Recap and bass is gone?

[gmjungbluth]

Hi all,

This isn't a Polk question per se but I've gotten so much great help from this forum that I thought I'd try here before signing in somewhere else...

I recapped an old old pair of Sony speakers (SS-580) for a neighbor not long ago - these are little 3-ways in nice wood cabinets - look like mini KLH or ARs of the late 1960s. When I got them they had no sound coming from the tweeters. After replacing the caps in both crossovers (one 1uf and one 2uf), they both have great soaring high notes but almost no bass - low notes are completely lost.

Now these are not heavy duty speakers or woofers, but I do seem to remember that they reached at least a little bit lower before. Could the recap have changed the crossover values? I used the same value capacitors. And both speakers sound the same so I didn't short anything out.

Thanks for any insight you may be able to provide,

[sda2mike]

they need burn in time...with my 2b's, it was abt 100 hrs for the low stuff..at about 200, it went away again...then everything bloomed! birds chirped and the sun shined always, it was magic:)

seriously, just give em time

[cnh]

As I understand it, recaps usually do not have such a radical effect on bass. If you have an extra mid or bass speaker of similar value perhaps you should hook it up to the speaker and see if it plays some more bass?

All the vintage speakers I've ever heard that have working woofers have "always" put out bass, it's the mid/high that the old crossovers filter out or won't let through!

cnh

[F1nut]

After replacing the caps in both crossovers (one 1uf and one 2uf)

Those are the only caps on the crossovers?

Are the speakers sealed or ported?

they need burn in time...with my 2b's, it was abt 100 hrs for the low stuff..at about 200, it went away again...

Most folks notice an improvement in the bass response right out of the gate. Your experience is not the norm.

[sda2mike]

i had bass...it was flat, though....to the o.p., you don't have many parts to replace..check and recheck everything..

good luck

[CoolJazz]

Two possibilities come to mind....if you're talking about beyond break-in....


-Did you read the original cap value markings correctly?

-Maybe you filipped phase on wires going to a driver in one cabinet. Try running just one of the speakers and see if the bass comes back. Also might listen to each cabinet one at a time and make sure they both sound the same.

CJ

[gmjungbluth]

Thanks all for the posts. I'm thinking that I must have read the cap values incorrectly, at least one that is going to the woofer. All speakers put out sound.

I don't think it's a phase issue either, but I will check speakers one by one.

[pitdogg2]

hopefully you still have the old parts to double check as those values seem too low to me.