Vintage Speaker Upgrade: Replace Your Capacitors! 

Holy crap, Patrick Norton. I haven’t seen you forever. Great to see you again. You and Leo Laporte were my favorite IT guys with Tech Tv like 2004. Thanks for this.

Nothing beats vintage audio - they just don't make stuff like they used to, especially receivers and amplifiers. But, as capacitors age beyond 25-30 years, they need to be replaced as they go out of spec, ESR goes up and they tend to leak around the leads and onto the circuit board which then eats away at the board. This is a great video.

This afternoon I examined the crossovers of Kef C80 Speakers made in 1988. Fourteen capacitors in total on each board. I carefully unsoldered one lead of each cap and measured the ESR with a meter. Not one of the Alcap had an ESR higher than 0.24 ohms, nor had the uf value changed from specified. So, before spending a small fortune on designer components check them out first and save some money !

I bought the fully assembled kit from Bob. It made a HUGE difference with my 1980 Heresy's. I absolutely love them now. They were really flat before. Now, they sing like no other speaker I have.

I changed caps in my 49 year old KEF Cantor cross over network for Monacor caps. I was chocked how the mid and treble suddenly opened up and played music with a chrystalline quality to it. Was not expecting this total transformation. At first I kind of was overwhelmed...having been used to the vintage warmth and the softness ...

Appreciate the video. Thanks dudes. I actually work on HID are lighting and have seen many blown capacitors over the years. But in that particular application, that old school oil filled capacitors are the best. Now I'm ready to order a kit for three sets of vintage speakers and re cap all of em. They definitely need it.

Good and fun video guys! Congratulations for the job and the new car! Now I want to point out that if you try to listen to a speaker while another one is playing, you make it harder to distinguish the subtle variations between them. When I test some speaker modifications, I connect both of them on the right or left side of my amplifier, one on the 'A' channel and the other on the 'B' channel. By switching from on 'A' to 'B' I can be sure to have reliable point of reference to judge the change. Thank you and good luck on your next projects!

My beloved circa 1986 AR 58b speakers and I thank you! 😀

You guys should update the title to Klipsch heresy upgrade. Alot of Klipsch fan would appreciate this video

I have Klipshe Forte II's Vintage my butt. These things still kick out better and more sound than anything else I've heard. LOVE my Forte 2's

I did the Crites thing on Heresy I’s and Forte I’s, a noticeable diff. But in the Heresy’s I left the old caps there disconnected, for originality if nothing else, and they looked cool. Funny too was that every cap I replaced I tested with an LCR meter and all were in spec with low ESR, but not as low as the new sonicaps. Somehow they sound better with new.

I had 2 pair of 1974 vintage Altec Lansing Model 7 Speakers which I changed capacitors and speaker terminals. I spent $150 on the first pair and they sounded much better than the pair not recapped. I spent $350 on the second pair (they have sentimental value). They sound much better than the first pair. The highs are really different. One thing I notice is how a snare drum and cymbal sound real (had a drum kit for years). I can't believe how good these speakers sound. The source and Dac, pre amp, class A tube amp all contribute. I doubt that for what I spent you could buy better speakers. The lesson is different capacitors sound different. You can spend a little or a lot. If you like highs buy a higher grade capacitor for the tweeter. I purchased parts from Parts Connection. New caps can take more than 100 hours to break in. Be patient.

squacker is the original term used for midrange frequency driver. gosh I feel so old at 50, when I went to electronics school 30 yrs ago, we still call them squackers.

3:25 Is that a big Tech Tv sign in the background... ooh look, my childhood. lol

Thanks guys! I have a pair of 1983 Heresy with the same Type E network that I'll be replacing the oil cans with new caps. I have minimal soldering experience so it was nice to see how easy it is.

Those old PIO caps tend to sound great and last practically forever.

Using the balance control on the receiver or pre - amplifier would have made the comparison far easier.

WOW!!! Looking for my first capacitor replacement, and super stoked to see a P.Nort tutorial. My project is off to a good start!!!

Most old electrolytic caps should be tested or replaced, however these orig caps are high grade components. They are probably well within spec. Unnecessary replacement in such case devalues the speaker and more than likely degrades their performance. (wise to test them and restore to original)

Man this show looks awesome, shame it seems we aren't getting any anymore

FYI,next time change the balance from 1 speaker and hear it,then change balance all the way to the other speaker and let us hear the difference if there is any with the new parts vs the old parts live on camera.thanks for the info on the fix.

I really look forward to future videos. I'm not sure what happened with the Diy Tryin channel so I was glad I found this channel.

Yea! You're back. Glad to see Michael is still alive. Keep these up please, as this is one of your best and most interesting productions, Patrick.

You're finally back. Good job guys!

Where did this channel go??? :\ Or either of these guys.

Nice to see you back,worried you were gone forever.

Thumbs up for Yeungling but glad you're back.

Nice video my vintage speakers sure need some updating

should probably also replace those iron core inductors with air core ones

Change out the coils with air coils also. Another improvement, maybe not as much as the caps but an improvement.

Hey Pat should let leoTard solder the next one

Turn the wire stripper around, it works much better!

On your preamp there should be a knob, slider, or pair of buttons that is labeled "balance". When comparing left and right channel output through loudspeakers... use the balance knob to switch back and forth between speakers to compare the output sound.

The oil filled capacitors don't sound very good but don't need to be replaced. Only electrolytocs need to be replaced. Mylar caps don't go bad. The newer caps are Chinese metalized caps that sound terrible. Don't change your caps unless you want to have a bright sound

"If it's 10 or 20 years old, or at least from the 70s or 80s" is quite a large difference (10-20 years, vs 25-45 years, when the video was made) Presumably anything older than 10 years old could possibly have degraded capacitors?(depending on the quality of the capacitors)

it doesnt matter what kind of caps you use. in guitar wiring, theres a lot of people that like to yell at each other for using ceramic disk/mylar film/oil and paper/whatever caps in their guitar wiring for the tone knob when it doesnt matter! all that matters tone wise is the number because theyre the same(plus or minus the tolerance of course)

Wir freuen uns, Ramses Electronic Imaging and Sound Systems unter uns zu sehen.

You guys look like Real life WRECK IT RALPH and FIX IT FELIX!

Anyone catch the old Tech TV logo around 3:30 ? Awesome.

Good to see the show back!

You mentioned you had 5 videos that were almost work. Are they coming any time soon? You have some interesting stuff going on here. Don't waste it.

Wow those speakers sound so more realistic than the modern crap we hear, it sounds like a real person in the room singing.

5:34 "I think I hear a difference".

Klipsch of that era use Paper in Oil caps (or "oil caps" for short). They don't often suffer from increased ESR over time. That was done here, in all likely hood was a "downgrade". The capacitors used here can in some cases result in a "hot or zippy" sound. Especially in the Hersey which has allot of MF / HF muscle. But hey -- sometimes fresh caps can help -- but did they even measure with an ESR meter?

Fantastic video, and I found a new artist to listen to Win Win!

Great video, enjoyed watching. Currently dabbling in the hobby of vintage audio. Old tech tv fan, Tekzilla, Tekthing... Patrick let us know where you end up making content in the future :)

so what capacitance to use with highs, mids, and lows?

Hey man, what's that channel where you both tried to build a pc that you can hang to the wall? I've been looking for that channel forever! I was trying to recommend it to a friend of mine but I just can't find it haha. You, the guy with the plaid shirt (sorry I forgot your name 😅). I thought I saw you on a channel called 'TechTV' way back in around 2002-ish. I was 8 years old then haha. That was when the sat company in my country has the TechTV channel in its programme.

Now for more serious talk. What is the caps I need to get for my Dynaco A25's. Thinking I may need to recap them. Hope you can help me out

Holy crap, this is a channel? Subbed.

Been saving up myself to do exactly what you talked about with a pair of Beovox S45-2's that I got a hold of recently, for free. The only damage they have is a small ding in the metal frame on the front of one of them, total score.

Fucking finally!, I've been waiting for this for way to long.

Great upgrade !! Need to do this

Hi guys: you made it look so simple I want to upgrade my vintage Kenwood Speakers. Could guide me on how to choose best replacement capacitors? Can I change the values too? Do I need to change the coils also? And what about those white ceramic things? Thanks

Glad you're back!!

As cheap as capacitors are, it’s worth replacing them especially if you’re refurbishing them to sell.

The Audiophools are gonna start screaming about PIO caps any second. (Yay for drunken Snubs!)

You replace the caps with 200V types only? Why didn't you go for 630V MKPs? They'd sound even better.

A new episode!!! Yay!!!

I can't wait until the next episode! Keep it up :D

I wander if you can help me,I been trying to recap my speakers crossover ,I can seen to find anywhere this capacitor made by spirit 106J 100v and also spirit 275J 250V any ideas ? I’ll appreciate and new in this ,thanks

It's a mystery to me why people like the Heresy's so much. I've owned 3 pairs at various times and thought they all sound harsh with too little bass.

When did soLdering become sohdering?

I hope You were aware about tolerances of old and new capacitors values in production. It is 99% sure that ANY replacement of capacitors inside crossover the sound must change it's sounding due to fact that of new capacitor applied with new value . Some may think it is the proof that old one was wear but it is likely misleading. There should be appled two more steps: one is to test capacitor for it's deficiences - if it is so important and obvious it must be easy then. Anticipation is not too precise. Second is when wear one is found then new capacitor should be matched to old one with tolerance max 1%. I would keep old capacitor as a sample.

If those large campbell's soup looking things are capacitors then what are those vertical square looking things on the side?

Why wouldnt you go back and forth using the speaker left and right selector so you and viewers can hear if there is a big difference.

What’s up with the ABS plumbing pipe venting the back panel? Heresy’s are a closed box speaker.

Co to są za kolumny i jaką jest różnica po wymianie kondensatorów czy jest lepsze stereo

There is no good electronic test for an old cross over capacitor from the 1970s. Your ears are the best test. I would avoid swapping out original spec capacitors considering the same swapped capacitors would also be old even if you could find them unused.

You should have hollowed out the old tin caps and placed new ones inside to keep original look

Probably as the capacitor ages, and the electrolyte dries, it becomes less of a filter, and a larger range of frequencies go to each speaker. I'd never heard the squawker term, I like it :) Might have been interesting to see a before and after spectrogram. Interesting video.

This was just incredible! Keep this up!!

Place a piece of paper or cardboard between the jaws of the clip so it does not act as a heat sink.

Before changing capacitors, please discharge before or you will get a shock if they have a charge. Check internet for instructions.

I would of just unconnected the oil caps and mount the new caps with some hot glue on top maintaining the old for looks

i like these guys

not so easy a job on my Klipsch KLF30'S. got an intermittent midrange (squaker) I'm guessing is caused by a bad cap? Patrick looks familiar, weren't you on the screen savers show years ago?

Wish this channel was still active =\

Should of upgrade the whole crossover

Great channel! Subbed

Why no more vodeos?

An oil filled cap usedin a speaker should last A VERY LONG TIME. caps in that application are living in benevolent conditions. If the cap is original I wouldn't replace it unless it tests bad because the cap was voiced with that caps characteristics. If you put a different type of cap in listen to it and make sure you like the sound.

Love this show just like I loved DYItryin and I'd really love to see this show get on a more regular schedule like TekThing. You guys mentioned before that Michael is a pretty busy guy, does that mean he has another show separate from this one? Or is it just kind of a life/other job thing?

Can you please tell me why you guys don't upload on the other channel you have and which channel or channels will you be uploading to because I like your videos and diytryin was a very good channel but I don't see any new uploads by you guys. Thank you.

How do you know they were bad?

Thanks guys

oooh new show. yay!

I see who you came up with your RU-vid name.

Great jobs boys. Cheers

guys are fun and I learned from them

If it ain't broke don't fix it. Unless the driver's sounded really muddy.

to be honest i have done this only to find out . This should only be done if needed these crossovers were so well built they hardly ever have to be changed.

What happened to DIYtryin?

Salud desde España

Great video, thanks, will be recapping my Heresys soon. Does it matter which side of the new cap connects to which wire?

tech tip of the day- the fastest way to strip speaker wire is to use a lighter to heat the plastic up, and then pull it off with your hand.

I wonder what happened to these guys...

"I think i can hear a difference"

Squawker? LOL.

hey ! where may I send you a pic of my old klipsch tangent 30's filter ? a capacitor fell off from the card by himself and need a replacement. I can't identify what part to order. thanks for help !