Rebuild AL or new AL-3?

[CDinMB]

Just bought  a pair of LSi which have AL X-O.  Just got my MC30s today and am loving the sound but based on the age of the speakers, I was thinking of rebuilding the X-O with new caps.  I read the AL is not the best and people prefer the AA or AL-3.  I read it isn't cost effective to convert an AL to an AA.  Is it possible (cost effective) to update the AL to AL-3 during the rebuild or do I need to buy a new AL-3 X-O? 

 

Carmen

[wvu80]

There are a couple of extensive discussions on exactly this top in the Tech Forum.  I'll try to find them for you, the search feature isn't exactly user friendly.

 

The consensus is that it is NOT worthwhile to rebuild the Type AL crossover because there are only a couple of parts which are worth saving.  It is easier and cheaper to build an XO from scratch for about $100, usually the Type AA which seems to be favored by most for its smooth sound, without sacrificing dynamics.

[CDinMB]

I saw one thread on building an AA and it looked easy except there didn't seem to be a source for the autoformers.  That is why I was hoping to upgrade the AL parts. I assumed the AL to AL3 might be more straight forward and reuse more parts. If I knew what autoformers to buy, I would build the AA. 

 

 

[Marvel]

You can get autoformers from Bob Crites:

critesspeakers.com

 

Or Dean Wescott aka deang on the forum. They both do crossovers as well. Bob follows Klipsch designs, while Dean does kinda the same with high end parts. They're both good to exceptional. I personally love Dean's.

 

The other route is to go active crossovers, with an amp for each speaker/driver. That would mean six amps for two 3 way cabinets. If you aren't going to get addicted to tweaking and quickly want to be done and chill with the tunes, the passives will get you there. Plenty of info on here for going either way.

 

Bruce