audiodon
Addicted Member
Hi,
I have recently recapped two pairs of British speakers with crossover kits from Falcon Acoustics.
1. KEF 104AB
2. Rogers JR-149
I am not affiliated with Falcon Acoustics. I simply like the lack of colo(u)ration of British speakers. I will say that I cut my audio teeth on developing a love of audio from exposure to Chartwell LS3/5As, Quad ESL-57s, and KEF 105s in the late 1970s.
I ordered my kits from the Falcon Acoustics website. There was a change in the website between my first and second order. When I ordered my first crossover recap kit for the KEF 104ABs in late October 2014, it wasn't obvious to me that a single order provided enough capacitors for a full pair of speakers. Therefore I ordered two and, when the package arrived, discovered that I had enough caps for four crossovers. No wonder it was so expensive. Of course, being a cap and tube roller, I had budgeted in advance for this to be real money, but at the end of the project I will say I'm pleasantly surprised with the relative affordability of these cap packages.
What I found:
It took approximately 10 business days each time before I received my Royal Mail packages from the UK in Boston. The packages came in bubble-wrap envelopes with the capacitors loosely packed in a plastic bag. Enclosed in both cases was a note saying to consult my email for additional information. The last email I'd received was on the date of order.
I tested the first package on both of my cap testers. I have a handy dandy little digital cap tester and a Heathkit tuning eye type cap tester. What I found was precisely what Falcon Acoustics had stated up front: The caps are all measured and their values are very close relative to each other, rather than very close to the exact center value of the rated caps.
When I ordered my KEF 104AB cap kits, I ordered the 2% kits. So, what I got was that, for example, all of my 3uf caps were with 1% of each other, but were within 2% of 3uf. As a restorer kind of person, I've felt for a long time when hand-matching resistors for both channels of a stereo component that it's not the exact value that makes the most sense, it's the variation from one channel to the other. So, when matching for two 1.8k resistors, if one reads 1.74k, I make sure the one for the other channel reads about 1.74k also. So, a big checkmark for that.
After installing the caps in one KEF 104AB and trying it out, my impression was that the change was unremarkable, in the best possible way. Nothing stood out. I then installed the caps in the other crossover, put the speakers back together, adding some backing seal to the speaker baskets to make the enclosures tight in the non-ported enclosures, and then promptly set them up in my office system, as seen in this thread where I review the speakers. Scroll down a few posts to see my contribution: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=621261&page=2
My overall impression at the start, and after 200 hours of operation on the 104ABs remains the same. The midrange is smoother, the transition from woofer to tweeter (KEF B200 to T-27 in the case of the 104ABs and KEF B110 to T-27 in the case of the JR-149s) is entirely smooth and transparent. I was not aware that it was not before, but I am aware of the difference now. The bass was extended, but not in a noticeable way, and the tweeters were as smooth and sweet with none of the low treble harshness that T-27s are capable of when crossed into too low or the crossover has problems.
I liken the difference, subjectively, to listening to a CD on a good player and then listening to a vinyl record of the same performance on a good turntable in a good system. Allowing for the differences in the media, and in the mastering required to format for the media, the vinyl comes across more smoothly.
My experience with the 104ABs was positive enough to order another kit for my JR-149s.
When I returned to the website in December, I noticed that it had been refreshed and it was obvious now that each kit was for a pair of speakers. That is, it was directly stated that the kit was for a PAIR of speakers. Of course it's possible that I simply missed that when ordering the first time around, but I went back and checked the KEF 104AB kit, and it now states that one kit is required for a set. That's in bold at the end of the explanation of the set.
My experience with the recapped JR-149s is similar to my experience with the 104aBs. It's just better. These speakers are one of my favorite ugly duckling speakers. I've brought them to the last couple of local AK get-togethers so I can experience the look on people's faces when they hear them. The speakers can be seen in this post. See photos #4 and 5 in this post: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=8220132&postcount=3
My jaw remains hinged. It has not dropped on the floor like some Tex Avery cartoon character's jaw would. I have not howled like a coyote. My eyes have not popped out of my head. My tongue has not flapped like a roller shade strung too tight and suddenly released. My bowtie has not spun like a propeller. However, I have made an investment in two pairs of speakers and I am satisfied with the results of that investment of both my money, and my time, in the improvement of my listening experience. On the 149s in particular, having lived with them and having enjoyed them for a couple of years (thanks JohnVF, wherever you are) I am surprised at the noticeable improvement in them.
A check of the website today shows that the prices without VAT if you are outside of Europe are now included. It used to be that you had to wait until you were getting your final invoice to see if VAT had been removed. That's a relief.
I won't say that this website is like any top line e-commerce site. You have to know what you're looking for and you have to read everything because it's kind of an in-the-trade parts ordering site. If you are savvy and capable and not hurried, it's a fabulous place to perk up your vintage British speakers. Oh, and don't look first in the Crossovers, Network, Filters section unless you mean to replace all components in the crossover. Look in the Replacement Capacitor Sets section of the website first. The caps may be blue-bodied non-polarized Alcaps for the mostpart, but the brains behind the site designed many crossovers for the great British companies and knows what is important in crossover upgrades.
Best of luck and I hope your experience is as positive as mine was.
I have recently recapped two pairs of British speakers with crossover kits from Falcon Acoustics.
1. KEF 104AB
2. Rogers JR-149
I am not affiliated with Falcon Acoustics. I simply like the lack of colo(u)ration of British speakers. I will say that I cut my audio teeth on developing a love of audio from exposure to Chartwell LS3/5As, Quad ESL-57s, and KEF 105s in the late 1970s.
I ordered my kits from the Falcon Acoustics website. There was a change in the website between my first and second order. When I ordered my first crossover recap kit for the KEF 104ABs in late October 2014, it wasn't obvious to me that a single order provided enough capacitors for a full pair of speakers. Therefore I ordered two and, when the package arrived, discovered that I had enough caps for four crossovers. No wonder it was so expensive. Of course, being a cap and tube roller, I had budgeted in advance for this to be real money, but at the end of the project I will say I'm pleasantly surprised with the relative affordability of these cap packages.
What I found:
It took approximately 10 business days each time before I received my Royal Mail packages from the UK in Boston. The packages came in bubble-wrap envelopes with the capacitors loosely packed in a plastic bag. Enclosed in both cases was a note saying to consult my email for additional information. The last email I'd received was on the date of order.
I tested the first package on both of my cap testers. I have a handy dandy little digital cap tester and a Heathkit tuning eye type cap tester. What I found was precisely what Falcon Acoustics had stated up front: The caps are all measured and their values are very close relative to each other, rather than very close to the exact center value of the rated caps.
When I ordered my KEF 104AB cap kits, I ordered the 2% kits. So, what I got was that, for example, all of my 3uf caps were with 1% of each other, but were within 2% of 3uf. As a restorer kind of person, I've felt for a long time when hand-matching resistors for both channels of a stereo component that it's not the exact value that makes the most sense, it's the variation from one channel to the other. So, when matching for two 1.8k resistors, if one reads 1.74k, I make sure the one for the other channel reads about 1.74k also. So, a big checkmark for that.
After installing the caps in one KEF 104AB and trying it out, my impression was that the change was unremarkable, in the best possible way. Nothing stood out. I then installed the caps in the other crossover, put the speakers back together, adding some backing seal to the speaker baskets to make the enclosures tight in the non-ported enclosures, and then promptly set them up in my office system, as seen in this thread where I review the speakers. Scroll down a few posts to see my contribution: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=621261&page=2
My overall impression at the start, and after 200 hours of operation on the 104ABs remains the same. The midrange is smoother, the transition from woofer to tweeter (KEF B200 to T-27 in the case of the 104ABs and KEF B110 to T-27 in the case of the JR-149s) is entirely smooth and transparent. I was not aware that it was not before, but I am aware of the difference now. The bass was extended, but not in a noticeable way, and the tweeters were as smooth and sweet with none of the low treble harshness that T-27s are capable of when crossed into too low or the crossover has problems.
I liken the difference, subjectively, to listening to a CD on a good player and then listening to a vinyl record of the same performance on a good turntable in a good system. Allowing for the differences in the media, and in the mastering required to format for the media, the vinyl comes across more smoothly.
My experience with the 104ABs was positive enough to order another kit for my JR-149s.
When I returned to the website in December, I noticed that it had been refreshed and it was obvious now that each kit was for a pair of speakers. That is, it was directly stated that the kit was for a PAIR of speakers. Of course it's possible that I simply missed that when ordering the first time around, but I went back and checked the KEF 104AB kit, and it now states that one kit is required for a set. That's in bold at the end of the explanation of the set.
My experience with the recapped JR-149s is similar to my experience with the 104aBs. It's just better. These speakers are one of my favorite ugly duckling speakers. I've brought them to the last couple of local AK get-togethers so I can experience the look on people's faces when they hear them. The speakers can be seen in this post. See photos #4 and 5 in this post: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=8220132&postcount=3
My jaw remains hinged. It has not dropped on the floor like some Tex Avery cartoon character's jaw would. I have not howled like a coyote. My eyes have not popped out of my head. My tongue has not flapped like a roller shade strung too tight and suddenly released. My bowtie has not spun like a propeller. However, I have made an investment in two pairs of speakers and I am satisfied with the results of that investment of both my money, and my time, in the improvement of my listening experience. On the 149s in particular, having lived with them and having enjoyed them for a couple of years (thanks JohnVF, wherever you are) I am surprised at the noticeable improvement in them.
A check of the website today shows that the prices without VAT if you are outside of Europe are now included. It used to be that you had to wait until you were getting your final invoice to see if VAT had been removed. That's a relief.
I won't say that this website is like any top line e-commerce site. You have to know what you're looking for and you have to read everything because it's kind of an in-the-trade parts ordering site. If you are savvy and capable and not hurried, it's a fabulous place to perk up your vintage British speakers. Oh, and don't look first in the Crossovers, Network, Filters section unless you mean to replace all components in the crossover. Look in the Replacement Capacitor Sets section of the website first. The caps may be blue-bodied non-polarized Alcaps for the mostpart, but the brains behind the site designed many crossovers for the great British companies and knows what is important in crossover upgrades.
Best of luck and I hope your experience is as positive as mine was.
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