If anyone is thinking about re-capping some crossovers,..
 

Guys,

Here are a couple of links from my local Audio Club regarding capacitors.
Re capping older crossovers can bring them back to life. I did it on a pair of ADS speakers I had, and it made a world of difference.


Capacitor tests -
Humble Homemade Hifi

The Sound of Capacitors -
Capacitor Sounds, Speaker Cables and Crossover Inductors.

Chuck.......Thanks for the info. I have been giving some thought to recapping the crossovers in my JBL4312A speakers.

Never.
http://face.cleanandquiet.com/store/...0Crossover.jpg

http://face.cleanandquiet.com/store/...er%20After.jpg

http://face.cleanandquiet.com/store/...%20Duelund.jpg

Thanks for the links. Went with the Mundorf Silver in Oil for the crossovers in a pair Klipsch Cornwall II's.

The description in the link is very accurate.

Mundorf M-Cap Supreme Silver/Oil MKP 1200VDC – 2% tolerance (typ. 1%)
Technical specifications: An oil impregnated metallised paper dielectric capacitor, with the same series wiring as the Mundorf M-Cap-Supreme capacitors. The winding technology enables the production of induction-free capacitors. As the name indicates, high-purity silver is used for the capacitor coating, and the winding is impregnated with special oil developed in an exhaustive series of experiments and listening tests. The metallised paper foils make it possible to maintain extremely exacting production tolerances that cannot be achieved with traditional oil/paper capacitor designs. This is also the first time that the benefits of oil-impregnated capacitor design have been successfully combined with the well-known long-term stability of metallised paper and internal series wiring for induction-free performance. These low manufacturing tolerances is one of the key reasons for the wonderfully spacious music reproduction achieved with these capacitors: Perfect stereo is only possible when the performance of the left and right channels is virtually identical. The long-term capacitance stability of these products is equally important, of course. Without it there is no way to achieve really constant performance – not even with capacitors selected as matched pairs.”
Sound: The M-CAP Supreme Silver/Oil is one of my favourite capacitors! I can only underline what Mundorf states: “…wonderfully spacious and detailed sound reproduction … full and smooth tonal richness and diversity. This capacitor’s ability to bring out the finest nuances and the subtlest distinctions make the music sound more alive and “juicy”, …Wonderfully spacious music reproduction… ”. Music detail and depth throughout from top to bottom. Very smooth and liquid. To exaggerate things: it makes a standard Supreme Cap sound slightly rough!
Verdict: 10,5

Face,
Is that your handy work?

I have heard this can really make a difference, as MC352 points out. I've toyed with the idea from time to time on my JBL L220A's....though I have to say I've no complaints with their sound at all.

I am also skittish as many of the caps in the the L220A's are cemented down to the board with a waxy-like glue, and much of the wiring is point to point.

Dan...whattaya think? Do you think your 4312A's performance has deteriorated significantly over the years?

Pete

Pete.......It is difficult to say. I bought them new 20 years ago, and enjoyed them a great deal during those years, but they have not been the only speakers I have listened to, so I don't really have a permanent imprint of their sound from then until now. The 4312A's still sound good, and still handle power well, although they are only powered with the MA5100 integrated amp right now (45 Watts per channel). The midrange and tweeter pots still funtion properly with no intermittent spots. I just think that after 20 years the capacitors could probably stand to be refreshed with new ones, and perhaps of a higher quality. I'm still thinking about it.

MC352, yes those are mine.

The first one is for my Tannoy HPD-385A's, second a friend's Polk LSi15's, and the third mess is for a pair of custom speakers I designed. I can't wait to button them up and finish the cabinets.

As for recapping, electrolytic values drift after 10-20 years, also the best electrolytic won't sound as good as a cheap film cap. Recapping can make a night or day difference, depending on what was used in the speaker originally, how old the components are, how revealing the speakers are, and the quality of the components used in the rebuild. For basic builds or large values, Dayton film caps are the best bang for the buck. From there I would recommend Sonic Caps for some speakers, Obbligato, and Claritycap MR or Duelund for the high end. Claritycap MR's throw the biggest soundstage and sharpest imaging I've ever heard, but they don't work with every speaker. They can sound a little sharp with metal drivers. :D Duelund VSF is the best for tonality, but don't image as well as MR's. I'm going to try a pair of Duelund CAST caps soon. But in the meantime, I'm going to try parallel a pair of MR's and VSF's and see if I can get the best of both worlds.

If you like the sound of Mundorf S/O, you'll probably like Obbligato copper or gold caps. IMO, they sound better and they're also cheaper. The only downside is that they don't have a great selection of values.

Very Nice Work.