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
Interesting Jet! It does appear that my reactions to V-Caps vs. Duelunds are a minority view, but I can live with that. It won't be the first time! My system may need some extra zing in the HFs or maybe it's my 62-year old ears. In any case, I agree with you and Grannyring and the others that the copper CAST caps are very good sounding and certainly belong in the top tier of caps.

Let us know what you think of the GE 97F caps. I have one as the first cap off the rectifier in both my phono preamp and SE 46 amps. In both cases, I use Black Gates for the remaining caps and the GE seems to complement the Black Gates very well.
I am going to heat my outboard crossover box/enclosure to keep all the components at a nice operating temperature of 100-105 degrees. Much better sound with this modification as they will operate at the temperature they sound the best.

Just kidding:) Well kind of? Happy New Year to all!
Salectric, We may not be so far apart on the Duelund's sound as my description has made you think. They are more natural sounding but I don't like the extra darkness they are creating in my system at this point. Keeping in mind that my AN-e's are on the slightly dark side anyways. I'll leave them in for another month or two and really get to know them once they are fully broken in. if the darkness continues, I will try the Copper V-caps. Jet
Happy New Year to all!

Getting pumped to get the soldering iron going!

This thread was meant to not declare an official cap winner but to give someone an idea of what to expect when installing caps and to know their priorities upfront.

My priorities (with horn speakers) are natural tone, noise reduction, dynamics.

If ultra micro detail was my priority V Cap would be the cap of choice.

I am more in the Jupiter/Duelund camp. I have to be careful not sounding as keen on Jupiter. If space is tight they are my top choice... So I do like them. If money is brought into the equation many will go the Jupiter route.

If money no object? CAST or what value for the $ is RS? I will soon find out...