I think it’s fair to say we’re all here convinced of the wisdom of recapping our amps (and CD players, though transportation is an issue here) every so often. What about speakers, though? I haven’t come across the idea of sending one’s speakers back for a service but that doesn’t mean it’s not a thing. Do Naim recommend servicing their speakers? Do other brands?
I’m asking mainly because my speakers are knocking on the door of 20 years old and I’m wondering if some of the crossover caps might be rather past their best.
I suspect any speaker will benefit from a service after 20 years. Electrolytic capacitors will be out of spec to some extent & will be improved with plastic film types whatever age.
I recapped my IMF RSPM speakers at about 45 years old., using Falcon’s Any difference it made wasn’t obvious… but there’s another n years life added!
If the crossover is accessible and if you can do a good solder joint it is really easy and is inexpensive to recap yourself. Places like Falcon Acoustics supply a good range of capacitor types from which to choose: I took their recommendation for current type closest in characteristics to the originals (with which they were familiar).
I sent the crossovers from my NBLs back to Naim for service last year (or maybe the year before). I was led to believe they’d never serviced any NBL crossovers before mine, but as there are so few speakers I’d consider to replace them, I reasoned that it’s worth looking after these.
I have often pondered getting my Sonus Faber Concerto’s serviced as they are now 25 years old. Also the terminal plate has cracks around the screws connecting it to the back of the speaker. However, I think an upgrade is more likely at the moment.
It’s hard to say, because the system had been down for a while anyway during work on the house and other changes were incorporated at the same time, such as three radial supplies from a dedicated consumer unit, a second PS for my ND555 and a new Fraim shelf with long legs to improve clearance around a few components. Overall though, whether the serviced crossovers affected the sound or not, I feel confident that my NBLs will be OK for a few more years.
All this chat about speaker service prompted me into reviewing mine (DIY in 2010)
Looking at the x.over circuit I remembered I compromised on the low pass 2nd order capacitor & used an electrolytic, so I’ve ordered polypropylene film replacements.
Also the big mid range series cap has proved to be a touch low causing a slight drop in output at the crossover point, some fine testing & tuning today shows an extra 12uF does the trick.
Hopefully all arriving before the weekend. Torque driver at the ready, soldering iron tip cleaned & 30 minutes on each & they’ll be better than new.