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Capacitor log Mundorf Silver in Oil

I wished I could find a log with information on caps. I have found many saying tremendous improvement etc. but not a detailed account of what the changes have been. I have had the same speakers for many years so am very familiar with them. (25+ years) The speakers are a set of Klipsch Lascala's. They have Alnico magnets in the mids and ceramic woofers and tweeters. The front end is Linn LP12 and Linn pre amp and amp. The speaker wire is 12 gauge and new wire.

I LOVE these speakers around 1 year ago they started to sound like garbage. As many have said they are VERY sensitive to the components before them. They are also showing what I think is the effect of worn out caps.

There are many out here on these boards I know of that are using the Klipsch (heritage) with cheaper Japanese electronics because the speakers are cheap! (for what they can do) One thing I would recommend is give these speakers the best quality musical sources you can afford. There is a LOT to get out of these speakers. My other speakers are Linn speakers at around 4k new with Linn tri-wire (I think about 1k for that) and the Klipsch DESTROY them in my mind. If you like "live feel" there is nothing like them. In fact it shocks me how little speakers have improved in 30 years (or 60 years in the Khorns instance)

In fact I question Linn's theory (that they have proved many times) that the source is the most important in the Hi-Fi chain. Linn's theory is top notch source with lessor rest of gear including speakers trumps expensive speakers with lessor source. I think is right if all things are equal but Klipsch heritage are NOT equal! They make a sound and feel that most either LOVE or hate. (I am in the LOVE camp and other speakers are boring to me)

So here goes and I hope this helps guys looking at caps in the future. Keep in mind Klipsch (heritage Khorns Belle's and Lascala's especially) are likely to show the effects of crossover changes more then most.

1 The caps are 30 years old and
2 the speakers being horn driven make changes 10x times more apparent.

Someone once told me find speakers and components you like THEN start to tweak if needed. Don't tweak something you not in love with. Makes sense to me.

So sound
Record is Let it Be (Beatles)
The voices are hard almost sounds like a worn out stylus.
Treble is very hard. I Me Mine has hard sounding guitars. Symbals sound awful. Everything has a digital vs. analog comparison x50! Paul's voice not as bad as John's and George's. Voices will crack.

different lp
Trumpets sound awful. Tambourine terrible. Bass is not great seems shy (compared to normal) but the bad caps draw soooooo much attention to the broken up mid range and hard highs that are not bright if anything it seems the highs are not working up to snuff. I have went many times to speaker to make sure tweeters are even working.

All in all they sound like crap except these Klipsch have such fantastic dynamics that even when not right they are exciting!

Makes me wonder about the people who do not like them if they are hearing worn out caps and cheap electronics? Then I can see why they do not like them! If I did not know better from 25+ years of ownership that would make sense.

For the new crossover I have chosen Mundorf Silver in Oil from what I have read and can afford. I want a warm not overly detailed sound as Klipsch already has lots of detail and does not need to be "livened up" they need lush smooth sounding caps. Hope I have made the right choice?

When the crossover is in I will do a initial impression on same lp's. Right now it goes from really bad (on what may be worn vinyl) to not as bad but NOT great on great vinyl. (I know the quality of the vinyl because tested on other speakers Linn)

The new caps are Mundorf Silver in Oil and new copper foil inductors are coming. I will at the same time be rewiring the speakers to 12 guage from the lamp cord that PWK put in. PWK was a master at getting very good sound often with crap by today's standards components.

The choice of speakers would be a toss up now depending on what I am listening to. Klipsch vastly more dynamic but if the breaking up of the sound becomes to much to effect enjoyment the Linn would be a better choice on that Lp. If I could I would switch a button back and forth between speakers depending on song and how bad the break-up sound was bothering me.

volleyguy
salectric
755 posts
 
John, with a first-order crossover the slope is so gradual that there will be little difference in sound due strictly to the 3.3 vs. 3.52 difference in value. You certainly want both speakers to be matched but either value could be used. Of course, it is hard to isolate the sonic differences due to cap value alone---any comparison is complicated because different caps sound different, even two caps of the same mfr and model.

From your description, it appears that these speakers were "improved" by some prior owner who added a bypass cap. I agree with you that this nearly always causes problems even though the bypass cap may sound more spectacular at first. If I were you, I would probably go with a single 3.3uf cap.
theaudiotweak
2,801 posts
 
I agree. One great cap would be better than a poor cap and a better bypass cap. You can also mechanically direct couple flat caps like the Duelund some Jupiter's and the Clarity Cap Dtac series. This method will move resonant energy off the cap and the crossover mounting surface much faster than mounting with glue or silicon and ties.. Tom
reynolds853
386 posts
 
Salectric,

Thank you so much for your prompt and helpful reply. Your reply was spot-on for the help I needed. I'll indeed go with the single 3.3uf arrangement in the new crossover.

I didn't ask the gentleman from whom we obtained the speakers if he was the original owner. He didn't seem like the sort who would modify the crossover, but one never knows. I suspect though that you are correct that someone other than Alan Yun (Silverline designer) added that bypass cap.

There's another little oddity about the speaker: the internal wiring was been doubled, that is, two conductors have been twisted together on all of the connections. From having modified the crossover in a pair of Silverline SR17.5 monitors (I used Duelund VSF-Cu) and my Silverline Bolero speakers (Duelund CAST-Cu) I recognize the wire as what Alan used in those two speakers, but he only used single conductors for the connections. The picture of the stock crossover I found on the internet also used only single conductors. One more thing, whoever mounted the resistor, or re-mounted it as the case may be, must have lost control of the hot glue gun - what a big glob! I've never seen Alan be so sloppy before.

Thanks again for your help,
Cheers,

John
reynolds853
386 posts
 
Tom,

Thank you too for your reply. I posted my reply to Salectric before your note posted. Your suggestion is interesting but would it be needed with the CAST cap mounted in an outboard enclosure?

Thanks again,

John
theaudiotweak
2,801 posts
 
John

Granted you have more vibration in the speaker box than out. But your acoustic space is also a speaker box of sorts. A passive device in line has signal running thru it will also corrupt the signal with its own material resonance. Devices that are highly damped actually store much energy over a longer time frame so they also needed to be mechanically grounded doesn't matter if its in a cabinet or not.Tom
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