Crites Khorn Xovers

[Jeff Matthews]

I feel like I need new crossovers.  I remember using Bob years back to recap my old ones, and it was a huge improvement.

 

Who's doing factory spec Xovers these days and how much do they cost?

 

 

 

 

 

[wuzzzer]

DeanG and JEM Performance Audio.

[The Dude]

What he ^^^ said.

 

[Deang]

Jeff probably never goes into the Technical section so wouldn’t know about the sticky’s.

 

For the uninitiated, Crites can’t build a “factory spec” crossover because he doesn’t have the right autoformers. You can do a lot of other things with the larger units, but “factory spec” isn’t one of them.  

[jjptkd]

12 hours ago, Jeff Matthews said:

I feel like I need new crossovers.  I remember using Bob years back to recap my old ones, and it was a huge improvement.

 

Who's doing factory spec Xovers these days and how much do they cost?

 

 Which model speaker / crossovers do you have? Some of the early Heritage models are very simple to re-cap.

[82 Cornwalls]

I assume these are the ones:

 

 

[Jeff Matthews]

Yes

[Shakeydeal]

I bought Bobs xovers and I thought the sound was worse than the AA they replaced. Bright to my ears.

[Jeff Matthews]

9 minutes ago, Shakeydeal said:

I bought Bobs xovers and I thought the sound was worse than the AA they replaced. Bright to my ears.

Interesting.  I wish I can sample different versions.

[jjptkd]

3 hours ago, Jeff Matthews said:

Interesting.  I wish I can sample different versions.

 

 The AA crossovers are very simple and easy to re-cap only 3 caps per side on a nice open spread out board. You could order a cap set for a very reasonable price either through JEM or any of the online part suppliers.  I agree the Sonicaps can brighten the sound quite a bit, I've done several of the Chorus crossovers over the years and the initial impression is very clear and detailed but they can get fatiguing at moderate levels over time. For the price of new drop in crossover replacements from the 3rd party vendor you could buy several sets of different caps to try out or just keep it simple and go with the factory recommended JEM.

[geoff.]

@Jeff Matthews, everything changes when you change anything, whatever balance you have now will be different if you take a different path. Whether you like the change or not is entirely your business. Different is fun too, but the engineers had a plan.

 

It looks to me like you have type A crossovers in there right now. I am going to ASSUME the tweeters are the round magnet Alnico version and the K-55 is the single phase plug version as well.

 

The type of drivers in your speakers are an important consideration when choosing a path. There are limits both in frequency response and power handling depending on what drivers you choose to use.

 

If you like the way they sound now, new polyesters will preserve that presentation. Probably make it a little clearer considering the age of those capacitors in there now.

 

@jjptkd’s idea about trying different caps is a great idea. With a little effort and a very small outlay you can be sure which path you prefer.

 

I really enjoyed a pair of Crites A/4500 crossovers I had recapped with polyesters in a pair of LSIs (before Crites offered a copper version), albeit with aftermarket tweeters.
 

When pushed a little harder they held it together better, but at low to moderate levels, the “bright” Sonicaps were more revealing. Your ASSUMED alnico tweeters won’t appreciate being pushed hard, so that is a serious consideration, replacements for them are not falling off trucks.
 

IF I understand the driver complement in your Khorns correctly, I would expect the type A crossover using a K-55 that rolls off at 4500hz to sound very similar to what I was using. 

 

 

 

 

 

[thebes]

Not sure if they are still available, because most of them came from Ukraine but NOS military grade Russian PIO caps are very nice sounding and affordable. 

[Deang]

Those old cans (pre 70’s) are paper in oil. What I’ve never known for sure is whether or not they’re hermetically sealed - I just know I’ve never seen a leaky one. I’d be inclined to leave them alone.  

[mark1101]

On 3/22/2024 at 7:01 PM, Jeff Matthews said:

I feel like I need new crossovers.  I remember using Bob years back to recap my old ones, and it was a huge improvement.

 

Who's doing factory spec Xovers these days and how much do they cost?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you tell me what it feels like?

[Jeff Matthews]

Bass doesn't go as deep as I recall from prior KHorns.  Squawkers sound kind of "tinny" kind of like distorted and scratchy.  They are fatiguing.

 

I had Khorns years ago that sounded better.

 

Could be the wood floor.  The old set up was carpeted. I'd say that's the only major difference between rooms from years ago and now.  

 

I don't have a rug yet, but it just now occurred to me that I can lay down some blankets.  

[Woofers and Tweeters]

@Jeff Matthews It might be the preamp. 
 

[geoff.]

yikes, are the tweeters still tweeting ?

[Deang]

I wondered the same. 

[Woofers and Tweeters]

Lacking bass and fatiguing highs made me think of room treatment and preamp.  

[Jeff Matthews]

Tweeters are fine.  I turned it up to 10 watts with 20-watt peaks, and I think the sound improved a lot.  Highs are pretty bright, but not as tinny as they are at lower levels.  I have to say it's pretty darn loud at this point.  

 

I have false corners and did not place the speakers in actual corners.  Are false corners inferior to the real thing?  Has anyone compared before?