knowing when to alter your spks

[leftwinger57]

Hello once again but being new to the forum I keep hearing things that 1. know nothing about and2. when to make a change.Now I've seen many people giving their Klipschs' the Bob Crite conversion. What does this entail and why when would you do such a thing. I do know that audio collecting is different than cars were in cars you want to keep all things w/ matching parts and #s and be as original as possible.I clearly understand if your going to listen to your gear you'd want the best out of them. Even I have a pair of refoamed infinitys sm112s and would have been a sin to dump instead of recondition.So how far does one go and what is this guy's expertise.Even on E-Bay I've seen his name in the speaker community.Secondly is it reccomended to purchase factory refurbished products.In my way of thinking if it's cosmetic then ok but serious tech flaws would be a whole other issue even if the warrenty still exsists....

[tube fanatic]

Before modifying any speaker which is under warranty, I'd check with the manufacturer to verify that doing so will not void it. It would be a shame to install a different crossover, for example, and then blow a tweeter which you now have to pay for. Crossover modifications sometimes involve changes in the frequency at which the drivers operate which, of course, can affect the sound. Others involve switching to "audiophile grade" capacitors or changing to different drivers. Whether that makes any difference is in the ears of the listener. In the shop we very rarely were asked to do crossover or driver changes for any in-warranty speaker. Usually, it was for speakers which had been sitting unused for 20-30 years. Whether modifying a speaker will affect its value depends on what the modifications were. Some people consider the changes as a value enhancement, and others consider them detrimental. You have to decide for yourself.