Mundorf zn caps

Just spent an hour or so taking my Monitor audio GR10 speakers apart to fit the new caps in the crossover. Managed not to bugger it up and can't believe the difference-especially in the soundstage. I've been running them in for around 2 hours now and everything i've played on them so far sounds fantastic,though the bass is a little thin at the mo. Does anyone know how long these caps take to run in properly. I know some types take forever. P.S many thanks to Tenson and Wadia meister for all your help.

 

Glad you managed to get it working okay

What caps do the GR10's use as standard then?

 

Hi mate
They use Monitor audios own caps i think-they have the company logo on anyway but they were quite small ones(100 v too).
Tony fitted wilmslow super sounds about 6 months ago which tightened up bass a bit and brought out the midrange too.
The mundorfs were exactly the same length as the solder holes so it was a bit tricky and i had no silicon sealant to stick them to the board so i used some blu tack instead!
Good stuff
Any ideas on running in times with poly caps??

 

Update...
They've been running in for a while now and sound superb.
I'd recommend these to anyone who wants to upgrade their crossovers. Mine cost around 75quid inc postage from Hificollective on the net and were delivered 2 days later.
The musicality and soundstage are so much better and the bass has tightened up nicely without losing any weight.
Couldn't be happier!

 

I want to put these Mundorf caps in a Kef 104.2. Yet I know very little about electronics and values. Can anyone give advice?

 

Hi
In order to fit replacement capacitors you first need to locate and remove the crossover from your speaker cabinets.
The crossover is normally on the other side of your speaker cable terminals at the back of the cabinet.
You may need to remove the bass driver so you can get to the crossover mounting screws.
Once you have removed the crossover you can then get a better look.
You'll see several components on the printed circuit board. The capacitors are the cylindrical shape ones that look a little like batteries. There should be between 1&3 of these and they should have values printed on them which will be voltage(v)and farad(f/uf)which is capacitance.
you need to order the same value capacitance as the originals as different values will affect crossover frequency response, which you don't want.
The voltage rating shouldn't matter so long as its over 100v. Mine are rated 100 and i've had no problems.
Make sure you measure the space you have available on the pcb for the new caps before you order. Better quality caps are usually bigger.
You'll find the measurements for the values you need on mundorfs website.
Once you have the replacements, you need to remove the old caps. This is done with a soldering iron and a desoldering pump/braid.
Once removed, replace the old caps for the new ones making sure you have the right values in the right places and solder them in place. The mundorf zn caps are non directional so you need not worry about polarity.
It's always a good idea to use silver solder for audio applications and once the caps are in place you can use silicone sealant or blu tack to keep them from moving/vibrating.
Once all soldered, put it all back together making sure all screws are tight and give them a test run.
Capacitors can take a while to burn in so don't expect miracles straight away though you should hear the benefits in a few hours.

Hope this helps.

 

This is flat-earth country - replacing capacitors - why - because someone tells u they did and it sounds better - ?
Do you really think Speaker Makers go to the trouble of sourcing all the best materials and carfully pack speakers (so they arrive undamaged maybe weeks later) and somehow forget (or is a deliberate action?) to put decent capacitors in the x-over. There are many things that you can destroy by messing with your cabiniets and if you want to replace components it would be inductors I would suggest, but these are not conveniently available from local stores - but where is the logic that the caps are not up to the job -but everything else is fine?
Different capacitor types have different "losses" and in extreme instances it might be possible to detect some difference - but by comparison with variations in the speakers, the cone water-content, stiffness of the surround, the air-pressure ( and your ears)...it is creating a distince foolishness to encourage average punters to pull their speakers apart.....to replace one of the most reliable parts of the system?
What this "wear-in" period - do you think capacitors "lose-something" after a few hours? Grief that will throwaway any calculation in the x-over won't...or do you think the speaker-makers allow for this "loss of something"
and that....Oh come-on!
The surround will change over time and if you want to "run-in" it might be possible that the resonant frequency will drop a few hertz...but these changes are not certain and I cannot think of a mechanism that lets capacitors "burn-in" or whatever I read (here)...
Arrgh.
Leave well alone is my advice, make a nice cup of tea; put on a fav disc and enjoy the music.
Only last week we had folk suggest you pull CD-players apart... to add some old carpet......I hope that CD-player is still working.

Really!

 

Do you really think Speaker Makers go to the trouble of sourcing all the best materials and carfully pack speakers (so they arrive undamaged maybe weeks later) and somehow forget (or is a deliberate action?) to put decent capacitors in the x-over.

No. It's a cost issue.
Manufacturers have to keep to a margin and as material costs only come to a fraction of the retail price the difference in putting 70 pounds worth of capacitors rather than 10 pounds worth is gonna push the price up a lot more.
They simply put the best in that the budget will allow.


if you want to replace components it would be inductors I would suggest

Unfortunately, Inductors don't always have values printed on them(mine don't)and are not so easy to measure so it isn't a step i could take or comment on at present.


- but where is the logic that the caps are not up to the job -but everything else is fine?

I know full well the other components make a difference. I had the original resistors changed for some high grade Caddock resistors about 6 months ago which also brought about benefits.
This was just a comment on one modification i had made.


What this "wear-in" period - do you think capacitors "lose-something" after a few hours?

No, they gain something.
Capacitors work better over time from when first used. This is well documented.


Grief that will throwaway any calculation in the x-over won't

If you replace value for value, this won't be a problem. You're merely adding a better quality component and within each component ther are factors that can vary(ESR,tolerance etc)which in turn can alter the sound.


Leave well alone is my advice, make a nice cup of tea; put on a fav disc and enjoy the music.

This one i have to agree on, if the person doesn't feel competent to do the work.
I was merely answering a question and trying to be helpful.
I presume the person asking was a sensible adult and would not attempt to do something he did not think himself capable of.
Maybe i should've pointed this out.
On the other hand, if someone does try a diy project for the first time and makes a success, chances are they'll want to learn more about the subject and enjoy doing it to boot.
isn't this a good thing?

Now a question for you sir...
Is it just a coincidence that both you and the person who asked about the cap fitting both joined the forum on the same day, or have the trolls taken up fishing?

 

Well said !

 

Cheers Z.
This diy is all a learning curve. Forums are good in this respect because people can post about their successes and share their wisdom with those starting out and on the other hand post about their screw ups and warn others not to do the same.
I've had very good and cost effective improvements with the mods I've made and i probably wouldn't of had the balls to experiment without the things i've picked up here.
I couldn't give a toss whether people believe whether these kind of tweaks work or not. I'm not providing a service here i'm just trying to improve my system.

 

You're spot on there Andy. Who's to say your tweaks haven't worked? If you enjoy the benefit they make then good on you. I enjoy any cost effective tweaks I make. Some might be the placebo effect but some DO actually make a difference. I worked in the electronics production industry for many years and I know for a fact that manufacturers always use components that will do a job for them, not always the components that will do the BEST job for them. You can't blame them, they are after all there to make a profit. However, bare in mind that manufacturers always have a second or third replacement component on their BOMs (bill of materials) when parts run out, so there isn't a hard and fast rule as to which components they need to use.
At the end of the day, if it makes you happy then that's good enough for me

 

Thanks mate.

As an aside, and a little t: , i received some samples yesterday from national semiconductor of the new(ish) LM4562 opamps to put in my Cd player.
The result....
:banana: :boogie: :MO!: :drum: unk: :guitar: :mo: :lol:
Yeah, they're not half bad actually