ET Shan

Lance G, I'm in southern Michigan & purchased from the HiFi Collective because they had what I wanted in stock (Nobody else did!). Shipping was quick and reasonably priced. I saw you weren't overwhelmed by using Mundorf NPEs. Has your thinking changed? I hope I not making a mistake using these, but something needs to be done as the sound has gone down-hill. Figured I can always add bypass caps if needed. I really want to keep them as original as possible. they are very early production with consecutive serial numbers and no replacement drivers (not even warranty replacements). If this isn't to my liking, then I'll start modifying the crossovers. Frank

Shacky, I just love these recap discussions. I have listened to my AR9s for 5 or 6 years without feeling the need to recap them but lately I've noticed they must be in need. They are no longer sound "balanced"...one is brassier and the other has muffled bass by comparison. I've done the math, made the lists, compared brands, considered bypassing, tried to find exact values without paralleling caps, worried about ESR and voicing...and on and on and on. I've got to admit that price is a consideration for me, I don't want to spend more for capacitors than I spent for the speakers ($400. eBay bargains). Plus, I don't want to keep changing brands and types of caps, adding resistors, taking them apart to tweak things etc. Besides, I really did like them with the factory NPEs (until recently). After a LOT of internet searches for capacitors I think I've found a reasonable solution for MY situation. I've pulled the trigger on this already so please don't burst my bubble on this unless it's Absolutely necessary. The HIFI Collective in the UK has in stock a limited supply of exact value Mundorf e-cap 70 NPEs. includes 4, 6, 8, 24,30, 40, & 80 uf 70vdc smooth as well as other values. I think the Mundorf E-caps have better specs than most other NPEs and hopefully will last a good while. They don't have the 470 or 2500 uf caps but I'll use MDL bundles for these. I've already received my order today (it only took a week!) but I won't have time to start the project for a while. I based my discission on wanting them to sound like original AR9s (rather than revoiced or improved), keeping costs down (the easiest decisions are when you don't get a choice), and not wanting to make crossover tweaking a new hobby. I sure hope this works to my satisfaction... I'll ley you know how it sounds in a few weeks Frank