replacing capacitors

[Eppie]

You can go with higher voltages but the farads should be within 10%. Most caps are +/- 10% but the higher quality ones will be 5% or less. I would not let the caps dangle but secure with a zip tie or hot glue.

 

[ryanosaur]

170uf 63v replaced with 180uf 63v

Holy cr@p. This is why you use NPEs in XOs... By the time you hit 100uf, the poly cap is the size of a fist! And, even the Audyn Q4 100uf I bought was over $50 ea.
I did that at the behest of an acquaintance who actually footed the bill.

I had to break the 2-way XO into two boards to get them to fit!

 

[ryanosaur]

It must be one of their ecaps...
so still electrolytic.

But your values are way off!

 

[alphye]

Ideally, the entire network should be rebuilt... either that or there will be a FSM's worth of hookup wire connecting those new caps, and they won't be attached to anything.
[/QUOTe
I'm aware of this and just explained to another contributor here possible solutions including the caps not being attached to anything ..

Why are you replacing 15 µF with 22 µF? 15 ± 10% = 13.5 to 16.5 µF. Those would be OK. 22 will change the filter too much.

Same for 70 µF vs. 82 µF. Keep it within 10% of the original capacitance value.

not sure about this, an original mid range cap blew a few months ago and i replaced all thee caps on that speaker with what i found locally Jamicron or whatever with values of 22uf, 100uf and 220uf respectively and although the caps were by Jamicron ( which are considered of poorish quality from the research ive been doing these past vtwo weeks) and exceeded the uf values by well more than 10% i dare say that if any sound difference was noticable, the speaker with the replaced caps sounded slightly better . but again they were new caps in one speaker and older ones in the other

 

[alphye]

It must be one of their ecaps...
so still electrolytic.

But your values are way off!

they are electrolytic yes, sizes are 38mm and one is 50.8mm . Values are fine I think. Been in touch with engineers from the uk on line and my relative on the phone and all gave their go ahead. important is not to go BELOW THE VALUES. Remember we are talking about a crossover not an amp

 

[ryanosaur]

not sure about this, an original mid range cap blew a few months ago and i replaced all thee caps on that speaker with what i found locally Jamicron or whatever with values of 22uf, 100uf and 220uf respectively and although the caps were by Jamicron ( which are considered of poorish quality from the research ive been doing these past vtwo weeks) and exceeded the uf values by well more than 10% i dare say that if any sound difference was noticable, the speaker with the replaced caps sounded slightly better . but again they were new caps in one speaker and older ones in the other

If you would allow us to help you please... if you are interested, please post a link for the specific caps you purchased. Maybe we can help you find better matches.

 

[ryanosaur]

they are electrolytic yes, sizes are 38mm and one is 50.8mm . Values are fine I think. Been in touch with engineers from the uk on line and my relative on the phone and all gave their go ahead. important is not to go BELOW THE VALUES. Remember we are talking about a crossover not an amp

The values of the capacitors will act to change the actual FR of the speaker. Some of your substitutions are significantly different.

However, it is your speakers, your ducats, your ears.

 

[alphye]

This is why its all so confusing. I've got unanimous condemnation here for choosing the values that I chose which were the closest to the originals I could find yet the engineers I was chatting to on line kept on telling me not to worry about the micro farads and go even higher than what i purchased if possible!!

 

[alphye]

You can go with higher voltages but the farads should be within 10%. Most caps are +/- 10% but the higher quality ones will be 5% or less. I would not let the caps dangle but secure with a zip tie or hot glue.

yes someone suggested tie clips

 

[Swerd]

not sure about this, an original mid range cap blew a few months ago and i replaced all thee caps on that speaker with what i found locally Jamicron or whatever with values of 22uf, 100uf and 220uf respectively …

You will definitely be altering the electronic filters in your speaker's crossover. Without a crossover schematic diagram, I can't say whether it will lower or raise your crossover frequencies, or change the shape of the crossover roll-off slopes. But I can be certain that you should not change the capacitance values by that much.

… the caps were by Jamicron ( which are considered of poorish quality from the research ive been doing these past two weeks)

It sounds to me like you've been reading all those claims on the internet that different capacitor materials and makers have different sound qualities. They are at best highly dubious, and at worst bad advice. If you are concerned over the overall sound quality of your speakers, it is far more important to use the correct capacitance values.

If you cannot find a 15 µF cap, you can wire two smaller caps together in parallel with each other. That way their capacitance values add together. For example, if you wire together a 10 µF with a 5 µF, it will be the same as one 15 µF cap. Of course, this will also cause space problems if you try using that original crossover board.

 

[alphye]

If you would allow us to help you please... if you are interested, please post a link for the specific caps you purchased. Maybe we can help you find better matches.

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www.hificollective.co.uk

 

[ryanosaur]

2x 7.5uf, wired in parallel. or the 16uf as a secondary choice.
50uf +20uf wired in parallel, or the 72 uf...

They don't list the 180uf cap on that link... but I would do parallel 100 + 70 uf... I see elswhere that they have a 150uf, so parallel that with a 20uf...

Stick to the values. In an Audio XO, it matters.

 

[Pogre]

It's almost like you're not reading any of the advice being given here man. Do not replace with caps of different values from the originals!

 

[slipperybidness]

original 15uf 63v replaced with 22uf 70v, original 70uf 63v, replaced with 82uf 70v, original 170uf 63v replaced with 180uf 63v

This is gonna be epic!

(Epic Failure, to be clear)

 

[Swerd]

2x 7.5uf, wired in parallel. or the 16uf as a secondary choice.
50uf +20uf wired in parallel, or the 72 uf...

They don't list the 180uf cap on that link... but I would do parallel 100 + 70 uf... I see elswhere that they have a 150uf, so parallel that with a 20uf...

Stick to the values. In an Audio XO, it matters.

@alphye I agree with what ryanosaur suggests.

To be absolutely clear, two capacitors wired in parallel with each other means this:

With real caps, it would look like this:

 

[slipperybidness]

they are electrolytic yes, sizes are 38mm and one is 50.8mm . Values are fine I think. Been in touch with engineers from the uk on line and my relative on the phone and all gave their go ahead. important is not to go BELOW THE VALUES. Remember we are talking about a crossover not an amp

Your "engineers" are wrong.....seems they are not electrical engineers.

It seems that you are determined to follow through on your bad ideas and bad advice that you have been given. Now you found people that really know about these items and you are trying to educate us with poor (false) information.

 

[slipperybidness]

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PE is my favorite source

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But, Mouser is one of the most comprehensive suppliers:

https://www.mouser.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQiArt6PBhCoARIsAMF5wah7pkFzd-ppKjkTJooHK4gM7CNDju2fIgDW6tViytjekmSDU3IUDsUaArloEALw_wcB

 

[slipperybidness]

I suspect the caps in both speakers blew (both the same caps associated with the mid range ) due to my amplifier overheating.

I say they because I was using two power amps and a preamp (Bridged)

Let's focus on these 2 items for a minute.

So, an amp overheating was NOT the root cause of your caps/speakers blowing out. The HOT amp was a symptom of the problem but not the problem itself. Why did your amps overheat? Likely whatever caused that to overheat also blew your caps.

Next, it seems that you were using 1 amp per speaker? And, each amp was bridged? In general, bridging your amps is a BAD IDEA. When you do this, the amp now sees double the power load (i.e. the impedance just got cut in half). Guess what, a side effect of a lower impedance is a higher power draw and MORE HEAT!

I don't know the rated impedance of your speakers, but the best advice is to not use speakers lower than 8ohm if you bridge your amps. What is the impedance of your speakers, and what is the minimum impedance rating for your amp load?

 

[Eppie]

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FYI, the advice you received from your engineer friends applies to power supplies, not speaker crossovers. Capacitors provide filtration and smoothing in DC power supplies and bigger is better. In a crossover, the value determines at what frequency the crossover rolls off. Your current crossover is designed to have the tweeter roll off at a specific frequency. If you deviate from that value it will receive more or less lower frequency content than originally designed, hence the need to stick to the original values.

I am concerned that replacing all of the caps with Mundorfs will make the whole thing too big and bulky and a wiring mess, especially given your lack of experience in repairs and the need to use two caps in parallel to get the correct values. I would cancel that order and get the proper values, using two caps in parallel where needed, and order a brand where the caps are much smaller. You could even get radial electrolitics identical to what was in there now and they should last a good 10 or 20 years. The axial polypropylenes just have a longer lifespan and should not go out of spec over time.

 

[lovinthehd]

Personally I'd figure out what the problem is in the first place. The bridged amps might be one thing to get away from....could just be use of the volume dial?