To twist or not to twist

[johnsonad]

That is my question

I'm going to recap the crossovers in my Altec Model 19's and use new wires to the drivers. Should the wire going to the drivers be twisted or seperate as they were factory, loose in the cabs?

Thanks,

Aaron

[bowtie427ss]

That is my question

I'm going to recap the crossovers in my Altec Model 19's and use new wires to the drivers. Should the wire going to the drivers be twisted or seperate as they were factory, loose in the cabs?

Thanks,

Aaron

Twisting pairs reduces EMI. The audible effects will be insignificant at the very most. But, twisted pairs look neater, and IMO, make the venture worthwhile on that basis alone.

[voice of the theater]

That is my question

I'm going to recap the crossovers in my Altec Model 19's and use new wires to the drivers. Should the wire going to the drivers be twisted or seperate as they were factory, loose in the cabs?

Thanks,

Aaron

I've recapped my Model 19's but kept the original wiring. Maybe I should consider replacing that old wiring too in all of my Altecs that I've recapped. What kind of wire are you using and what kind of caps?

[Old Guy]

Twisting pairs reduces EMI. The audible effects will be insignificant at the very most. But, twisted pairs look neater, and IMO, make the venture worthwhile on that basis alone.

Spot on. The only thing I could add is the longer the wire run, more chance of EMI. So a foot and a half run will not be noticeable. It MIGHT be noticeable on a very long run. Largest variable- is EMI an issue in tour area? If you live a block from a radio station...

[Altec Best]

Good luck with the recap.I think you will like the difference.If you have an early pair you may want to do the ground bypass mods as well.

[johnsonad]

I've recapped my Model 19's but kept the original wiring. Maybe I should consider replacing that old wiring too in all of my Altecs that I've recapped. What kind of wire are you using and what kind of caps?

The choice of wire seems to be a very debated topic on this forum. I have a stash of Neotech 20g solid core wire which I'm planning to use. The caps are the new Jantzen Cross-Caps. So far they received good reviews and have values a little closer than other brands.

[johnsonad]

Thanks everyone, I'll twist the wires. As of now I don't have any EMI issues but who knows after the next move.....

[voice of the theater]

The choice of wire seems to be a very debated topic on this forum. I have a stash of Neotech 20g solid core wire which I'm planning to use. The caps are the new Jantzen Cross-Caps. So far they received good reviews and have values a little closer than other brands.

I would not settle for values that are close. I used Solen "fast caps" (recommended by Bill @ GPA as well as others) and was able to find exact values. I'm not saying Solen are the best, but I think it's important to find exact values even if you have to wire multiple caps together to obtain the correct value. Altec Best is right about the "ground modification" too--that's important to do if your crossovers are from the 70's--from what I understand the very last Model 19's made in the 80's had the ground modification already done at the factory AFAIK......

[Altec Best]

Yes to reiterate on the values.A 21uF cap will be difficult to find.Nobody makes them anymore except for large quanity special orders.So all you do is parallel a 10 & a 11 uF cap to reach the 21 uF value and so on.Best of luck with it.To show you some caps paralleled,here are mine done awhile back.


FWIW- Stranded wire is used a lot because it is easier to work with.I used 14awg high strand count 105.

[mah]

Be aware that components are subject to manufacturing tolerances. +/- 5% is a good figure for affordable capacitors - giving a range of approx. 19 to 21uF for a nominal 20uF cap.

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