Capasitors in crossovers

[Thatch_Ear]

Well I fairly recently built some TLs with some full range Eminence drivers and set up a 6db cross with a cap. First I tried 7.5K and I was getting some bit of garble. That was with large 5uF oil caps. I tried 7s and it was worse so I decided to try to cross at 10K.
Now the Eminence are are running free in TLs which tend to not add or detract from what the driver does. The TLs allow you to tune but other than that they are as close to open air as you can get without being open air.
The large 330VAC Areovox caps definatly made a huge difference and there was no longer an overlap and the distortion dropped to what I thought was nothing.
Saturday I bought 4 1500V Micamold 8 uF caps that are the size of bricks. 2 in series are 4 uF. I wired one pair on the right side right after returning Saturday afternoon. The difference was appearant immediatly as on the side that the large caps were installed the image moved in towards the center much more than the other side.
Tonight I changed out the other side and though I had been reading while listening to music before the change, afterwards the book laid untouched as I traded music in and out, then Julia came in and took over and listened to 3 or 4 artists herself. Janis did not sound this good live unless you were inside the PA zone.
Big giant thumbs up to these caps. The 2 caps together are 6" X 4" X 5" deep.
The larger the pipe the better the flow.

[House de Kris]

OK, I'm going to have to show my ignorance here, but I thought that the term "full range" as used in this context referred to using a single driver. If so, what's all this talk about a crossover?

[Thatch_Ear]

The Eminence Beta 12 LTA has a range from 55 Hz to 10 KHz and falls into the full range catagory. I think wide range is a better term but when I tried using it before I was informed that no matter what I thought about it, it covered enough octaves to be a full range.
Anyway it rolls off at 10K and that is where the Heils come in at. And a simple 6db high pass is a crossover but you do have to admit it is as basic of one as you can get.

[Thatch_Ear]

Pic of caps

[Rob]

Thatch,

Glad you got the voicing to your liking. That Eminence doesn't beam too badly approaching 10 KHz because of the "full-range" design and wizzer cone? How do these speakers sound off-axis?

Rob

[Thatch_Ear]

There is a slight bit of breakup in the Eminences if they are running full out, or it could be my amp. Anything below 100 db and there is very little distortion. Johan has suggested that I try wrapping the basket braces with cotton to stop reflection.
The speakers are toed in just a bit but the Heils are quite a bit more, and since the Heils are dipole you basically keep the imaging even when adjusting the volume at the system rack.
No sweet spot with these, it sounds great no matter where you are in the room.

[gonefishin]

Where'd you get the caps thatch? I may be trying a few more cross-over points...and will be looking for some (but I haven't figured out the values yet...just too lazy!)

[gonefishin]

Thanks Mike! I'll defiantly check them out.


oh...your new speakers look great! (as usual)

[Thatch_Ear]

I get mine in Ft Worth. I also keep a pretty good supply on hand.