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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
justubes2
203 posts
 
we Diy'ers always want to believe a highly rated "audiophile" ,"boutique" component is the way to sonic bliss and outperforms everything or everyone's else equipment. That is all a fallacy!

Yes better parts always have sonic gains, but may or will not give the best or even the closest to best overall performance. There are just to many variables.

I don't deny equipment companies whether by sheer luck of design expertise using normal components are achieving excellent results and a base for many tweakers.

There is obviously a fourth dimension of tweaking with boutique parts, we don't even dare to imagine the aspects as you mentioned like room acoustics, cables etc. The permutations are just mind boggling.
salectric
755 posts
 
"I think we are all exploring different ways to get the sound we want." Well said Jet. Which cap sounds best will vary depending on the particular application and the particular listener.

In my case, I have settled on a mix of Copper V-Caps (CuTF) and old style V-Caps (TFTF) for my electronics, and a wider variety of caps for my speakers including CAST, Mundorf Supreme and Sonicap Gen 1.

I agree with the reservations about the CAST sound expressed by Justubes2 and Jetrexpro. Nothing is perfect.

I take exception, however, to the comments about a bypass cap. I have tried all sorts of bypass caps and combinations of bypass caps, and I have yet to find a single instance where there was an overall improvement. Yes, the bypass cap may sound impressive at first and some aspects of the sound may be real improvements such as HF speed and extension, but there is always, to my ears, a less natural, less coherent sound overall than just the base cap on its own. Other folks will reach other conclusions but that is what I have found to be true, and I have been trying bypass caps off and on for over 30 years. I don't say this to discourage anyone from trying bypass caps but only as a warning not to make a hasty judgment that a bypass cap is an overall improvement. Let the caps break in and then try removing the bypass; if you still think the bypass cap is an improvement then by all means leave it in. Just don't be too quick to conclude that it really is an improvement.
justubes2
203 posts
 
Yes, it is very easy to get the bypass wrong and thou it made a difference and improvement, usually there are shortfalls.

Knowing what top capacitors sound, combining them to excellence is an art in itself and can be very rewarding.

My interest was recently piqued with the hybrid which Grannyring mentioned but don't think i want to spend that kind of money and didnt order it this time. likely knowing even try silver foil bypasses leads will lead to a very expensive cap combination which i strongly have reservation whether it will work out to my liking.

Again, one must know what he or she wants and expects. Knowing the traits of each cap is a big advantage.

I have been testing the bypasses with rca connections so i can remove them and switch.

I felt adding the SIO did improve things overall, but still didnt quite like the way the sio leaves a strong sonic footprint on all kinds of music, losing that ability to distinguish and show different recording in a different light and the way it was recorded, but it was the best i could muster.

Knowing what i wanted and missed what the tftf can do so well, even better than the cuft, is depth and frequency extremes.

Another revelation was encountered, adding another 0.01uf tftf using duelund silver hookup wire after the leads to the combination allowed the glorious midrange return, imparting the blackness between instruments, extension and depth i felt ever so lacking. It just would not work without the addition of the sio and duelund wire!.

I think i finally hit it on the spot and although expecting the SGO to arrive any time today, i no longer feel the need to swap the sio out. I'll leave it on the cooker for a week or so before try again.
salectric
755 posts
 
JT2, maybe you will have more success than I did, but just so you know I have tried sll sorts of caps as bypass caps including Mundorf S/O, S/G/O, Sonicap Platinum, Dynamicap, Infinicap, CAST, V-Cap TFTF, silver micas, Russian Teflon, polystyrenes, etc., etc.
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,510 posts
 
I am curious if folks have heard a diode or bridge rectifier that they feel made a real improvement. In your experience do they impact the sound as much as capacitors or even enough to mess with?
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