Will a xover cap ~1.5 uF off make a noticeable difference?

[natebot88]

Looking at recapping my Polk Monitor 5b's. They require 34 uF caps, but only 33 uF caps are commonly sold.
At 5% tolerance, that could mean they test down to 31.3 uF, or up to 34.7 uF.

Note: I'm dumb and did not edit the title after redoing my calculations.

If worst case, at 2.7 uF too low, will that make a noticeable difference?

 

[Kal Rubinson]

I don't know if it will make an audible difference but, if the ones you buy are, say, 2 uF or so low, just buy a pair of 2 uF caps and put them in parallel to compensate.

 

[natebot88]

I don't know if it will make an audible difference but, if the ones you buy are, say, 2 uF or so low, just buy a pair of 2 uF caps and put them in parallel to compensate.

Apparently it's also perfectly possible to simply buy a 33 uF and solder a 1 uF in parallel. I thought of that initially, but wasn't sure if there would be any deleterious effects resulting from having two caps in parallel. Sounds like that's a viable option then.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Apparently it's also perfectly possible to simply buy a 33 uF and solder a 1 uF in parallel. I thought of that initially, but wasn't sure if there would be any deleterious effects resulting from having two caps in parallel. Sounds like that's a viable option then.

Sure. There are no problems doing this and, in fact, it may be beneficial.

 

[natebot88]

Sure. There are no problems doing this and, in fact, it may be beneficial.

Great. New capacitors on the way! Thanks for the advice.

 

[Ian Eales]

Few manufacturers closely select caps and drivers to match the Xover design.

If you can get polypropylene caps in the sizes required, replace all mylar and electrolytics. The difference will astound you. Ditto solder connections replacing Fastons.

Did the tweeters contain ferrofluid?
If so, they may need a refresh.

Passive crossovers are only approximate as they shift with power applied.

from ieLogical Winter Blues