Which Budget Friendly Floorstanders Next?

Erik, out of curiosity, does the rule of better (brand) capacities to improve the SQ apply to all speaker brands that you have owned/tested or it's something unique about the two specific brands you listed? It just seems like a no brainer given the investment. Also, do you recommend the same values for replacements or that also is brand/model dependent? Thanks and sorry if a bit off topic.

Kalali,

It's very specific. :) To be honest, not everyone agrees with me regarding Mundorf MKP's, so it's also a bit personal.

Brands I know which benefit are Focal, Wharferdale and old Thiel.

Focal and Thiel seem to have used Solen's. Wharferdale generics. Focal uses re-branded caps, but are still apparently Solen.

It also depends on what the original maker uses. B&W had a line of 2 identical speakers, the only difference was the quality of the crossover cap. $8 cap added $300 to price.

In the top-end, B&W uses mid-range Mundorfs. Magico uses only top-end Mundorfs, and lots of them.

Personally, I prefer Clarity Capacitor house sound to Mundorf. Certainly if you buy a Magico, and immediately want to trade caps, there's something seriously wrong with you. :)

But with working-joe speakers (like I can afford)  and the brands mentioned above, these are worthwhile experiments.

Best,


E

There's a newly listed pair of Revel Performa F208s on the site for $2950. Those would be a worthwhile upgrade, and you could probably get most of your coin back if you didn't like them.

Erik, thanks for the detailed response. I'm tempted to experiment a little bit with my ML Aerius i speakers since access to the crossover is quite easy.  The only element of complication is they also have the power supply components on the same board making toying around a bit more risky without the knowledge of the circuit. It still boggles my mind that some companies charge so much for their speakers but skimp out on using a little higher grade components. 

@10000_hz_legend 
I have mentioned this kit here twice on this forum before and probably will again.  I know of no other speaker that you can buy new for less that 2 to 3 times the cost of this kit.  It is fairly simple to build and the designer is good enough to be hired at ANY speaker manufacturer.  The parts cost alone if buying these parts separately are considerably more than this kit cost.  The crossover is well thought out..... but they are 4 ohm and would require an amp with reasonable current. 
https://www.parts-express.com/solstice-mltl-reference-tower-speaker-kit--300-708