jbl 4410a recap - which caps?

chrisinsc

Active Member
The crossovers on these have 12 caps each and by the time I buy sonicap gen 1 caps for both I will have spent more than the initial investment!

What is the best low cost solution here?
 
On Parts Express, look at Daytons, Audyns, Jantzen Standards, Jantzen Cross-Caps and Solens. You will find the pricing to be fairly comparable among those lines. For values over 18uF or so, maybe look at the Parts Express nonpolarized electrolytic caps; the film caps in those values are huge and more expensive.

Note that the film caps are going to be bigger than the electrolytics they're replacing.

http://www.parts-express.com/search...able","1")]&Ntt=dayton*+capacitor*&PortalID=1
 
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So it looks like the six .01uf per speaker are ceramic and possibly dont need to be replaced.

Also it looks like one of the 3.0uf and the 6.0uf are film capacitors and the last four are electrolytic.

Am I on the right track in thinking if the factory specd those two film capacitors that I should put the highest quality replacements there if I were inclined?
 
So it looks like the six .01uf per speaker are ceramic and possibly dont need to be replaced.

Also it looks like one of the 3.0uf and the 6.0uf are film capacitors and the last four are electrolytic.

Am I on the right track in thinking if the factory specd those two film capacitors that I should put the highest quality replacements there if I were inclined?


First off, those are not ceramic, that type has no place in a crossover.
The most likely reason the 3 and the 6uF caps are film is because smaller values are cheaper, so they could afford to put film there. I would replace them all with the same type of cap depending on budget for the larger caps.
 
Do the speakers sound bad now or are you replacing caps because its the "popular" thing to do? Lots of "replace the caps" crap on the internet, and frankly, if its not sounding bad, its not worth the effort. I have replaced caps in speaker cross-over networks, but only if they're way out of spec.

Do what you think.
 
Look for an image of the 4410a crossover. There are six white ceramic looking capacitors mounted on the board. I am just relaying what I saw there. I did not take pictures of mine when I had the drivers out fixing the wiring and repairing a tweeter lead (major pita soldering thinest wire ever).

I am comparing them to newly recapped klipsch chorus iis with titanium tweeters and they sound muted and nowhere near as open as the klipsch at the same spl.
 
I looked again. Looks like white plastic housings for .01uf caps not ceramic.
 
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I'd just replace the four electrolytics if you want to get bang for your buck; they do tend to age and build up resistance; see:

http://www.critesspeakers.com/frequently-asked-questions.html

Get new nonpolarized electrolytics or, if they're not too huge or expensive, film caps. The voltage rating on the new ones may be higher but that's fine; it just means they can handle more power.
 
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I'd just replace the four electrolytics if you want to get bang for your buck; they do tend to age and build up resistance. Get new nonpolarized electrolytics or, if they're not too huge or expensive, film caps. The voltage rating on the new ones may be higher but that's fine; it just means they can handle more power.

I think I'll start there and report back. Thanks again.
 
Nice link to crites' site. I read that when I got his rebuild kits for the chorus iis and the heresy iis. I think I was in a situation where both sets of speakers had tired components. I fixed one set and it showed the faults in the other set both played through the same amp and cables etc. At least I hope so else the jbls are getting sold.
 
Can you do one side and then report back as to your perception of the changes, if any?
 
Can you do one side and then report back as to your perception of the changes, if any?

I will do this.

Dayton has 1% caps for all the electrolytics though I need double up to get to 17uf. They have direct values for the rest.
 
This is interesting to me as well. I have a pair of 4410 monitors that I have had since new. They still sound just fine, but I haven't heard a pair or read review where they had been recapped.
 
.01 uF Caps

JBL was big on the bypass capacitors, which is a source of debate here. What's not up for debate is how cheap one would have to be not to replace a 99 cent capacitor while you've got everything all torn apart. It's easy enough to measure for capacitance, but as Zonker once pointed out to me, it's quite a big deal to measure the increased Equivalent Series Resistance that caps get over time.
That 99 cents buys you a Dayton Film and Foil (regarded as the thing for bypass caps) capacitor. 12 bucks for both is pretty cheap peace of mind. If you need to skimp to save a few bucks, do it in the low-pass woofer leg of the circuit. Woof benefits least from having nice big polypropylene capacitors. Non-polarized electrolytics cost a small fraction as much.
The AMT's in the avatar sounded fine, but I regarded the caps like tires on an old vehicle - a wear item that would need replacing after 40 years even if Grandma rarely drove the car. My hunch paid off as the difference was immediately noticeable. I'm not sure if it had to do with the replacement or upgrade from electrolytic to polypropylene. I know amounts are relative, but it was worth the $150 (replace banana terminal, fuse holder and added a Speak-On connector as well) to my ear.
 
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Thanks Porkloin, from the DIY point of view the selection of reasonable parts for the job is that hardest part of this hobby. You make a good argument. I put my parts order in yesterday and went to 5% caps and did not order .01's or replace the already film caps in each crossover. I will order the .01's. You make a lot of sense.

I am also trying to put a test plan together as I have a good mic, a stand and laptops etc. Just looking for freeware now to help generate a tone sweep and something to make sense of the samples I record before and after.
 
I am also trying to put a test plan together as I have a good mic, a stand and laptops etc. Just looking for freeware now to help generate a tone sweep and something to make sense of the samples I record before and after.

More interested in what your ears tell you. Same mono source to each speaker (stock old and after re-cap). Should be a pretty easy A—B comparison as source, position, and volume should be stable. I'd listen to at least a whole selection or track before switching speakers.

Charts and graphs would tell if anything changed but I'll trust what your ears tell you, in this case.
:thmbsp:
 
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