Magnepan 1.7 crossover capacitor improvement?

One cap at a time. I think the cap last in line before it goes to the mid panel is a 6.8 Axon. That is the cap u might try first. A safe bet would be to try a Sonicap. They are very neutral, fast and provide very good resolution at a reasonable price. The last cap in the parallel connection is quite influential on the sound. That may do the trick.

As for the tweeter cap, I would bite the bullet and get a Mundorf Silver Oil. It is expensive but I believe u will end up with a speaker that will compete with just about anything out there.

Do it once. Do it right.

Please remember though, a well done Maggie 1.7 can't help a shitty source, weak amplification and crappy cables. Everything should be up to the task before you season to taste.

I forgot to ask. How hard is it to get the sock off of the 1.7's without destroying it? I want to change out the inductor and a few caps myself but I don't want to trash the speakers sock in the process.

Thanks in advance.

Joe

Joe, (Silver)
Terrific advice.

There's something else here that has to be understood.
As axiomatic as it seems...patience with the break in is critical.
What you hear in the first five minutes, should be your system from the other room.
DO NOT LISTEN WHEN YOU FIRST MAKE CHANGES. As hard as that is to do, it's essential. First impressions are silly, and wrong.
The caps have a long, long break in...the better they are, the longer it seems to take.
I remember a moment during the LSA's Development (statement)...'What have we done? This is sh*t).
That's because I didn't heed that basic idea. Do NOT go for first impressions.
Let it cook for hours. It most likely sounds ok for the first hour, then goes south...changes character millions of times before, after about 200 hours of playing time...beginning to sound as it can.
Joe has given you GREAT advice.

Good luck...use patience Grasshopper.

Larry

I completely agree with Larry. Some caps go through their changes for up to 400 hrs. Teflon can take up to 600hrs to settle down.

As stated earlier, change one cap at a time and let it cook as Larry has suggested. You might even consider taking out that iron core inductor and dropping in a 16 gauge 1.4mh Goertz coil. They are expensive but worth it. As Larry can attest, the use of well placed coils , caps and resistors can take u quite far with an already well done design.

Good luck and any suggestions on cloth removal for the 1.7's would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Joe

Taking the socks off a 1.7 is pretty easy

1) use a rubber mallet to tap the side insert bars from the bottom up an inch or two. gently rap the bar exposed to make it pop out of the grove, once started it pops out easily.

2) remove the foot stands

3) the hard work is removing the 2 x 25 or some odd double row of staples on the bottom... be gentle to avoid unnecessary fabric tear

4) remove the 4 screws holding the speaker termination. You should now be able to slide the grill cloth over the terminals and above the crossover location to avoid accidental damage when soldering.

Agree on cap break in time. I'll start with the 6.8uf Mundorfs first and give it about 30 days