Can anyone say if there a possibility of a PT800 crossover upgrade that is above the quality of stock, but isn't $350 per speaker (as the sand-filled beauties were)?
I ask because it's something I want to take into consideration as I wait for my opportunity to get a pair of them for a nice price.
That does sound like a fun project.
The cost of crossovers is directly linked to what brand of caps are used. I ran the numbers for a C-C XO at parts express, using mostly Solens and some Jantzen caps, the total parts cost was almost $500 for a pair of crossovers, not counting the boxes and sand or wire. That total didn't count by-pass caps either, with those would add about another $72, using Theta AudioCap.Originally Posted by 80sKid
The Mundorf caps that skeptical1 used are more expensive. But I wouldn't use anything less than the Solens, not worth the bother.
As for getting PT800s at a nice price, lol. And if you did get them for cheap, even more reason to spend the money on the XOs, that's still a lower total cost than the list price, or even what harmanaudio used to sell the PT800s for. Which are no longer available.
Living in the Land of the Sun
Yikes.
Well we each have a standard we expect. I simply can't afford to build crossovers at that performance level because of the cost.
Based on what I know (which is obviously less than many of you experts around here), I have to think there is something beyond factory that maintains affordability. Say, around $150 per speaker?
Or are the factory units already at that level? I suppose they could be in the Performance series, but I didn't think JBL was pouring components of that level into most of their consumer speakers.
I continue to have faith that I will one day find the PT800s used for a price that I can afford.
I think you could get the XO's from JBL for around $70 a few years back. I don't know if they are still offered or at what price.
It's still available, PN - 336614-001. $61.49
JBL only supplies one XO for the PT800, its a good XO. If you were to get any PS speakers there would be no reason to upgrade. I haven't done it yet either, b/c of the cost, and the fact that the PT800 boxes are not big enough to house a C-C network. For PT800 mounted to subs, that's not a problem, just have to build boxes to sit on the subs. But it would be a problem for wall mounted PT800s.
Like I said, the cost of building upgraded XOs is related to the size and brand of caps used. And it serves no purpose to build C-C networks and use bottom of the barrel components, just a waste of money.
I'll give you a cost comparision. The C-C networks I built for my custom L212s was $300/pr. But the cost of C-C networks for the PT800 would be at least $500/pr.
The difference in the cost is the size of caps required for the PT800, which are larger than ones required for the L2121s. There is no way to get around that.
You either spend the money, or just use the stock XOs. And at that, the PT800 are better than any other speaker I've heard below $3K/pr.
Living in the Land of the Sun
Can anyone recommend a good book about this stuff. I'd like to know why the larger caps are needed and how they change the sound.
The larger caps don't change(improve) the sound. The DC voltage applied to the caps does.
But to apply the DC volts, you have to use two caps in series (at the common point of the caps). To maintain the proper capacidence of a single cap, you have to double the size when caps are placed in series.
If the original XO has, lets say, an 8uF cap, in a given part of the circuit, to make it a C-C circuit requires that two 16uF caps are wired in series. That series pair of 16uF = 8uF.
Of coarse, you have to add a 2~6 megohm resistor and battery, at the common point.
Check out the Coupled-Charged thread, also.
Living in the Land of the Sun
OK, thanks for that.
I was thinking the factory ones weren't great, because of the comments of the chap who made the expensive crossovers. But obviously anything OEM would be flawed compared to the mega crossovers he made.
In the world of audio, anything is upgradeable. The sound of the PT800 in stock form is very good. That said, you can make improvements, a number of ways, if you want to take the time and spend the money.
One way is to build more expensive XOs. Another way that has been discussed a few years ago on this forum, would be to build 250Ti type boxes, that are time aligned.
Of coarse another upgrade would be buy even better speakers; Arrays, K2, Everest II, Revel. But all of those choices cost a lot more cash.
Living in the Land of the Sun
I've been toying with this idea for a few months now. I love those boxes but am no craftsman.
Using both 250 type boxes and C-C networks would be a total improvement. But, imo, just doing C-C networks would provide the biggest improvement.
Living in the Land of the Sun
That and making sure you've got a 400+ W/ch amp to drive them. Make that two amps if you're really serious.
Out.
At least 200+w. My thought was still using the sub amp for the 4th driver, which would be the LE14H-3, SUB1500, or some such thing.That and making sure you've got a 400+ W/ch amp to drive them. Make that two amps if you're really serious.
If you're using speakers in a near field setup like I am in this room, don't need a lot of watts, but these C-C networks really shine on low volume. Same as using the class A circuit on an amp.
Poster on the HK7550HD thread @ AVS said he got a demo in the high end room at Northridge. They had the yet to be released 7550HD AVR connected to some Revels and it had headroom to spare.
Living in the Land of the Sun
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