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CHARTWELL PM-55 help needed!


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Hi all,

I recently added a lovely pair of CHARTWELL PM-55 to my collection! I am really impressed by the awesome sound they already produce. Since these are vintage speakers I want to recap them and enjoying them with their full capacity again. Before I am going to open them up , I wanted to know if there is someone who can tell me which caps have been used in the crossover section of this speaker. I am fairly new to recapping old speakers, and it helps to know which caps I need to hunt down before opening the speaker and find out similair caps are not available anymore.
I hope you guys will help a fellow vintage speaker "addict" and point me in th right direction.

Thanx in advance.
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Well, you're getting closer. The Chartwells aren't from New England either--they're from OLD England :D

I have no experience with these and a quick google search did not turn up any schematics but if you have had some, even limited experience opening up a speaker and poking around inside I would not worry. It sounds like you've already recapped the B&Os so you're familiar with the drill. In all probability the capacitors will be marked and there is virtually no chance that caps of the appropriate values are not available. Worst case scenario: In Rectilinear speakers the capacitors are not labeled with their values. In the unlikely case that the Chartwells are the same, you could get a cheap LCR meter and measure the capacitance or send the caps to a helpful CSP member to measure them for you. But I'll bet they are marked.

I did find one photo of a Chartwell (not a PM55) xo http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/214838-chartwell-pm110-speakers-crossover-help.html It has those unreliable black and red PVC caps so they really should be replaced.

Let us know how you make out.

Kent

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Hi Kent,

Thanx for your help, again. First I am going to finish the B&o project and then I am going to open up the Chartwells to see what's inside. Any recommendations on cap brands? For my first two projects (Mission 700 and Celestion Ditton 10's) I used Intertechnik Audyn MKP's. I have been reading some great things concerning the Clarity Caps. I just don't know if these higher prices are worth considering.

Kindest regards, Marlon.

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Well Marlon, you're asking a question as volatile as "What's the best political party?" ;)

I once recapped some KLH Five speakers for a CSP member using Clarity Caps and he was very happy. MOST guys here use inexpensive film caps for smaller values (tweeters and mids) and use cheap npe's for larger values. I personally do not believe expensive caps sound any "better" and when you consider that the original caps that the speakers were designed around were usually npe or, in newer speakers inexpensive film caps, expensive caps make even less sense. Many members here know that I am a big fan of Madisound's dirt cheap "surplus" caps.

Of course now you know what "party" I belong to and you may want to consider my wire recommendation in that light. I use 16ga lamp cord for hookup wire, buy inexpensive interconnects from monoprice.com and use Carli, Dayton, Erse or surplus capacitors. I put my money toward better equipment or more music.

One place I do use "special" caps is in recapping electronics: If I recap a receiver, amp etc. I'll use Nichicon or Elna "audio grade" electrolytics where available, but there the cost difference compared to general purpose caps is pennies. Even there, it's unlikely the "audio grade" caps offer a sonic improvement over good quality hi-temp general purpose caps from top manufacturers like Panasonic or Nichicon but as I said, the difference is literally pennies (and the audio grade caps usually come in pretty colors :lol: ).

Of course, in all things audio, YMMV.

Kent

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