Optimus Pro LX5 II speaker crossover modification and foam surround replacement

Modification to the LX5 II speaker crossovers with the original mid woofers and replacing the foam surrounds on the them. Larry Van Wormer's crossover modifications can be found on this web page at the Internet Archive in Microsoft Word and plain text format. Also information for replacement of the woofers with replacements from SEAS along with crossover modification for the SEAS mid woofers.
web.archive.org/web/200810120...

[@johnwehunt4305]

I used F-11 felt glued to all flat sides in cabinet. Sounds much better than original.

[@paulturner3553]

I bought 4 of these when they were being closed-out at 50% off the list price. I do not recall what year that was. My motivation in buying them was for the DI-pole tweeter design which is highly rated and not cheap on other speaker set-ups from past info I had. My speakers also have the cruddy foam surrounds. If I had know that the foams were of inferior quality back then, I doubt that I would have bought these speakers. I also have 2 of the separate DI-pole tweeters bought at a good discount at the time. These tweeters I use with another stereo system I have. Too bad that I did not buy more of these tweeters instead of the 4 Pro LX5 II speakers. Any thoughts about removing the tweeter portions of the speakers and use them in a different application? I'm not very keen on the idea of spending money on these small satellite speakers. I could do the rubber surrounds and leave the rest alone, but not sure the effort will yield any great success story. Given the tiny mid-woofers size, these speakers would never yield the sound of 8" and larger woofers. The tweeters are likely the sweet spot on these 2-way speakers. Would like to hear from others to see what their thoughts are. I have no shortage of different speakers, most of which are of 3-way design.

[@evanleebodies]

I've just replaced the foam surrounds on my pair of LX5's with one slight difference. Instead of replacing the surrounds with foam, I've opted to use rubber surrounds. Let me tell you folks, the bass response is way better than before. I put this down to the stiffnes of foam vs rubber. I bought both foam and rubber surrounds off EBay and was able to make a side-by-side comparison before replacement, the rubber surrounds were way more pliable so on they went.

[@electricroo]

I've heard that from others. Not sure what that would do with the upgraded crossovers as the crossover upgrade was designed while using the foam surrounds.

[@evanleebodies]

@@electricroo If I had another pair I'd try the crossover change as well but the LX5's are getting difficult to get hold of-in the UK at least

[@jamiethornton6101]

could you share a link of the rubber replacements you used? I'm about to replace mine. I thought about doing the mods and putting a Def Tech woofer in them.

[@UnknownIdaho]

I love my LX5’s and need to replace the foam surrounds. Does anyone make a lot of parts for the crossover or where would you suggest I find these parts? No Radio Shack around anymore, even in the old days they didn’t have crossover components I knew of…

[@jimthvac100]

Since you have made the modifications to these speakers especially the crossover how well do you feel the perform compared to before the crossover? I just replaced the foam on mine but would like to modify the crossover I am not real happy with how it sounds almost a little muffled.

[@electricroo]

First, those re-coned speakers will require a break in period. If you decide to modify the crossovers, download the complete article from the link and study it over so you can understand what is going on. Don't expect super bass from those but what is there seems to be nice for a low power system. I sometimes use them with my 4 watt per channel single ended tube amplifier. If you pair a subwoofer with them everything sounds nice. I have a non powered sub with a built-in crossover sending mids and highs to the LX's. My sub contains two 6" JBL rear firing subwoofers.

[@koprcord5338]

Wow that's alot of parts for a 2 way crossover, also I have 8 of these speakers and none have a woofer like that.

[@davidmorgen4558]

I owned theses speakers could not get em to sound quite right?

[@UnknownIdaho]

‘He sounds like he’s speaking Hebrew’ love it!

[@vfrdev]

FaitalPRO-5FE120-5inch Woofer-8-Ohm works well

[@scottlowell493]

faitel pro and scan-speak. the faitel pro full range will cross over to the tweeter the best.

[@oscarmorris6736]

You've chosen an excellent speaker to tinker with, however, rubber surrounds work and sound far superior than foam. I have made a business out of finding and restoring these speakers.

[@electricroo]

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind if I come across another pair to repair.

[@gooddogtrainingservices5351]

Do you put surround on front or back?

[@koprcord5338]

Wish I would have done rubber when I refoamed, lot of people think these are crap and dog rs stuff but I think they sound great in home theatre applications.

[@jonathanabrahams7878]

@@koprcord5338 I have 6 pair's, 2 still need new surrounds, I love these speaker's for Surround Sound I actually have a pair of the LX10s that I use for Center Channel 1 on each of my Systems.. Ive owned many Speaker's throughout the year's and these are satisfying in my opinion

[@fliptophiphop1894]

got a link for rubber replacements for these?

[@exitar1]

It’s probably better to just use a better speaker cabinet...

[@scottlowell493]

The crossover needs an upgrade from stock. The woofer is super cheap. too wobbly and slow. IIRC, there is a scan-speak driver that will drop-in. 10x better than stock in every way.

[@electricroo]

The intent was to upgrade the crossover. In watching the video you will notice the upgrade and it was designed to work with the original speaker and also a replacement from SEAS which may not be available anymore. I wouldn't want to just drop in another speaker without testing of the enclosure and speaker together to find optimal components if trying to implement an improvement.