Recapping my Celestion 15XRs

[Marco]

After years of using and enjoying them in stock form, I've decided to bite the bullet and recap the 15XRs, currently in situ in my home-cinema system. It's testament to how 'right' Celestion got these speakers 40 years ago that I've been able to enjoy them so much without feeling the need to tweak them, which certainly wasn't the case when I first got my Tannoys...

Anyway, DarrenHW, a well-known good guy here and mate of mine is coming round on Saturday with his own 15XRs, which he's recapped with Clarity Cap ESAs, so the plan is to listen to them and compare them with my stock ones, note the sonic differences and decide if I like them enough to fit the same caps.

Plus, just to add a bit of spice to the occasion, being the tweaky geek that I am, I've purchased some Jantzen Silver/Gold Z-caps, like these:



Details here: http://www.hificollective.co.uk/comp...gold-zcap.html

I like the spec of these caps and my gut feeling says they should be rather good. The plan of course will be to see if they add anything significant, sonically, over the ESAs, and if so that's what will be fitted to the crossovers of the Celestions.

So, lots of fun to be had, and results (and pics of the install) will be posted here for your collective delectation

Marco.

[walpurgis]

The 15XRs certainly have some punch compared to most folks choices in home cinema speakers Marco. I'd imagine they give movies etc., a fair bit of 'scale'.

I occasionally watch DVD movies with the sound through the Tannoys, but it's a bit OTT.

[Firebottle]

I would have said save your money Marco but I know you've got too much

Anyway the horse has bolted in this case, so it will be interesting to see if/what the differences will be.
I've found that with different manufactures Polypropylene caps it is very much dependent on where in the chain they are used, what the signal level is, and what dc bias they have across them.

It has been found that what would have been thought of as the better fit isn't at all and has been bettered by a much cheaper cap.

Just my 2p

[Marco]

The 15XRs certainly have some punch compared to most folks choices in home cinema speakers Marco. I'd imagine they give movies etc., a fair bit of 'scale'.

Absolutely mate, especially with their ABRs and a nicely integrated sub. The Yamaha does an excellent job there. Plenty of gravitas with bangs and explosions! Also, the addition of the UL6, as a centre speaker, has made everything sound richer and 'bigger'.

Musically too, in plain stereo mode, the 15XRs sound great, so I'm looking forward to hearing what the cap upgrades do

Marco.

[Marco]

I would have said save your money Marco but I know you've got too much

Lol.. I've have you know I'm just a poor boy! And it's not even my turn for the bone at lunch this Christmas...

Anyway the horse has bolted in this case, so it will be interesting to see if/what the differences will be.
I've found that with different manufactures Polypropylene caps it is very much dependent on where in the chain they are used, what the signal level is, and what dc bias they have across them.

It has been found that what would have been thought of as the better fit isn't at all and has been bettered by a much cheaper cap.

Yup, and all valid observations. However, you know what I'm like, and the 'what if?' factor, if I hadn't bought some 'boutique' caps, would've been too much to bear!

Also, the crossovers in my Tannoys are choc-full of such components (Duelund resistors, Clarity Cap MRs, etc), which made a huge difference over not only what was in them originally, but the Wilmslow Audio components Big Ears Audio (the dealer I bought the Tannoys from) had used to upgrade the stock crossovers, so I know what some of this 'boutique' stuff can do.

Anyway, not only my ears, but also those of Darren will be judging the results, so we'll see what happens!

Marco.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Or you could seek out a pair of stock 15's with the better tweeter and recap them.

[Arkless Electronics]

Absolutely mate, especially with their ABRs and a nicely integrated sub. The Yamaha does an excellent job there. Plenty of gravitas with bangs and explosions! Also, the addition of the UL6, as a centre speaker, has made everything sound richer and 'bigger'.

Musically too, in plain stereo mode, the 15XRs sound great, so I'm looking forward to hearing what the cap upgrades do

Marco.

I've got a pair of UL6's and I rate them as much better than the 15XR's (the UL6 was quite a bit more expensive despite being smaller).... but from what I've gleaned of your own tastes I can see that you may not agree...
The UL6 is much "faster", more detailed, transparent and uncoloured but the 15XR sounds "bigger" and with more extended bass....
I converted my UL6's to bi-wireable when it was trendy and rebuilt the crossovers while at it...

[loveoscar]

Those Celestions certainly wouldn't be my choice to listen to music, but I guess you must find them ok for A/V use. Good luck with the mods.

[DarrenHW]

When did the AoS community turn into a bunch of miserable old bastards, or worse still Harry Enfield's Dave?



It's a bit of fun, the 15XR's require 1 x 4.7uF capacitor, it's a beer money experiment. Of course there are better speakers, there always are, but Marco like's them and that's all that matters. We all have different tastes, I personally agree with Jez and rate the UL series over the XR's but I'm not dismissing Marco's wishes or opinion just because it differs from mine, that's not what AoS is about.

Either way I've never heard Jantzen Silver/Gold Z-caps in a pair of Celestions and I'm looking forward to hearing the results. Did you pick up any other caps Marco, or just the Jantzens?

[TazSob]

Subbed... Good luck with your mods Marco