HELP!!! Speaker Cables for Monitor Audio RS8 system

[Anonymous]

Hi, Trevor,

I have problems with Vishays availability - the local company I have ordered them from does not guarantee delivery within nearest future so I will try a litlle bit different approach. I found the following info in forums:

"...I just did some listening and
spectral decay of Mundorf M-cap capacitors in 2 designs with the
following bypass capacitors added to each capacitor in series with the
tweeter and midrange drivers.the spectral decay showed small changes to
each one measured.Listening results were the Mundorf Supreme capacitors
with Silver/Gold and oil .01 bypass capacitors added to the Supreme
capacitors. These are by far the most enriching yet not compressing
blend of caps I have found.

Here is what I tested for bypass caps added to Mundorf M-cap capacitors

Dayton .01uf

Sonicap GenII .1uf

Sonicap Platinum .01

Mundorf supreme .1uf

Mundorf Silver/Oil .01

Mundorf Silver/Gold and Oil .01uf

Auricap .01

Money no object!

Mundorf Supreme capacitors

then add Mundorf Silver/Gold and oil .01 bypass caps to each series capacitor."

I have ordered Mundorf Supreme silver/gold/oil 1200 VDC 0.01 uF, however only 2pcs (as they are extremely expensive) to use them as bypass caps for tweeter 6.8uF caps. I will write about my impressions upon upgrade completion.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

ag777:
Hi, Trevor,

I have problems with Vishays availability - the local company I have ordered them from does not guarantee delivery within nearest future so I will try a litlle bit different approach. I found the following info in forums:

"...I just did some listening and
spectral decay of Mundorf M-cap capacitors in 2 designs with the
following bypass capacitors added to each capacitor in series with the
tweeter and midrange drivers.the spectral decay showed small changes to
each one measured.Listening results were the Mundorf Supreme capacitors
with Silver/Gold and oil .01 bypass capacitors added to the Supreme
capacitors. These are by far the most enriching yet not compressing
blend of caps I have found.

Here is what I tested for bypass caps added to Mundorf M-cap capacitors

Dayton .01uf

Sonicap GenII .1uf

Sonicap Platinum .01

Mundorf supreme .1uf

Mundorf Silver/Oil .01

Mundorf Silver/Gold and Oil .01uf

Auricap .01

Money no object!

Mundorf Supreme capacitors

then add Mundorf Silver/Gold and oil .01 bypass caps to each series capacitor."

I have ordered Mundorf Supreme silver/gold/oil 1200 VDC 0.01 uF, however only 2pcs (as they are extremely expensive) to use them as bypass caps for tweeter 6.8uF caps. I will write about my impressions upon upgrade completion.

Whereabouts do you live ag? Fancy doing my RS6s??!

 

[Anonymous]

The cost....Ouch!

Vishay MKP1837's are only around £1 each, Farnells is in Leeds where I live, which is where I bought mine (packs of 10).

What part of the world are you in?

 

[Gerrardasnails]

trevor79:The cost....Ouch!

Vishay MKP1837's are only around £1 each, Farnells is in Leeds where I live, which is where I bought mine (packs of 10).

What part of the world are you in?

I'm assuming the last question was for me Trev. I live in Surrey - quite near Leeds Castle but nowhere near you unfortunately.

 

[Anonymous]

Hello Gerrard, It was ag I was replying to, wondering if he lives outside the UK.
But it's nice to touch base with you as well.

 

[Anonymous]

Gentlemen, I live in Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

 

[Anonymous]

I have just finished bypassing Mundorf Supremes (6.8uF tweeter cap) with Mundorf Silver/Gold 0.01uF (not Silver/Gold/Oil - availabillity issues). Great improvement, maybe greater than from original Monitor Audio Caps replacement for Mundorf Supremes. Clear and transparent highs, very detailed and at the same time natural sound with no trace of my "old" RS8s harshness and excessive brightness.

 

[Anonymous]

Excellent!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi!

I have replaced MOX resistor 1.8 Ohm for Duelund carbon/silver 10W 1.8 Ohm (http://www.duelundaudio.com/Resistors.asp). I strongly recommend to do the same thing - sound quality increase will be equal or even greater than from all previous upgrades!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the tip, the only thing I didn't replace!

Getting them ordered now.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi! You will definitely feel the difference! My first replace was Jantzen MOX, however Duelunds have made sound exquisite and refined.

 

[Big Chris]

Gerrardasnails:trevor79:The cost....Ouch!

Vishay MKP1837's are only around £1 each, Farnells is in Leeds where I live, which is where I bought mine (packs of 10).

What part of the world are you in?

I'm assuming the last question was for me Trev. I live in Surrey - quite near Leeds Castle but nowhere near you unfortunately.

I always thought Leeds Castle was in Kent....... You live and you learn......

 

[Craig M.]

how many leeds castles are there?

trevor, all this talk of modifications and positive comments from others after trying them, well, who wouldn't be intrigued? i've had a poke about the net but can't find any info from anyone who has modded atc speakers, which makes it seem a bit of a risk to do. is it possible to construct a new crossover, and then bypass the one inside for comparison? and assuming there is an improvement worth giving up the warranty for, then replace the complete standard crossover with the new and improved one?

 

[Anonymous]

Just 1 Leeds castle and that is in Kent.

Modding or replacing the speaker crossovers is not too hard to do. I would always recommend you get the circuit diagrams off the manufacture to work with as it is important to replace with the same values, or as close to them as you can get.

It is well worth while building a new crossover unit on ply board as you can do a straight forward replacement.

Massive improvements to speakers can be made by using better components of the same values in new crossover units.
Clarity Cap SA's, Mundorf Foil M-Coils (oxygen free copper)and Resistors and Vishay MKP 1837's for by passing are my favourites at the moment.
Along with long haired wool for damping and decent internal wiring.

I have not run standard crossovers in any of my speakers now for 20 years, it makes the choice of upgrading tough though as they are just so, so good when modified.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Big Chris:Gerrardasnails:trevor79:The cost....Ouch!

Vishay MKP1837's are only around £1 each, Farnells is in Leeds where I live, which is where I bought mine (packs of 10).

What part of the world are you in?

I'm assuming the last question was for me Trev. I live in Surrey - quite near Leeds Castle but nowhere near you unfortunately.

I always thought Leeds Castle was in Kent....... You live and you learn......

It is in Kent but I'm only one junction on the M25 away from Kent, even though I'm in Surrey.

 

[Anonymous]

Guys I have question, one which the only people who have actually seen the crossover diagram can answer.

Assuming I want to bi-amp the speakers, which driver units are connected to the inputs? The tweeters obviously connect to the "Hi", what about the mid-bass and bass woofers? Are both units connected to the "Low"?

A copy of the crosover unit diagram would be a big help.

regards

 

[Anonymous]

Tweeter and mid attached to the top, with the bass units only to the bottom.

Have mine bi-amped. (200w x 2 per speaker)

Phone MA up for speaker wiring diagram, they will post you it out.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi guys, I am about to start the same project on my s8's, I will be applying VISHAY bypass do I connect it to the + and - of the Claritycaps that I'll be using.

I.E use the VISHAY's to bridge the SA's pins when I solder the Claritycaps to my board.

Kind regards

john

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, as you describe.

 

[Anonymous]

I called MA to try and get them to send me a copy of the cross-over wiring diagram and they would not - maybe they were too lazy. I spoke to MA in Canada as I live in the US. If anyone manages to get one can you please post it on this forum?

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Trevor (or anyone else)

How would the sound be affected if I used a 5.6 uf cap instead of the 6.8uf that you used in your mod?

thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Happy New Year to everybody.

I will dig my wiring diagram out, you might have to wait a few days though.

Personally I would not deviate off the values I have used. Use the following table to calculate the cross over filters.
www.apicsllc.com/apics/Misc/filter2.html

Hope that helps

 

[Anonymous]

Hi guys,

I recently bought a home theatre system with the RS8's at the front. I was searching the net for ways to reduce the harshness (overbrightness) of the top end of the RS8's and came across this forum. Having read this thread, I must admit that I am confused as to the different ways to upgrade the crossover capacitors. There is mention of the Clarity Cap and Mundorf capacitors and the Vishay bypasses. Are these different levels of upgrades? Are we always talking about upgrading the 2 capacitors per speaker, or can one upgrade more components?

Basically, I find my RS8's too bright. What would be the best way to reduce this brightness? (Actually, they are too bright only when listening to CDs - with movies they sound great) Would the Clarity Cap SA do the job? Are there capacitors that would do an overall better job?

Thank you

 

[Anonymous]

Trevor, you have inspired me to upgrade the crossovers in my RS8's and RSLCR. If you don't mind, I'd lke to confirm with you the components (and their values) you recommend. The codes in brackets are order codes from www.hificollective.co.uk.

Capacitors:

Per RS8:

Clarity Cap SA, 1 x 3.9 uF (CCSA230)

Clarity Cap SA , 1 x 6.8 uF (CCSA300) - How come you did not use a 6.2uF cap as it is closer to the original value of 6uF?

Coils:

L2 coils: Mundorf M-Coil Aronit-core coils (BA140)

L3/L4 coils: Mundorf Foil M-Coil (CFC-14)

Resistors:

Which one for the RS8's:

Mundorf M-Resist Supreme, 1.8 Ohm, 20 Watts (MRES20-040), or

Duelund Graphite Silver, 1.8 Ohm, 10 Watts (DUELR-040)

Probably would not be much difference, would there?

Bypasses (one per capacitor):

Vishay MKP1837.

My main goal with this upgrade is not only to improve sound quality but, in particular, eliminate the harshness/brightness of the RS8's. Will the upgrade do the job?

In one of your posts you mention that you need to "Net Flux and tin" the replacement caps. What does that mean and how do you do it?

Where do you place the long-haired wool and where can I buy some?

I currently use Kimber 8VS speaker cable (single run). Do you think it is worth upgrading the cables? How come you use QED SA for the lows and not some 8TC cable?

Sorry for bombarding you with all these questions! I am really anxious to start this project!!

I look forward to receiving your advice!

Iason

 

[Anonymous]

ag777:I have just finished bypassing Mundorf Supremes (6.8uF tweeter cap) with Mundorf Silver/Gold 0.01uF (not Silver/Gold/Oil - availabillity issues). Great improvement, maybe greater than from original Monitor Audio Caps replacement for Mundorf Supremes. Clear and transparent highs, very detailed and at the same time natural sound with no trace of my "old" RS8s harshness and excessive brightness.

Which of the components you upgraded do you think contributed the most to removing the harshness and excessive brightness of the RS8's? I am going to use Mundorf coils but was wondering if it was worth going for the Mundorf M-Cap Supremes instead of the Clarity Cap SA's...