I completed this speaker project over the 4th of july weekend. What we have is apair of S50 and a pair of S45-2 crossover rebuild using Dayton Audio poly foil caps at B&O spec MFD value at 200VDC and Dayton Audio non-inductive audio grade resistors at spec ohm 8 W
I had refoamed the woofers on the S50 set back in January with rubber replacement surrounds from our friends at Good Hi-Fi with excellent results.
and the front view showing the repaired surround on the S50
Now unto the process of rebuilding the old crossovers
A little tight to fit it all on the old board and some rearrangements were necessary. Basically I had to spread things out
Much easiers were the S50 cross. Very simple by comparison to the S45.
and finally the result
The S50 while not popular or revered as the S45 is really not a bad speaker. I originally bought the set for about 65 USD inlding the shipping with the stands included. After testing the bass drivers and finding no problems other than rotted surrounds I went ahead and made the fix.
With the newly rebuilt cross the enhancemnt to the music detail were evident from the very start. Not a bad sounding speaker.
Now on to the the more popular S45 . When they arrived several months ago I was actually not all that impressed. They did sound good but I couldnt understand why so many Beoworlders (whose opinions I respect) hold this speaker to such high regard. I was absolutely floored by the sound quality once the project was complete, wonderful balance , outstanding music detail. Now I get it.
As a matter of fact I am listening to the S45's right now
The effort was worth every penny spent and I would do it again if the opportunity arises. The S45 is a great speaker and the S50 aint bad either.