Curse you, O Youth of Rouge! ;-)

mhardy6647

Señor Member
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Well -- it finally happened. Peer pressure broke through my reserve.
Redboy - using Joseph Esmilla* as an example (Look, Marky -- all the kids are doin' it) - shamed me into de-clip-leading** the Frankenaltec crossovers today.

I took advantage of midwinter cold (albeit with bright sunshine) to shelter in place with a soldering iron and a hodgepodge of other tools. It's never pretty when I use tools -- but it is often (tho' not always) successful.

Successful today, fortunately.
Listening to the fruits of my labors as I type this.

DSC_9782 (3) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
(note that this was pre-smoke-test; thus are the MR pads turned all the way down. I was calibrating the knobs!)

DSC_9779 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

(can you tell Mrs. H is out of town on a birding trip?)


__________________
* Of "JE Labs" fame. Audiophile, Photographer, DIY Maven, Violinist. Whatta guy.
JELXOpic.jpg


http://jelabs.blogspot.com/2014/01/altec-2-way-xo-update.html


see what he did with angle iron (or aluminum angle or whatever it is) there? It inspired me. Mine's kind of more -- gritty looking, but it was fit-for-purpose. I was able to leverage existing holes in the stuff I bought to avoid drilling any more. Besides, the filigreed aesthetics reduce weight; very important in high-performance hardware :)

** Well, OK -- technically, there are still a couple of atavistic clip leads in there -- and a couple of disembodied alligator clips. What's up with that? I hear you ask. Well... those very nice Goertz foil inductors (1.7 mH, 14 gauge) are not, technically speaking, mine. As in "no bailment was created". They're loaners -- and it seemed like it would be kinda rude to go solderin' wires to 'em. So, for now, clip leads it is! The inductors are also mounted, in a most metastable means, via some Blutack. In other words, I've gotta be cautious if I go slingin' 'em around. I'm sure I'll remember that!

:)
 
Hello Mark,

Much nicer looking. Sound the same to you ??

Realize, the Electronic Concepts 20 uF film cap ( or ANY film cap ) will not, and can not play all the higher frequencies with equal energy across the spectrum, as the frequencies rise.

So, like the Rk cap in a power amp, or in a SET amp's power supply, that main 20 uF crossover's film cap is just desperately in need of bypassing.

Lets keep it simple !! A 0.22 uF film will allow the middle-midrange energy to " flow " from your speakers, in a lovely, more mentally and emotionally-engaging manner. Do you have a 0.22 uF film, laying around ??? Any...try it.

You can even temporarily clip lead it in, just to hear it "with and without", in the middle midrange, on guitar strings, piano, etc.

Then, after that is firmly instilled in your psyche, try a 0.022 uF value across the whole shebang, which will nicely effect energy in the highest of frequencies.

If you have no extra parts, and want to do and try this on a budget, order from Mouser Electronics WIMA-brand special FKP1 parts, and try to make them 600 VDC rated or higher. These are the latest designed SOTA German high pulse-type film capacitors.

Tip : higher VDC rated is better, more pulse current- instantaneous, on de datasheet. The ones I've pictured are 1250 VDC, 600 VAC rated. Not expensive at all. Have fun.

Dowto1000

P1010175.JPG
 
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I was going to say that I still see a lot of clipleads, but then I read your disclaimer later, so I won't.
 
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