dstrachan Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 My Auricaps arrived and I am ready to dive in and replace the stock Japanese caps. IN my haste, I ordered the wrong mix of caps and now have too many 1.0 caps and not enough 1.5caps I'm going to go ahead and mod the one speaker that I have parts for now that I've torn it apart. Question: My '85 Fortes have no circuit board but a small connecting plate. Things are kind of tight so is it okay to snip the previous cap leads and solder the new leads to the stubs? Or do you have to desolder and remove the lead end? Would there really be any sonic difference particularly if the connection was right up against the connection? Thanks folks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yaffstone Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 You'll never notice the difference as long as you make a good connection; wind the leads and then solder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstrachan Posted January 23, 2005 Author Share Posted January 23, 2005 Thanks, I was hoping that was the case. Another question if you don't mind...how critical is it to have the red lead on the auricaps connected towards the + of the driver unit? Audience says it "should" be aligned this way but not that it has to be. Thanks again for posting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popbumper Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 I have read from a "test report" on the interenet where the evaluation was done with the red leaed "improperly" connected, and it did make a difference. I would think the manufacturer has valid reason for doing this, and suggest you follow the recommendation as best you can. Popbumper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krustyoldsarge Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 ---------------- On 1/22/2005 4:58:21 PM dstrachan wrote: My Auricaps arrived and I am ready to dive in and replace the stock Japanese caps. IN my haste, I ordered the wrong mix of caps and now have too many 1.0 caps and not enough 1.5caps I'm going to go ahead and mod the one speaker that I have parts for now that I've torn it apart. Question: My '85 Fortes have no circuit board but a small connecting plate. Things are kind of tight so is it okay to snip the previous cap leads and solder the new leads to the stubs? Or do you have to desolder and remove the lead end? Would there really be any sonic difference particularly if the connection was right up against the connection? Thanks folks. ---------------- You can order some .5uf caps, connect them in parallel to 1.0uf and you have 1.5uf. It might even sound better than a single 1.5 cap. I made a similar screwup when recapping my KG4s. Bought 6uf (typo) instead of the required 8uf. Ordered 2uf, wired it parallel to the 6uf: works just fine. IMHO, try utilizing the PCBs original holes if possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstrachan Posted January 24, 2005 Author Share Posted January 24, 2005 I'm sure you are right. The existing caps haev a small "n" on one end. Would this indicate negative? I thought it might be a brand marking as there is no name on the caps just "Japan". If it is a marking for negative, that would make it easy to align the auricaps. Does it also make sense that the negative end (black) of the auricap would be attached to the binding post and the positive (red) to the PCB? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstrachan Posted January 24, 2005 Author Share Posted January 24, 2005 ---------------- On 1/24/2005 11:03:09 AM krustyoldsarge wrote: ---------------- On 1/22/2005 4:58:21 PM dstrachan wrote: My Auricaps arrived and I am ready to dive in and replace the stock Japanese caps. IN my haste, I ordered the wrong mix of caps and now have too many 1.0 caps and not enough 1.5caps I'm going to go ahead and mod the one speaker that I have parts for now that I've torn it apart. Question: My '85 Fortes have no circuit board but a small connecting plate. Things are kind of tight so is it okay to snip the previous cap leads and solder the new leads to the stubs? Or do you have to desolder and remove the lead end? Would there really be any sonic difference particularly if the connection was right up against the connection? Thanks folks. ---------------- You can order some .5uf caps, connect them in parallel to 1.0uf and you have 1.5uf. It might even sound better than a single 1.5 cap. I made a similar screwup when recapping my KG4s. Bought 6uf (typo) instead of the required 8uf. Ordered 2uf, wired it parallel to the 6uf: works just fine. IMHO, try utilizing the PCBs original holes if possible. ---------------- Good idea. i hadn't thought of that and it would likely save a couple of bucks as well. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krustyoldsarge Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 You're very welcome! Should have mentioned, though, that if you do latch on the .5's on, do it the same way on both speakers because you could change the sonic signature. Smaller caps paralelled up to a larger value can be faster than a single cap of the same value. A few folks like to "cascade" crossover caps to try to eliminate artifacts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 My '85 Fortes have no circuit board but a small connecting plate. Things are kind of tight so is it okay to snip the previous cap leads and solder the new leads to the stubs? Or do you have to desolder and remove the lead end? Would there really be any sonic difference particularly if the connection was right up against the connection? If I would have seen this before you did the work, I would have said to remove the board, and take it out of the speaker to do the work. To do it "right", all of the old solder should be removed before soldering a new part in. Once solder solidifies, and is then reheated -- it loses some of its conductivity. Reheating and adding new solder also increases the chance of a cold, or dry joint. I have read from a "test report" on the interenet where the evaluation was done with the red leaed "improperly" connected, and it did make a difference. I would think the manufacturer has valid reason for doing this, and suggest you follow the recommendation as best you can. These caps are non-polarized, and in AC applications, can't possibly make a difference. Think about how AC works -- back and forth it goes -- one way, and then the other. However, it might make a difference when used in a bypass configuration with a large electrolytic in power supplies (I don't know). You can order some .5uf caps, connect them in parallel to 1.0uf and you have 1.5uf. It might even sound better than a single 1.5 cap. Paralleling caps further lowers insertion losses. Whether an improvement over using a single cap is a subjective matter. IMHO, try utilizing the PCBs original holes if possible. LOL, not a bad idea. Sticking something where is doesn't belong has unhealthy consequences! Does it also make sense that the negative end (black) of the auricap would be attached to the binding post and the positive (red) to the PCB? Trust me, it makes no difference. The marking (or red lead in the Auricap's case) only tells you the lead that is attached to the outside foil. There is no "positive" or "negative" end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstrachan Posted January 24, 2005 Author Share Posted January 24, 2005 Thanks for the advice!! This must seem awfully basic to you experts but it's nerve-racking to a newbie! I did remove the units from the speaker to work on making sure I marked the speaker leads as to polarity. I cleaned off the old solder and made new connections. Had a little trouble getting a good connection on the binding post until I went out and got a 100W iron (the 30w just wasn't enough for that job). Everything is back and even with only one speaker updated, I hear a difference. I know it is not accurate to a/b speakers in this way but until the other caps arrive, I am stuck. Observation...the upgraded speaker is less "in-your'face" but delivers more inner detail. The side of the soundstage with the upgraded speaker seems quieter as in less "filler" if that makes sense. The original side, while providing excellent instrument placement seems to fill in the spaces with energy or something. I swtiched the speakers aornd to make sure it wasn't room acoustics and the experience followed the speakers. I am very much looking forward to having both speakers done as this will really accentuate the difference. Already on Nora Jones I noticed a string bass run on one song that were "blended" before and now had definition and the upper bass is definitely tighter! DeanG...you have no idea how relieved I am to hear your assessment of the +/- orientation. I was really dredding opening up the speaker again and re-doing all the connections. Question...why would Audience suggest the + alignment if it isn't a big deal? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popbumper Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 They would probably suggest this because of the cap materials and/or how they are "formed" in manufacturing. If Dean thinks it is not necessary, then I'd say don't worry about it; I am merely commenting on the mfgr's suggestion. Popbumper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstrachan Posted January 24, 2005 Author Share Posted January 24, 2005 I trust DeanG as he certainly is the expert based on my research here. I've asked Audience to indicate their reasoning for the suggestion. I'll post their explanation here when I get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstrachan Posted January 26, 2005 Author Share Posted January 26, 2005 AS promised...here is Audience's response to my question...looks like I'm okay for the crossovers. Thanks DeanG and Popbumper. Now to upgrade the second Xover. The reason we recommend using the Auricaps according to directionality has more to do with low level circuits than loudspeaker crossover networks. The black lead denotes outside foil. By connecting the black lead to the lower impedance point (source or ground) the potential for noise pickup is reduced. This would not be important in a high-level crossover. However, I tend to wire Auricaps into crossover networks according to the application notes anyway just because it seems more correct to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted January 27, 2005 Share Posted January 27, 2005 "I trust DeanG as he certainly is the expert based on my research here." I'm sure the real experts are still rolling around on the floor. I'm a delusional audiophile with a soldering iron. "The black lead denotes outside foil." I actually thought it was the red lead. Oh well. Not that it matters, but I do orient the red leads torwards the drivers, even though I think it's BS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstrachan Posted January 27, 2005 Author Share Posted January 27, 2005 ---------------- On 1/27/2005 12:39:42 PM DeanG wrote: "I trust DeanG as he certainly is the expert based on my research here." I'm sure the real experts are still rolling around on the floor. I'm a delusional audiophile with a soldering iron. Ëxpert"is a relative term...compared to my knowledge, you are a GOD!! "The black lead denotes outside foil." I actually thought it was the red lead. Oh well. Not that it matters, but I do orient the red leads torwards the drivers, even though I think it's BS. Now that's funny!! ---------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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