Prodigy Improvements and Upgrades

[dabman64]

Would it be worthwhile to replace the capacitors in the Prodigy crossovers? Has anyone done this and what were the improvements. Also what would be a good replacement ML speaker for the Prodigys to really upgrade? Lots of questions as I don't have access to a lot of equipment in my area.

 

[Tosh]

No, those Solen film caps are fine forever, so leave the top end alone.

For all these old passive hybrid ESL's, once you use an active crossover on the bass, you have basically caught up with today's state-of-the-art and won't need any replacement. Attached is a simplified diagram of the Prodigy bass xo, so wrap your head around that, and find active (probably DSP) crossovers, and a couple of fat amps to drive the two woofers directly.

 

[DanR]

I did exactly this with my Odysseys, along with replacing both the front and rear woofers and I could not be happier with the results. It completely woke these beauties up for a fraction of the cost of new.

 

[R1200CL]

Would it be worthwhile to replace the capacitors in the Prodigy crossovers? Has anyone done this and what were the improvements. Also what would be a good replacement ML speaker for the Prodigys to really upgrade? Lots of questions as I don't have access to a lot of equipment in my area.

Contact Danny at GR-Research | Passion for High Quality Audio

Yes, quite sure worth to upgrade. Just did on my Odysseys. Wrote about it an another tread.

 

[Heyfey]

Contact Danny at GR-Research | Passion for High Quality Audio

Yes, quite sure worth to upgrade. Just did on my Odysseys. Wrote about it an another tread.

I too have replaced stock Odyssey caps with Mundorfs about 10 years ago and have also written about it previously. Definitely improved transparency of an already transparent speaker.

 

[StimpyWan]

I've never had a speaker recap that didn't result in an improvement in sound. That includes recapping old and new speakers. It just takes higher quality parts, that are an upgrade over stock.

Currently, I'm recapping my ElectroMotion ESL's. Stock caps were standard Mylar caps, and Bennic NPE's. One 22uF Mylar cap is being replaced with a Mundorf Supreme EVO Oil. Another Mylar, with a 39uF ClarityCap CSA. A 68uF electrolytic with a Mundorf MKP, and a 180 electrolytic with a 150uF Mundorf M-Cap in parallel with a 30uF Axon poly. I'm very much looking forward to hearing the results...! My only regret is I didn't have a crossover schematic for the speakers, as I always like to identify series and shunt caps beforehand.