Crossover components rolling ?

[VantheMan]

Hi Stuart,
My valve phono pre is littered with several Russian FT-3 Teflons but unfortunately they get no higher value than O.47uF @200v and given their physical size the best I could do in my Xovers was one of these paired with some other Russian BMGO2 PIO caps of 9.7uF. Unfortunately one of these PIO caps was basically dry, rattling when shaken and although they sounded OK I distrusted them.
I am at present trying some keenly priced 6.8uF LCR FP-CA-AU caps from Farnell paired with the 3.3uF Soniqs and I am well pleased with them so far. Apparently LCR bought out Ampohm and these exact caps were in fact Ampohm models and indeed Farnel send them when you in fact order Ampohms. They are definitely an improvement on what I had before so my next step will probably be to put in some Jantzen Alumens instead of the Soniqs just to test the high-highs through my Millennium tweeters and see if they are as good as they are made out to be..

[Greg.]

My WAD KLS3’s are now fitted with the Seas Millennium tweeter. I built the treble filter with Mills resistors and Solen polypropylene caps and the high register sound is truely magnificent. The best I have ever had.

[VantheMan]

Interesting, Greg.
Are they the 400v or the 630v ones ?
You already said you rated Solens for crossovers. many say they are very bright in amps etc. but not many talk about using them for Xovers. Probably because they are really keenly priced. I´ll try them beforee forking out for the jantzens, that´s for sure.
Thanks,
Chris

[VantheMan]

Interesting, Greg.
Are they the 400v or the 630v ones ?
You already said you rated Solens for crossovers. many say they are very bright in amps etc. but not many talk about using them for Xovers. Probably because they are really keenly priced. I´ll try them beforee forking out for the jantzens, that´s for sure. I already have Mills resistors fitted.
Thanks,
Chris

[Greg.]

Where the value allows, I used the 400v version as they are more than adequate. They are smaller which is helpful and if you buy through Falcon Acoustics, can be obtained matched within 2% of the value. Undoubtably Solens are best used in crossovers and many use them this way.

In my recent crossover rebuild, I exclusively used Solens in all three filters. That needed a bit of space as each crossover contains three 50uF caps which are large and correspondingly expensive. Not a problem with external crossovers. not only do I have much improved treble, up the sound has improved throughout the frequency range with a more detailed midrange and excellent tight and well controlled bass. I’ve periodically worked on and improved my KLS3’s over more than twenty years and this recent crossover rebuild has caused them to sound the best I have ever achieved.

There is also a widely held view that Solens don’t work so well in active circuits such as within amplifiers. I didn’t use them in my WAD 300B PP clone although the original kit specified them. I once tried them for coupling caps in another WAD kit and found their performance rather dull and uninteresting. I can’t say I ever found them to make the sound bright, but rather the opposite.

[Black Stuart]

Chris,
why use the Teflons, why not try the K73-16 . I think you'll find that the Russian Teflons have acquired a reputation that they don't deserve.

Still available lots of 400/630V. I first used 0.1uF and 1uF 250V/400V as coupling caps - hearing is believing. They will trounce in every way Teflon coupling caps in your phono.

You can check out the size of these caps online - size and voltage is not a problem.

Still getting over the grippe so havn't been able to use these caps in my Heybrooks.

I repeat again - price is no bar to trying these transparent caps - only stupid prejudice and 'received wisdom' b/s about the material used.

[Chris]

The Seas Millennium tweeter will shine with a good quality crossover components, I've used Mundorf Oil Silver Gold ones with great results, don't forget quality resistors and wiring, with no expense spared I used pathaudio ones. Simple quality speaker connections are worth trying..I like the WBT type.

People will spend thousands on a dac or amp but a few hundred quid on the crossover will bring about similar improvements or even great ones.

Chris.

[Greg.]

Ha ha, Chris. I’ve just worked out that if I followed your Mundorf and PathAudio recipe for my KLS3’s, the bill would be £1866.62 plus postage. Moderation and compromise may be key here. I use the components I can afford that sound good to me. It’s probably the best any of us can do.

[VantheMan]

I think I´ll have a shot with the K73-16s and Greg´s recs first. The prices are quite similar, especially if you choose the 63v Russian ones (I´ve just seen the 3.3uF ones for 1 dollar 20 cents each!
Is there anything to be gained from choosing higher voltages such as 400v for crossovers. They are certainly much bigger for starters.

[Greg.]

In a passive crossover, I’d not drop below a 250v rating, but more knowledgable people may differ and prove me wrong. Certainly in general 600v is over the top, 400v is also probably higher than needed and 250v as used by Clarity Cap may well be more than adequate. The higher the voltage rating, the bigger the component so this is an issue, even if it is simply about component size and squeezing everything into a suitable box to tuck out of sight behind the speakers. Furthermore, high voltage and bigger size components cost more correspondingly.