Do crossover capacitors have a sound?

[worrasf]

OK so let's try and start some debate ;)

I am just about to take delivery of a pair of Rogers JR149 in pretty fair condition but given the age I will be replacing the OEM capacitors in the crossovers. Several companies do "kits" such as Falcon and Wilmslow for not a lot of dollar.
I then happened across an original circuit diagram of the crossovers http://jr149.wordpress.com/jr149-circuits-diagrams-for-crossovers/ which got me a thinking that as with all other changes I could buy the individual components I needed. Ah but which manufacture to choose? There followed the inevitable search on forums various and (what a surprise) opinion is polarised (no pun intended :)) as to whether "audiophile" caps actually make much difference to the sound unless their value is changed from the original design parameters with some saying yay and some saying nay. Them that say yay point to the likes of Mundorf and Duelund to name but 2 but costs are (IMHO) outrageous and the capacitors would be worth more than the speakers if I went down this road :stalks:

So at present I'm tempted to go the low-cost route and get the Alcaps from Falcon as they say they will slot straight onto the PCB and sound the same as the originals when new which is what I'm after.

Thoughts from those with actual experience of capacitor rolling in crossovers?

UPDATE:
Here's a chap who's done the deed (I thought I had OCD) admittedly not on 149's but Kef's and found the standard low-cost Alcaps as recommended by Falcon to be pretty darn good so I guess I've answered my own question http://www.hifiloudspeakers.info/speakertalk/viewtopic.php?p=6963&sid=e9fb003ac2206c6796c0badbd00e4263

Steve

[istari_knight]

I have replaced xover caps in quite a few speakers in the past with posh alternatives thinking it was going to make an improvement but 9 times out of 10 it only succeeded in making them sound worse than stock.

Unless the originals are way out of spec/leaking etc I see no reason to change them at all (I have a pair of Castle Conway II's from 1980 & all the caps still measure well within 10% tolerance.) However, if/when I replace any in the future one lesson well learned is replace like for like - If its a BP Lytic then replace it with a BP Lytic same for MKT/MKP etc...

For BP Lytics you cant beat Alcaps. For MKT/MKP Jantzen Audio are the best value for money although the chances of finding one of these out of spec is pretty slim.

[worrasf]

Thanks James - it does seem Alcaps are the way to go as per the Falcon kit
Steve

[Welder]

Probably not.

What they do have however is different response times, different ESR, different tolerances and different live expectancies for example and these attributes can make your drivers perform differently and that may alter the sound.

[DSJR]

The electrolytics may have dried out, but any film caps fitted may well be best left alone..

I was never a huge fan of the JR149, finding it a bit squeaky and thin-toned (less of the bumpy bass the 3/5A has to balance the B110's excesses further up). No doubt modern set-up thinking will mellow this right down though. If you do want and need to replace the caps, don't go for a "HiFi" one like Ansars for example - so good in other passive crossovers but may take things too far the wrong way. Falcon have made so many crossovers for so many people over the years, I'd be confident to use them I think.

[Magna Audio]

I would always fit good tolerance well made components that are right for the job and get on with music / life.
There are much bigger wins to be had and lets face some of the foo out there costs an absolute bomb!
As for what some ears tell you - Wallet ears I call them.