ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
A few months ago I read quite a bit about recapping speakers and the improvements that could be made. I had been sceptical and also the thought of unsoldering the old ones and installing the new ones looked complicated as the sizes are different. Anyway, I painstakingly worked out which capacitors I needed, ordered them only to then find out that I had bought the wrong ones and the ones I had ordered were polarised, this was despite ordering what I thought were good Audio grade capacitors. I left it for a while and gradually noticed that the only amp that sounded good with my speakers was the Quad 33/303 combination. Nothing else seemed to drive them properly.
A few weeks ago I ordered the recap kit for the speakers from Martin (Dillen), this not only cost less than my first attempt but arrived quickly from Denmark and had excellent instructions enclosed. I worked my way through changing the caps, which took a couple of hours for the first speaker and then an hour for the second.
When I connected them back up to the Quad amp they sounded so different, there was always bass but now it seems more controlled and deeper. The top end has no distortion and the mid is really clear. For the first time I now know what people are referring too when they say a wide soundstage and "placing instruments". Before you could quite clearly hear left and right but it was like a singer or instrument was wandering from left to right. Is all I can say that they are completely transformed and sound amazing. I can't actually imagine changing them unless I had serious amounts of cash to spend. I wish I had recapped years ago, but glad I have done it now before they got worst and I changed amplifiers again.
As an aside I had tried many different B&O and other make amplifiers with the speakers, but they all sounded slightly muffled apart from the valve amps which couldn't go loud enough because of the efficiency of the speakers. In the end the Quad sounded best but now I wish I had changed the caps first before changing amplifiers.
I thought I would share this as Beoparts were truly excellent with their service and price and it is really comforting to know that Martins expertise was used in the selection of the components in the kit. The testament to this is just how excellent they sound and what truly great speakers they must have been when new.
So a big thank you to Martin and Beoparts - its the best HiFi purchase I have made in years.
Nice post Andrew. I have recapped a few vintage Beovox speakers with capacitor kits from Martin as well. I agree, it is well worth doing. -sonavor
Wow, - what can I say...
Thanks.
Great to hear, that you are happy with the capacitors.
I am a wee bit proud of the performance of these new capacitors myself, to tell the truth.They are custom produced exclusively for Beoparts-shop to specs set up by me, because I felt that's how they should be and I couldn't find that anywhere.
It should perhaps be mentioned that, where almost all other B&O speakers use axial capacitors, and axial capacitors were therefore manufactured,Beovox M100 and M100-2 use radial capacitors (with a third supporting pin at the reverse end), so a little re-arranging must be done to fit the axials.Not at all impossible though.
In other words, there is not a kit visibly available in the shop for Beovox M100/100-2, but there is one backstage - you just have to ask for it.
Martin
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Present: BL90, Core, BL6000, CD7000, Beogram 7000, Essence Remote.
Past: BL1, BL2, BL8000, BS9000, BL5, BC2, BS5, BV5, BV4-50, Beosystem 3, BL3, DVD1, Beoremote 4, Moment.
seethroughyou:Do capacitors affect the sound?
Andrew gave his opinion about that already.
Electrolytic capacitors age. They contain fluid that slowly evaporates, and that affects their characteristics and their performance.Speakers begin to sound dull and lifeless, typically lacking treble, definition and dynamics.Replacing the capacitors will most often clear things up.
Because electrolytic capacitors degrade gradually over time rather than from one minute to the other, most owners may not notice anything (unless something, typically tweeters, stops playing altogether).
When the owner then compare them to, or even go and buy, new speakers, their old speakers sound dreadful.After replacing the capacitors, many owners are quite surprised to hear, what their speakers can actually do.Never compare unrestored old speakers with factory new.
Capacitors have a ton of properties. Some properties affects the sound more than others.It's all a matter of taste - and some people may not be able to tell any difference.For most B&O speakers I don't like using foil capacitors. In some cases they just don't deliver the warm and pleasant sound I prefer.In other cases I cannot tell any difference from electrolytics and the, typically quite high, cost of the foil caps can't be justified.