Shock-Late Posted May 7, 2002 Share Posted May 7, 2002 I'm afraid some capacitor on my left AA x-over has finally gone bad... so it is now time considering buying new crossovers. There are different possibilities for me: -buy a set of ALK x-overs. But I don't have the money and I'm living in Europe... -buy a set of AL3 x-overs directly from klipsch, or second-hand if I find some -replace the components on my AA set with new, high quality stuff. I'm considering the last option, since this would allow me to do it "step by step", by first replacing the wrong components and later the rest... BUT I'm slightly concerned about wether or not I would like the sound of a "new" pair of AA x-overs... all AA i heard so far where old so maybe their sound with new stuff isn't that good... Al, what do you think about it? is it worth healing a pair of AA??? thanks... I don't know wich way to go! Frans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Warren Posted May 7, 2002 Share Posted May 7, 2002 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Klappenberger Posted May 7, 2002 Share Posted May 7, 2002 Frans, I would definitely NOT get the AL version. The most cost effective thing to do is just fix what's broke! Just replace the band cap. Al K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLUngurait Posted May 7, 2002 Share Posted May 7, 2002 Frans, Although shipping would be difficult/expensive for you...You could just send your bad xover to Klipsch (make sure you call 1-800-KLIPSCH first and get an Authorization #) and they will replace any/all parts not up to spec for around $150 US. Good Luck Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elso Kwak Posted May 7, 2002 Share Posted May 7, 2002 Hi Shock-Late, The KWAK-CROSSOVER schematic for the Klipschorn is available now by sending me a email. ------------------ ELSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted May 7, 2002 Share Posted May 7, 2002 I'm with John Warren on this. I've replaced the caps in my Type AAs with Hovland Musicaps. The change to the tweeter was noticible and nice. It became clearer and cleaner. Changing the squawker cap was inaudible, but you never know 'til you try. I was put in the situation of replacing caps because my La Scalas were mismatched. One had a K-55-V and Type AA and the other had a K-55-M and a Type AL (awful). I bought a lab built Type AA from Klipsch, but the 2 uF oil caps are no longer available, so they used something else. After a while, I just couldn't stand and replaced all of the caps so they'd both match. Rebuild yours with good parts. It won't change the character of the speaker, but will improve it slightly. John This message has been edited by John Albright on 05-07-2002 at 04:28 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hetmann Posted May 7, 2002 Share Posted May 7, 2002 John, What was the approximate cost of the cap changeover to Hovland? Were you able to find exact replacement values or did you substitute? ------------------ Klipschorns and Moondogs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBrennan Posted May 7, 2002 Share Posted May 7, 2002 Shock-Late----PWK told Bruce Edgar he thought the speakers sounded best with simple 1st order crossovers, the higher rates in later production models were a matter of protecting the drivers from the various ways the speakers would be used and abused, a practical business decision. Bruce Edgar has been fiddled with and modded Khorns and told me they sound far better with 1st order networks. If I was going to get into crossover mods I'd do a 1st order thing. ALK should be able to tell you what the driver impedences are at the actual crossover frequencies, with that info a 1st order network should be fairly easy to do. Who knows, such a step backwards might give you the best sounding Ks around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted May 7, 2002 Share Posted May 7, 2002 Hetman, I was able to obtain the exact specified values for the caps. I can't remember the cost, but I got my Hovlands from madisound.com. I used a 6 uF and a 7uF in parallel for the 13 uF squawker cap. Tom, The Type AA network uses 6 dB slopes for the woofer/squawker crossover with no HF rolloff on the squawker, then an 18 dB high-pass slope for the tweeter plus a pair of zener diodes to limit power input to the tweeter further. The diodes sound awful when you reach their power limit! The attached Type A network is 6 dB all around and has little tweeter protection. Converting a Type AA to Type A would be easy, even as an experiment. John This message has been edited by John Albright on 05-07-2002 at 09:29 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shock-Late Posted May 11, 2002 Author Share Posted May 11, 2002 Thanks everybody for the input. I'll go for the re-building process. Are they less expensive alternatives to Hovland MusiCaps? I'm not even sure I can find them in Belgium... my first intend is to fix my broken x-overs, not to improve their sound. Now if I can improve it... What's the cost for replacing squawker and tweeter caps with hovlands? thanks! Frans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shock-Late Posted May 11, 2002 Author Share Posted May 11, 2002 been to madisound.com, seen the hovland prices...gasp!! around 63$ for each crossovers (20,...$ each cap!!!), I hope the improvement it makes is worth it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted May 11, 2002 Share Posted May 11, 2002 I think Al Klappenberger uses some Solen Caps in his networks that are made the same way the Hovlands are, but cost less. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Klappenberger Posted May 11, 2002 Share Posted May 11, 2002 John, Nope.. I user the Hovlands in my networks at the most critical points. I use Solen FastCaps elseware. These are metalized rather then film and foil like the Hovlands. The film and foil type are better, but I am not sure they are better enough to be worth the money. I uset] them anyhow though! Al K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWag5 Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 Al, what's the going rate for a pair of crossovers for khorns? Thanks, Charles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 I think the best bet is to go solen for thw mid horn and use high-end for the tweeter cap...tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Klappenberger Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 Charles, Email me for pricing. Al K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndH Posted January 10, 2005 Share Posted January 10, 2005 Dear Frans, Crossoverparts near Belgium, exactly in Germany, are available from www.intertechnik.de or www.lsv-achenbach.de. Probably not Hovland or Solen, but Intertechnik and Mundorf are certainly manufacturers of comparable high quality parts. And by EU-law you can send the parts back until 14 days after receiving them. Bernd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.