Pap horn crossover upgrade part 2 cont’d.
After just over a month (probably 3 weeks with the Pap horns in and the other fortnight with the big red Harbeths in rotation) the first cap upgrade in the crossovers has shaped up beautifully. The last few days the benefits went even past the essential sonic improvements and got into a new level of natural nuance and an added even more unmissable musicality in mids and up top. Really started to turn into something I’ve not really experienced before, a quicksilver and more clear liquidity that has stepped even further beyond senses of confinements from electro mechanical process... even more than I thought was possible.
Given how long caps can traditionally take to settle in and form up I think there’s possibly more improvement left in part 1 of the horn crossover upgrade.
So I figure nows the time for upgrade part 2 (or perhaps path 2) and have just put in the two lovely copper shielded pathaudio resistors into the R2 position in the pap crossover.
Just playing the first album now and at the risk of sounding like I’m over the moon well, I’m well fairly well and truly beyond that moon. The first notes were accompanied by some wide eyed expressions and a muttering of some joyous obscenities of genuine surprise.
Just sounding smooooth and effortless, the bass just got a nice extra bit of much useful added tautness AND fullness. Much appreciated especially for the pap horn after always having the bass happy harbys as it’s system sound comparison. Bass is more dynamic already. Drums are just sounding more incisive and with an even more realistic punch and timbre. It’s like they’ve just learnt some bass tricks from the Harbys and just stepped a little closer in that area. That is a great outcome for the OB horns.
There’s also just a bit of lowered noise floor that I really wasn’t expecting. The midbass got just a bit of tuneful extra shove in it as well but certainly not forced, just a might more attack or confidence maybe... but smooooth. Balance is a bit more bottom up now (perfecto) but this is just after the resistor install and some 20 minutes play time so think there’ll very reasonably be further improvement ahead.
The R2 resistor had the very cheapest and lowest spec’d part in the entire crossover in it, a plain Jane stock base mundorf resistor so its now got one of the best resistors available in for the job. Think the Pathaudios were about $30 USD a piece from memory so very much a real no brainer improvement already.
Still have the Duelund cast silver bypass caps to go in but I might wait till the Mundorf Evo supremes are well and truly settled. Exciting times ahead
Thinking some Elrogs and Acmes are next in line as a lift for the LM SET now that I’ve sorted through the speaker upgrades for the Pap trio horn.