Hello all,
I bought a replacement capacitor kit for the crossovers in my Kef 104/2 speakers.
I purchased the kit from Falcon Acoustics, and they matched all my old capacitors for value except for two 50u/100v caps. They did not send any 50s, however they did send two 120u/100v. I'm assuming I am supposed to use these in place of the 50u caps. For those of you familiar with these crossovers, the 50u caps are in position C10 on the schematic.
Does anyone know I could plug these in where the 50s were, or that is too much of a value change?
I would/ will take this up with Falcon, however I have read here, and elsewhere, that they are not very good with email replies.
Asking for advice here, thanks in advance.
Dan.
I bought a replacement capacitor kit for the crossovers in my Kef 104/2 speakers.
I purchased the kit from Falcon Acoustics, and they matched all my old capacitors for value except for two 50u/100v caps. They did not send any 50s, however they did send two 120u/100v. I'm assuming I am supposed to use these in place of the 50u caps. For those of you familiar with these crossovers, the 50u caps are in position C10 on the schematic.
Does anyone know I could plug these in where the 50s were, or that is too much of a value change?
I would/ will take this up with Falcon, however I have read here, and elsewhere, that they are not very good with email replies.
Asking for advice here, thanks in advance.
Dan.
For those not familiar, the crossover schematic is available here: KEF 104/2 Loudspeaker Crossover Circuit Diagram
No, changing those 50μ values to 120μ will dramatically change the roll off. You need to use the correct size.
Thank you Galu, and Zuhl. I will stick to the original value. I also sent an email to Falcon, we'll see if they email back.
Did you check the old caps? They might have been just fine. And you will have to replace them with quite exact values, so measuring old and new ones would-be almost obligatory.
Having restored a pair of these exact speakers, I can say this: replace all the caps. They go out of spec, and actually added some distortion. Perhaps they were starting to act as semiconductors.
When finished and paired with a suitable amplifier (they're not a particularly friendly load), they sound rather good. Modern designs get lower into the bass, but apart from that I wouldn't have any complaints.
Chris
When finished and paired with a suitable amplifier (they're not a particularly friendly load), they sound rather good. Modern designs get lower into the bass, but apart from that I wouldn't have any complaints.
Chris
hi chris:
just curious why you say this:
one of the appeals of them to me (I've had a pair since the 1980s) is that they present essentially a 4-ohm resistive load.
resistive-looking loads are easier on amps and I am "guessing" (yeah, I know 😉 ) that anyone who has a pair of these speakers would know better than to drive them with an amp that isn't comfortable with 4 ohms loads.
hmmm ... maybe i'm giving too much credit ....
just curious why you say this:
one of the appeals of them to me (I've had a pair since the 1980s) is that they present essentially a 4-ohm resistive load.
resistive-looking loads are easier on amps and I am "guessing" (yeah, I know 😉 ) that anyone who has a pair of these speakers would know better than to drive them with an amp that isn't comfortable with 4 ohms loads.
hmmm ... maybe i'm giving too much credit ....
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A 4 ohm load is harder on amplifiers as it presents a lower impedance to the flow of current thus it takes twice the current to get the same volume out of it. The amp has to be designed to handle the increased current demands.
An amp does, yes.. though it is a relative thing. There has to be some load that any given Voltage amplifier is comfortable with.
Re-cap Kef 104/2
I installed them, along with all the other new caps, and the speakers sound fantastic. I really can't get over how great these speakers sound again.
Of course I also put in new dust caps, grommets, ferrofluid, and cleaned all connections. If anyone is considering recapping their aging Kefs I say go for it!
I've had these for 32 years, I'm 66, so now looking forward to listening to these babies for another 32 years-- ha ha.
It took a few emails, but Falcon made good and sent me the two missing caps.
I installed them, along with all the other new caps, and the speakers sound fantastic. I really can't get over how great these speakers sound again.
Of course I also put in new dust caps, grommets, ferrofluid, and cleaned all connections. If anyone is considering recapping their aging Kefs I say go for it!
I've had these for 32 years, I'm 66, so now looking forward to listening to these babies for another 32 years-- ha ha.
Because I measured it as more like a 3ohm load, dropping smoothly around 2.6ohm in the treble.
A decent amp should do the job.
Chris
Have you measured the capacitance of the old caps and the ones of the Falcon kit for curiosity 🙂 ?
Kef 104/2 is a strange beast, works fine 60 cm/80 cm front baffle away from the front wall, they have a great soundstage and disseapper but needs a very strong amp to work best. I never read a fine explanation of what is doing all the complex crossover at least the part // with the drivers !
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