Should I worry about this?

[Jimbo]

Took some pics of the crossover board in my speakers and noticed one of the caps looks a bit discoloured. Speakers sound OK so should i worry or get it checked out. Will failure of these component damage my speakers?:scratch:

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The crossover looks ok in comparison.

[The Black Adder]

Looks like a leaking cap. But... sometimes the glue some manufactures used can discolour the caps. I had a pair Celestions which had glue accidentally poured over some of the caps and it looked like it was leaking. - They weren't but I changed them anyways.

It wouldn't hurt changing them to be honest and it's not a big job.

If the cap is an electrolytic then it's time to change them to a decent polyprop (ClarityCap ESA's maybe, they should fit fine.). If they are lytics they 'could' damage your amplifier depending on what type you are using. If the amplifier has a protection circuit then you should be fine but beware with valve amps.

My advice is to change them if you are worried.

Hope that helps.

[Jimbo]

Looks like a leaking cap. But... sometimes the glue some manufactures used can discolour the caps. I had a pair Celestions which had glue accidentally poured over some of the caps and it looked like it was leaking. - They weren't but I changed them anyways.

It wouldn't hurt changing them to be honest and it's not a big job.

If the cap is an electrolytic then it's time to change them to a decent polyprop (ClarityCap ESA's maybe, they should fit fine.). If they are lytics they 'could' damage your amplifier depending on what type you are using. If the amplifier has a protection circuit then you should be fine but beware with valve amps.

My advice is to change them if you are worried.

Hope that helps.

Hi Joe,

thanks for looking - do you know what the value of the cap is - i think its just about readable?

cheers

[The Black Adder]

Looks like 10uf 63vdc - does it have anything else on the side?

[Jimbo]

Looks like 10uf 63vdc - does it have anything else on the side?

I will have to open up speakers to have a look.

Just another thought Joe, will changing the caps to polypro change the sound? or is this affected more by resistors on the crossover?

[The Black Adder]

I'm not up on that circuit so if might be worth asking around. It can change the sound but I'd say probably for the better. But you can still buy those caps albeit @100vdc which shouldn't be a problem. Ero are Vishay I think. As far as I can tell they are polyprops (metalised polyprops)

Looking at it now I think it's either overheated (unlikey) or it's glue staining (more likely) - But some better pics would help.

Paul at RFC might be able to help more, he fettles numerous crossovers and is very good. I simply manufacture Tannoy Monitor Gold crossovers.

[Ali Tait]

As Joe says, worth giving a go, maybe try a few different makes and see if you hear any difference between them. Be patient though, in my experience polys can take a while to settle down.

[YNWaN]

Looks like someone has fitted it with very dirty fingers and doesn't look like a leaking cap to me - doesn't look like an electrolytic any way. However, there is significant room for improvement on that crossover.

Looks like an ERO polyester cap.

[The Black Adder]

It's not an electrolytic , looks like glue substance or anti resonant compound as I had something simular on my Celestions. Probably someone slipped up with the goo gun... lol

I meant to ask, James is the goo sticky or dry?

As you said, I'm sure there are lots of room for improvement.

But lets be safe and get some better pics before deciding on the next step.

[Reffc]

It's not an electrolytic.

If you work out which ones are in the signal path (looks like you have 3 caps there), I'd use ESAs in the signal path and inexpensive Solens for the shunt values. Not expensive and not a complex job but tolerances in modern caps is tighter and performance more linear (with less distortion) than most of the cheap and cheerful caps used in many production crossovers of yesteryear...definitely worthwhile to upgrade those. There is room for improvement and one thing I'd certainly do is to de-solder the top inductor and lay it on its side (ie axis left to right as you look in plan so that you don't have the axis crossing) as at the moment, they're too close for air-cored inductors.

If you're unsure of the value of the other two caps, send them to me and I can measure them for you so you know what values to order for the replacements.

[The Black Adder]

Well, i'm off so good luck with it, James... It's an easy job anyway, just make sure it's done right but hopefully it's nothing to worry about anyway. :)

All the best
Joe