The fact that this knowledge is free is just amazing. Take a moment to consider how exposure to Danny’s knowledge 30 years ago was sequestered to engineering school and obscure books that weren’t available at most libraries. Thank you, Danny… you’re the spearhead of an artisan audio revolution that’s likely just getting started. 👍👍
I don't know anything about electronics, but watching the boards being built was therapeutic in a way. Very relaxing, indeed. I'll continue to watch the rest of the series. Thank you for teaching.
Danny, when you said "if DIY is for you" I said I'm in. One problem I don't know how to read electronic diagrams and identify elements. This video makes life beautiful! Thank you. Hey, thanks for answering my call.
Love your work! Tiny tip: set up a monitor screen while you're shooting video (where you can see it, but the camera can't). That will allow you to see what's in the camera's field of vision. That way you'll know if things you're talking about are out of the picture. Thanks again for helping us all along.
Thank you for your comment. I found this video so frustrating to watch. I would love to try to build the encores but after watching this video, I am more lost than ever. This video may be entertaining to people who already know the majority of what is going to be done. But for a beginner, it tells us nothing. All of the crucial moments are out of focus or not in the camera lens at all. And his explanations are mostly about him trying to convince us that it is so easy. That doesn't help.
Did you ever complete the kit? Did the instructions provided explain anything? This video told me nothing since it was all out of focus and off camera in the crucial moments. Can a beginner build this without seeing a video?
Love watching a master tech doing there craft. To learn skills and what to do and not do and not to do. Love your channel cant wait to build my own some day
Soo the speaker wires feeding the speaker should be specific 24 interwoven cables (for interference) going into 50 dollar (or so, up charge) special barrel connector for the best signal path. Then when it comes to the crossover, just twist that crap together. Haha I love it. By the way, I made the mistake to disassembling, what I thought was a good set of Boston acoustics, they are now going in the trash, I can’t unsee it now. That stuff looks like trash compared to these components
our bro Danny is working on a gray (updated) mullet to match his videos of the past... dubbed the "mullet 19".. love you Danny!!! keep up the amazing work..
One thing doesn’t show in the video is just how much muscle memory, dexterity, and coordination this assembly takes. I do small wires for thirty years and I’m kinda chuckling...you are soooo.understating the challenge it is for some!
Can you explain it to me? All of the key moments were either blurred, off-camera, or not explained. Do you think the supplied instructions will be more clear for a beginner to be able to assemble these? And I'm talking a beginner who cannot make heads or tails of a schematic.
Did you complete the kit? Did the instructions provided do better than this video did? All of the key moments of this video were either off focus, out of the camera lens, or not explained. I found it very frustrating. Do you think a beginner can build these without a proper video?
The main aspect that prevents me from doing the DYI is the soldering. My experiences in the past with soldering has been it's way harder than it looks to do it well, and I always ended up very frustrated.
Danny, a friend of mine who knows a lot more about building circuits than I do had the following comments. Could you please comment and confirm whether I need to address any of his comments. (1) Resistors get hot...so not a good idea to have them next to to the caps. Recommend you keep them off the board for airflow and away from other components and not have them held by zip ties, he is thinking they may generate 5W or so (2) To use sandpaper and strip the ends of the inductor till the copper shows. Thanks. (BTW, hearing you comment about how the bypass caps take things to the next level. I did go ahead and order them. Being a novice took me a while to find them on the web at sonic craft and order them. Recommend you adding them as another orderable option on your site.) Given all the hours I have put into building the kit I am perfectly willing to spend another eighty dollars on the cap if that will take things to another level.) My son and I can't wait to complete the project,
Thats what it's all about my fellow Audio nut, enjoying the hobby and trying new things.. just because and bringing your whippersnapper into the wonderfull world of high-fidelity 🎼 🎵 🔉 🔉🤤 🔉🔉🎶👍
After listened to the Desktop mini crossover video where Danny says : Do not place a screw in the center of the air core inductor, I went and removed the one i had placed in my X-SLS… WOW… WOW… WOW… the mid range opened up, guitar, vocals, sound stage. Listen to the other video.
Watch that dropped solder blobs on those bare legs....my boyhood soldering in summer short pajamas left a few scars. Use a goldie locks brass pot scraper to clean iron tip. Great detail on this site
Hey Danny. Thanks for the vid. I'm planning on ordering this kit next month, with the cap and resistor upgrade. And after watching this vid, the miflex caps. The miflex caps aren't on the website, should I call or source it out in my own? What were the values of those miflex caps?
I've built a few sets of speakers over the years, and I always learned to plop the crossover components down into silicone. It lasts forever, and reduces mechanical shifting and rattling noise from the components. Can you weigh in on this? I also assembled high-end amps for a niche manufacturer, and they had me put everything down into silicone for the same reason.
I love how easy you make it look and the layout. Flush cutter for zip ties at WallY World For $6.97 best thing ever for zip ties. No more nics or cuts from bumping into it.
Danny you are a MASTER and being a novice I see the mistakes that I made on my first crossovers I used hot glue to mount all of the components instead of wire ties . would foil inductors also be a big improvement along with the milex caps? what kind of cost are we looking at hotrod the crossover as you have done? Thank You for doing this for all of us dummies
Thanks, Danny, this was super-helpful. Something that would be helpful to include in the plans that come with the kit, along with the schematic, are the dimensions of the board you were using.
@@dannyrichie9743 Thank you, Danny. This will be helpful when using the upgrade with the MiFlex caps as they can make the layout of the parts "larger" so to speak (I've stacked mine as best as possible, but the extra parts could increase the layout size for these extra parts). Cheers!
Nice video, but twisting solid core wire extending from a component can cause internal damage and stress cracks in the solid core itself. Furthermore, the more you heat the wiring, the more you heat the components attached, also causing internal damage.
Hey Danny....yet another awesome video from you as always. I know you have put together the crossover components hundreds of times and you can do this with your eyes closed :) ...but for some of us out here who are new to this still struggle to "join the dots" properly. It would have been nice if you can properly show the circuit schematic which clearly shows the connections marked. (What you are currently showing in the video seems a little hard to figure out and provides just a vague schematic view...would've been great if you showed that in full frame so that people can pause and view) Also I see that you have added some new components (KPCU capacitors?) in addition to the standard X-LS Encore kit offered and that seems to have added the confusion a bit. Can you please provide a modified circuit diagram covering those parts as well,...maybe as a PDF to download?
I've held up a circuit diagram several times in the video. It just didn't have the values listed. To get the values (intellectual property) you have to buy the kit.
So many things I Have questions about like if you did use Mr Rawlings boards, your build just blocked the mounting holes for the board completely. I just finished mine and yes, don’t use peters holes. Move them somewhere more sensible for your parts category.
If you spent more money and bought an audiophile macbook you would have realised straight away that the lower frequency of said rumble can only be reproduced via the lower port of the body.
Do you put any protection on any of your crossovers? PTCs, Fuses, breakers or heaters, lol? I see many larger speakers have protection like PTCs on mid and tweeter. Is it a bad idea to eliminate them from the design in a crossover rebuild?
Danny, what’s your general rule for bypass cap values? Is there a mathematical way you personally figure out the bypass cap’s value that it’s in parallel with, or does it depend on how much you wanna smooth out the highs?
Anytime you bundle caps of dissimilar values there is a difference in the charge and discharge rates and that difference can cause a phase shift or time smear. But with cap values of .1uF or less that phase shift is at or above 20kHz. So it is not a problem. So you get the benefit of the faster discharging small cap without the penalties. Going smaller than .1uF gives up a little of the flavor or sound of the by-pass cap. So I tend to like the .1's.
Danny, it would be awesome to see a close up tutorial on how you combine multiple crossover components to get those nice tight connections. I was a little concerned about pulling the capacitor and resistor wires too tight and damaging them somehow when I made my crossover. Also, once 2 or 3 components are connected together and that group is fairly thick, how to add another for ground (or whatever).
Ok I learned a bit from this one. I still don’t understand the signal flow, is there another more in depth signal flow explanation? Because there’s two drivers does that mean there’s two main wires going to the positive input terminal?
I'm a complete amateur when it comes to speaker crossovers, but why would you use monster sized, high voltage capacitors? Most home speakers don't use 400-600 volts. One of my speakers blew and I'm trying to find replacement parts. (It's a Realistic Mach One)
Any chance of another take at this video with somebody doing the camera work? Some of the crucial parts are not visible. I'm more confused now than before I saw the video.
Man, I haven't seen point to point soldering like that since the old tube radio days. I'd make a circuit board myself and mount all the components to the board and solder to leads and traces.
I've lost my wiring diagram. Which resisters goes to which part of the circuit? There's a 3, 6 and 12 ohm in the kit, but you don't mention which specific one goes where in the video. Any help would be appreciated.
@Danny Richie Just interested as to what bypassing the tweeter's first L-Pad resistor with a capacitor does to the frequency response? Thanks again for all the videos!
As you are twisting the wires together then you only need a small dab of solder on each twist. Any more is a waste of time and solder. The physical strength and electrical conduction is not actually improved by saturation soldering all along the wire from one component to the next.
It is interesting what you said about positioning the inductors in 90 º oriented planes in order to reduce magnetic fields interference. Nice tip. I have been thinking that it will be totally avoided in you split the board in two . The one located on top of the enclosure will have only components for high frequency crossover, and the one at the bottom the components for low frequencies for the woofer. What do you think about it? By the way, do you know same online calculator for inductors? Thanks
So long as they are turned in different directions then they're fine. I don't understand your question about calculating inductors. I don't know anything regarding them that you'd want to calculate.
I got a set of Def Tech bp-7004's I believe the x-over is bad . the tweeters dont work so i took them out and tested them on my 7001's and they worked fine. What's your thought on it?
Danny, you're a handsome guy but I'd prefer a closeup of your handiwork vs the room shot. "It may be simple" but I still have no idea what you've done because the board is so distant. later the closeup has your hand is in focus but not the board. grrrrr.
I tried to give a more normal view to explain the circuit and then zoom in for some of the assembly. And I think my camera guy can tell me of a setting that will keep the work in focus better for future videos. I'm still a bit new to this, but I'll get better.
Hi. A high resolution picture of the crossover, front and back, fully assembled, with all parts visual, so it’s easy to mount them in the correct direction.!! Wired/twisted together would be nice and easy for all, even you Danny. Not so many mail about the mounting. Love your work and professional.
@@dannyrichie9743 if you could give it another try, that would be much appreciated. At this point, having watched the video several times, I am totally lost. All the key moments are of the back of your hand, a blurred vision, off camera completely, or shown with insufficient explanation of what's going on. I hope your kids instructions provide more than a schematic. I really want to try this, but right now, I am flying blind.
Hey Danny, I'm getting ready to do my AV/3s and wanted to get an idea of how I should proceed with the XO. Love all your videos as they are helpful. I kind of would like to show off the XO, perhaps put into a separate chamber. Would it be ok to hide the wires behind the board and show off the components on the front of the XO board? Or should I not do that? Also cable length from XO to speakers, if a bit longer is that a problem?
AW! This sort of twisting wires together is big BS for me! I have a hard time doing this with my numb Hand... That´s awful. It´s bad to lose capabilities ... especially when you're a creative guy! But, a man must do what a man must do! Despite my (due to spine damage) numb Hands, I do such stuff! And, man, Soldering tiny parts is really a pain in the A**! 🤣 For example, solder a wire to the tweeter: Hands Numb: check! Hands shivering: check! Sweating green Apples not to burn up the connection point of the tweeter: check!
I have wanted to build several of your kits for some time now, but they are never available because of missing parts. Don't know how much longer I can wait.
Great video, and thanks again for taking time to video this process for those of us that are soldering/crossover build nubies. Is there any advantage or disadvantage to keeping the sub and tweeter crossovers separate or combined? Also can the upgrade to the upgrade be ordered from your site as I already ordered the upgraded sonic caps and mills resistors?
Soon I will be ordering these but crossover assembly is still an area of hesitation. If I am right, resistors and capacitors can have either lead be the input or output so directionality doesn't matter. I get that maybe you may want to have the input be on the left as you read the text on it but not required. But is that not true for the inductors? Does't the center lead or outside lead have to be connected in a particular way? How doe the schematic indicate if an element (cap/resitor) should connect to the center or outside?
Does anyone know why "hot glueing" the components on the board wouldn't be preferred/possible? I am building one of Danny's crossovers soon for my speakers, and was thinking I should hot glue the components to secure, and also to prevent vibration and buzzing. Is this not a good idea?
Whats your honest take here, do you think the encore (fully upgraded crossovers, and are incredible) would give the kef ls50 meta a good fight? If so, in so maybe all around or maybe in certain areas more than others etc., would love to know your take, and ill let you know mine, i have both, and getting ready to do a critical listening shootout and will let you know my verdict, but id like to know your prediction before i put them head to head, keep up the good work, your a mastermind.
Not over-teweetered, but lots of resistors in the tweeter path... So I guess it would be really to bright, singing way over the woofer without them. 2 resistors in series, 1 in parallel... wahou ! It has to stay quiet by a lot. Just at first sight, not a tech guy at all.
Just curious, why not attach the board the crossover is on to the speaker board prior to putting the speaker together to avoid reaching thru the driver hole?
silly question, any reason this can't be a ckt board vs just free style? it could be a option maybe even folks can order direct from a ckt board company or you ? might help make it easier to assemble for many dunno
I would not be able to build the crossovers from the directions on the sheet of paper. I would need a photo or photos of the assembled board to make sure I had the parts in the right places.
I also don’t understand why some components are bundled together and their wires twisted together? Don’t that have to be in series to work? So confusing
Audiophile 4% silver solder fast flow lead-free rosin core 1mm thick 1 metre roll £1,44 .most soldiers 60/40 is 3% silver or less get Yourself a minimum of 60w soldering iron
Why did you install shrink tubing on input / output line wire soldered to array of components, but not between components. What is the electrical logic to that?
Excellent. Not being any kind of an electrical DIY-guy when it comes to what you consider to be second nature - I really appreciate the work you've put in to make this. Yup, now I know I can do this. Before this video? - not at all. QUESTION: The version you built here, is it the EXACT upgrade(s) version that includes ordering the Mills resistor(upgrade) AND the Soniccaps?? If so, I am pretty excited about doing this. Again, big thanks!
Hey Charles, it's the same version of the upgraded kit, with just one exception. He added two Miflex bypass capacitors to the tweeter circuit in the video.
@@greenbeginner9221 Hey Jon, no I haven't although I have built my own before. I wouldn't be too afraid of either building these or the CSS Audio Criton if the cross-over is your concern. You can always get your cross-over checked by a local electrician (?) or with pictures back to your supplier. The CSS kit (see cheapaudioman on TH-cam) more expensive but in the same league for quality and probably a little easier because they supply a cross-over mounting board which is much easier to see the signal path. Hope this helps.
@@johnsweda2999 LOL, well, ok, I thought that's what the fast forward button was for. At least a few close-ups of the completed crossover would be nice. Why isn't it a good idea to twist the wires? Are you saying Danny, and anyone who follows this video is doing it wrong?
Hi Danny. Do you ever glue components as opposed to using zip ties? If not, is it just a matter of preference? Or are there pros to using zip ties over glue?
When I get ready for my kit, I would LOVE a photo of a completed network on PR’s board with labels pointing to the components. Labels would be great to include indicators on where to connect drivers’ leads and leads from tube connectors.
@@dannyrichie9743 do you know of a video that clearly explains how to translate a schematic into a real world assembly situation like your speakers? I have searched for days and every video assumes that you already know this stuff and the video is just an exercise in beginner discouragement.
The fact that this knowledge is free is just amazing. Take a moment to consider how exposure to Danny’s knowledge 30 years ago was sequestered to engineering school and obscure books that weren’t available at most libraries. Thank you, Danny… you’re the spearhead of an artisan audio revolution that’s likely just getting started. 👍👍
I don't know anything about electronics, but watching the boards being built was therapeutic in a way. Very relaxing, indeed. I'll continue to watch the rest of the series. Thank you for teaching.
I dont know why but "woofer hole" always makes me 😊
Great video 👍
"Always make sure your tip is clean." Best advice for anyone. Another great video from GR Research. Thank You Danny.
But, how do you clean it? He never shows or explains that.
@@greenbeginner9221 Soap
Hey everybody! I greet people the same way.
Love it.
Enjoy your honest posts, and great expertise also.
Danny, when you said "if DIY is for you" I said I'm in. One problem I don't know how to read electronic diagrams and identify elements. This video makes life beautiful!
Thank you.
Hey, thanks for answering my call.
Love your work! Tiny tip: set up a monitor screen while you're shooting video (where you can see it, but the camera can't). That will allow you to see what's in the camera's field of vision. That way you'll know if things you're talking about are out of the picture. Thanks again for helping us all along.
Thank you for your comment. I found this video so frustrating to watch. I would love to try to build the encores but after watching this video, I am more lost than ever. This video may be entertaining to people who already know the majority of what is going to be done. But for a beginner, it tells us nothing. All of the crucial moments are out of focus or not in the camera lens at all. And his explanations are mostly about him trying to convince us that it is so easy. That doesn't help.
@@greenbeginner9221 Left me confused also
Hey Danny thanks for this build video, when you assembled the second board it made things a lot clearer. I can’t wait to start building a pair.
Did you ever complete the kit? Did the instructions provided explain anything? This video told me nothing since it was all out of focus and off camera in the crucial moments. Can a beginner build this without seeing a video?
Love watching a master tech doing there craft. To learn skills and what to do and not do and not to do. Love your channel cant wait to build my own some day
Soo the speaker wires feeding the speaker should be specific 24 interwoven cables (for interference) going into 50 dollar (or so, up charge) special barrel connector for the best signal path. Then when it comes to the crossover, just twist that crap together. Haha I love it. By the way, I made the mistake to disassembling, what I thought was a good set of Boston acoustics, they are now going in the trash, I can’t unsee it now. That stuff looks like trash compared to these components
You sure know what you have done many time . It Is all brand new to me. If I can do it it will be marvellous
Thanks Danny, getting ready to build the crossovers for my NX Studios.
Feels like I'm watching Bob Ross of diy hifi world lol. Nice work.
our bro Danny is working on a gray (updated) mullet to match his videos of the past... dubbed the "mullet 19".. love you Danny!!! keep up the amazing work..
I don't think I will ever be bored of you doing the twist . lol
One thing doesn’t show in the video is just how much muscle memory, dexterity, and coordination this assembly takes. I do small wires for thirty years and I’m kinda chuckling...you are soooo.understating the challenge it is for some!
Great Video, Danny! I can't wait to get my new parts.
I love what you are doing Sir!
Great Danny; thanks for the practice, you make it look very simple.
Can you explain it to me? All of the key moments were either blurred, off-camera, or not explained. Do you think the supplied instructions will be more clear for a beginner to be able to assemble these? And I'm talking a beginner who cannot make heads or tails of a schematic.
New to the channel. Learning a lot. Very good. Looks like I'll be ordering a kit from you for my summer project.
Did you complete the kit? Did the instructions provided do better than this video did? All of the key moments of this video were either off focus, out of the camera lens, or not explained. I found it very frustrating. Do you think a beginner can build these without a proper video?
The main aspect that prevents me from doing the DYI is the soldering. My experiences in the past with soldering has been it's way harder than it looks to do it well, and I always ended up very frustrated.
This is the first time seen how a crossover is put together. Excellent video thanks Danny
I never am bored. But Dude you are a fast thinker and talking
Danny, a friend of mine who knows a lot more about building circuits than I do had the following comments. Could you please comment and confirm whether I need to address any of his comments. (1) Resistors get hot...so not a good idea to have them next to to the caps. Recommend you keep them off the board for airflow and away from other components and not have them held by zip ties, he is thinking they may generate 5W or so (2) To use sandpaper and strip the ends of the inductor till the copper shows. Thanks. (BTW, hearing you comment about how the bypass caps take things to the next level. I did go ahead and order them. Being a novice took me a while to find them on the web at sonic craft and order them. Recommend you adding them as another orderable option on your site.) Given all the hours I have put into building the kit I am perfectly willing to spend another eighty dollars on the cap if that will take things to another level.) My son and I can't wait to complete the project,
Thats what it's all about my fellow Audio nut, enjoying the hobby and trying new things.. just because and bringing your whippersnapper into the wonderfull world of high-fidelity 🎼 🎵 🔉 🔉🤤 🔉🔉🎶👍
Great Job I am in the learning Curve
Thanks. My speakers sound so clear now that I am able to hear the fart @2:48 😂
After listened to the Desktop mini crossover video where Danny says : Do not place a screw in the center of the air core inductor, I went and removed the one i had placed in my X-SLS… WOW… WOW… WOW… the mid range opened up, guitar, vocals, sound stage. Listen to the other video.
Your camera work is great just seeing the back of your hands. From confused
Watch that dropped solder blobs on those bare legs....my boyhood soldering in summer short pajamas left a few scars. Use a goldie locks brass pot scraper to clean iron tip. Great detail on this site
Hey Danny. Thanks for the vid. I'm planning on ordering this kit next month, with the cap and resistor upgrade. And after watching this vid, the miflex caps. The miflex caps aren't on the website, should I call or source it out in my own? What were the values of those miflex caps?
I've built a few sets of speakers over the years, and I always learned to plop the crossover components down into silicone. It lasts forever, and reduces mechanical shifting and rattling noise from the components. Can you weigh in on this? I also assembled high-end amps for a niche manufacturer, and they had me put everything down into silicone for the same reason.
I love how easy you make it look and the layout.
Flush cutter for zip ties at WallY World For $6.97 best thing ever for zip ties. No more nics or cuts from bumping into it.
That's the magic!now this is interesting, thanks
lots of good info here!
Danny sounded suspiciously like Mr. Rogers when he was talking about us watching him do assembly work.
If Mr. Rogers was from Texas....
@@scottpoerschke8807 and came back to life from the grave
Danny you are a MASTER and being a novice I see the mistakes that I made on my first crossovers I used hot glue to mount all of the components instead of wire ties . would foil inductors also be a big improvement along with the milex caps? what kind of cost are we looking at hotrod the crossover as you have done?
Thank You for doing this for all of us dummies
Foil inductors are a slight upgrade. And the Miflex Copper caps are $20 each.
U are much smarter experienced and your business , u do fine more detail is alway welcome and to hell with know it alls
Thanks, Danny, this was super-helpful. Something that would be helpful to include in the plans that come with the kit, along with the schematic, are the dimensions of the board you were using.
Okay, I'll work on that.
@@dannyrichie9743 Thank you, Danny. This will be helpful when using the upgrade with the MiFlex caps as they can make the layout of the parts "larger" so to speak (I've stacked mine as best as possible, but the extra parts could increase the layout size for these extra parts). Cheers!
Nice video, but twisting solid core wire extending from a component can cause internal damage and stress cracks in the solid core itself. Furthermore, the more you heat the wiring, the more you heat the components attached, also causing internal damage.
Hey Danny....yet another awesome video from you as always. I know you have put together the crossover components hundreds of times and you can do this with your eyes closed :) ...but for some of us out here who are new to this still struggle to "join the dots" properly. It would have been nice if you can properly show the circuit schematic which clearly shows the connections marked. (What you are currently showing in the video seems a little hard to figure out and provides just a vague schematic view...would've been great if you showed that in full frame so that people can pause and view) Also I see that you have added some new components (KPCU capacitors?) in addition to the standard X-LS Encore kit offered and that seems to have added the confusion a bit. Can you please provide a modified circuit diagram covering those parts as well,...maybe as a PDF to download?
I've held up a circuit diagram several times in the video. It just didn't have the values listed. To get the values (intellectual property) you have to buy the kit.
Danny Richie Okay Sure 👍
So many things I Have questions about like if you did use Mr Rawlings boards, your build just blocked the mounting holes for the board completely. I just finished mine and yes, don’t use peters holes. Move them somewhere more sensible for your parts category.
You can drill new ones wherever you need them to be.
umm... at 2.46 - was that a tummy rumble? May just be me noticing details through my audiophile Dell in-built laptop speakers.
If you spent more money and bought an audiophile macbook you would have realised straight away that the lower frequency of said rumble can only be reproduced via the lower port of the body.
With feeding the solder onto the gun, wouldn’t you be worried about cold solder joints?
Do you put any protection on any of your crossovers? PTCs, Fuses, breakers or heaters, lol? I see many larger speakers have protection like PTCs on mid and tweeter. Is it a bad idea to eliminate them from the design in a crossover rebuild?
Danny, what’s your general rule for bypass cap values? Is there a mathematical way you personally figure out the bypass cap’s value that it’s in parallel with, or does it depend on how much you wanna smooth out the highs?
Anytime you bundle caps of dissimilar values there is a difference in the charge and discharge rates and that difference can cause a phase shift or time smear. But with cap values of .1uF or less that phase shift is at or above 20kHz. So it is not a problem. So you get the benefit of the faster discharging small cap without the penalties. Going smaller than .1uF gives up a little of the flavor or sound of the by-pass cap. So I tend to like the .1's.
Danny Richie
Thanks very much for the excellent explanation, Danny. That actually makes a lot of sense and clears things up.
@@dannyrichie9743 Some believe the bypass cap should be 10% value of the series cap
@@manFromPeterborough Some do believe that. However, in most cases that can cause smearing. I recommend using a .1uF or smaller for most cases.
Looks good.
Danny, it would be awesome to see a close up tutorial on how you combine multiple crossover components to get those nice tight connections. I was a little concerned about pulling the capacitor and resistor wires too tight and damaging them somehow when I made my crossover. Also, once 2 or 3 components are connected together and that group is fairly thick, how to add another for ground (or whatever).
I kind of covered that in this video. At least you get to watch me twist them all up.
Ok I learned a bit from this one. I still don’t understand the signal flow, is there another more in depth signal flow explanation? Because there’s two drivers does that mean there’s two main wires going to the positive input terminal?
I'm a complete amateur when it comes to speaker crossovers, but why would you use monster sized, high voltage capacitors? Most home speakers don't use 400-600 volts. One of my speakers blew and I'm trying to find replacement parts. (It's a Realistic Mach One)
Any chance of another take at this video with somebody doing the camera work? Some of the crucial parts are not visible. I'm more confused now than before I saw the video.
Man, I haven't seen point to point soldering like that since the old tube radio days. I'd make a circuit board myself and mount all the components to the board and solder to leads and traces.
I've lost my wiring diagram. Which resisters goes to which part of the circuit? There's a 3, 6 and 12 ohm in the kit, but you don't mention which specific one goes where in the video. Any help would be appreciated.
Danny ,I was wondering if you strip off the red coating on inductor wire when you go to solder
If the inductor is not sripped and tinned then yes, do that prior to soldering.
Hi Danny - shame you didn't mention stripping the varnish off the inductor ends to make bare copper wire!
These inductors came from Erse. They are prestripped and Tinned.
@Danny Richie Just interested as to what bypassing the tweeter's first L-Pad resistor with a capacitor does to the frequency response? Thanks again for all the videos!
It lifts the top end slightly.
Great job
As you are twisting the wires together then you only need a small dab of solder on each twist. Any more is a waste of time and solder. The physical strength and electrical conduction is not actually improved by saturation soldering all along the wire from one component to the next.
Rule of thumb: When you look through either inductor, you should not be able to see the other one.
It is interesting what you said about positioning the inductors in 90 º oriented planes in order to reduce magnetic fields interference. Nice tip. I have been thinking that it will be totally avoided in you split the board in two . The one located on top of the enclosure will have only components for high frequency crossover, and the one at the bottom the components for low frequencies for the woofer. What do you think about it? By the way, do you know same online calculator for inductors? Thanks
So long as they are turned in different directions then they're fine. I don't understand your question about calculating inductors. I don't know anything regarding them that you'd want to calculate.
Danny Richie what I mean is some software that tells me what diameter and how many turns and wire gauge to build a let’s say 10 micro Henry inductor.
@@pabloosvaldopenizzotto1098 There are a lot of variables there. It is best to measure as you go, or buy the inductors that you need.
Favorite Part
Do you think it could help if some antivibration material we used between the board and the crossover parts?
I got a set of Def Tech bp-7004's I believe the x-over is bad . the tweeters dont work so i took them out and tested them on my 7001's and they worked fine. What's your thought on it?
Danny, you're a handsome guy but I'd prefer a closeup of your handiwork vs the room shot. "It may be simple" but I still have no idea what you've done because the board is so distant. later the closeup has your hand is in focus but not the board. grrrrr.
I tried to give a more normal view to explain the circuit and then zoom in for some of the assembly. And I think my camera guy can tell me of a setting that will keep the work in focus better for future videos. I'm still a bit new to this, but I'll get better.
Hi. A high resolution picture of the crossover, front and back, fully assembled, with all parts visual, so it’s easy to mount them in the correct direction.!! Wired/twisted together would be nice and easy for all, even you Danny. Not so many mail about the mounting. Love your work and professional.
i agree!!!
@@dannyrichie9743 if you could give it another try, that would be much appreciated. At this point, having watched the video several times, I am totally lost. All the key moments are of the back of your hand, a blurred vision, off camera completely, or shown with insufficient explanation of what's going on. I hope your kids instructions provide more than a schematic. I really want to try this, but right now, I am flying blind.
@@greenbeginner9221 If you compare the schematic to the the paused video shots then it will make sense.
so if your "hotrodding" is bypassing the cap with a different cap why not just replace the caps? is there a reason to have both caps in series or?
IS the miflex cap and resistor at end of board run parallel to tweeter inductor and what value is the bypass cap on series Sonicap?
Hey Danny, I'm getting ready to do my AV/3s and wanted to get an idea of how I should proceed with the XO. Love all your videos as they are helpful. I kind of would like to show off the XO, perhaps put into a separate chamber. Would it be ok to hide the wires behind the board and show off the components on the front of the XO board? Or should I not do that? Also cable length from XO to speakers, if a bit longer is that a problem?
AW! This sort of twisting wires together is big BS for me! I have a hard time doing this with my numb Hand... That´s awful. It´s bad to lose capabilities ... especially when you're a creative guy! But, a man must do what a man must do! Despite my (due to spine damage) numb Hands, I do such stuff! And, man, Soldering tiny parts is really a pain in the A**! 🤣
For example, solder a wire to the tweeter:
Hands Numb: check!
Hands shivering: check!
Sweating green Apples not to burn up the connection point of the tweeter: check!
I have wanted to build several of your kits for some time now, but they are never available because of missing parts. Don't know how much longer I can wait.
All parts are now in stock.
Great video, and thanks again for taking time to video this process for those of us that are soldering/crossover build nubies. Is there any advantage or disadvantage to keeping the sub and tweeter crossovers separate or combined? Also can the upgrade to the upgrade be ordered from your site as I already ordered the upgraded sonic caps and mills resistors?
The two filters can be separated or combined. And you can call to order the Miflex caps anytime.
@@dannyrichie9743 what are the additional sonic benefits of the miflex caps?
Soon I will be ordering these but crossover assembly is still an area of hesitation. If I am right, resistors and capacitors can have either lead be the input or output so directionality doesn't matter. I get that maybe you may want to have the input be on the left as you read the text on it but not required. But is that not true for the inductors? Does't the center lead or outside lead have to be connected in a particular way? How doe the schematic indicate if an element (cap/resitor) should connect to the center or outside?
No the inductors are not polarised so you can connect to either way
Does anyone know why "hot glueing" the components on the board wouldn't be preferred/possible? I am building one of Danny's crossovers soon for my speakers, and was thinking I should hot glue the components to secure, and also to prevent vibration and buzzing. Is this not a good idea?
Whats your honest take here, do you think the encore (fully upgraded crossovers, and are incredible) would give the kef ls50 meta a good fight? If so, in so maybe all around or maybe in certain areas more than others etc., would love to know your take, and ill let you know mine, i have both, and getting ready to do a critical listening shootout and will let you know my verdict, but id like to know your prediction before i put them head to head, keep up the good work, your a mastermind.
Please if you don't want nose mask pls get a lil Fan beside you to blow the smoke out tru your window nextime
Not over-teweetered, but lots of resistors in the tweeter path... So I guess it would be really to bright, singing way over the woofer without them.
2 resistors in series, 1 in parallel... wahou ! It has to stay quiet by a lot. Just at first sight, not a tech guy at all.
Danny, what value is the copper cap in parallel with the 7.5ohm? Is it the same .1uf Milflex cap? It's not on the schematic.
and my X-statik kit just arrived!!
It is a .1uF value.
@@dannyrichie9743 Can I purchase these from you?
@@franktomlinson950 Yes.
Jezz he has a set of T&B crimpers,,, haven’t seen one of them in years
Never mind. I’ll just order the assembled pair.
Just curious, why not attach the board the crossover is on to the speaker board prior to putting the speaker together to avoid reaching thru the driver hole?
The board? Or the board with components attached already? There’s a few good reasons to do neither
silly question, any reason this can't be a ckt board vs just free style? it could be a option maybe even folks can order direct from a ckt board company or you ? might help make it easier to assemble for many dunno
I strongly suggest some soldering tutorials. Yowza.
I purchased your sony SSCS5 rebuild kit. Do you have a video on how to put it together or can i take the same approach on this video?
You can take the exact same approach.
I would not be able to build the crossovers from the directions on the sheet of paper. I would need a photo or photos of the assembled board to make sure I had the parts in the right places.
Did I miss the part where he says the crossover boards do not come with the DIY kit?
No.1 tip, NEVER use lead free solder.
I also don’t understand why some components are bundled together and their wires twisted together? Don’t that have to be in series to work? So confusing
If you don't tie your resistors in a line, the electrons might fly off the corners of the wire
Yikes! You're right.
if what you want, is for them to touch each other, you can do it on a pcb and it looks nicer...
The use of a PCB board causes a little performance hit. Point to point wiring keeps the circuit boards out of the signal path.
Hey Danny or anyone out there that knows. What kind of solder do you use? Do you have a link where you buy from? Thanks
regular electrical solder. sold everywhere. not plumbing!
@@veroman007 thanks!
Audiophile 4% silver solder fast flow lead-free rosin core 1mm thick 1 metre roll £1,44 .most soldiers 60/40 is 3% silver or less
get Yourself a minimum of 60w soldering iron
@@johnsweda2999 Thank you for the very specific information John!
Why did you install shrink tubing on input / output line wire soldered to array of components, but not between components. What is the electrical logic to that?
Its to cover the bare oxygen free copper to prevent oxidation.
Good
So if I order the kit with all possible upgrades, will my crossover look like this? Are all of the required parts available at this time?
Did you ever think of partnering with a company to do custom pcb boards for you?
Excellent. Not being any kind of an electrical DIY-guy when it comes to what you consider to be second nature - I really appreciate the work you've put in to make this. Yup, now I know I can do this.
Before this video? - not at all.
QUESTION: The version you built here, is it the EXACT upgrade(s) version that includes ordering
the Mills resistor(upgrade) AND the Soniccaps?? If so, I am pretty excited about doing this.
Again, big thanks!
Hey Charles, it's the same version of the upgraded kit, with just one exception. He added two Miflex bypass capacitors to the tweeter circuit in the video.
@@sparkeyjones6261 Thanks Sparkey, I did need to know that.
Did you ever complete the speakers? Was it as easy as you thought it would be? I watched the video and I'm totally lost!
@@greenbeginner9221 Hey Jon, no I haven't although I have built my own before. I wouldn't be too
afraid of either building these or the CSS Audio Criton if the cross-over is your concern.
You can always get your cross-over checked by a local electrician (?) or with pictures back to your supplier. The CSS kit (see cheapaudioman on TH-cam) more expensive
but in the same league for quality and probably a little easier because they supply a cross-over mounting board which is much easier to see the signal path. Hope this helps.
I would have been ok with watching the twisting of all the wires for 10 minutes.
Watching it for 10-minutes they would have snapped and it's not a good idea twisting wires either
@@johnsweda2999 LOL, well, ok, I thought that's what the fast forward button was for. At least a few close-ups of the completed crossover would be nice. Why isn't it a good idea to twist the wires? Are you saying Danny, and anyone who follows this video is doing it wrong?
Stupid question amnesty.
Why zip ties vs Hot glue for component attachment to the board?
Sometimes I do both. The zip tie method makes them the same, and is easy to undo if needed.
What make are those red air core inductors?
Hi Danny. Do you ever glue components as opposed to using zip ties? If not, is it just a matter of preference? Or are there pros to using zip ties over glue?
I sometimes hot glue them around the edges after zipping them down.
anything wrong with using peg board instead of drilling holes?
No, but keep all of your connections up top.
We need to Get Danny a new Soldering iron :)
That's funny. Tells us Danny is more a function over pretty kind of guy.
I have a bunch of them around here including some really nice Weller soldering stations, but I like this old one best.
@@dannyrichie9743 Love my JBC 150watt unit..
How many watts is that crossovers good for and is it a 2way or a 3way passive crossovers
Crossovers are not rated that way. This is a two way design and is specific to the X-LS Encore model.
Circuit diagram of crossover and the explanation of it would be a great welcome.
When I get ready for my kit, I would LOVE a photo of a completed network on PR’s board with labels pointing to the components. Labels would be great to include indicators on where to connect drivers’ leads and leads from tube connectors.
@@catdeddy8427 Watch the next video for wiring.
balraj, You get a schematic (diagram) with the kit.
Danny Richie Okay, as long as you provide with the kit a proper schematic with component values indicated, it is fine.
@@dannyrichie9743 do you know of a video that clearly explains how to translate a schematic into a real world assembly situation like your speakers? I have searched for days and every video assumes that you already know this stuff and the video is just an exercise in beginner discouragement.