Hi - New to this forum.
Recently picked up a nice pair of Valencias in good working order and with nice cosmetics.
They sound great, however the N-800 crossover should be rebuilt with new caps and possibly upgraded also.
Seeking recommendations from this community on best approach - rebuild the N-800 or replace with a new crossover?
Does anyone have experience with replacement crossovers from Werner Jagusch in Germany?
Jagusch.jpg
I haven't purchased a crossover from him but did purchase a pair of his autoformers which are used in his crossovers. The quality is excellent, shipping and communication was speedy and he provided schematics of how to use/wire into a crossover. As stated he uses an autoformer in his crossovers to match output levels which is far superior in my opinion to the L-pad used on the Valencia.
I answered this question in depth over on AK and posted a pic of a naked N800F crossover. This unit uses a pot/rheostat and fixed resistor, not a rotary L-pad.
Although I agree that those audioformers look extremely nice, I'd be tempted to use a fixed resistive L pad and bypass the series resistor with a cap for a touch of welcome 6dB HF boost.
But I want a pr of those autoformers!
Whereof we cannot speak, thereof we must remain silent --Wittgenstein
Installed the Werner Jagusch XOs for the Valencias and have found that the speakers have clarity and resolution instead of murk and mud. There is also better bass slam. Overall a huge improvement and highly recommended.xo.jpg
thanks for the follow-up on the WJ crossovers. It looks like there are various taps on the coils. I assume this allows for selecting the XO frequency?
- Mike
The taps provide attenuation for the tweeter to match output levels of the woofer and tweeter.Originally Posted by Alien_Shore
Hello,
Performance for FREE.
Those two black tie wraps in the photo, on the bottom inductor, need to be cut off and thrown away!! NEVER bundle wires like that, to make it " look neat" ( and sellable to the unknowing consumer ) as it IS a sonic degrade. The degrade amount depends upon the resolution of your entire system.
So, cut off the tie wraps, and do NOT let those leads going to the terminal block, touch each other.
Amps and crossovers should NEVER employ neatly bundled wires, its the audio K.O.D. or Kiss Of Death !!
Also, when two audio wires cross each other, it is best practice to do your lay - out so they cross at right angles to each other, ( and not touching each other ) whenever possible.
Have fun, I certainly do !!!
Low Ohms ..... Jeff Medwin
Last edited by LowOhms; February 20th, 2017 at 10:43 AM.
Ed,
I would go SLOW and conservative.
Tell us about your audio system. Are you using really good electronics on the speakers? Tube, solid state amplifier.?? Do you have a good " front end" in your system ( music source ).??
The film caps in a stock crossover for-sure always require an upgrade, due to degradation, and the fact that better capacitors are available today, and some high performing ones, at NON audiophile prices. I would replace the caps in the stock crossover, before spending money on a fancy German total crossover replacement unit. Go slow.
The VERY first thing I would do is a really high quality rewire of the system, starting with the amplifier's output, to the crossover, and then, crossover to the Valencias individual drivers. What is the good of spending a lot of money on an " audiophile" crossover, if the entire speaker's wire chain is CRUMMY ???
There is a current thread on some ( way way too small ) Belden 16 AWG " speaker " wire, right on this front page. Go down to my post in that particular thread, I think its number five, where I outline EXACTLY what to do, for a high " bang-for-the-dollar " rewiring of any ALTEC speaker. I did not address the crossover rewiring, and surely that may need some thought, or be approached intuitively for now, as part of the total upgrade.
" No need to do a heart transplant, when the patient's veins and arteries are all clogged up !!! " Its a system, all inter-related.
If you have any questions, contact me. Glad to assist. Welcome to ALTEC land, and wait till you hear it idealized !!
Jeff Medwin
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