Pioneer HPM-100 Recapping Walkthrough

[xoaphexox]

IYou'll need a 3uF and 8uF per cabinet (I used two 4uF tied together for the 8.) I also added 0.001uF bypass caps to the Dayton replacements for the heck of it.

Yep. Those are the exact caps I have sitting here. Four 4uf, two 3uf and two .001uf. We must have read the same thread.

I ended up doing more housework today than I intended and didnt get the chance to start the 4311s. I did, however, get my AU-919 adjusted to spec. More time consuming than I expected. Should have used Bournes VRs instead of keeping them stock.

 

[davidb]

I recapped mine tonight and they sound fantastic. It took about 2 hours. I used Rob's list for the replacements and they install very easily. Thanks again Rob for taking the time to do this for us.:thmbsp:

 

[basicblues]

Yep. Those are the exact caps I have sitting here. Four 4uf, two 3uf and two .001uf. We must have read the same thread.

Thanks for your efforts with the HPM-100's. I have both versions and plan to re-cap these on some rainy (football) weekend this fall. AND I just purchased a pair of JBL 4311B's less than a week ago, haven't got them yet but I'll be tuned in if you decide to chart your JBL re-cap project.

I've thought about using Sonicaps since I can obtain them locally. Any thoughts on Sonicaps?

 

[alwayslooking]

Thanks for the pictures- I might even be able to do it. Now where do the bullets go into this soldering gun? Hmmmm

 

[onwardjames]

Dumb question, maybe, but do these instructions work for the 100 watt models as well??

 

[onwardjames]

Also, I noticed some type of thin rubber around the leads.... I don't have any of that stuff.... is it crucial?? Meaning, can I get by without it?? Just ordered my caps from PartsExpress, and missed that...

 

[xoaphexox]

That is heat shrink tubing that I just put around the leads in case they accidentally touch each other. The chances of that happening are slim, but in cases where you are pushing the crossover back in to the back of the cabinet, you might accidentally push things around and cross wires.

Not likely though - just a "better safe than sorry" measure.

 

[xoaphexox]

Dumb question, maybe, but do these instructions work for the 100 watt models as well??

The instructions are the same but the values might be different - I can't speak for the 100W model because I don't own them. Hopefully someone that does can chime in.

 

[davidb]

Mine are 100w and they were the same.

 

[onwardjames]

Caps are ordered, and soldering gun is warm!

Thanks for chiming in guys..

Shrink-wrapping the leads reminds me of our engineer at the radio station I worked for many years. The man was a god with a soldering iron. Simply amazing. I just make a mess, but hopefully I can pull this off. Is a hot glue gun okay to "mount" the caps?? I guess they can take the heat...??

 

[mrkoder]

Thanks for the tips! If these know-how threads are ever compiled into books, I hope their authors get some commission

OK. Sorry to bring this thread out of the (possible) dead, but... It was mentioned that 0.15uF cap is electrolytic (I assume it's non-polarized), but the substitute is "plain" metalized polypropylene, judging by partsexpress item description... Is that a correct substitute or it doesn't matter much?

I did some amp recapping, but speakers, with their types of caps, are sort of new to me.

 

[xoaphexox]

If the metalized polypropylene capacitor is not prohibitively large I will use it in place of a bipolar electrolytic mostly because the cap will outlive me (as opposed to using another electroltyic); secondly because I believe they offer better sonics. As I have no way to subjectively prove the latter, it's still conjecture.

 

[mrkoder]

Thanks for reply! That's a good to know info.

 

[bluesky]

Thanks guys!! I plan on rebuilding the crossovers in my 2 pair of Sansui
SP-2000s. It's good to hear (and see!) how you did it. Thanks so much!!!

 

[EVGuy]

I just found this thread. Excellent writeup! I had mine re-capped about a year ago by a guy known mainly for working on Klipsch xovers. It looks like he used two of the 3.0uf plus the 1.5 instead of the 4.3uf, 3.0uf and 1.5uf. He also connected the 1.5uf to one of the 3.0uf. Is this going to make a big difference? I see he also did not replace the resistor. Will that have an impact also?

 

[xoaphexox]

Putting capacitors in parallel like that is no big deal. The crossover point for the woofer might be slightly different on paper because of the .2uf difference, but since there is a 10% or so tolerance on those caps I dont think the difference would be noticible.

Also, the resistor swapout is not necessary unless the one in your crossovers was out of tolerance (usually from insane volume levels or heat).

I assume your guy checked for that, especially because he appears to have a reputation for reworking crossovers.

So in summation, no, I don't think the differences will amount to an audible difference! Enjoy!

 

[xoaphexox]

One thing, though... was the electrolytic capacitor replaced? The smaller the cap the faster they tend to dry out. I cant get a good look at it. You might want to ask your guy.

 

[EVGuy]

One thing, though... was the electrolytic capacitor replaced? The smaller the cap the faster they tend to dry out. I cant get a good look at it. You might want to ask your guy.

Are you talking about the small one? Here's a better pic of that one. It appears to be original. In your pics, you show the old one removed but you don't mention it in your replacement parts or am I missing something. I know nothing about this as you may have already figured out.

 

[Spectrum77]

Am taking the plunge and doing this as my first recapping project. May I ask opinions on this selection of electronics that is available to me as alternatives to the ones suggested? Can anyone see any problems/sonic differences? Thanks.
2x 027-419 Dayton DMPC-4.3 4.3uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor
PCX: 4.3uf SOLEN PB 400V SOLEN-62366
2x 027-220 Dayton PMPC-3.0 3.0uF 250V Precision Audio Capacitor
PCX: 3.0uf SOLEN PB 400V
2x 027-462 Jantzen 0.15uF 1200V Z-Superior Capacitor
PCX: 0.15uf MUNDORF Supreme 01.15uf 1200V MUNDORF-70319

 

[xoaphexox]

Are you talking about the small one? Here's a better pic of that one. It appears to be original. In your pics, you show the old one removed but you don't mention it in your replacement parts or am I missing something. I know nothing about this as you may have already figured out.

Yes, I mentioned it. Its the 0.15uF capacitor. That capacitor should be replaced simply due to the fact that it is an electrolytic capacitor and the most prone to age and heat death.

Since the original is real small and the replacement is real big, it looks like its "piggybacking" on top of the other capacitor in my photo. If you look closely though you will see that the leads go to the area on the circuit where the little 'lytic cap used to be.