Tannoy Lancasters

[Ammonite Audio]

I can see why the little 4-pin plug is so derided - the intermediate wires connecting the bass coil to the 4-pin chassis socket on the Monitor Gold are very thin and flimsy. Not what you really want for decent bass power and performance. Having had a good look at this, I'm more confident about soldering wires from the crossover directly to the drivers.

[vencel]

I can see why the little 4-pin plug is so derided - the intermediate wires connecting the bass coil to the 4-pin chassis socket on the Monitor Gold are very thin and flimsy. Not what you really want for decent bass power and performance. Having had a good look at this, I'm more confident about soldering wires from the crossover directly to the drivers.

2 x 5m isn't cheap even from the AN-D. I still plan to try the whole thing with the original crossover and 4 pin plug. Of course I am going to change the caps in the original crossover and I might also resolder the connections and maybe to replace the wires in the crossovers.
I also plan to carefully clean the 4 pin plugs and to replace the wires going to the speakers.
Of course 4 rotary switches also need to be cleaned and I will try to place the crossover little bit closer to the speakers. Currently the crossovers is my Lancasters are placed on the botto of the back panel and I have the banana plugs there as well. The signal from the banana plugs go to the crossovers on a rather lengthy cable then the signal goes in a white cable to the rotary switches (to the top part of the back panel), then the signal goes from the crossover to the speakers which are of course placed on the top part of the Lancaster cabinet.

So all in all the signal travels quite a lot inside the cabinet. I would like to make it shorter and see how does it improve the sound and to check if further improvement is needed. I am still interested in your experiment with the port.

[vencel]

Do you think that placing the crossover to the top part of the back cover would be a bad idea as the Gold's magnet would negatively affect the crossover parts? In some cabs I've seen the crossover was placed on the top, in some cases in the bottom.

[Ammonite Audio]

Do you think that placing the crossover to the top part of the back cover would be a bad idea as the Gold's magnet would negatively affect the crossover parts? In some cabs I've seen the crossover was placed on the top, in some cases in the bottom.

For my experiments I am placing the crossover in the bottom of the cabinet, where it will probably remain, as shown below.



The Gold's magnet should not interfere with the crossover components since its magnetic field, though strong, is static. I think the bottom of the cabinet is in any case the best place for the crossover.

[Macca]

I know those cabs are big but the drivers are so large as to make them look way too small. I have to say if it was me I would look at building some optimum size cabs based on the driver parameters, I suspect it is the only way to get the full benefit.

[Ammonite Audio]

I know those cabs are big but the drivers are so large as to make them look way too small. I have to say if it was me I would look at building some optimum size cabs based on the driver parameters, I suspect it is the only way to get the full benefit.

The Lancaster cabinets aren't big at all, which is part of their appeal and they are easy to accommodate in a normal room. That said, you are probably right, but it's worth tinkering with the (presently covered) aperiodic vent first, in order to get a "virtual" increase in cabinet volume.

[Ammonite Audio]

I have tried the new crossovers in the Lancasters, with limited success. There is better low end definition, but too little treble energy. My suspicions about the Monitor Golds needing the 1.2x treble lift provided by the standard autotransformer appear to be confirmed. I think that the way to go from here is to service the existing crossovers, using the ClarityCaps if they will fit. In the meantime, I'm revisiting my reference Avalons.

[vencel]

I just received the ClarityCaps and they measure the following:
15,56uF
15,36uF
6,98uF
6,99uF
1,017uF
1,022uF
I will not put the 1uF caps in parallel of the 15uF because I would either have:
16.382uF (15,36 + 1,022) and 16,577uF (15,56 + 1,017).
First of all I would not be really closer to the given 16uF, secondly it would be hard to place the small one in the original crossover (the big one fits in OK).
In parallel the overall capacitances would be closer to each other but I am sure that originally they were not matching that much the capacitors.

So far I will leave the resistors and the smaller caps, but I might also change the them later.

So far all new caps fit in the crossover nicely. I am open to your suggestions if I should also quickly replace the 1,5 and 3,3uF caps and the resistors.
Could you recommend any resistor brand and type?

Thanks,

[Ammonite Audio]

So far I will leave the resistors and the smaller caps, but I might also change the them later.

So far all new caps fit in the crossover nicely. I am open to your suggestions if I should also quickly replace the 1,5 and 3,3uF caps and the resistors.
Could you recommend any resistor brand and type?

Thanks,

If replacements for the smaller caps will fit, then it may be worth upgrading them. I would not rush to change the resistors, but if you must, then Mills wirewound resistors ( http://www.hificollective.co.uk/components/mills.html ) may be worth a pop. I am leaving the original resistors in my Tannoy crossovers.

[vencel]

If replacements for the smaller caps will fit, then it may be worth upgrading them. I would not rush to change the resistors, but if you must, then Mills wirewound resistors ( http://www.hificollective.co.uk/components/mills.html ) may be worth a pop. I am leaving the original resistors in my Tannoy crossovers.

Thanks for your answer. Shall I buy ClarityCaps as well instead of the 1,5 and 3,3uF caps?
If only they could take back the 1uF which I will not use...
The only other option for these caps would be Bennic which is about the same price as ClarityCaps but I can buy them locally and they are a bit smaller in size.