Stimpy Posted November 17, 2019 Report Share Posted November 17, 2019 11 minutes ago, DavidR said: Series and Shunt are correct terms. The 30uF is after a coil that filters out most of the frequencies that are 'unwanted' for that driver. The 30 shunt cap doesn't see that much duty because of the coil and is there to shunt any 'leftover frequencies to ground. The 4 and 6 caps are wired in series and forms (I believe) a 2nd order electrical circuit offering more protection to the tweeter. My only concern was the 80uF cap voltage rating. The 4 and 6 caps, along with the tweeter inductor, form a 3rd order 18dB per octave crossover. Much better tweeter power handling as a result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lance G Posted November 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2019 18 minutes ago, lance G said: Not sure how similar the networks are but those uF values in the AR9 are rated 100VAC for the 4uF and 100v for the 24uF. Now that is what is stated on the diagram ! Maybe it's time to for me to "pop a woofer out" and try to see what is actually marked on the cap's ! Sorry ignore below (edited), it's getting late here in the U.K. Its the 4 and 24 I should be looking at ! I looked back at the pictures that I took when I first opened up the speakers. A poor picture but when zoomed in the 80uF is definitely rated at 100v. Red one, bottom right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stimpy Posted November 17, 2019 Report Share Posted November 17, 2019 All this cap talk, reminds me how frustrating capacitor hunting can be! Regardless, if I want to use NPE or film, no one parts site seems to have all the correct values that I need. At least in a single capacitor. I can find a few caps at one site, another cap at a 2nd site, and a couple more at yet another site. It makes me crazy, that I can't get everything I need for one store, without having to parallel caps together, to add to what I need. So, it's either mix and match, or pay extra shipping from different sites? Not a big deal, just annoying, I suppose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted November 17, 2019 Report Share Posted November 17, 2019 That's why I have 3 shoe boxes and a plastic drawer unit full of capacitors ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stimpy Posted November 17, 2019 Report Share Posted November 17, 2019 16 minutes ago, JKent said: That's why I have 3 shoe boxes and a plastic drawer unit full of capacitors ? That would be nice...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidR Posted November 17, 2019 Report Share Posted November 17, 2019 1 hour ago, Stimpy said: I can find a few caps at one site, another cap at a 2nd site, and a couple more at yet another site. Yup and I will usually order from whom ever I need to to get what I need. PITA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stimpy Posted November 17, 2019 Report Share Posted November 17, 2019 8 minutes ago, DavidR said: Yup and I will usually order from whom ever I need to to get what I need. PITA Yea, I do the same. No need to cry about a few extra bucks for shipping. Hey, maybe I should start an eBay business, selling cap kits for vintage speakers. Entry level priced, with NPE's, bang for the buck kits, with film on the series caps, and cost no object, with stuff I can't afford. I wonder if they would sell? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidR Posted November 18, 2019 Report Share Posted November 18, 2019 55 minutes ago, Stimpy said: I wonder if they would sell? Well, I'm going to put my big 400V Solen (200 and 150uF) caps on eBay. I'll let you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lance G Posted November 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2019 Thanks for all the help and suggestions from everyone. All done (both speakers) with Mundorf E-Cap plain (other than the 2500uF and 470uF on the woofer circuit). Unfortunately I am not sure I like what I am now hearing. I have tested all the original sub 20uF Elcap cap's which were removed, of note the 80uF were of PYE (AR9EK, UK assembled speakers?) manufacture, (my multimeter cap testing facility only goes up to 20uF) and they all seem to be within tolerance. I think I preferred the original sound before I changed out (nearly) all the cap's. The choice of Mundorf was to try to keep to as close to the original specification as possible. The change was thought potentially wise due to the age of the original cap's. The speakers were, when they came to me, apparently in somewhat remarkable condition for their age, I think week 34 1980 is marked on at least one woofer, and the crossovers were original with no physical signs of leaky cap's. Observations please most expert chaps ! (In error I have duplicated this post on DavidR's post regarding his own re-capping experience, hope no confusion ensues !) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidR Posted November 24, 2019 Report Share Posted November 24, 2019 Play them for a while and see if they improve. My 90s didn't impress me at first but are now wonderful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuja Posted November 24, 2019 Report Share Posted November 24, 2019 46 minutes ago, lance G said: Unfortunately I am not sure I like what I am now hearing. What is it that you don't like about the new "recapped" sound? I have recapped my AR90s with Mundorf white poly caps (the basic cheapest ones) and I'm very satisfied with the sound. I only had to attenuate the UMR drivers by 3dBs to tune them to my room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stimpy Posted November 24, 2019 Report Share Posted November 24, 2019 I agree with David. Give the new caps some playing time, in order to settle in. At least 10 hours, before doing anything drastic. After that, if you still aren't satisfied, if too bright, play with the level switches. If still too bright, you can add series resistors to the new capacitors. A half Ohm to start, would compensate for ESR. Go higher, if needed. But I wouldn't start with extreme resistance. Be subtle. Now, if the speakers are somewhat opaque, not transparent enough, again, give them time. Break in will help. Also, the suggestion of adding bypass caps, is a good one. Bypass capacitors can both increase resolution and help smooth the sound. At least in my experience. I like to use the Dayton film & foil caps too. 0.01 and 0.1 work well for the high and low range capacitors. Cheap enough to try, without breaking the bank. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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