.. Here's the video:
    [/I]


    http://www.virtualdynamics.ca/the-oddiophile-eps-1

    With you, since you took a keen interestI knew this would turn out to be a very positive situation with good results.Now,you can use this little tidbit of tweaking for your personal gain and hopefully spread the word to others.The end result is wonderful sound so whats wrong with that ya know .

    Oh, I have been, telling people, and referred them to this thread, this is great!!

    I decided to do this myself about 15 years ago when I read an article about caps in an audio magazine.You were very limited with choices with poly caps back then.So,I had a Mitsubishi vcr that needed work beyond my skills at the time. I talked the repair technician into selling me some General Electric poly caps NOT intended for audio.They still beat the hell out of the stock electrolytics in those little JBL's . I was amazed literally.Those caps by todays standards would be a joke.

    I wound up going to his home and doing the same mod for him after he borrowed my speakers. In return he fixed my vcr. He was just floored his huge Klipsch could sound so much better because the horn loaded midrange and tweeters really adapted well to this tweak.Gone was the loud distorted ear piercing harshness.

    So, this is the little secret with many manufactuers.They may implement a well designed crossover but they install sub par passive components.They have to make some form of profit so they cant buy thousands of the better caps to use.Otherwise,the price of the speaker will have to be increased exponentially .

    When I have very bad recordings I run them thru some equalizing software,then encode them to 320kbps,then burn. The software which is the free version I've been using for years is Goldwave if interested. It took me awhile to experiment with it but it can help a lot. Here is a link if interested http://www.goldwave.com/

    I haven't yet, but I will check out the website and give it a look.

    Now that your happy....I'm happy .Great job and Kudos to ya Luvtolisten
    !
    [I]Happy? I'll say! It's like trading in your old speakers for a new pair, for $30 or less, for ones worth twice the price of the originals! So clean, so good on the ears. [/I]

  13. #63
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    I actually chuckled watching the video.Ironically, today I had to use a much larger manual socket version of that one set at 200lbs.....yep,that much on a universal for a piece of machinery at work.I almost busted a gut doing it as I'm not a big dude.

    Oh,by the way,speaking of caps....Mrs. Jantzen is a very nice lady. I correspond with her occasionally.She told me most customers comment on the Z- Silver and Z-Superiors.She was elated to hear from me regarding the Standards as I might be the first or of the very few who's commented on them. I'm also sure as long as I'm buying it's keeping her in business.But,they make an excellent product and have every right to be proud.
    Nad c270 amp
    Yamaha ax 700 integrated amp


    Onkyo p304 preamp
    Adcom gfp 555 preamp
    Polk Monitor 30 speakers 2 pairs
    Polk Monitor 40 speakers
    Z-Audio Lambda headphone amp
    Little Dot MK III tube headphone amp/preamp

    Sennheiser px100 headphones
    Tara Labs prism 33i interconnects
    Various Cable Pro cables

  14. #64
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    Question capacitor help

    Hi, new to the forum and not sure I am doing this correctly. so please forgive if so.
    I have quad 989's and recently developed noise in one of them that resembles a gieger counter, sort of tick, tick tick at random intervals not in a repetative pattern. I called the US repair guys and they said its a panel. I doubt it, I called the guy who built my amps (joe fratus of art audio) who uses quads and he immediately thought bad cap. I was thinking power supply. does anyone have any thoughts here. shipping and repair will be many hundreds. a cap would be fairly cheap.

  15. #65
    Forum Regular luvtolisten's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jvds
    Hi, new to the forum and not sure I am doing this correctly. so please forgive if so.
    I have quad 989's and recently developed noise in one of them that resembles a gieger counter, sort of tick, tick tick at random intervals not in a repetative pattern. I called the US repair guys and they said its a panel. I doubt it, I called the guy who built my amps (joe fratus of art audio) who uses quads and he immediately thought bad cap. I was thinking power supply. does anyone have any thoughts here. shipping and repair will be many hundreds. a cap would be fairly cheap.
    Personally, I have never had that problem with a cap in a speaker, not that it's not possible, I have just never seen it.Most caps are more likely to short, or open up. I would swap the speakers, left with the right, and see if the ticking sound follows the same speaker..If so, it's the speaker,( the cap, or a bad connection) if not then it's your amp, or maybe even the source. You may need to swap out them as well, with a known good amp or source.

  16. #66
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    I'm sorry to say I know absolutely nothing about electrostatic speakers.It is possible as mentioned previously a panel is starting to fail as well as a bad capacitor...now,whether the suspect cap is in a crossover network in your speakers or in your amp is another matter.

    Luvtolisten gave sound advice..try his method first to hopefully isolate the problem as to which speaker and/or if the problem lies in your amp and check any and all connections.

    If it is a cap..well,they can go south without them bulging or leaking to the naked eye.I once had a defective film cap that looked just fine but it caused a massive amount of distortion in the sound..it was the only time i experienced a bad film capacitor.Good luck and please keep us informed.If you see one of the small can shaped capacitors(electrolytic type)either blown open or bulging at the seams then it's a sure bet it needs to be replaced if this is the case in any of your associated equipment.There is another possibility you have a cold solder joint somewhere on a circuit board that needs re-heating with fresh solder.

    I hope this is not a transistor starting to overheat and fail in your amp.You need to open your equipment and visually inspect it also to see if anything is burnt or overheating.Could be a bad resistor somewhere...so many possibilities i'm sorry to say.
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  17. #67
    Forum Regular hermanv's Avatar
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    Electrostatic speakers operate with a high bias voltage on the panels, it could be as high as several thousand volts. I don't know about the Quads, but others do this. Dirt or pet hair could cause a bridge that lowers the discharge voltage. This would definitely result in a clicking noise.

    Blowing out the dust is the answer. Power down the speakers, wait overnight or at least a few hours for any panel voltage to leak off and then access the panel to blow out any dirt. Use a corner wand on a vacuum cleaner that has a hose and a blow out hose connection.

    Do not use water, cleaner or abrasive action on the panels as they have a conductive coating.
    Herman;

    My stuff:
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  18. #68
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    TWC,

    Can you link to the exact caps you put in your Monitor 40 and Monitor 30's? I'm looking to do the exact same thing as I just got mine and want to replace the stock caps, but am a complete noob so I don't know which ones to get / what uf V etc. Thanks!

  19. #69
    Forum Regular harley .guy07's Avatar
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    I have reworked the crossovers in my paradigm speakers and have made custom tweeter mods and put 11/8" soft dome tweeters since the stock paradigm units where way too bright and if you juiced them they would blow fairly easy. I do believe you can improve a system with mods to a certain degree but at some point it is just better to upgrade because there are limitations to mods. I am in the process of thinking about changing main speakers because I am at the end of the mods that can make the best out of my monitor 7's and after 15 years with them I am just ready for an upgrade.

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  20. #70
    Forum Regular luvtolisten's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by eryeal
    TWC,

    Can you link to the exact caps you put in your Monitor 40 and Monitor 30's? I'm looking to do the exact same thing as I just got mine and want to replace the stock caps, but am a complete noob so I don't know which ones to get / what uf V etc. Thanks!
    Hi eryeal, and welcome! I don't know about the Monitor 30's, but I do own the Monitor 40's. To get to the caps, you have to unscrew the 4 screws on the plate for the binding posts on the back of the speaker. Slowly slide it out and you'll see a printed circuit board with the capacitors. You'll need a 8.0 uf and a 9.1 uf. The new capacitors are larger. You may want to mount them on the opposite side of the board, to give you a little more room. TWC644 used Jantzen Standards. They are 400 VDC and good size. For the 8.0uf you will have to put a 3.3 uf 4.7uf in parallel (piggy back or twist both ends together) to get 8.0uf. For the 9.1 uf, the 2.2uf and 6.8 uf in parallel. (I know it comes out to 9.0 uf, but better to be a little low than high, since there are no two values on the chart when added equal 9.1)
    Myself, I would just get the Solen 9.1uf, and two Dayton 4.0uf ( they are smaller 250V easier to work with) in parallel to make the 8 uf cap. All these caps are good quality, depending how much you want to spent. I have been happy with the Dayton caps. But stay away from the electrolytic caps, that's what you have in there now, and you wouldn't notice any difference. Here is the website:
    http://www.parts-express.com/crossov...TOKEN=42219436
    If you do order, go with Fed Express, the extra cost is worth it.( unless you don't mind waiting a month or so), if don't then use the SmartPost , or US Postal.

  21. #71
    Forum Regular pixelthis's Avatar
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    Cool

    If it ain't broke, don't fix it, I AM SURE the good folks at B&W know more about cross
    overs than I DO.
    Caps should last a long time, I have seen them last decades, although any refurb
    worth its salt would involve replacing old caps.
    I don't use the main out on my sub, because when I am in music mode, I don't use a
    sub, and I like to keep the path "clear" as possible. Did I miss anything here?
    AND THE "BUMP" could be anything, rule out the obvious first.
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  22. #72
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    Quote Originally Posted by luvtolisten
    Hi eryeal, and welcome! I don't know about the Monitor 30's, but I do own the Monitor 40's. To get to the caps, you have to unscrew the 4 screws on the plate for the binding posts on the back of the speaker. Slowly slide it out and you'll see a printed circuit board with the capacitors. You'll need a 8.0 uf and a 9.1 uf. The new capacitors are larger. You may want to mount them on the opposite side of the board, to give you a little more room. TWC644 used Jantzen Standards. They are 400 VDC and good size. For the 8.0uf you will have to put a 3.3 uf 4.7uf in parallel (piggy back or twist both ends together) to get 8.0uf. For the 9.1 uf, the 2.2uf and 6.8 uf in parallel. (I know it comes out to 9.0 uf, but better to be a little low than high, since there are no two values on the chart when added equal 9.1)
    Myself, I would just get the Solen 9.1uf, and two Dayton 4.0uf ( they are smaller 250V easier to work with) in parallel to make the 8 uf cap. All these caps are good quality, depending how much you want to spent. I have been happy with the Dayton caps. But stay away from the electrolytic caps, that's what you have in there now, and you wouldn't notice any difference. Here is the website:
    http://www.parts-express.com/crossov...TOKEN=42219436
    If you do order, go with Fed Express, the extra cost is worth it.( unless you don't mind waiting a month or so), if don't then use the SmartPost , or US Postal.
    Thanks - you are very kind to go into this detail! I'll be placing my order and seeing how I do - this is a big help.

  23. #73
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    And P.S...

    This forum/topic also helped me with my Monitor 30's and other speakers to get the schematics and find out what caps to get:

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38755

    Also if anyone else is buying from parts-express.com, use promo code SAVE52010 to save $5 on a $50 order.

  24. #74
    Forum Regular luvtolisten's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by eryeal
    Thanks - you are very kind to go into this detail! I'll be placing my order and seeing how I do - this is a big help.
    Glad to help! If you have any questions, anyone of us would be glad tp help you too. Please get back and let us know how you make out.

  25. #75
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    Eryal,
    How goes it ? Sorry,I dont remember the cap values but others took care of that for you. Also,the speakers benefit from changing out the small green poly caps.I replaced every capacitor and the resistors in mine.Good luck and hope you'll let us know the results.
    Nad c270 amp
    Yamaha ax 700 integrated amp


    Onkyo p304 preamp
    Adcom gfp 555 preamp
    Polk Monitor 30 speakers 2 pairs
    Polk Monitor 40 speakers
    Z-Audio Lambda headphone amp
    Little Dot MK III tube headphone amp/preamp

    Sennheiser px100 headphones
    Tara Labs prism 33i interconnects
    Various Cable Pro cables

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