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Type AA Crossover Part Sourcing


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I am looking to replace the crossovers on my Klipschorns and I am looking for some recommendation on where to source the autotransformers.

 

I would just grab the Crites AA crossovers and be done but I can't fathom the price they are charging for the Type AA crossover. The Type A costs $325USD and Type AA, with an additional $3 air core inductor and $3 2mfd cap, costs $540?! $215 for $12 in extra parts and an ever so slight increase in labor. Based on the photos it looks like they are using a cheaper Dayton iron core inductor for the copper level on the Type AA too.

 

Are people just getting the 3636 autotransformers from Crites for $120 and building there own? Are there other places to get a T2A equivalent autotransformer?  

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Do you still have the original AA crossover? Coils and Autoformers NEVER get worse. I have 1973 and 1977 AA coils and original T2A Autoformers. You have to take care of them like the apple of your eye. The coils and autoformers used by Crites are of poorer quality, and the autoformers have different electrical values than the original Klipsch T2A even if the inductance values are correct, but the ESR is wrong.

The only thing you need are new caps. The caps that fit and sound best were selected by Roy Delgado, Klipsch's chief engineer. You can buy them from JEM.

 

 

 

These caps maintain the original impedance of the entire crossover, which is very important for balanced bass and treble reproduction. Believe me, after some wrong turns, also with Crites crossovers, I have brought my 1973 Khorn and 1977 LaScala up to scratch.

What is a clearly audible improvement in the old Khorns is that I have renewed all the soldering points and the cable tips (shortened the cables a little, removed the sheathing and re-tinned them, even if there are people here who disagree.

Look here:

 

 

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12 minutes ago, Jdiesel87 said:

I'm unfortunately starting from scratch with them as my current cabinets have already been pillaged for parts by the previous owner and currently contain no crossovers. 

Building this crossover yourself is absolutely not rocket science. It's very straightforward and really easy if you know how to solder. There are plans for it all over the place. Instead of investing the money in a Crites crossover, I would try to find old type AA on the web, for example on hifishark.com , or buy the components. I'm not familiar with the subject, but I remember that there was talk here on the forum that bass coils, tweeter coils and T2A autoformers can be bought again @Deang. The T2A for the squaker is the most rare component. You can also buy the other two coils generically... plus the JEM caps. Just a suggestion instead of Crites.

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@Jdiesel87, snipe a pair of E crossovers off of eBay for 150 bucks and then get the polyester caps you need from Crites and the tweeter coil from Parts Express.

 

There's probably a pair on eBay as we speak. 

 

I really think you want the T2A autoformer. There's some magic there with the K-55. 
 

When it's all said and done you might be in for less than $300.

 

Don't be shy with any questions. The more you ask the more opinions you will get. Most of them qualified, lol. 

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Thanks for the lead on the Type E, that opens up a few more options. Looking at some photos of different original autotransformers, some look pretty beat up and weathered. Do the windings get loose and go out of spec at all?

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20 minutes ago, Jdiesel87 said:

Thanks for the lead on the Type E, that opens up a few more options. Looking at some photos of different original autotransformers, some look pretty beat up and weathered. Do the windings get loose and go out of spec at all?

If you see a photo of my T2A in the 1973 Klipschorn restauration thread I linked here above they look really worn but that is the way they were built. My T2A were 51 years in the same dry and protecting livingroom before I purchased them.

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I just picked up a pair of T (1979)La Scalas, one works (the 2 microfarad caps had been replaced in it), the other one doesnt work(has the original caps). Is it most likely that the original caps are the problem, or are the autotransformers just as likely to be bad?

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8 minutes ago, hanksjim1 said:

loosen, clean and tighten all the connections first...though you probably will want to change the caps out at some point...autotransformers are pretty stout

Ok, will do that

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Autoformers are bulletproof unless the networks are in an excessively warm climate and the wax runs out of them. Some are rusty but perfectly fine. 
 

The 3636 is twice as big and removes most of the required working inductance in parallel with the driver (inductance creates 12dB/octave slope).  

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5 hours ago, Jdiesel87 said:

I did see those but they are local pickup only. I'm located in Canada too which limits my options a bit further too.


I’m in Canada too, an hour north of Toronto.

 

That does throw a wrench in things.

 

#1 caveat - whatever you do, don’t use UPS to ship from the U.S., ever. They tack on their own exorbitant brokerage fee in addition to actual duty. I just got burned again and suddenly remembered why I hadn’t used UPS in years, like a decade. UPS is like the Taco Bell, or Canadian Tire Auto Centre, of shipping; you immediately remember why you haven’t been there for years the moment you get stung.

 

Solen, Q Components, and Parts Connexion are great sources domestically. Parts Express out of the States is pretty competitive when they run their specials, and the first order is usually 10% off. Make a list and check it twice, multiple shipping costs are a killer.

 

IF you find a deal on eBay and the seller hasn’t listed Canada as a ship to address AND hasn’t received any bids yet, they CAN relist their ad with eBay’s Global Shipping Program and it becomes stupid cheap to ship from the U.S.  There are some very accommodating sellers on eBay, and CAM and our brothers and sisters on USAM.
 

How much of a hurry are you in? I probably have everything in my “laboratory” to put together a pair of AA crossovers that could be converted to A with a some wire shuffling if you don’t get any hits through other channels. Jeebus, the Crites Gold are now $1134 (!) CDN and the Copper are $750 !
 

But this brings up a more prudent question, what are the actual squawker and tweeter designations in your Klipschorns? 
 

The AA doesn’t play as nice with the more recent iterations, in which case you may want to pursue a different option?

 

Once again, this is the place for questions, you’ve got some heavy hitters on these forums.

 

 

 

 

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