Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions Looking to repair or replace M60 crossover(SE/V2?)

Hi All,

Love my M60's running in stereo on a Denon 775RD Stereo receiver.

I had a bad capacitor last year (bulging) on one speaker and apparently the tweeter on that side died as a result (swapped sides and it was toast). I soldered a replacement cap and replaced the tweeter and I was good for about a year. Now the tweeter with the replacement capacitor drops out after a few minutes. No visible issues with the capacitors but I don't want to risk blowing any more drivers. Axiom no longer sells the crossover for my older speakers and offer a trade up which now costs almost $500 more than I paid for the factory seconds I bought way back. I don't have the $ to get new speakers but do have the the desire to repair or replace the crossover.
Any recommendations on where to get the best quality components to replace the ones that are now in the speakers or if there is a simple set I can replace the entire crossover board with?

Thanks!

How have you established the cross-over is at fault and not the tweeter?

The cross-over for the M60 is a custom design. You can't buy one off-the-shelf. You could replace faulty components though. There are many sources for them like Arrow Electronics.

I suppose if you don't have the cash, there's no point in me telling you the M60v4 is vastly superior to the M60Ti. The M3v4 is superior to the M80v2.

Axiom also has a trade up program now.

Thanks for the input but yes, I swapped the tweeter from one cab to another and the issues stays with the cabinet/crossover. I am thinking that the cheap capacitor I bought just wasn't up to snuff. I ordered a more expensive one (the original and replacement were both rated for 100v, the new one is rated up to 250v and has tighter specs). The trade up costs way more than my original pair was and is currently out of my budget. The new caps are due to be delivered today. Hopefully it gets me another 17 years out of these speakers.

You really think the M3v are better than M80v2? That seems like an apples and oranges comparison.

A 100V cap is plenty with that receiver of yours. A 50V cap is adequate actually. I don't know what to make of that.

It's not just me saying that about the M3v4 vs. M80v2. It's all who have heard both at my place. True enough the M80v2 has clearer mids, can go lower and sound louder but none of those things add up to a better experience than the M3v4. The M3v4 has a wider and deeper soundstage. Sound comes from instruments placed on that soundstage and it's not "thrown" at you like the sound from v2. The degree to which you can achieve this illusion depends on your room and placement within the room. The wider apart and deeper into the room, the better. If you can do this in your space, the M3v4 might be an upgrade over your older M60s. Oh yeah ...there's also the v4 tweeter. It just can't be compared to the v2.

See my review:

https://www.axiomaudio.com/reviews/index/list/product/43/

Since you seem to have some know how before I did anything else I'd compare the the resistance of each driver to it's equivalent driver on your working speaker. This could be the reason you x-over is failing. If these are close then depending on your comfort with electronics I'd do one of two things (maybe both):

1) find out if Axiom would repair your crossover inexpensively. Much cheaper to send them just the board.

2) If you wanted to repair it your self and you have the equipment and know how then ... then I'd compare the x-overs to each other. You can measure the impedance of each component with a cheap LCR meter. Or compare the x-overs with a signal generator and scope. Try and find an exact replacement part for any bad component (including tolerance).

If you opt for #2 ... Hopefully you have an interest in this sort of stuff and the time. Money wise your still spending a few $. Note you will pay a premium buying parts in single quantities. Online try parts-express.com, digikey.com, or amazon (you'll need to check anything coming from amazon .. returns are free if the item is not what was described) ... google will come up with a few more ... local brick and mortar are even more expensive but google around and you'll probably find something.

Good luck


P.S. Mojo does have a good point ... the M3v4 is a pretty nice speaker ... and it might be worth your while to check out the refurb/B-Stock store at axiom (especially if you can wait for a sale which can be applied to it).

There's usually a very generous annual Black Friday sale.

Then again, you may not want to wait. Check out this M60v4 in real wood:

https://www.axiomaudio.com/m60-v4-1705

These are not for everyone but I like them. I think Amie broke into the paint booth...LOL:

https://www.axiomaudio.com/deals/b-stock/1755

Actually, those red M3s are exceptionally pretty .. in the right room they would be stunning ... if I weren't M3'ed out I'd be all over them

Agreed. There's always room for more M3s, Rich.

Mojo, my birthday is in April in case you want to send me a present (red M3?) ...

I've picked a lovely lime mankini just for you.

https://imgix.ranker.com/user_node_img/5...&crop=faces

ahhhh that's very tempting but ... I'd rather have the red M3s ...

LOL, get a room, you two!

I had tried the M3 ti back then but I really wanted a full range speaker without using a sub (I gotta have that bottom end from the kick drum).

Thanks for the ideas. you might be right about the driver. One is a newer replacement that I bought when one of the originals failed and it has a different look (black vs silver) and weighs much less.

that is an issue ... I’m always running a sub so I forget it’s there ...
I’ll have listen to the M3 without that running ....

I assume both tweeters are from axiom ...

In any case not having the same components (or version of components) in both speakers is more then likely going to compromise the sound (unless Axiom told you the versions were interchangeable).

Hmmmm...I wonder if you're burning out tweeters because you're driving your Denon into clipping.

You definitely need a sub with M3s for full range.

Both tweeters are from axiom. Ian said they were interchangeable so I assume he has a pretty good idea.

Just swapped out the one capacitor from the bad cabinet. it was flaking out after about 2-3 minutes. currently about 20 minutes into a listening session and so far so good (knock on wood). I might replace the cap on the other side to match as the new one sounds a tad brighter.

Wish me luck that this one holds up longer than a year.

The Denon has two discrete 90 watt amps and I don't usually put it over 4 or things start to rattle off the shelves in the house and tweeters seem fine, just the x-over that gave out.